SewBaby News

Update:  8/11/2014-  I'm SEW excited that I won! Thank you all for your kind words. The Patternreview community has been so inspirational and encouraging to me over the years, and I'm honored to be recognized by such a talented group of individuals. The competition was fierce! Congrats to Toile and Trouble too! I love so many of the other wardrobes. I wish that we could all share virtual closets. Maybe in the future... Thanks to Sigrid for her outstanding work in managing the contest, and to Deepika for the generous prizes. I can't wait to take a class! Original Post: I decided to enter Patternreview.com's mini-wardrobe contest which ends today!  The challenge was to make 5 items in one month that could be combined to make 6 different looks. You know that time of year when it is still hot enough for short sleeves, but chilly in the morning, and the leaves start turning colors? The perfect time of year to go for long walks, and sit outside at

 Here is a fun, easy and satisfying project for you!  I call it a Cocoon Wrap, and it is from Butterick 6065 . This is so easy, it is literally only two pattern pieces:  the main body, and the neckband. I used a novelty Missoni type sweater fabric.  I'm not sure what is in it, but it has all of my favorite fall colors. This is so comfortable! I can't wait for it to turn chilly enough to wear it! Since my fabric was very loosely woven, I hemmed it with a satin bias strip.  But you could just narrow hem it if your fabric is closely woven. My 21 year old daughter wants one.  How cool is that? Happy Sewing!   Ann

I'm still dreaming up ways to use my daughter's torn burgundy leather jacket.  You see, the leather is so soft and worn, and it would be just a shame not to use it!  So, I'm looking at all patterns with the thought "where could I sneak in a little of that leather" in the back of my mind. I've had this skirt pattern ( Vogue 1082 ) for a number of years, and I thought- "Hmmm... maybe the yoke in leather?"  This pattern is gorgeous, but WAYY more detailed than I usually sew. But, I had a piece of wool gabardine that was the right amount of yardage for this pattern, so I thought, "Let's give it a try! You might think that after sewing for 40 years, that everything is easy.  You would be so wrong!  This skirt took me two full days.  So, why did it take two days?  Well, one word:  PIPING.  In all my sewing, I cannot recall using piping.  It's clear to me now why.  I'll show you why later. First, let me show you the leather j

Do you ever order a fabric and then have buyer's remorse?  That was the case with this fabric for me.  I ordered this Peacock feather print, expecting something in the blues and greens, and ordered it without a photo. When I opened up the box and saw pink, orange and neon lime peacock feathers, I had to step back.  Honestly, when you see this fabric flat, it is so gaudy, that I couldn't imagine anything out of it.  I thought, if I want this fabric to work, I'm going to need a GREAT pattern.  I went through some of the reviews at Patternreview.com for dresses, and saw that one of my favorite bloggers- Beth at http://www.sunnygalstudio.blogspot.com/ had made Maggy London's Butterick 5455 SEVEN times. I don't think that I have ever made a pattern SEVEN times, so I knew right then, that I had to try it!   Luckily, I had it in my stash, as it is now OOP.  (Out of Print).   The pleating looks fancy, but it is really quite simple.  The back

  For our 3 week trip to Italy, I was determined to pack light enough to fit everything into this backpack.  Everybody said that I couldn't do it, but I enjoy a good challenge.  I didn't want to have to lug around even a small suitcase up and down steep steps, over cobbled roads, etc, so I set about carefully picking items to pack based on volume and weight.  Since Italy in June was going to be hot, I decided to make dresses. Silk Cotton Voile Dress that weighs 2.8 ounces! See that fabric on the scale?  That is Dress #1.  I found that I had three pieces of Silk/Cotton Voile that was absolutely the lightest weight fabric that I owned.  This stuff is incredible- so light and breathable, it is just like you are wearing nothing at all.   Travel Dress #1:  From Textile Studios Barcelona Dress pattern. In selecting travel dress patterns, I was looking for three things:   1.  Loose-fitting- both for heat and for the likelihood of an increasing waistline (expecting t

Hello!  It's been a crazy summer here, which is why it has been 3 months since my last post.  We went on a 3 week trip to ITALY!!  Yes, it was amazing, fantastic, exciting, and every other superlative word that I can think of.  If you haven't been, save your pennies and go!  You will not regret it.  The people, the food, the landscapes, the fashion- it is all good.   Sometime, I will blog about the travel wardrobe that I made for it, but for now, I am looking forward to FALL! There are so many patterns that I want to try, and fabrics that I love, that I find I get more done when I sew with a plan, narrowing the focus of what I want to make.  I spent most of a day going through my stash of patterns and fabrics, and have selected my color scheme for Fall to be the colors of the harvest- burgundy and golden wheat.   I've collected a number of solid burgundy fabrics through the years,mostly coming from Fabric Mart Bundles.  So, I'm going to challenge myself to m