SewBaby News

Just 11 more days until the New Year!  I feel like something a little fancy to celebrate this year, so I decided to sew up this waterfall jacket and palazzo pants ensemble.   Although it may look like a lot to sew, these were all pretty easy pieces made from knit fabrics, so it was very manageable!   My jacket was made from a sueded scuba knit from Fabric Mart using Simplicity 2150.  The pattern is out of print, but it was in print pretty recently and for a long time, so I bet lots of people have it at home.   Here's the original pattern- I made View B, but made mine with full length sleeves and added about 1-1/2" to the overall length.

Happy December!  It's been a busy couple of months since I last posted- taking a trip to Germany and another to Colorado to visit my daughters, so sewing time has been a bit tricky to find!  But, with the cold weather hitting us early, I was inspired to make two tops from wool knits- a red double knit, and a blue single knit jersey (both from Fabric Mart), using the pattern Simplicity 1323.   It's out of print, but there are plenty of copies on Amazon still available if you like the striking style.   I made view B with the V-neck and 3/4 length sleeves, but I added 1-1/2" to the body length of mine.  On my blue version, I added several inches to the sleeve length to make it a full long sleeve.   I also chose not to hem either of them, as I knew that hemming on the bias would be tricky, and since knits don't fray, it won't matter anyway!  The red double knit has more weight to it and hangs better, in my opinion.

When I was in college, I spent a summer in Finland, and stayed with a family there. It was a beautiful summer, and they had a summer cabin out in the woods. I loved their way of life, and remember being surrounded by green, and feeling so relaxed.  So, as I was perusing new titles at our local library, my eyes were drawn to a book about the Finnish concept of "Sisu".  What is Sisu? It's a unique word to Finns that describes their nationality personality- one of perseverance, determination and resilience.  And how do you get Sisu?  Well, this author had many suggestions, including walking in the forest to reduce stress and anxiety.  I thought, "I can do that!".  She said that 90% of Finns say that they go to the forest on a regular basis.  I don't know about you, but with all that is happening in the news lately, I've been feeling a little more stressed than I want to be.  You're probably wondering- what does this have to do with sewin...

Happy Fall!  Wine and Chocolate- two of my favorite things that go together so well! It's no wonder that I would be drawn to them as colors in my wardrobe too.  In my last post from August, I had shown you my sewing plans gathering fabrics in browns and reds for making some clothes for September and October.  I actually completed everything over the Labor Day weekend, but September has been too darn hot to even contemplate taking pictures of everything!  Finally, we've got some beautiful cool weather, so now I can show you!  This dress is a rayon lycra knit, and I used New Look 6525 for the basic pattern, but just 3/4 length sleeves. I really like the variations in this pattern, and I can see it  becoming a TNT (Tried and True) style for me.  One thing that I changed was to add a knit neckband.  The pattern instructions want you to use bias tape, which is never going to look as good on a knit fabric as a neckband will. I also ad...

Sometimes the best way to start a sewing plan is from the ground up.  And from the ground, I mean new shoes!  Yesterday, I was floundering about, looking at my fabrics and just couldn't settle on anything- I have too many options.  So, as I often do, I went to my favorite resale shop for inspiration.  There I found a pair of Merrell's with a pretty milk chocolate leather, trimmed in plum, in my size!  I loved the color combo, and they fit my specifications- low heel, good arch support, comfy without socks, and under $30. So, I came home, and started checking out what fabrics would work with the shoes.  Going into September, October, I like darker, earthier shades.  First I found some rayon/lycra knit prints.  All of these were purchased while traveling.  This first one I bought in Finland, way back in 2012.  I only have 1-1/2 yards of it, so it will have to be a top. These next two were bought in Barcelona when we wen...

As any seamstress knows, you can never have enough closet space!  When your hobby is making clothes, you don't want to hide them away, and you have more of an emotional attachment to them than you do store bought clothes, so you keep them longer. After many decades of boxing up my wardrobe at the end of each season to store it and make room for the next season's clothes, I finally convinced my husband to give up his rarely used home office so that I could turn it into a walk-in closet/dressing room.  Convincing him was the hardest part- I seriously had to work on him for a good decade before he finally gave in! But, he would use his home office once a month to pay bills, and I knew that I would use the closet everyday.  Here are my before photos.  We repainted the walls a soft blue before doing anything-its the same color as our bedroom, which is right across the hall, so it kinda of seems connected, and I don't have to go far to get dressed in the morning...

I've had such an interesting year in regards to doing things with my sewing skills that would be considered "out of the box".  Most recently, I was asked to be the Costume Designer for a short film, A Normal Day !  The film was part of a a student screenwriting competition in our community called Pens to Lens .  Students submit screenplays, and local movie makers turn them into films. I honestly had no idea what I would need to do to be a costume designer, but luckily, the director of our film, had worked with costume designers before, and filled me in.  Basically, anything a person is wearing is the costume designer's responsibility- so clothing, shoes, glasses, jewelry, etc., are all under the umbrella of the costume designer.  You don't have to sew everything as long as the pieces are readily available- just procure everything.  I found most of the things on ebay, amazon or thrift stores, and then added some details like the eyelet and rick rack on...

I have an enviable pattern collection, dating back to the 70's.  Some people might be put off by it, but it gives me a lot of joy!  One of the aspects of my pattern collection that is particularly nice is I have a lot of the old original Kwik Sew patterns.  Kwik Sew is now a part of the McCalls franchise, as is Butterick, Vogue and Simplicity, but they haven't been producing a lot of patterns as of late.  When I bought most of mine was in the 90's, early 2000's, when it was still an independent company, producing their patterns on white paper with each of the sizes drawn in a different color. They are a dream to work with!  I often stalk ebay to see if there are any of the older styles that I've missed!  This first dress was made using Kwik Sew 2762 from 1997.  This is a t-shirt dress that can be made with or with hood and kangaroo pocket.  It's got a side slit on one side only.  I think that a lot of Kwik Sew patterns are basic desi...

I know that some people think that after sewing for as long as I have (I'm not going to go into how many years that is!), that I probably don't have much to learn.  LOL!  If that was the case, I would have been bored with sewing years ago.  I recently heard a woman on TV describing her husband, saying that he was better than perfect, because if he was perfect, he would always stay the same, but since he's not perfect, he becomes better every day.  I feel the same way about my sewing.  Luckily, every new project is a new challenge, and some more challenging than others.  There are the technically challenging things, like welt pockets and buttonholes which still elude me, and then there are the design challenging things, like picking the right fabric to go with the right style for the right body.  With this project, the latter was the challenge. This is Vogue 1586, a recent release by Tracy Reese.  Isn't it beautiful on the model?  I real...

I like a slim skirt, and I like wrap skirts, and I like Connie Crawford patterns.  So, when I saw a pattern for a slim wrap skirt by Connie Crawford in the most recent Butterick release, I was out the door to buy it.  This is Butterick 6605.  It also has a top, which I have yet to make, but I wanted to review this skirt as soon as I made it, in case I can help anyone else avoid ending up with a Standing Only Skirt. So,  what do I mean by a Standing Only Skirt?  Well, if you want to sit down in this skirt as originally designed, you will be giving quite the show!  I sewed the side seams together, overlapped it where the center fronts matched, and then sat down in it.  Oh boy- I would not want to show you a photo of that!  It pretty much was open all the way to the crotch.  But I will try to show you on the dress form. So, here are the center fronts lining up.  Looks good right? Now, imagine that you are sitting and the skirt...

My daughter has been in the Peace Corps in Madagascar for the past 2 years and 3 months, and she came home to visit for a few weeks this month.  Before she left in 2016,  I made her some clothes to wear, and blogged about them here  in this post .  Those clothes have been worn to shreds by now, and she is extending her stay by one year, so she wanted some new things to wear!  There's not much that I can do for her 12,000 miles away, but I can sew, and I'm happy to support her in any way that I can. What she found when she got there is that really, anything goes clothing-wise in Madagascar.  They can wear pants, skirts, dresses- anything at all as long as it isn't too hot.  Where she is at, which is in the north,  never really gets cool- just hot weather, followed by really hot and humid weather, or the rainy season, as she calls it.  So, in figuring out what to make, it really was all about comfort- breathable and lightweight fabrics we...