SewBaby News

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...