SewBaby News

A few months ago, Fabric Mart had 50 meter spools of ribbon available for $2.50 and a bag of 30 beads for $1.  I don't usually sew with ribbon or beads, but on a whim, I bought a spool of ribbon in coral pink and a bag of beads.  I thought I would probably use them for my after school sewing club to make drawstring bags, but then Covid happened, and we haven't had a sewing club meeting since.  So, as I was walking by them multiple times a week, I started to get some ideas on how to use them in my own sewing! My first project was this handkerchief hem knit t-shirt from Vogue 8651.  This is an out of print pattern, but there are plenty of newer patterns with similar style lines.   I made View B out of a coral pink rayon knit. I decided to use the ribbon to make an attached necklace combined with some gold beads.  How I created this look was by taking three lengths of ribbon, and then spacing the gold beads on the ribbon until I had a pleasing arrangement.  To ho

Burda Plus isn't being produced in English anymore (I don't think- please correct me if I'm wrong), but I really love having all of the plus size patterns in one issue, so I ordered the French version from Burdastyle.fr.   It took a month to get here, and I am thrilled with it!  The dresses above are style #407- a Blouson Dress for knits.  I, like many, don't fit into a standard single size pattern, and with the Big 4 patterns, I have so many adjustments to do, that sometimes it's just too much trouble- especially if it's a simple design.  Typically, I have a full bust adjustment, rounded back adjustment, narrow shoulder adjustment, narrow chest adjustment, and length adjustments.  You would think that I was a terribly oddly shaped human being based on all of the adjustments I have to make to get a pattern to fit!   However, I can usually wear the Burda plus 44 without hardly any adjustments- maybe just narrowing the shoulders a bit and adding a little l

The tragic murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the events of the last few weeks have brought to the world's attention that racism is alive and well, and deadly.  The grief that each of their families must be going through is heartbreaking.  Each one of us has a responsibility to stand up and fight against racism in our own communities. I've been reading a lot of accounts from black people who are sharing their life experiences and feelings.  It has really made me reflect on the times in my life when I could have stood up to say something to combat racism, but didn't.  I grew up in a small Midwestern town where there were just two black families that I knew of at the time. I ended up being best friends with the daughter in one of those families, and she was the Maid of Honor at my wedding. We first met in first grade, and I can honestly say at that time, I didn't know that there was any difference between us.  All I knew was that she had