SewBaby News

Can you save money by sewing your own clothes?  Well, that depends on a lot of factors! What are you comparing your work to?  If you are trying to beat the price at Target or WalMart, then no, I don't think you can sew your own for any less.  But, if you are comparing your work to a slightly higher end store, and you can find quality fabric, then definitely yes!  I'm comparing mine to a store like White House, Black Market. I decided to challenge myself to make a new Spring work wardrobe with a $50 budget for fabric.  I know, I know- that doesn't include your patterns, notions and miscellaneous things like interfacing and lining.  For me, those are already sunk costs, because I already have them.  By ordering during one of Fabric Mart's $2/$3/$4 sales, I was able to make 8 items- 2 pants, 1 skirt, 1 dress, and 3 tops.  Here's my exact order: This took me about 6 weeks once I started.  I usually sew after dinner for about an h...

For Mother's Day, my daughter sent me a mystery box of fabric from FabricMart!  It arrived a couple of weeks early, and of course I opened it up as soon as I could.  She then told me that I was supposed to wait until Mother's Day to open it.  Feeling a little guilty, I told her that since I had opened it early, that I would try to sew some of it up into some new outfits by Mother's Day!   As chance would have it, Patternreview.com was also having their Mini-Wardrobe contest, which had a deadline of May 15th, so I decided to enter it to give me a personal push.  I was able to use 4 of the fabrics from the package- this floral knit, the blue gingham, a solid cream jersey and a red floral voile, in the outfits.  I did supplement with a denim that I had, as I really needed another solid fabric to make the coordinates work.

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...

Last Spring, I made my daughter a black and white mini-wardrobe ( here ), and as I was making it, I was thinking all along, I would really like a lot of these for me too!  I typically don't wear black and white, so this is a bit of a style evolution for me.  Who can say what causes our tastes to change?  So, fast forward one year, and I put together a few things in black and white for me!  I think it might have been precipitated by the fact that my hair was gray, and black and white seemed to compliment that.  But, in the middle of sewing these items, I decided I was done with gray hair, and colored it.  LOL!  So, I hope that there is another reason for my taste change! 

I've been working on my First Frost Winter Wardrobe capsule for 3 months, and I can happily say that it is done!  - 4 woven tops ( here and here ) - 2 sleeveless tunics ( here ) - 3 turtlenecks - 2 cowl necks (Bellavista Tops) ( here ) - 2 long vests ( here ) - 1 dress ( here ) - 1 coat ( here )  = 15 pieces Whew!  That works out to be a little over 1 item a week.  I honestly feel like I've just ran a marathon.  Someone needs to design a bumper sticker for people who can make it to the finish line of homemade wardrobe capsules!  Of course, this random number of items was my own doing- you can make capsule wardrobes with many less pieces.  Since I started this back in November, some pieces have already been worn quite a bit.  And I anticipate that I'll continue to wear them all through February, and possibly some chilly days in March. But from what I've done so far, here are the winners and losers: Most Worn - Dusty Lavend...

When I started this adventure of my capsule wardrobe , I picked out fabrics from my stash that I thought would look pretty together in a particular color palette.  And my neutral component was gray.  I realize that you have to have balance and it helps to soothe the eye to have a nice neutral.  One day last year when I was quite happy wearing what I thought was a nice Spring outfit with lavender and pink and turquoise, a 15 year old respectfully told me- "Mrs. Brodsky, you can't wear ALL the colors at once."  I saw a picture of me later in that same outfit, and I thought- "Oh boy, was she right! " So, inclusion of a neutral gray in my capsule wardrobe was needed, and I actually have purchased several gray fabrics over the years.  But in working through the bin of fabrics for this capsule wardrobe, the last pieces left in the bin were all gray.  Kind of like when going through the bowl of jelly beans and the last jelly beans left are the black ones....

For my next pair of woven fabrics in my First Frost Wardrobe capsule, I decided that I needed to wave my hat to the current crazy sleeve trend, by making a couple of bell sleeve tops.  I had two very lightweight fabrics with great drape- a patchwork synthetic blend, and a silk crepe de chine with a burn out velvet border.  Doesn't that sound good enough to eat?

I've gotten quite a good start on my First Frost Wardrobe Capsule.  I decided to start with the woven blouse fabrics, because sometimes I lose steam over the course of making a capsule, and the woven fabrics are always the last chosen, and thus often orphaned!  So, to start, I chose two sueded polyester blouse fabrics that I had recently picked up from Fabric Mart.  One in a dusty teal, and the other in a dusty rose.

I woke up one morning this week to a beautiful frost all over our back yard.  It was just breathtaking, and I wished later that I had taken some photos.  Later, I was looking at color palettes to inspire me for sewing, and I found this photo on colorpalettes.net that was speaking to me.   If you're looking for inspiration, this is a wonderful resource. They have hundreds of beautiful images broken out into individual color palettes.  I could spend all day looking through them.

My daughter lives in Chicago, about 3 hours away from me, and sewing for her long distance has been a challenge because I've really needed her to be present for fitting.  Of course, everyone dreams of finding a pattern that will fit perfectly right out of the envelope, but that becomes even more important when you are making something for someone when that person can't be there in person! In my quest to find such a pattern, I decided to try out Cashmerette patterns.   These patterns are designed for sizes 12-28 and have three cup size options for C/D, E/F, and G/H- one of the only companies that caters to larger sizes and includes variations for cup sizes!  I was very excited to see if this could be the "one" that I've been searching for! I started out with The Upton Dress - a fit and flare dress with neckline and skirt variations.  We decided to go with a black and white color scheme, and I had this fantastic graphic cotton print with big bl...

Happy New Year!  I haven't blogged for almost 3 months, but I have definitely still been sewing!  Almost all of my sewing has been geared towards some exciting vacation plans and a wardrobe that I can wear on vacation.   This is part 1 of a 2 part post, and I'm keeping our destination a surprise until the 2nd post when I plan to show you the wardrobe on location!  I will give you a few hints, and maybe you can guess. It's a big city, and the temperature is in the high 50's during the day and the low 40's at night.  I read where the people in this city dress mostly in black, grey and brown during the winter months.  So, to fit in with the locals, I decided to go with a black/grey/brick red color palette.  All fabrics are from FabricMartFabrics.  I figured that I would be outside and wearing a coat on most days, so the coat had to coordinate with everything.  To do this, I chose a printed double knit that had a blac...