SewBaby News

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.

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...

When the cold shoulder trend started, I laughed and thought, I will never, ever get on that bandwagon.  Hahaha!  Never, say never!  As I kept seeing more and more bloggers making cute versions, I finally decided to try it out for myself. And the verdict is.....I love it!  I used a animal print rayon knit, and Butterick 6425 . This has lots of views, and mine is a hybrid between the dress body of View B, and the sleeves of View C.  I also angled out the bottom of my dress a couple of inches to make it more like a swing dress.   Rayon knits have a horrendous tendency to show all of your lumps and bumps, and I thought this might help reduce that.

I've always found the color "mauve" to be a little mysterious.  Is it pink?  Is it purple?  Is it brown?  Is it gray?  Whenever I read about color analysis, mauve is one of the recommended colors for me (a summer), so I thought I should find out a little more about it.   The first thing that I found out, is that I've been mispronouncing it my entire life.  It is not "mahv", but "mov" with a long o, as in stove or clove.  I'm already feeling a little more sophisticated!   According to Wikipedia, mauve was named after a pale purple flower called the mallow flower.  It's use didn't become popular until 1859 when a chemist trying to make a cure for malaria noticed a residue that ended up becoming a mauve dye.  The 1890's are referred to as the "mauve decade" because of it's popularity! I ordered several different fabrics from Fabric Mart Fabrics to experiment with that all had mauve in the names.  You ...