TL; DR – FABRIC MATTERS! I made my first Judy in a really stiff, mid-weight cotton that wasn’t even long enough to get all the pieces cut properly. But I am still a sucker for a wrap/tie dress, so I got my hands on this lighter fabric on sale, and I decided I was going…
Category: General Sewing
Reflections on sewing and repeat patterns.
QUINCY, Take 2
TL; DR – Sometimes you just need to try a pattern a second time! Did you know that RED is *the* color for the fall/winter? Do you know how happy I am about this? Red is my favorite color. So I had this bright red Ikea sheet which was perfect for a fall, red, dress….
Rosalie, Take 5
TL; DR – I love this print. Look, what else do I have to say about Rosalie? I did consult my own tutorial, as I’ve been sewing distracted this past few weeks. This is a stretch woven from Mood Fabrics, and the print is amazing. Anyway, I have 60s dresses and 70s dresses, I have…
Mary Quant Mini Dress, Take 8
TL; DR – I love this pattern and it’s versatility. Another day, another Marimekko shower curtain, this time one that I got from our local buy-nothing group. This was particularly challenging because it had some bleach stains at the bottom. The pattern, however, lends itself nicely to be able to cut the back in two…
Rowan Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – Much simpler when you don’t line it! I made a Rowan Dress SOOOOOO long ago. It was one of the early dresses where oh, wait, I have to figure out how to line something and do a hidden zipper? OOPS. I started teaching undergrads again, and I, of course, needed a new…
Tie Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – I’m in my summer caftan phase apparently. You know when you find a fabric online and you buy a quantity, but it shows up not as one continuous piece, but instead the yardage is made up of smaller cuts? You know how you planned a dress with that fabric but now it…
Pattern Mash-Up: M8286 and Rosalie
TL; DR – I might be getting the hang of this! I loved my first m8286, but it was missing something. So I decided to see if I could hack it together with the Rosalie dress’s flair bottom. IT WORKED PERFECTLY. This is an ankara fabric I’ve had for a while, and it was perfect…
Annecy Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – LOOK AT THE CUTE LITTLE DOGGIES! Seriously, just look at them. I got this fabric from my Christmas Mood Mystery Box. It’s a really light shirting fabric, and Annecy was a perfect match! Still super-simple, still comfortable and flattering. Woot. Or, woof.
OMG I AM IN SIMPLY SEWING MAGAZINE!
TL; DR – Issue 123 of Simply Sewing features a piece by yours truly about neurodivergent sewists! There’s nothing like when someone slides into your DMs to offer you an opportunity to write about things are very interested in a passionate about, in this case, sewing and being neurodivergent! It took a bit more than…
Aida Dress, Take 4
TL;DR – My god I love this pattern. Can you believe this was a shower curtain? I had to make the back out of two pieces instead of on the fold, and the fabric is a bit more stiff which made the sheering a bit more complicated, but even then, BEHOLD! I love this dress…
Harmon Tee, Take 3 and 4
TL; DR – The prefect scrap-buster pattern. I can’t believe I didn’t write about making my previous Harmon Tee, taking a scrap of this lovely floral fabric, and pairing it with this rich orange fabric, but not having enough, so made it “reversible”. And then, I found that I a few scraps of this gorgeous…
Abingdon Dress, Take 2
TL;DR – Still a great pattern, not sure about the final result in this case? I’m a sucker for the gingham trend. I don’t know why, but I’m in a yellow mood right now. Found this sweet, yellow gingham and thought it would make a cute Abingdon dress. And it did! Except I’m not sure…
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 10 (!!!)
TL; DR – I really, really, really, really, really love this pattern. More knit, more Kielo. The fabric was a bit tricky because it wasn’t slippy, so it was hard to move around. I mean, it wasn’t impossible, obviously, and I still managed to finish the dress in an afternoon. This print, though. I love…
Peacock Wrap Dress, Take 5 and 6
TL; DR – Works with knits, too! In my seemingly never-ending quest to work through my knit fabric stash (that I keep adding to because ADHD so that’s why it’s never-ending lol*sob), I decided that I wanted to try out using the Peacock wrap dress pattern with knits. The only issue was securing the facing,…
Léonie Dress, Take Three
TL; DR – POCKETS! More fun with DVF x Target. This was a duvet cover (the other side is leopard print that I literally have no idea what to do with), and I wanted a pattern that really focused on this lovely print. So I made a Léonie dress. LOOK AT IT! I LOVE IT…
Tie Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – Sometimes you have to repurpose a garment into another one. It’s (still) #memademay, and I tried on a dress that I had made and decided I didn’t like it anymore. But, I still loved the fabric. I had a little bit left over, and so I decided to make a Tie Dress!…
Helena Wrap Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – [Insert swear words here] It’s #memademay! My goal this year was to reach for garments I’ve made that I don’t typically reach for, or haven’t reached for in a while (aka all my summer garments). I decided to reach for my green Helena wrap dress, and I was reminded how much I…
Olivia Wrap Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – I have a broad, broad back, apparently. I’m still being bombarded by the DVF Vogue wrap dress pattern re-issue, which is giving me some SERIOUS FOMO. I decided to try doing a broad back adjustment on the Olivia wrap dress to get rid of the reverse strangle. I also flared out the…
Mary Quant Mini-Dress, Take 7
TL; DR – Is there anything this dress can’t do? I am still desperately trying to use a bunch of my knit prints, and really, there’s no reason why some of my favorite woven patterns couldn’t be used for these relatively not-stretchy knit prints I have been collecting. So, this groovy print just screamed Mary…
Zadie Jumpsuit, Take 7
TL; DR – Make even more Zadie, now with more prints! What do you get when you cross a Zadie jumpsuit and sheets from the Target x DVF collab? Y’all I am HYPED about this jumpsuit. I used pre-made white bias tape because I don’t have time/patience to make my own matching for this. Anyway,…
Kalle Shirt, Take 2
TL; DR – I finally figured this pattern out. I got this table cloth from the local buy-nothing group. I had been seeing algorithmically served-up ads on my FB of a clothing line that entirely looks like this table cloth, and when it popped up, I was so happy that it was gifted to me….
Untitled
When my husband and I got married, there was only one place where I wanted to have the wedding reception for our friends and family back in Quebec – The Lachine Curling Club. I didn’t curl, and never had, but my grandfather was not only a member, but a senator there, and had single-handedly rebuilt…
Rosalie Shirt Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – OMG designer fabric really IS different, in the best ways possible. I’m trying REALLY hard not to buy more fabric. Like REALLY REALLY hard. But I can’t resist looking at Joann’s when there’s a sale (which is, to be fair, all the damn time). And then I saw this designer fabric by…
Kalle Shirtdress, Take 4
TL; DR – You can make this with 2.1yrds of fabric. More Mood mystery box goodness. I decided that I would use contrasting fabric for the collar, front placket, etc, but it turns out, I didn’t need to! I managed to squeeze in all the pattern pieces in only a little more than two yards!…
Mercer Top, Take 3
TL; DR – Didn’t mess this one up! First make of 2024 (that I can share right now!). I was digging through my leftover fabric pile for a different project and found this not-insignificant amount of leftover fabric from the Allium Dress I made a few years ago. (Side-note: I still love that dress, and…
Jasmine Skirt, Take 3
TL; DR – This pattern still slaps. As soon as I pulled this fabric out of my Mood Mystery Box, I knew it was going to be made into something for my daughter. I managed to squeeze out another Jasmine skirt for her by making the waist band out of multiple. pieces, as well as…
Mercer Top, Take 2
TL; DR – HOW DO I STILL MANAGE TO MESS UP SLEEVES?!?! I got a Mood Fabric Mystery Box for Christmas from my Dad, which is perfect, because it’s a surprise and also exactly what I wanted – MOAR FABRIC! You can check out my Instagram Story about the whole haul (and seeing how much…
Sirocco Jumpsuit, Take 2
TL; DR – I really need to make this one more. I’m trying to work through my rather large collection of knits, and as much as I love my original Sirocco jumpsuit, for whatever reason I haven’t made another one. I had clearly forgotten how freaking easy this pattern is to put together and sew…
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 9
TL; DR – Barbiecore in full force I’m pretty sure I cut this when everyone was obsessed with the Barbie movie, and all things pink, but I’ve only gotten around to sew it now. It took less than two hours. Pretty sure I’ve got this one down as long as I remember to put the…
Ludlow Jumpsuit, Take 3
TL; DR – Thank god I write this blog so I can remember how I overcame my own inability to read directions. More winter weight jumpsuit action, this time with a grey denim. I forgot, once again, how to do the sleeves on the Ludlow Jumpsuit, but thankfully, I wrote what I did the first…
Pleats and Thank You Jumpsuit, Take 2
TL; DR – How many times do I have to tell myself not to get cocky? Ok, so you know how I said I was making a wardrobe for our trip to Italy? Yeah, the thing about winter weight jumpsuits is that they are REALLY BULKY to pack. So none of these new jumpsuits make…
Zadie Jumpsuit, Take 6
TL; DR – I still struggle buying and choosing fabric. We’re about to go to Italy for a family vacation, so of course I have to make an entire new capsule wardrobe lol. I wanted a “winter” Zadie, and I had this…look, I am terrible at keeping track of my fabric. This fabric is thick…
37 and Counting
I’ve made 37 garments so far this year. Only 18 (less than half) have been wholly for me. I’ve tested 13 patterns. I didn’t volunteer for any patterns I wasn’t interested in testing, but it did get to be a bit of a grind, with patterns that I HAD to make versus patterns I wanted…
Jasmine Skirt, Take 2
TL; DR – Still a winner. Look at this fabric. I know you don’t know my daughter, but this fabric just SCREAMS her aesthetic. And she wanted another tiered skirt with it. She even cut the fabric for me while I worked on another project. She loves it, it looks great on her, and, well,…
Aida Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – Interfacing is still hard. I got this floral knit on sale from Girl Charlee (an amazing place for knit fabric) mid-summer, but when it showed up it was a little heavy for summer weight. So, I made a transitional Aida dress out of it. The one complaint about the first Aida knit…
Zadie Jumpsuit, Take 5
TL; DR – If I slow down just a little and take my time, I can get this pattern cut and sewn in an afternoon. I have had this fabric for ages; I don’t even remember where I got it. And, I’ve been wanting to do a Zadie jumpsuit with a print for a while….
Ludlow Jumpsuit, Take 2
TL; DR – OMG THIS JUMPSUIT IS STRAIGHT FIRE, do not get cocky, check that you sewed it correctly before “serging”. I bought two fabrics when I went to Mood Fabrics in NYC, and this one is the second. Pink is ALL the rage right now (BARBIECORE, BABY!), but plain pink fabric did not fit…
Garment 100-ish: Aida Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – This pattern works well with stable knits, I’ve lost count of how many garments I’ve made, Mood Fabrics in NYC is EVERYTHING. A few weeks ago, I got to go to New York City for work. And I was within reasonable walking distance to Mood Fabrics. So of COURSE I had to…
Zadie Jumpsuit, Take 4
TL; DR – I LOVE THIS PATTERN I reprinted the Zadie jumpsuit in a size that is more reflective of my current body. I am so thankful that I can still wear my old ones with a tank top underneath, but I wanted to see how one that fit…would fit. This is a chambray sheet…
Rosalie Shirt Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – I LOVE THIS DRESS. I don’t know how long I’ve had this adorable cherry blossom print. It’s from a Danish fabric company which is probably why I jumped on it (Skalllerup is Danish). I thought it would be adorable as a Rosalie Shirt Dress, and I wasn’t mistaken. I did the pockets…
Léonie Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – I love this pattern. It’s another make from a Marimekko shower curtain! I made this one shorter than the first Léonie dress I made, and instead of making the back out of just one piece, I made it out of two pieces to take into consideration the dimensions of the shower curtain….
Atlas Wrap Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – I have a broad back! Clever patterns can be really challenging to modify! When I made my second Atlas Wrap Dress, as fantastic as it looks, I didn’t particularly like the fit. And, as I am coming to terms with my new measurements, I realized that I probably needed a different size….
Mary Quant Mini-Dress, Take 6, for #sewfrugal23
TL; DR – This works fantastic with a stable knit, maybe reprinting it in a larger size isn’t so bad after all Last year I made 10 dresses in the month of March for #sewfrugal22. This year, I barely made one. Two, I guess, if you count adding fabric strips to last year’s Mary Quant…
Letting Go
I just recycled a whole bunch of patterns that I had printed and assembled that are no longer the right size. I also cleaned out my closet of all the garments I have made that don’t fit anymore either. I’m planing on listing them in our local buy-nothing group and hope someone enjoys them as…
Atlas Wrap Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – That went better the second time but still managed to be weird? Have you seen some of the dresses on H&M lately? Don’t you find they look a little (A LOT) like an Atlas Wrap Dress? For example: I was like, I finally don’t have to HUNT for a pattern to match…
Yet ANOTHER Kielo Wrap Dress
TL; DR I don’t really have much left to say about this pattern. Maybe next time I try the jumpsuit version. It’s almost March, and I’m only just now finally making my first garment of 2023. I had so many plans to try new patterns, use some amazing fabric I’ve accumulated, do more dopamine dressing……
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 7
TL; DR – How is it I can still make a mistake on the seventh time through? I had this black sweatshirt fabric, it’s getting cold, and I still need dresses that feel like warm hugs. So I made another Kielo dress. And somehow messed up the sleeves? The directions for the dress say to…
Kalle Shirtdress, Take 3
TL; DR – I did this in one afternoon! I love the Kalle shirtdress pattern. And I love making dresses out of Marimekko shower curtains and sheets. I got this new shower curtain on clearance for Black Friday sales, but was wondering what I could do with the GIANT CIRCLES. I hadn’t made a Kalle…
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 6
TL; DR – OMG THIS DRESS IS THE BEST. Look, this is my 6th (!!!!) Kielo wrap dress. I don’t even remember all of the Kielo’s I’ve made at this point. I’ve made winter ones, and summer ones, and transition ones, but I haven’t made a sweater one. And now I have. I got this…
Assembling Patterns
I have 8 patterns that I have recently assembled, printing them out, putting them together, grading, and then cutting out the pieces. I have 10 other ones that I have printed, but haven’t yet assembled. And then one pattern where I have actually cut the fabric but haven’t done anything with. It’s all I’ve had…
Mary Quant Mini-Dress, Take 5
TL; DR – You’d think after four times making the same dress, I’d know what I was doing, but you would be wrong. Anyway, I improvised and it turned out just fine. Also, I finally understand the physics of the burrito method. My kids’ summer swim team’s colors are orange and blue. I bought bright…
Peacock Wrap Dress, Take 4
TL; DR – It’s after Memorial Day, let’s wear white. Uniqlo had their cooling sheets on super-sale a while back, and so I bought a white one, intending to make a dress out of it for summer. So I did. It’s white. It’s slippery. Also, holy crap my hair has gotten long. And, hey, look…
Mal Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – It’s shockingly hard to cut straight lines on a grid fabric. Look, what can I tell you, when big floofy-poofy dresses fall out of fashion, I don’t know what I’m going to do with these Mal Dresses I’m making, but I’ll have LARGE rectangles of fabric to work with. Gingham is also…
MOAR WRAP DRESSESSSSSSSS
TL; DR – Sometimes you just need to sew something relatively simple in gorgeous prints so that you can use sewing as therapy and finally control something ANYTHING in your life. Excuse the language, but shit’s been shitty around here lately. I hadn’t been sewing, I hadn’t been writing, I was barely making it through…
Zadie Jumpsuit, Take 3
TL; DR – SOMETIMES YOU GOTTA BE EXTRA EXTRA I’ve had this shinny linen fabric that I impulsively bought (twice) from Mood for a long time now. I’ve been wanting to make something extra-special with it, and finally settled on this super-extra Zadie jumpsuit as a Mother’s Day gift to myself. I remember how challenging…
Creating All The Things
This was cross-posted from my regular blog. There are two distinct phases of my memories of my grandmother: before and after her hospitalization. Before she ended up in the hospital and almost died, I remember her as being old and tired. She really wasn’t that old, but she acted old; semi-permanently laying down on in…
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 5
TL; DR – Woven is different from knit! Tracing patterns from magazines is HARD! I bought a second-hand Marimekko comforter cover and pillow cases off of eBay. I love the giant flowers and was struggling to find a pattern that worked to not spoil the motif. I initially wanted to try the Freedom wrap dress…
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 4
TL; DR – A versatile pattern ROCKS! This is my fourth Kielo Wrap Dress from Named Patterns. I had always been enamored with one sample dresses, done in a floral print. When I saw this lovely pastel violet jersey knit from Mood (ON SALE!), I knew that a) I was going to buy it and…
Mary Quant Mini-Dress, Take 4 for #sewfrugal22
TL; DR – MOAR MARIMEKKO SHOWER CURTAIN. I figured out sleeves. I bought a Marimekko shower curtain on super-sale from Belk (which will only resonate with people living in the South). OK, I bought multiple Marimekko shower curtains and bedding on super-sale from Belk, but for this post, it’s the black circle pattern one I…
Mary Quant Mini-Dress, Take 3, for #sewfrugal22
TL;DR – I hacked another pattern and I might never go back to the old way of sewing this dress. I’ve made the (free) Mary Quant mini-dress twice, with mixed results. It seems to do better with structured wovens, rather than more drapey ones. I also still can’t properly sew a zipper. And I was…
Unstitching
I’ve been busy, lately, taking things apart. I never really got knitting. Years ago, when we were both pregnant, me in my early stages and her in the late stages, one of my oldest friends DRAGGED me to a knitting shop while I was in town visiting. It was UNIMAGINABLE that I was going to…
V8379 Take 4
There’s a reason why I called this project, “The 70s Called, They Want Their Dress Back” in my sewing Airtable. I fell in love with this fabric as soon as I saw it, and knew it had to be a DVF-style wrap dress. For the first time ever, I cut and sewed a complete garment…
Two Months
It’s been two months since I’ve sewed anything. Even longer since I’ve written anything. I meant to sew over the holidays, but ended up sleeping and getting COVID instead. I’m still exhausted. I wanted to write this to a) write something, ANYTHING right now and b) actually document the real progress I have made in…
Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – Hey, following directions works. Sometimes you just want to make a simple dress that feels like a warm hug. I’m still struggling with buying fabric online. I thought I was getting a nice stretch corduroy to make myself a pair of pants. Instead I got a SUPER STRETCHY “corduroy” that was more…
V8379, Take 3
TL; DR – HEY, not all knits are the same! A walking foot is a miracle! I figured out how to use a hemming foot! Feeling fancy! I had this shinny red knit ponte that I was struggling to figure out what to do with. And then, it hit me. A HOLIDAY WRAP DRESS! I…
A Giant Comedy of Errors
TL; DR – Hey, sometimes your measurements change. That’s it. That’s the lesson. It started with a FB ad. I saw this from H&M, loved it, and thought, I’m not paying $50 for that – I can make it! I love the whole collarless wrap jacket-style dress. I have grey fabric, and set out to…
Kalle Shirt, Take 1
TL; DR – You can make a pattern any number of times, and you still learn something. I’ve already reviewed this pattern, so I’m going to indulge in a little bit of storytelling, the kind that drive people nuts on cooking blogs and that drive me nuts on sewing tutorial videos. We were visiting friends…
BEHOLD! The Sewing Room
It’s been a while. As I wrote in the last post (THREE MONTHS AGO), we moved over the summer, and I was supposed to get my own sewing room/office in the basement. On the day we closed, this is what greeted us when we went to check out the basement, MY BASEMENT, during the final…
Elodie Wrap Dress, Take 3
TL; DR – LOL MASSIVE FAIL BUT TIM GUNN WOULD BE PROUD BECAUSE IT WAS A REAL MAKE IT WORK MOMENT. You’d think that by now, the third time, it would be a charm. LOL NOPE. So, I ended up sewing the skirt together wrong, attaching the panels middle-middle-side-side instead of side-middle-middle-side. And I only…
Elodie Wrap Dress, Take 2
TL; DR – I got nothing on this one, the pattern is still great and I learned my lesson to slow down, read (and re-read) the directions. Just look at how adorable this dress is. The facing isn’t quite right on the inside, but I’m not sure what I did differently from the other Elodie…
Zadie Jumpsuit, Take 2
TL; DR – Twill is lovely but SUCH A PAIN NEVER AGAIN, for the love of all things holy read the damn directions, buy a huge role of bias tape you will be grateful. Before I understood the difference between 45″ and 60″ fabric, I bought entirely too much purple twill in order to make…
Mary Quant Mini-Dress, Take 2, or How I Made a Dress Almost For Free
TL; DR – Even quilting cotton can make a great dress, don’t get cocky and read the damn directions. There are lots of places to get fabric. Your local fabric store. Internet fabric shops. Facebook destash groups (OH GOD BE SO CAREFUL). Goodwill (they are usually curtains, but yards of fabric for cheap are yards…
V8379 Take Two
TL; DR – Use clips instead of pins for slippery jersey fabric, sometimes it’s ok to do the steps out of order, oh and stitch length matters! This is my second wrap dress using the classic Vogue Pattern 8379. This time around, I chose not to add a collar and did short sleeves instead of…
Kalle Shirtdress, Take 2
TL; DR – DO NOT GET COMPLACENT, transfer the pattern marking onto the fabric FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. This is my second Kalle shirtdress. I did my first one early in my sewing journey, and it took some time, given all the various skills I had to learn (collar, placket, bias tape hem). This…
Can’t See the End: Sewing with ADHD
A twitter-story for a few years ago was making the rounds again, on working memory and people with ADHD. I’m terrible at ending my writing. Always have been. I rarely plan out very far, because, well, I have literally no idea what the end “looks” like, but I have been writing for so long, that…
Product Review: Mood 10lbs Mystery Box
My dad got me a gift card from Mood Fabrics for Christmas, and then Instagram served me up some choice algorithmic advertisement featuring the 10lbs Mystery Fabric Box from them. I love a good mystery box, and since gift-giving holidays no longer contain any surprises for me, I thought I’d surprise myself a little with…
On Sewing
This post originally appeared on my main blog. I should be writing. I have a book to write. I have multiple books to write and to edit. But instead, the time and energy I usually spend thinking about my writing and then writing is now spent thinking about sewing (what I am going to sew,…
Getting Organized
I am starting to get serious about sewing, about buying patterns, about hoarding fabric. Because of the pandemic, our bedroom is also my office, is also our workout space, is also my sewing space. When it’s time to sew, I pull out two old TV dinner tables that used to belong to my grandparents, set…
The Geneva, Pt. 1, 2, and 3
TL; DR: Learn your machine, pay attention to seam allowances, stretch fabric can be a pain, band neckline finishes are amazing, and don’t throw out “scrap” fabric when you’re mad. My favorite dress is the Geneva Dress, by Universal Standard. A friend who sews drafted a pattern for it for me. I bought my first…
Baby Steps
This post originally appeared on my main blog. I’ve started sewing. Like, really sewing. Like, downloading a whole bunch of patterns of the Internet sewing. Like longingly browsing through the pages of Mood online sewing. Like braving a pandemic to head to a local fabric store (who were very kind but enforced very strict social…
