My ‘go-to’ outfit: wide leg pants and a safari style top

August 7, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Each season, there’s one me-made outfit that seems to rise above the rest. This one is it! A pair of cropped, wide-legged pants and a linen Fringe top – -nothing unusual or particularly earth shattering about these makes. Yet, I find myself reaching for them over and over again. Honestly, these pants are the best […]

New Pattern Release: Sew Over It Bonnie Top/Dress

July 10, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Hi All – – When I saw the sketches of the new Bonnie Top from Sew over It London I was thrilled. If you’re like me, you have a closet full of high waisted pants/skirts, but no tops to go with. I knew that this lovely ‘cropped’ top would fill a hole in my wardrobe. Not […]

Butterick 6592 Three Ways

May 30, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

Me Made May has been so revealing! My pledge this year was to wear the me-mades that were taking up valuable closet space, but weren’t getting much use. That lead to some ‘aha’ moments. 1. I prefer tops made of rayon, jersey knit, cotton lawn or linen (I hate stiff cottons!). 2. I love wearing […]

New Pattern: Sew Over It Kitty Dress

May 22, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

As a Sew Over It Pattern Insider, I had the opportunity to test Sew Over It’s latest pattern, the Kitty Dress. I love a good shirt dress (here and here) and this one is perfect with lots of design details and options that make it unique – a shawl collar, a gathered or paneled skirt, and […]

The Saraste Shirt, my Me-Made-May Hero

May 15, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

When I completed the Saraste shirt, I wasn’t totally ‘in-love’ with it. In fact, I immediately pushed it to the far right side of my closet, the place where the ‘never to be worn’s’ go. It’s a sad corner and it makes me feel a bit guilty. It’s all the me-mades that were fun to […]

Sew Over It Meredith Wrap Dress

April 24, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

I was so pleased to be invited to be a Pattern Insider for Sew Over It patterns. I’ve been in love with their designs (especially the awesome Cocoon Coat here) so I’m excited to have the opportunity to show your their new release patterns here. The Meredith Wrap Dress was love at first sight […]

A wrap shirt from my first Japanese pattern book

April 19, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

A wrap shirt…Looks tricky, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s all in how the shirt is buttoned up! If you want to, you button it up the traditional way. But why would you want to, when you can do this? A simple modification makes the wrap possible. You add a loop to one side seam, a button to […]

Finding Violet and Vogue 9363

March 31, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’ve really enjoyed the #sew happy color challenge on Instagram. It’s inspired so many lovely posts by members of our sewing community! The premise of the challenge (created by @katiekortmanart) has been to explore combining complimentary colors in new ways. For me, it’s been an opportunity to look at the colors I love and to […]

Waiting for Spring in my Wiksten Haori Jacket

March 23, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Well, it’s official. I am now a big fan of the Wiksten Haori jacket. I might be the last blogger to make this lovely jacket. I avoided this pattern at first, as I prefer fitted jackets to loose-fitting styles. But on a recent visit to a local fabric store (Bolt, such a great store!! […]

Perth dress: #So50Visible

March 15, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

This new linen dress was inspired by the challenge on Instagram, the #So50Visible, created by the #SewOver50 gang. The idea of the challenge is to find a pattern where the photo features a model who is over 50. Sounds easy, Right? If only…. In my search for a pattern, I couldn’t find any over 50 models in […]