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 […]

Day and Night Dress Challenge: Transforming a boring dress with Edge and Sparkle

February 22, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

I’m so honored to be participating in Elizabeth’s Day/Night Dress Challenge for the third year in a row (here are years one and two.) The Challenge has a great twist this year. Rather than make two new dresses, the idea is to take a dress you’ve made but ignored, and make it more wearable by […]

A Burda top you can make in an afternoon and Dior Exhibit

February 8, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

A Burda top and Dior….a lovely combination, eh? First, the Burda top…..My box of precious fabric bits and lacy remnants is overflowing these days, so I’ve adopted a new ‘tidying up’ rule. If I can’t find a use for a remnant within six months of adding it to the box, it must go. So, I […]