Sewing Vortex

I've always considered myself to be a low-maintenance kind of woman. I don't get my nails done, I don't wear much (if any) make up and fixing my hair consists of a 5 minute blow dry with a round brush. Some how, that seems in contrast with me standing here, alone in my yard, on a chilly fall Monday taking photos of myself all made up at 9am in a flounced skirt. But the truth is, I feel great in my skirt, and achieving this look takes the same effort as putting on jeans and a tee shirt. Let's talk about my skirt. It's Itch-To-Stitch's newest pattern, the Vientiane Skirt , just released today! I applied to test this pattern for two reasons:  #1, Testing for Itch-To-Stitch is a great experience. I always enjoy the process of working and sharing in small group. It's an opportunity to interact directly with the designer, Kennis Wong, and I always learn something new.  #2 The Skirt, of course! It's feminine and flirty but not juvenile. Like all o...

I've had a few troublesome sews lately...machine failures, buttonhole catastrophes, zipper insertions just not working out. I decided a brief interlude with a fun knit project was in needed. The Arenal Top from Itch-To-Stich was on my radar, so I moved it up to the top of my sewing queue. I printed the size 10, same as my Hepburn Turtlenecks from a few weeks ago, hoping that it would have a similar draft through the shoulder, bust and sleeve because I like the fit of my turtlenecks so much. And it is very similar. There is just a smidge more ease through the body and sleeve to provide a slightly more relaxed (but not at all sloppy) fit. I also found the sleeve to be a few inches longer than the Hepburn. I chopped off the sleeve to match that length because it's a length I prefer. For my first version, I decided to use this pink striped sweater knit found on the Joann's Red Tag table many years ago. I had initially wanted to use this for an Itch-To-...

You guys must know by now what a Fan Girl I am for Itch-To-Stitch Patterns . Even so, when the Hepburn Turtleneck was released last spring, I completely passed it over: It's not the 90's anymore; I'm too busty and thick through the waist ; high necklines don't flatter me... But then, as I Googled for ways to style my new "grunge" inspired Emily Culottes , I realized just how wrong I was. The 90's are IN right now. Turtlenecks are back and it is the perfect compliment to my new culottes. So, a few Sundays ago, I found myself downloading the Hepburn PDF and then I popped out not one, but TWO versions in a single afternoon. That's pretty much unheard of in my sewing room.  I usually measure between an 8 and 10 in Itch-To-Stitch, with the 8 being my go-to size for wovens. The Hepburn Turtleneck is a knit, with NEGATIVE ease, so for this pattern I decided to size up to the 10. It was the perfect choice. Other than a 1/2 inch...

Do you guys remember when I made this Salamanaca Jacket from Itch-To-Stitch last spring? I skipped the whole muslin thing, and while my final garment was a size too small, I thought it was still wearable. Except... I never wore it. The cuff modification I used made the sleeves uncomfortably tight from the elbow down. Take that as a valuable lesson about measuring yourself properly and taking the time to make a muslin! I put lots of hard work into those bound buttonholes, and I felt sad every time I passed it up to wear something else. Now that Jacket Season has returned, I decided to revisit this jacket and do something to make it wearable.  I put the jacket back on yesterday and found most of my complaints stemmed from the fit of the sleeve at the elbow. It's too tight and restricts my movement. I needed to cut the sleeve off just above the elbow. But of course, what good is a short sleeved jacket in the fall? I still wanted to maintain the 3/4-ish sleeve lengt...

Well, Hello there! I'm glad we are still able to connect here today. It was a close one, what with me deleting my original blog post mere hours before it was set to publish. I'm sorry the world will never see it's brilliance. No matter. I still remember how I made my fabulous Lilia Jacket and I will share that story with you today!  [T-MINUS 7 HOURS UNTIL PUBLICATION] For me, fall is the best season of the year. The temperature drops (eventually), humidity dissipates, the boy goes back to school and plays football! It's his 4th, and last, year playing for our local youth organization, (next year he will play for the school), and though the time commitment is intense I do love to watch my boy play.  I really suck at pretending to be cold. The week before I snapped these photos, it was cold and perfect for fleece. On photo day: 80 degrees by 10am and so humid you can't breathe. Today, it's 68 and raining. That's Michigan for you! Since yo...