Sewing Vortex

It's that time again, Readers!!  Welcome to the Sew Long Summer blog tour! Every year a great group of bloggers come together to say SEW LONG SUMMER with some really inspiring projects. Keep reading to find links to all the stops on this year's tour, as well as details on how you can share how YOU say Sew Long Summer. Plus, enter to win a fun prize to feed your sewing habits! I Can't Wait For Fall I love sewing for fall! Warm colors, textured fabrics, dressing in layers without sweating like a sinner in church...I can't wait to tell you about what I made for my 3rd Sew Long Summer tour! The Skirt Possibly my favorite garment this summer has been the knit pencil skirt. I really feel like it's a great silhouette for fall too, with just a little tweaking. I traded in the ocean blues and light weight jegging versions for this slightly longer one in  matte black stretch faux leather  from Simply By Ti , one of this year's tour sponsors. T...

Today is 85 degrees and 1000% humidity. The PERFECT time to share the first of my fall sewing with you, right? The Fabric This is the  Coral Sweater Knit  and  Olive Faux Stretch Leather  from Simply By Ti. I did not purchase them together, but as they sat percolating on my SBT stash shelf (Yes, I have a stash shelf devoted to Simply By Ti fabric... 99% of it purchased before joining the Ambassador Team), I decided I wanted to pair them together and see how it works. Is olive a Pantone color for this fall?  It doesn't matter. I fell in love with Olive last spring and my crush is still going hard. This Olive Faux Stretch Leather is one of several colors carried by Simply By Ti. It is a light weight, knit fabric with a leathery-looking surface treatment. It is nice and stretchy, about 50%, but has really good recovery to maintain its shape. Like leather, you need to be careful about pinning, so as not to leave holes. However, this fabric is fully...

 It can be really easy to fall into a sewing rut, creating safe pieces that you know will always turn out. There's definitely a time for that, but every once in a while, it's important to shake up your sewing world and push yourself outside your Comfort Zone. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you need to make a complicated multi-week project with all new techniques. Sometimes all you need to do to push yourself is to try a new silhouette or color. That's what I've done here with my Mermaid Maxi from Tie Dye Diva!  My First Maxi Skirt! Yup. I've gone 41 years without a maxi skirt or dress (bridesmaid gowns and prom dresses don't count). Being so short, I've never felt comfortable in a skirt that sweeps the floor. RTW maxis are always far too long, of course, making me feel stubby.  There's also the whole nightgown vibe...  But then, back at the end of May, my sewing friend, Ti, wrote about her new maxi skirts for a blog tour. ...

Today, I am sharing my first "Official" Simply By Ti Fabric Ambassador project! The Event: Bridal Brunch for my soon-to-be sister-in-law. The Patterns:  Nottingham Top and Lindy Petal Skirt , both from Itch-To-Stitch Designs . I've sewn the free Lindy Petal Skirt a few times over the last couple years, refining the fit and length to be just right for me. This is a really quick and easy project that looks great. It has an elastic waistband for comfort and the faux wrap, curved fronts make a perfect feminine detail which doesn't expose too much leg. Nottingham Top is a really new addition to the ITS Shop . I made 3 versions during testing a few weeks ago, and blogged about them HERE . I was so inspired by the floral versions that came out during the test that I decided I needed to make one of my own.   The Fabric:  Black Denim Jegging and Ivory With Pink And Blue Flowers Double Brushed Poly , both from Simply By Ti Fabrics . A denim je...