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I decided that I need more silk blouses and tops in my wardrobe (one can never have enough of them, right!) and had a smallish piece (1.3 yards) of beautifully soft and drapey silk crepe de chine on hand that I purchased at Mill End Store in Milwaukie, Oregon. So, I decided to make Simplicity 1661 pattern again, as I really like my black silk charmeuse version that I made last year and wear it often.

I managed to fit (just barely!) all of the pattern pieces on the small fabric piece and cut them out with my sharp rotary cutter pretty quickly. I hate this part of the sewing process as it needs to be precise and can be time-consuming making all of the markings for pleats, notches and such. This top only has a few pattern pieces so it went fairly quickly and I could get to sewing faster.

Here is the finished blouse both on me and my dress form. It can be worn as a loose tie or tied in a bow, and can be worn tucked in to a pant or skirt or left untucked.

 

I can see this luxe little top sewn up in other pretty solid colors, sheers and prints, and also made in the other view of this sewing pattern without the tie.

And, of course, I have some inspiration images of similar tops that I based the look of the top on. I warn you: a couple of these are quite pricey, so hold on to your hats…

 

                  

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

 

 

My blouse and a blurb about it and me in the Reader’s Closet spread on Page 81 of Threads Magazine issue # 174

I’ve officially made it in print!!! Threads Magazine contacted me after I posted my silk bow blouse made from McCalls pattern 6650 from silk charmeuse purchased at Fabric Depot in Portland, OR on their Threads Insider membership page.

They asked if they could feature my blouse in an issue of their magazine. I was delighted of course and accepted the honor and flattery! Not to mention the publicity!!! So I sent them my blouse to their publication headquarters in Connecticut and voila! Here I am, smack dab in my favorite sewing publication, read by thousands of sewing enthusiasts, praised for my work and creation!

Here is the link to the digital edition of this issue: http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/37365/threads-magazine-issue-174-augsep-14

Time to celebrate!!!!!

 

I just finished this maxi dress made from Simplicity 1355 pattern. It’s a halter style top with a drawstring tie closure and center front slit.

It was fast and easy to make and is very comfortable to wear! My serger came in very handy with making some of the seams of this dress. I think I need to make about 2 more of these dresses for summer, one in black, and maybe another one in a nice solid color and/or another print. The possibilities are endless!

 

 

I met Crystal’s mother in the fabric store as she was asking a sales associate if she knew anyone who could sew a dress for her daughter. I was standing there as she asked the sales clerk and said, “I can!”, and that was the introduction to a wonderful and challenging journey.

Crystal shared with me what she was looking for in a prom dress, but could not find in stores or online for a reasonable cost.

This is what she showed me:

I LOVE the gowns she showed me and was immediately excited to design her a dress similar to these gowns!

Then came the hard part: finding a suitable fabric that didn’t cost a small fortune per yard to made the dress out of. We went fabric shopping a couple of times together and she came across this lovely purple tones floral printed polyester satin for $8.99 a yard (and on sale 30% off!) and it was perfect for the dress. We also found a complimentary plum-colored lining for the dress that was only $3.99 a yard (also 30% off!).

I found some commercial patterns to try to get the look she was going for including Burda 7011 as shown below. She wanted the skirt of the gown to be gathered and not flat, like the Burda pattern was like, so I drafted the skirt myself using two large rectangles 3 times wider than the waist measurement to gather into the waist. She also wanted the front of the dress hem to be higher than the back, so I carefully drew in an arc shape at the front of the dress hem and cut the shape out of the outer and lining fabric.

The gathering of the skirt and skirt lining proved to be one of the most challenging parts of making this dress! The fabric is heavy, slippery and frays like crazy, so I had to take my time to gather carefully and evenly all around the skirt and sew it to the bodice with precision.

Hemming the skirt was also a big challenge. At first, I wanted to make a deep, 2″ hem to give the skirt some weight and hang nicely, but as I pined and tried to sew this deep hem, it really was not working and caused major puckers and was not sitting flat against itself. So I ripped out all the stitching and just made a narrow hem at the bottom. My serger came in very handy for making this hem, and also to prevent fraying on the edges of the two fabrics.

We also decided to add a layer of tulle to the skirt to give it a little extra fullness.

After the second fitting of the dress, which we did before I inserted the boning and installed the zipper, and we decided to add bra cups into the bodice for extra support in the dress and eliminate the need for a bra. Here is the interior of the bodice of the dress including the sewn-in bra cups,  satin hanger loops and grosgrain ribbon waist stay (a belt-like support sewn into the dress to help support the weight of the skirt and keep the dress up).

All in all, it was a great experience working with her and her mother to create the prom dress that she envisioned. I learned a lot along the way and hope to make more custom dresses for her and other clients in the near future.

 

 

 

I started to make this jacket from New Look 6035 pattern (part of a coordinates pattern) at the end of last summer. I got pretty far with it, but something or other distracted me and I put it aside. Well, I just picked it up last week and decided to finish it. I am trying really hard to finish projects that I have started before I move on to the next best thing that I just have to have. There are just so many things I want to sew!

This jacket is a simple design as it is unlined with princess seams and patch pockets, so I upped the construction factor by making Hong Kong finished seams for most of the seams. I used some leftover printed silk to make the bias strips for the seam bindings. This took about 6 times longer for each interior seam and the sleeve seams as the seams are sewn, then each seam allowance is bound by sewing a bias strip of the silk to both sides of the seam allowance. Lots of work, but it looks great on the inside.

I am really happy with my newly completed (or should I say finally completed!) jacket.

I have enough of the same fabric left to make a pant or a skirt (or even a little sheath dress!), so at some point, after I have gotten through my long, long list of sewing projects I want to accomplish, I will make a piece to make this into a nice linen suit. Exciting!

 

 

Hi there!

I whipped up this nice pencil skirt on Sunday evening using Simplicity 1465 pattern in a great Italian cotton geometric print from Mood Fabrics online.

 

I swapped the invisible zipper for an exposed metal zipper for fun and to give the skirt a little edge.

This skirt was a snap to sew up and took about 2 hours. It is unlined, and I figured this fabric didn’t really require a lining, and saves time sewing. A lining could easily be added to this pattern, using the skirt pattern pieces and the facing pattern pieces and doing a little pattern drafting from there.

My new Babylock serger was a big help with the seam finishes to finish the interior seam allowances and prevent fraying. I wanted to bind the seam edges and make a Hong-Kong finish, but I didn’t have any bias binding on hand and was not about to run out to the fabric store for the second time in one day, so I just serged the edges instead.

Here are some inspiration images I have for my pencil skirt:

Thanks for reading!

-Stephanie

I made this top from Vogue 8907 view C in an orange stretch silk charmeuse. I love the asymetric hem of this top that gives it a little edge and reminds me of BCBG styles.

 

 

The only changes I made to this pattern was to make French seams for the side and shoulder seams, and skip the neck and armhole facings and make self bias binding instead.

This was a pretty easy top to sew, but I was not thinking and did not measure the pattern before cutting and cut a small which is too small for me, so it is going to a good friend who is skinny, fit and adorable (don’t hate!) and I know she likes this kind of style.

I plan to make this pattern again for myself in a size or two larger as I think it is fun without being too edgy, plus I have some great BCBG shoes that would look really cool with this top!

A couple of style inspiration photos from BCBG:

 

That’s it for today!

I made this kimono top from McCall’s 6510 sewing pattern as I wanted an easy, yet chic, silk  top to wear. I thought it would be cool to add a little leather to the neckline and used some of the lambskin binding I have on hand.

It was a fairly easy and fast pattern to sew, just two  semi-circle pattern pieces of the front and back and the neck binding. The challenging aspect of this top was handling the slippery silk charmeuse. The aggravation was worth it in the end as I really like this top. Here are a couple of photos in the process of sewing:

I like the finished product quite well and hope to make more of these tops. I think solid or printed materials, and a variety of fabrications, would work well for this top. Even lengthening it into a little dress would work as well. I’m thinking if enough people like it and want one of their own to put one or two (or more!) up for sale.

 

And. of course, I have an inspiration photo. This one I found on Polyvore from Givenchy selling for over $1,300! Wow, that is pricey!

 

Think I did OK copying it, or at least getting the general style idea?