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Black Lives Matter
For the people in the back, the fight for black lives is not new AND this is a humanity issue not a political one. As I share with you what’s important to me, my humanity and my blackness are at the top of the list and they are fundamental to who I am as a person, sewist, wife, mother, daughter, mentor, friend and fat black women. I can’t separate how I fit into the world, my views and sewing without advocating for myself and my brothers and sisters on my blog & social media, they are connected, sorry, not sorry. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, below…
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DIY tank dress
I want to share the fruits of my drafting labor, yay! As always, you can use a good fitting t-shirt pattern if you’re not team draft. Remember, trace off a copy before making extreme changes and follow along. If you follow me on IG, I usually show more pictures and small videos (in my highlights). I’ll try to take pictures of the process for the blog. A few weeks ago, I drafted my knit bodice and sleeve block and I wanted a simple tank dress. I decided to use my block instead of a pattern because I don’t have a TNT tank pattern. I wear tank tops, but I’ve never…
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Shorts, Shorts, Shorts
I have made lots of shorts! I have taken my pants block and adjusted the inseam to create shorts. I’ve made solid, prints, welts, pleat, elastic back and fly fronts with zippers. I’ve used stretch twills, Ankara, tencel, linen, etc., the options are endless. I think if you have a pair of pants that fit, experiment with lengths and make shorts. I know those with larger thighs like mine struggle with riding up between the legs and I find for my thighs, 8″-15″ inseam tends to work for me. The closer the fit and heavier the fabric the less riding between the legs. There’s a balance between length, fabric and…
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DIY Faux jumpsuit + Burda 6218
Who doesn’t love a jumpsuit or better yet a faux jumpsuit? Separates are great because they stretch your wardrobe and allow for lots of different looks. This color is great and the pictures aren’t doing it any justice. I pretreated the fabric using Dryel, I have a little bit left and I’m going to wash and dry to see how it does. I didn’t pay attention that the fabric is dry clean but the color was soo good I couldn’t pass it up. You ve seen this self drafted dolman/kimono top here, I made the top and pants in a suiting and I really love the color and drape, its…
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DIY Shorts and Top + Lost Cashmerette Concord Dress
I’ve been drafting a lot lately. I’ve used a number of resources for my drafts, but truthfully you could buy a book, take a class or use a good fitting TNT as your block/sloper and experiment. I went through multiple muslins to get my fits refined, there’s only so much you can do on yourself. So, you start from the top and see how it goes. You work one area at a time and you exercise patience. I learned to pinch, pin, tuck and ask questions until I got it right, there is no short cut to fit. I want to really refine my sewing techniques so I figured if…
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Cashmerette Appleton Round up
2nd version of the Appleton I’ve made the Cashmerette Appleton three times, once about two years ago and two this year. You can’t go wrong with a comfy knit wrap dress and while I had the pattern out, it made sense to batch sew a few. I’ve been sewing a bunch of essentials and a wrap dress should be added to this list. You can make them with sleeves or sleeveless. You can wear with these dresses with a sweater or jacket (denim, moto or blazer), you can wear it with sandals, heels, or sneakers; this dress is versatile. Here’s a link to the original review of the dress. 1st…
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Hello?
What in the ham sandwich is going on out there? Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard or been impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). I can’t believe the world is dealing with a pandemic!? As I deal with the confusion, anxiety and apprehension of what’s to come for the world, I’ve had to lean more on my hobby/way of life and I’m super grateful for my family and my sewing! Speaking of sewing, I’d like to dedicate a paragraph as a honorable mention to what’s hot/trending right now: MASKS!!! On the subject of masks, I’ve made a few, I’ve sold a few. I’ve donated to family and healthcare workers…
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Simplicity 9020 Lounge Wear
I’ve made some new lounge wear! I like comfy knit pajamas and I was in need of some new ones. I wanted some button up classic pajamas but I didn’t have any satin or silk so I went with this. Now, these are jogger type pajamas with a bottom band and in seam pockets. These can be made in a light to medium weight knit and worn as casual wear. The top is oversized with a a dropped sleeve, I chose short sleeves since it’s worn indoors. I found the clicky thing! I used a cotton lycra stretch knit from FabricMart, the fabric is comfy and opaque, not to flimsy. …
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Butterick 5926- Knit Blazer
I’m checking off my wardrobe essentials and I’m on a roll. I made this knit blazer and it’s super comfy. There are tons of reviews out there and I didn’t really look until I was finished but, I like to live on the edge! This pattern is older but still in print, and easy enough to find locally or online. I chose this pattern because it’s made for knits and I didn’t want a tailored jacket, I wanted a comfy casual jacket. I cut the largest size, size 24. and made view D I did a 1/2 vertical FBA adding width from bust to hem. I did a one inch…
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Simplicity 8529 Remake- Toaster Sweater
Since it’s sweater weather, I decided to make an easy quick sweater. The only issue is, I didn’t have any black sweater knits (insert eye roll). I’ve made this sweater before here, but I didn’t like the funnel neckline. I dont really like chokers or funnel necklines, I don’t mind turtlenecks but, anyway I didn’t care for the neckline of the last one so it was purged. It looks totally different in the Ponte knit vs the French terry knit. What I had was Ponte knit and scraps of brushed knit in my stash and one of the recommended fabrics was Ponte knit. Now, the Ponte is fine, but it…
