Lili’s hair was a matted mess after I took her out of the box. I fixed it…and it was a strange soothing feeling doing so. Feelings of being a kid flooded my entire being and the trance-like urge to make her new clothes set in. I made Simplicity 1484 View A without the belt. The first thing I noticed is that […]
Since I’ve been practicing darts on the quarter scale it had me thinking. How about I try sewing on a smaller scale? It’d be a good way to practice ideas and techniques without wasting fabric. Plus then I can use up scraps! I did some research and all the half scale body forms were about $100+, which is out of […]
Lol, the title of this post seems so sinister, doesn’t it?! Well that’s what I did! Manipulate the darts. The bodice sloper class is still fresh on my mind so I was eager to play and experiment with dart manipulation. Other than the SBA I did on the Monet Dress, I haven’t really done much with darts. I’ve mostly been […]
Hi hello! I am back from a mini getaway/sewing weekend in Lexington, Virginia. I had so much fun! So nice to get away since it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve been able to travel. Continuing on my quest to learn pattern drafting, I took a 3 day bodice block/sloper class at Make it Sew in historic Lexington, VA. […]
One really awesome thing about sewing is that you can build upon existing skills. Over the holidays I was lucky enough to score three Gertie books secondhand for the price of one, patterns included! I’ve been absorbing so much info that I am so curious by her techniques. In true form, I went down the rabbit hole of garment construction […]
A big goal of 2022 is to continue to learn draping and patternmaking. Surely I own a princess seamed bodice somewhere in my pattern hoard, but I am finding that draping is much faster than flat pattern adjustments from a commercial pattern. Mandy the Mannequin is my twin, so I don’t have to do any SBAs, shorten the bodice length, […]
Well my January project is finally done….in February! Lol I put my holiday reading into practice on this dress, with lots of “firsts” in couture techniques. Committed to using stash fabric, I used stash brocade, which was a win…until it wasn’t. The dress is a “Monet.” Now this certainly isn’t a dig on Monet, just that the dress looks much different […]
..All we need is just a little patience…” Ok so maybe Axl Rose wasn’t exactly singing about my Simplicity 1873 dress but the same idea of just “letting things be” applies, LOL Yes. PATIENCE! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- sewing is a major test of patience. I really thought this dress would be a quick one. […]
The title of this post is a bit tongue in cheek- does anyone really have FUN with FITTING?! Maybe those who fit the pattern right out of the envelope, or if your last name is Palmer or Pletsch.😉 For me fitting is the most time consuming part of garment sewing and I believe it’s the biggest hurdle for most. There’s an […]
So what’s my first project of 2022?? We are going designer. Cynthia Rowley’s Simplicity 1873. I really like her designs and have been collecting quite a few. I am pairing this up with brocade from the fabric stash. I am excited to have a fancy new frock but am a little nervous to sew the brocade. I read that brocade […]
