I finally got around to trying a zero-waste sewing pattern! This is the Brumer Wrap Dress by Milan AV-JC. And I’m “on location” in Costa Rica! I made this dress as a beach cover up so naturally it was necessary to get to a beach ASAP in order to test it out. 😉 So what is a zero-waste pattern? In essence, it’s designed to use … Continue reading Zero Waste Sewing: The Brumer Dress by Milan AV-JC
Summer is my favourite season for sewing! I love working with bright floral fabrics and making floaty tops and dresses, not to mention the instant gratification of knocking out a summer garment in an evening or two. Here are a couple of simple dresses I made in a mad binge of pre-vacation sewing last month. First up is the Catalina Dress by Blank Slate Patterns. … Continue reading Summer Dresses: Catalina and Santa Fe in Italia
But first, apologies to Italian speakers. The title of this post means something like Ogden Every Today in Italian. Why am I trying to alliterate in Italian, a language for which I’ve only completed the beginner’s course level 1 in Babbel? Well, A) because a good sewist is SEW not going to pass up an opportunity for a groan-worthy pun, and B) because I am … Continue reading Ogden Ogni Oggi: I want to wear an Ogden cami every today
I promised myself I’d never make a bad pun using the word Sew. But there it is. There is only so long you can resist before you get sucked over to the dark side. Sorry. But I really do have a lot to tell you! There was the visit from Clothes Making Mavens co-host Helena, all the way from California to Toronto, and that weekend … Continue reading Sew Much to Tell You
This is just a quick post to say hi and show you the giant throw pillows I made. I used some canvas-weight fabrics by Echino (see below). Dontcha just love the stag with the red hipster glasses? And I mixed them up with some other cotton mid-weight fabrics I had leftover, like the Japanese cotton on the bottom of the pillow below. That was leftover … Continue reading Nesting
Last week I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Los Angeles for a bit of a break from winter. (Although I seemed to have brought the winter along with me from Toronto — the LA newscasts were full of handwringing about how damn COLD it was there. Alas.) Anyway, one of the reasons for my trip was to hang out with Helena, … Continue reading Meeting an old friend for the first time!
Satin printed fabric from Spoonflower. An unexpected favourite make of 2017 (post here) It’s been a very good year, and I’m full of gratitude. What’s coming down the pike for 2018? One thing I know for sure is I won’t be buying any ready-to-wear clothes. I’ve taken the 2018 RTW Fasters pledge. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. Here’s wishing you a very … Continue reading My 2017 in pictures
I bought a ton of fabric when I took a trip to Berlin a couple of months ago. I purposely only packed my suitcase about half full *just in case* I *might* buy some fabric. Hahahahaha. I visited Stoff & Stil where I purchased that Squamingo fabric I turned into a too-small tee, as well as the awesome tiger jacquard pictured below that I hope … Continue reading Berlin Fabric Haul = Wanted Tee and Blackwood Cardigan (and some Squamingos), so far
From beach sarong to T-shirt! I bought a beach sarong on a trip to Brazil a few years ago (made in Indonesia, ironically) and after a while the fine woven fabric had ripped. Ruing the loss of these great colours and print, I regretfully tossed it into my textile recycling bag, but a few weeks later I realized that this sarong would make a great lightweight … Continue reading A Scout Tee sewn from an old beach sarong…and how to fold your shirts for traveling
Cast your eye upon these glorious colours worn by a group of Maasai women I met in Kenya recently! I travelled there with a group of my university students to learn more about the cultural tradition of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM; also sometimes referred to as Female Genital Cutting or FGC), and to meet young residents of a slum in the capital city Nairobi. What an experience! One … Continue reading Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya: a call to action for the sewing community
Frivolous At Last 