A little public service announcement for all book-loving sewists before I tell you about the Blackwood Cardigan: come join Melanie’s Literary Sewing Circle! We’re reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, discussing the book online, and sewing something inspired by the book. Hope to see you there! Are you in on the #cosycardichallenge on Instagram? Even if you don’t have an Instagram account … Continue reading The Versatile Blackwood Cardigan
I thought I’d be saving this post for next Spring but it’s 28 degrees and sunny here in Toronto today, so summer is clearly not over yet! This is the second Zinnia skirt by Colette that I’ve made (the first was my Intergalactic Planetary Skirt). I remain surprised at how much I love this style of skirt, even though I never thought it was a … Continue reading Floral Zinnia Skirt
I’m so excited! Melanie from followingthethread.ca is hosting a literary sewalong! I have been thinking about how great it would be to do something like that for a while now, and the universe answered my half-baked thoughts about it by sending a fairy-literary-sewalong-mother in the shape of Melanie to organize and host it. Woo-hoo! The first book Melanie has proposed for her Literary Sewing Circle … Continue reading By the Pricking of My Thumbs, A Wicked Sewalong This Way Comes
Hi friends! Happy September! I can’t wait to get myself to a fabric store to buy some luscious sweater knits for Autumn, but at the same time I’m not quite ready to give up on fast and fun summer makes. So here’s a summery romper that can be styled various ways to go straight into Fall. This is the Fenix Romper by Cali Faye, a … Continue reading Cali Faye Fenix Romper – Summer into Fall
Have you ever sewn something and thought, ugh, kind of a disaster, I’ll probably never wear that? Well yes, of course you have, you’re a sewist, and that’s part of the deal, right? But have you ever then changed your mind and realized it’s not a disaster at all and it’s actually not only wearable but even pretty awesome? That’s what happened with me and … Continue reading Danish Cranes, or How I Learned “How to do Fashion”
I like to (try to) look stylish. And I like to be comfortable. The perfect solution: a cute blouse — but really a t-shirt — made with soft rayon knit. Win-win! This is BurdaStyle’s Knotted Blouse from the August 2016 issue, pattern #125. I sewed it with a lightweight rayon jersey in this jeweltone teal-blue that is one of my very favourite colours. I find … Continue reading Knotted Blouse & Slouchy Tee, and Living Dangerously in White Pants
K, am I a fabric designer now??? lol! It sure feels like I put my own stamp on this tunic by hand dyeing the fabric myself before sewing it up. This is the Skipper Tunic by Papercut Patterns. Last summer I made the crop top version, so I’m getting my money’s worth out of this rather spendy PDF pattern. (But let’s be honest, I can’t … Continue reading Trial by Armpit: Shibori Skipper Tunic
A couple of weeks ago I took a Shibori dyeing workshop at one of my local sewing studios, The Make Den. Three hours of folding, wrapping, twisting and dunking into this mess… …turned into this: yards of cool fabric plus a couple of scarves and tea towels. Here are the scarves, made from white cotton gauze. The diamond pattern on the left was my favourite … Continue reading Happy as a Clam in a Vat of Indigo
Seriously, it was love at first fitting. I put it on and thought, I want to make a thousand more of these! This is, of course, the Kielo Wrap Dress, a favourite of the sewing blogosphere since it was released by Named Clothing in Spring of 2014. I think this is a classic design, and, judging by the variety of sewists who’ve modelled it online, … Continue reading I’m in Love! Kielo Wrap Dress
This is my version of the Short Sleeve Sheath Dress 04/2017 #107 from BurdaStyle. But let’s talk about this fabric for a moment, shall we?!? I am LOVING. THIS. FABRIC. My camera has a hard time reproducing colours in the red-pink range accurately but it’s definitely a lovely magenta and indigo blue — two of my favourite colours. It’s a cotton-spandex-rayon blend jersey knit … Continue reading BurdaStyle Ruched Sheath Dress
Frivolous At Last 