Stitchin' in My Kitchen

This is my second Lady Skater dress in a row, I'm so boring! But I'd had this cool "Jackson Pollack-paint splatter" knit in my stash from Mood for almost a year, and decided the Lady Skater would be a good match for it. I constructed it the same as the previous one, but this time I did a 1" hem. I like it shorter, and I'll wear it with tights if I wear it to work. The results! There was no pattern matching required on this one, so it was much quicker cutting and sewing. Posing with stinky sneakers and the cat gate...I was busy this weekend and these were rushed! I have a wide black belt that I think would look good with this version. I was trimming the excess from the neckband while talking, and I snipped into my bodice! This is why I need a serger.... I fixed it by patching it with a piece of fabric using fusible interfacing.  Noticeable? It passes the "3-foot test", which I just read about: if you can't see it f...

I've taken my love-hate (formerly hate-hate) relationship with print-at-home pdf patterns to the Lady Skater dress by Kitschy Coo (available here ). It is described as:  "This funky yet functional knit dress has a fitted bodice, scooped banded neckline, a curved flared knee-length skirt, and options for trimmed cap sleeves, or banded ¾ length sleeves or long sleeves. It's designed to flatter the figure with a waistline that hits at the natural waist and a skirt that gently skims over the lower waist and hips." I thought this might be a great compromise between my enjoyment of sewing and wearing dresses and my casual work dress code.  And I love knits! So here we go. I cut the size 3, based on their size chart, and decided to make the 3/4 length sleeve.  My fabric was a funky rayon-lycra knit from Mood Fabrics: Light-medium weight, but heavy enough to make a dress that's not see thru or indecent. I bought it almost a year ago and hadn't decided ...

This is the StyleArc Heidi hooded cardigan, and I made it as a birthday gift for my aunt. Mid-thigh length, single closure I made a size 16, so I can't speak for the fit, since it wasn't made to fit me!  But the pattern is well-drafted, goes together quickly, and has 1/4" seam allowances, yay! I sewed this in a few hours, and its pretty simple. My fabric was a GORGEOUS aqua reptile-print canvas from Mood Fabrics. It's cotton, but has a nice stretch to it.  It's sooo pretty in person (and of course I bought extra yards to make something for myself!!)  The color is very feminine (it also comes in pink!) but the reptile is a little sexy.  And the trim was a medium weight turquoise jersey in cotton-lycra, also from Mood. The pattern is made for knits, but I use the cotton and it worked fine, it just ended up like more of a jacket than a cozy hoodie, which is fine. The pattern comes with a hood facing, which is very nice and gives a nice clean finish w...