Stitchin' in My Kitchen

I recently sewed up the Goldie Woven Skirt by Style Arc. I've been obsessed with pants and jeans-making this fall, and haven't really done too many skirts, so this was fun and quick. There are two length options, and honestly I wanted one right in between the mini and knee (though on me it was below-the-knee). I ended up cutting the mini and was panicking about how short the pattern pieces looked! But it's ok. I decided to do the zip front because I happened to have an open-ended metallic zip in my stash just the right length I needed. For the fabric I used this  stretch blended black corduroy from Mood fabrics (stretch wovens are not required though).  This corduroy is gorgeous and almost looks like a velvet. This was a pretty quick make. There are separate pattern pieces for a zip or button front, so decide before you cut into your fabric.  The lack of side seams means there isn't a lot of opportunity to adjust the fit, so measure yourself honestly and caref...

This is the first pattern I've sewn from Deer and Doe (although I own the Brume skirt and it's on my to-do-soon list).  I swore I was going to commit to making pants and jeans this fall, really loved all of the tester versions, and was high on the success of my first pair of Closet Case Ginger jeans, so I was ready for the Safrans. I started with Version A, the longer length with pockets.  I cut a size 42 at the hip and graded to a 38 at the waist. I usually don't grade pants patterns that have a yoke, I just take a dart out of the yoke, but these are sans yoke, hence the grading. For fabric I actually bought some of the fabrics they recommended in one of their blog posts - very helpful! Especially when ordering online.  Descriptions of stretch % can be greatly exaggerated depending on the source. So I started with this charcoal stretch twill from Mood fabrics.  This fabric feels amazing. It is quite heavy but with a ton of stretch.  Great to sew and very ...

My eyes lit up when I saw this recent pattern release by Simplicity - I was super excited about 8214, which is a kind of retro-looking combo of top/dress/jumpsuit/pants. I have a couple of actual vintage dresses in my closet with a similar style.  I decided to start with view A, the below-the-knee dress. For my first pass at it I wanted to use a cute but inexpensive fabric, so I chose this navy polka dot peachskin fabric from Califabrics.  Well, first I googled 'peachskin' - it's just a polyester woven, but it doesn't really wrinkle and has a very nice drape if you're open to polyester in your life.  And the orange polka dots are seasonal for fall. I cut a size 12 based on the finished pattern measurements and I made a few minor changes to the pattern. It isn't very noticeable in the photos on the pattern envelope, but the front buttons down.  Since it fit over my head (like the Style Arc Holly blouse ) I just lapped one side of the front over the other ...

All I want to sew for fall/winter is jeans and blazers and jackets . I'm skirted-out, I guess.  I came across this photo a while back while checking out one of my favorite sites and really loved the entire look. I just love the long jacket over casual jeans and a t-shirt, and decided I wanted to make something similar.  Even though I think the bold stripe on that jacket is kind of what makes it, I decided to use some of the many yards of wool suiting I already had in my stash before trying to find a similar fabric.  I pulled 2 yards of this wool suiting from Mood out of my stash and some coordinating Bemberg rayon for the lining. I searched Etsy for a pattern I could use and come up with this gem from 1979: Oh yes.  Interestingly, they don't give you the yardage needed for just the long jacket - it's assumed you will make a jacket-skirt combo.  The 2 yards I had was just enough for the long version of the jacket.  The pattern was a size 12, bus...

My fabric stash is full of gorgeous wools and faux furs...but Bay Area winters don't really call for the heavy coating, sadly. So I live out my winter coat fantasies by sewing for others, namely my family on the East Coast.  Califabrics recently added some gorgeous faux furs to their shop, and I really loved this pink one , with different shades of black and gray and different pile lengths. I'm not really a pink person myself, but I still thought this was so pretty and unique. So I decided to use it in a coat for my sister for her November birthday. She's a longtime vegetarian but signed off on the faux fur, and this is unabashedly faux - no pink rabbits were harmed! The pattern I used was McCalls 6656.   I made view A and a size S.  This has a big red  "EASY" on the front of the pattern, even though it looks like it would be complicated - it wasn't. It was super easy! It is unlined, uses button closures instead of a zipper, and the edges are unfinished....

The amazing thing about sewing your own clothes is that you can make exactly what you want to wear and what you love to wear. So naturally this weekend I made something I hate to wear - shorts! I do not like shorts, I don't remember the last time I didn't mind wearing shorts - maybe high school.  I have a longer torso and short legs, but I'm too thick to wear a shorter inseam, and anything else just makes me feel like Mom Jeans.  Like I'm climbing in the minivan and bringing orange slices to soccer practice.   Part of my upcoming end-of-summer vacation involves desert hiking, and it will be too hot for jeans and sometimes you just can't wear a skirt without looking like a jackass.  She knows it: Short pants it is. I wanted something simple, I really didn't want to put a lot of time and effort into something I don't feel good in. I chose Jalie 3243 after reading some positive reviews and viewing the finished products.  It's a straight legged short ...