Home » Self Care Sewing » Page 3

Category: Self Care Sewing

Sew the Year: Spring Fabric with Style Maker Fabrics

I am so excited to have Michelle from Style Maker Fabrics joining me today.  As part of my Sew the Year series, Michelle is going to share some great spring fabric inspiration as well as some great patterns that work well with them.  Make sure to also check out her Spring Style Tour that is happening now.

Like all of you, I have been following along with Kimberly’s Sew the Year series admiring her planning and thought behind her wardrobe for this year. She has definitely inspired me to set more goals and plan out what I am going to sew. Now to just find the time!

Colette Myrtle Dress

This dress has a story that I want to share with all of you.  If you have been reading my blog long you probably recognize this black and white fabric.  You see, I made a maxi dress like 3 years ago out of it.  And I wanted to love it at the time but you know what, I never ever wore it.  So a couple years ago I hacked off the sleeves and I had a renewed love of it.  But that love has faded over the years.  The reality is that I never ever grab for it, so it needed a new life.

Bryant Dress Remix

Believe it or not the cuffed sleeves was a last minute addition to the Bryant pattern right before testing started.  So what was just a quick addition turned into one of my favourite elements of the pattern.

Right after I decided to add the cuffs I realized that lengthened slightly this pattern would be perfect as a dress.  Not to toot my own horn, but I was totally right about the dress.

My husband pointed out when I put this on today that I have been on a grey kick lately.  Maybe it’s the never ending rain here that is getting to me.  

Bryant Tester Roundup

My post yesterday on how different the pattern fits depending on the fabric you choose, is even more evident today with the Bryant Tester Roundup.

These ladies sewed up a bunch of amazing tops and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Abigail really took the opportunity to show off the print in her top.  The bold blue and white stripe cut on the bias looks amazing! Sewn in jersey.

Terri of Blue House Joys colour blocked the back of her top.  And while it may have been done because she was short on fabric, I love the look. Sewn in cotton lycra.

Bryant Fabric Choices

One of the elements of the new Bryant pattern that I didn’t expect is the wide range of looks you can get simply by the fabric you choose.  So today I wanted to show you how the pattern looks depending on your fabric choices.

Each of the tops I will be showing you was made with the exact same pattern pieces.  This will be even more apparent tomorrow when I share the tester roundup with you.  I actually have a few more tops that never got photographed, simply because the rain in Seattle the last few weeks has been insane.  I will make sure to add them to this blog post as soon as I photograph them.

Sew the Year – February Recap

Yesterday I shared with you my sewing plans for March and so today I get to share my Sew the Year February Recap.

If you haven’t been following along with Sew the Year I recommend going back and reading all about it here.

In February I went really big and tried to focus my makes on items that have either been in progress or on my sewing radar for a long time.  This included 5 different projects and while I didn’t complete them all I am happy with the 3 I did make.

Sew the Year – March

It’s March 1st so that means I get to share my plans for Sew the Year this month.

Last month my plans were very ambitious so this month I am going to keep it nice and simple for very exciting reasons…

I have two new patterns almost ready for testing!  

If I have any hope of getting two patterns done for the month, I can’t also have a bunch of extra sewing planned.  That is part of the reason last month was a stretch, but more on that tomorrow in my February recap.

Maxi Wedgwood

Making a maxi Wedgwood skirt has been on my radar since I designed the pattern last year.  The lines of the pattern paired with a flowy rayon seem like the perfect combination for a maxi skirt.

I got this amazing rayon challis from Indiesew almost exactly a year ago, right when I decided to make this skirt, ha!  You can see how badly I needed Sew the Year to finally tackle projects that have been laying around forever.  

I decided to pair the fun retro floral pattern of the skirt with my beloved chambray Cheyenne.  It’s a fun way to make a lightweight skirt work during the winter without being too heavy.

Phinney Ridge Duster Cardi

Who knew I would love a duster cardi as much as I love this Phinney Ridge duster cardi.  I just keep looking at the pictures and am surprised I like it so much.  I am convinced it’s the amazing loose weave sweater knit I picked up at Joann Fabrics.  It gives it such a light flowy look that suits my body shape so much.

When I designed the Phinney Ridge I was going for a classic cardi that was missing in the indie pattern market.  What I didn’t even consider was how it could easily be made into a long or extra long cardi with just a few alterations.  So today I am sharing the alterations you need to do to lengthen your Phinney Ridge into any length, although I would encourage a duster length!

Bra Making

Watson Bra | Straight Stitch Designs | First Time Sewing a Bra 

When I decided to add a little bra making to my list of sews for Sew the Year February I was nervous it was going to be a bit of a disaster.  I mean, I have been putting this pattern off for 2 years, so it must be a hard as I had built it up to be in my head.  Even my husband was a bit skeptical that I was sewing a bra.