Flannel Gelato Blouse

I was drawn to the Liesl + Co. Gelato Blouse pattern as soon as it was released. The easy shape is casual, but put-together at the same time. Although the weather in Bogota is the same year-round, seeing people’s fall and winter clothes on Instagram put me in a cuddly frame of mind, and I got the idea to sew the blouse in flannel.

 

High round back adjustment

If you have been reading this blog at all lately, you'll know that I've recently become enamored of a new fitting technique: the high round back adjustment. I've written a photo tutorial for the adjustment, and you can find it over on the Oliver + S blog today.

Can you do a narrow shoulder adjustment in place of a full bust adjustment?

As someone who always has to do a full bust adjustment (FBA), I've long wondered whether it would be possible to replace this adjustment with the simpler narrow shoulder adjustment. If choosing a size based on your full bust results in a too-big shoulder, wouldn't doing a narrow shoulder adjustment on that size fix the problem? I decided to try it out.

New Look 6582 sewing pattern review

I'm so glad to have finally sewed this fabric, which I bought more than three years ago. I've always loved it but just didn't have a pattern for it. Then this summer I bought New Look 6582 and a match was made.

Self-drafted t-shirt pattern

I should start by noting that this all started quite on a whim. A true flight of fancy. And as they are prone to do, this particular fancy has already flown. But I thought someone might be interested in reading about my experience dipping my toe into the world of pattern drafting, so here we are.

Green Blackwood

Three years ago, I made a bright green Lisbon cardigan. It was, hands down, my favorite item of clothing. I wore that cardigan constantly for two years, until a giant purple splotch, about the size of a half-dollar, appeared on the back.  I have no idea what caused the stain or where it came from, but no amount of stain-treating would get it out. It was a sad day when I realized this, so I'm just going to take a moment to reminisce about my favorite me-made ever ...

Plantains again

Today I've got a couple more Plantain tees to show you, which I think brings my total up to roughly 11,000 items sewn from this pattern.

I made both tees from the original (non-updated) pattern in a size 40 shoulder widened to a 42 under the armscye and size 42 sleeves.  I think, at a glance, these tees look like they fit perfectly well, and I certainly would agree, were I to happen on them in a store.  But as usual, here I am picking apart every wrinkle and pucker.  Every time I critique the fit of my garments, I get encouraging comments saying that I'm too hard on myself, etc.  And I totally appreciate and get that.   I do wear these tees a lot, so my fit critiques don't really hinder the amount of use I get from a garment.  I just find that I kind of enjoy analyzing fit issues. I guess it's almost like a secondary hobby to my sewing. Anyone else do this?

Simplicity 1358 Sleeveless Maxi Dress Review

You know how sometimes your style is altered by those around you?  I'm that way when I spend time with my sisters-in-law on my husband's side.  I always feel as though they are a little more fashion-forward than I am.  In the summer, my uniform is skirts and tank tops.  But sometimes when we are together I can feel a little frumpy - particularly if we are going out.  They always wear cute dresses and I'm usually in the same old stuff I wear every day.  We had a family reunion at the lake last week, and this year, I was determined to be fashion-ready for any occasion.

Lago Tank Pattern Review

Virginia tends to be pretty steamy during the summer.  I wanted to make a few knit tank tops for our summer trip home since most of my summer clothes no longer fit.

Chambray Traveler Shirt

I sewed Simplicity 2246/Lisette Traveler last in 2014. It was actually one of my very first sewing blog posts.  I wore both versions constantly until I got pregnant later that year and couldn't fit into them anymore.  I packed them away into a bin of "skinny clothes," and there they sat until a couple of months ago, when I had finally lost enough weight to integrate them back into my wardrobe.  Once again, they are my favorite shirts to wear, so I decided it was time to make a new one.