Year: 2016

Happy 3-Year Sewiversary!

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(To me) :) It’s that time of year again! Time to reflect on the past year of sewing and make some new goals for next year. I love having goals but I don’t always keep up with them. At the moment I can’t even remember what some of last year’s were… so let’s see how they turned out, shall we… :) 1. Make Halloween costumes! Yes… absolutely, this happened big time!   Here’s a round up of my Halloween posts: 2 September – fabric share (at the bottom of the post) 10 September – progress check (at the bottom of the post) – completed Olaf’s under layers (onesie and leggings) and main costume body, and Anna’s long sleeve shirt 19 September – Anna’s bodice (drafting, muslins, and make-shift machine embroidery) and skirt (pattern alterations) 28 October – progress shots of Anna’s skirt, Olaf’s headpiece/hat, Elsa’s dress, and Kristoff’s tunic 28 October – Super Girl! 1 November – Frozen… the round up! Phew… we’ll see what I got myself into as we get closer to Halloween this year… …

Pattern Testing: Button Up Pencil Skirt

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My goodness, there are so many projects to catch up on and talk about! But for now, I’m just popping in to mention my latest pattern testing adventure with The Ruffled Stitch and her most recent pattern — The Button Up Pencil! I have to admit, I’m a huge sucker for pencil skirts. Dress them up, dress them down – ladies always look so polished in a pencil skirt, am I right? I often feel like I’m not fancy enough to wear them, but I generally just pretend I’m more sophisticated than I am and wear them anyway. ;) My closet is home to a good number of pencil skirts, but very few casual ones. That’s why I jumped on the chance to test this pattern! The pattern has 2 versions – Version One with buttons all the way down, a back yoke, back pockets – the whole deal… and Version Two – the one I made – is a little more simple with a partial button placket and plain back – which just calls out to be sewn …

A Bridal Shower Charleston Dress + a few extras :)

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So I was on the hunt for the perfect pattern for this dress for a while. I had my fabric picked out (although I changed it up last minute and got a different lace).  I knew I was looking for knee length, somewhat form fitting or a-line, preferably sleeveless, and something that I could do a double layer with lace overlay. I had a few picked out but nothing seemed quite right. Luckily that was right about the time that Adrianna released her Charleston Dress pattern… and my decision was done! Bonus points that it had pockets… that was a total win because B loves pockets!   This, BTW, is my beautiful BFF who you’ve probably seen pop up here a time or two as she’s one of the very few people that I will actually sew things for. It’s a very short list. Anyway, she’s getting married next month in Maui (sooo excited!) Of course I had to do something special for her shower, so I told her I’d make her dress. I got the …

Straight Stitch Designs View Ridge Top

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I recently got a chance to test the latest pattern from Straight Stitch Designs and as per usual… surprise, surprise… it’s a wonderful pattern! :) There’s just something about Kimberly’s designs that I’m really drawn to… it’s all in the details, and the View Ridge is no exception! For my tester version, I used this plain black cotton voile from Fabric Wholesale Direct, purchased back in September at the same time as all of my fabrics for Super Girl ;) It was pretty thin, so for the main body of the tank, I cut two of everything and doubled it up – which worked wonders. I did that for everything except the ruffle, where I figured I didn’t need the extra layer of bulk.     The whole thing came together fairly quickly. And of course, no black shirt (or any shirt for that matter… or any meal) would be complete around here without a little white dog hair, thanks to that little one there on the right. See… even Finn can’t take a picture without having a chunk of …

MMM’16 Pledge + a Dressy Talk Blouse for Easter

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It’s that time of year again! That time when the online sewing community comes together in a beautiful way to take over the internet with handmade clothing. It’s the time of year that makes my heart smile :) Or, you know… beat faster… maybe… anyway, it’s a fun time, so of course I’m joining in. Here’s my pledge: I, Kyla of lifebyky.com and @kylakulaky on IG, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’16. I’m going the traditional route and endeavor to wear one me-made item each day for the duration of May 2016. Let’s get this started! :D  I feel like it’s going to be a bit more challenging than last year because I haven’t added very many items to my wardrobe since then (when I said I would wear each one of my handmade items at least once throughout the month because I didn’t have enough to fill up the month), and I’ve also gotten rid of a few. I might have to get creative and/or repeat a bunch… we shall see. ALSO hoping to get …