Mirroring Suzy Bee Sews - Life So Strange It Should Be Fiction

Cidell and I had a little tug-of-war over this fabric on our Pilgrimage to Fabric Mart in November 2012 .  I won.  :-P  I figured I should sew up the fabric so that I wasn't being selfish for no reason.  It's ok to be selfish if there's a reason, right?  I perhaps should not have been so cruel as to force her to do the fashion photos, but a blogger's gotta do what she can to get good photos and she is my best photographer. My first instinct with a border print is to go wrap dress, but I felt like that was too predictable so I dove into the pattern stash.  I made the Knip Mode version of this top in December 2008  and it is still in my closet but I don't *quite* love it as it is a little shapeless through the waist area.  From the PR reviews, the Butterick looked a little less bulky and more fitted.  After much consideration, I decided I would take a chance on  Butterick 5495 . I like the idea of the pattern with its belly-disgui...

Sorry for my long disappearance!  I didn't mean to leave with no warning.  We had a series of deaths in the family, then went on vacation to get away from things, then the holiday season began...  Also, and this is so silly, but I *still* can't figure out how to get good pictures in my new place.  I tried a new location that might work.  I have been sewing a fair amount--especially right before my trip!--and hope to blog more regularly, at least once the holidays are over.  Thank  you to all who checked in on me; I really appreciate hearing from my sewing friends even when I appear to have dropped off the face of the earth!  I miss everyone. And due to my long absence, I am way off schedule for the seasons.  I made this during the pattern contest, which was in July.  It's not getting much wear now! Butterick 5490 has been on my list for a while now.  If you remember the Banana Republic Mad Men collection from a couple of y...

I sewed!  Pattern Review is having its stash contest this month.  I am not a contender, but it did help me focus in deciding what to make now that I can finally sew.  I decided on Butterick 5780, a pattern that surprisingly has not taken the blogosphere by storm.  It's a flattering, interesting sheath dress with nice design lines.  It's a copy of the Reiss Taruca Sculptured Dress, which was $340 according to this blog post.  I think the issue with the pattern that has held it back is its suggested fabric:  ponte. Let's talk about ponte. I think I have fallen out of love.  One the one hand, it is a miracle fabric.  A knit with all the easy-to-sew, easy-to-fit, easy-to-wear qualities we love, but that skims over all the lumps and bumps and is universally flattering.  What's not to love? One word: pilling.  For the love of all that is holy, the pilling.  While I've found a few gems of quality ponte, almost everything I make...

Butterick 5315 has been on my list for quite a while.   I bought this fabric from G Street's special cottons table in March 2010 for $5.88/yd.  I know I paired it with this orange tie silk at the time (the tie silk is from a bundle I split with Cidell in 2008), but I can't remember if I chose the pattern then or shortly after.   At any rate, I've been planning to make this for two years, if not a little longer.  In fact, I waited long enough that the pattern is now out of print.  Sometimes it's obvious why a pattern went out of print, but this is actually (relatively) well-drafted with nice details that aren't too trendy.  I don't know why they took this one off the market. This is a standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants project--I used a TON of techniques that I never would have worked out on my own: -Front placket method from Silhouette patterns as pointed out by Dana of Lean Mean Sewing Machine. -KBenco's Burrito method for yokes ...