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

OK, my first goal of my summer holidays (5 1/2 long luxury weeks) is to finish up all the bits and pieces I have started during the year. Time to either finish, fix or dispose of. No longer will they be sitting staring at me each time I start a new project. First off is a summery dress for my daughter.  What a fun little number this dress was to make! With the strangely shaped bodice piece and the other multiple pattern pieces that would somehow make up the bodice it was certainly going to be one of the more unusual patterns I have worked with. The pattern envelope really doesn't do it any justice. On the photographed model it is just way too difficult to see the pleats and darts that are intrinsic to the design of the bodice. For the amount of work that goes into the bodice alone, you do want the details to be noticed. Now like most garments sewn, I started off prowling around at PR researching how others had tackled this dress. I read all of the reviews in ...

It is that time ... the last week of work for the year!!!  2011 Work Year virtually ticked off.  One more week and then 6 glorious weeks of rest and relaxation - read sewing, sewing, sewing Usually at this time of year I am ultra busy at school -  testing, writing reports, tidying up loose ends, but for some reason this year school life is well and truly under control. So under control I actually had plenty of time this weekend to sew.  Even though I have more than enough mix and match outfits to see me out for 1 more week, I naturally want to wear something 'new' to the class party, and also for the last day of school. Mind you it is a bit silly to be wearing something new on the last day - clean-up day - so will probably wear it on the second last day. Last day is typically 'daggy old day', filled with scrubbing desks and tidy trays. Back to the latest outfits. Have had 2 beautiful pieces of fabric watching me for most of the year, just enough in each to m...

I fell in love with McCall 6279 as soon as it came out. Although I bought the Butterick 5598 Suzi Chin trench dress when it came out a couple of months later, I like the McCall better and when I found this seersucker-esque fabric on the $2.97/yd table at G Street I couldn't wait to make it. I cut my usual size in the pattern, 8 at the shoulder and bust, 10/12 (somewhere in between) at the waist, and 12/14 at the hip. As usual for a princess seam, I flattened the bust curve on the side front for a small bust adjustment. Once it was put together it was still a little loose at the bust and waist, so I took in the side seam on the front only to fine tune the fit. In addition to the SBA, I did a swayback adjustment similar to this as per usual. I have a hard time fitting dresses without a waist seam--to get a true fit would require so much distortion that it would change the grainline and alter the hang of the fabric. So you can see there is still some swayback bunching. I w...

I went to New York to speak at a conference a couple weeks ago. I was a tiny bit grumpy about going because I had been traveling so much the previous few weeks and had a cold coming on. But at least, among all the work, I found a little bit of time to visit the garment district. The bulk of my purchases are pretty boring--lining and interfacing--but I did get a few pretties in fashion fabric. On the train up to New York I had actually been thinking that I need to let go of my snakeskin Burda 09-2009-123 wrap blouse . I really love the blouse and it is so different for me, but without a broad back adjustment it's just not wearable. I popped the underarm seam on first wear from the strain of, you know, reaching onto my desk to get a pen. I cannot move in it. So I had given myself permission to seek fabric to replace it. And lo and behold I found this piece in Chic Fabrics, a silk chiffon with a crepey texture for $10/yd. I don't like the print quite as much as the origi...

Nothing suits the thoughts of summer in Brisbane better than a long, lazy brunch. Taking advantage of our brilliant weather and gorgeous summer mornings enjoying brunch outside. A meditative way to say "hello" to the day...  So, naturally first thoughts are 'What to wear???' Since it is a time to relax, feelings tend to be towards a summer bathrobe. But what do you envisage when you hear the word 'bathrobe'? They do have a 'Granny' tendency behind them. Boring!!! Not a great range of style options or colours. They are a little on the dated 'Grandma' side, or the 'don't look at me I'm married with kids' look. And we all try to avoid that rut in life. A little to 'housy' for my likings. So, what is a sewer to do??? Quite naturally, make her own. Enter McCalls 5248 - an Easy Endless Options range of a robe and summer PJ's. I fell in love with this summery fabric from Spotlight and could just picture starting my days off...

To celebrate the anniversary of PatternReview 's founding, sewing meetups were held around the world last Saturday. We were lucky enough to have Nikki to organize us in DC, and we had a wonderful day together. While I got photos of some of our stops, I totally spaced on getting pictures of actual people so I've borrowed this one from SewandWrite. We started our morning at The Textile Museum , a gem of a place near DuPont Circle. I admit that I don't come here as often as I should because I am spoiled by all the free museums available, but the Textile Museum asks only $8 as a donation and the exhibits are always top notch. The museum was very welcoming to us--they offered us coffee and tea and let us congregate in a conference room until everyone arrived. The current exhibit on the ground floor focuses on the weaving and embroidery of central Africa, roughly in what is now the Congo. The textiles are created with threads processed from palm frond, which are fairly sho...

I was at G Street Fabrics on Saturday for the totally innocent purpose of attending Fashion Sewing Club and picking up my serviced machine (woohoo!  you cannot imagine how I missed it).  Well, the classroom for FSC is over by the $2.97/yd table so I was practically forced to look on it.  I had been quite unsatisfied with my top options for the Tweed Ride and then I saw this fabric which could not have been more what I was looking for than had I designed the textile myself.  I love, love the mustard color, and the sheer mesh with polka dots was just so appealing to me that I snapped it up. I knew I wanted a high-necked top--it just seems part of the style--which is not something I normally go for.  I went through my back issues and settled on Burda 08-2008-108 , a mock turtleneck knit tee with raglan cap sleeves. I was at first unconvinced about the raglan sleeves--with my narrow, sloping shoulders they are not always a great look for me--but in the end I just l...