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

After seeing the horror that was the back of my Burda 10-2011-123 wrap dress (left), I decided to devote some time to rescuing it.  To me, going back to a project that is done is like mending:  soooo much worse than just starting from scratch.  So it took a lot of self-prodding to get back into it. As drafted, the dress has released darts in front and back.  To improve the back fit, I made the darts wider and closed them up at top and bottom.  I experimented with closing the front darts as well, but it didn't add anything.  Adjusting the side seams wasn't effective either.  I also wore my silk slip to ensure it flowed smoothly over my tights.  The back fit is vastly improved, as you can see above, although it still does not look 100% great with a belt . I also hand-stitched the two ends of the removed ties together to make a self belt.  The bow looks much better when tied on the same side as the flounce, though I opted for the obi when I wo...

A Notion To Sew has nominated me for the Leibster Award Blog! Four other great blogs where also honoured so make sure you check them out. The Liebster is a award for those who have less than 200 followers but deserves a lot more recognition and following as they build up their blogs. It is a way for bloggers to help each other out by spreading the word about their sewing blogs. The rules for this award are: Thank the blogger who nominated your blog by linking back to them (see above). Nominate 5 other blogs with less than 200 followers each - can I say 200 followers seems so far away!!! I would be so ecstatic to reach 100. Copy & Paste the award on your blog. Hope that the 5 you nominate will keep the cycle going to spread all that good blogging karma! Anyway, after much deliberation, I would like to pay the Liebster award forward to: 1. You sew, girl! 2. With Needle and Brush  3. Vacuuming the Lawn 4. Su Sews So-So 5. Sewing on Pins Enjoy!!!

When I made my Burda 09-2010-111 wrap blouse out of silk georgette in my favorite shade of olive (from G Street's $7.97/yd silk novelty table; with discount and coupon I paid $5/yd) I managed to lay out the fabric to be able to make a skirt as well. Source: arizonafoothillsmagazine.com via Trena on Pinterest Source: richesforrags.tumblr.com via Trena on Pinterest I am very drawn to the ballerina style skirt, as shown by my Pinterest picks!  While I don't know that I could go full-on tutu like the look on the right (at least for daytime/work), I could at least take advantage the airy properties of my silk georgette to get a little of the same feel. I just used simple rectangles for this self-drafted skirt:  two for the skirt, French-seamed together, and one for the waistband, heavily interfaced. A traditional dirndl skirt is gathered, but I wanted a touch more sophistication so I pleated the fabric instead.  I didn't measure, just eyeballed and pinned out the pleats, ...

When I was in New York a couple years ago, Kashi talked me into some gorgeous but expensive ($18/yd) double-sided wool.  The right side is a beautiful lustrous turquoise, and the underside is a rich black.  At the time, it was my most expensive fabric ever, so of course it was a huge dilemma of what to make with it.  I wanted to be able to use both sides of the fabric in a subtle way. This has been on the list for a while, and I took advantage of a burst of cold weather a couple weeks ago to get it done and wear it.  Though tracing and cutting took a bit of time, the dress was actually fairly quick to put together. So when I got the magazine, Burda 10-2011-123 really jumped out at me.  As you can see on the left, the flounce is cut in an improbable shape and ends up showing both sides of the fabric. Tany made this shortly after the magazine came out and I just loved hers.  This dress comes in long, longer, and longest versions.  As I am short, shor...

So, I've been feeling a little out of control on fabric buying lately.  I decided that I would not buy any fabric during Lent.  It's not that long, and heaven knows I don't need more fabric, or at least no need would arise in 6 weeks. I blame Cidell for this.  She sent me a tweet from Fabric Mart about it receiving a shipment of Dry Flex knit.  You know I've been looking for good quality knits for months.  They had it in peacock, one of my favorite colors.  I tried my mantra, "There will always be more fabric."  (My other mantra:  "Buying more fabric keeps me from projects I love.")  But in fact, this kind of fabric is not easy to find and definitely not at that price, and Fabric Mart's stock was quite limited. Because it has flat rate shipping, it is just economically foolish to buy only one piece of fabric from Fabric Mart.  Right?  (OK, fine, I know that the best "bargain" is spending no money at all.)  But they were also h...

Source: etsy.com via Trena on Pinterest Pinterest really does have a use!  Although admittedly the time I spend on Pinterest is disproportionate to the actual creative output that results. I pinned the top at left (from Etsy) a while back.  I just love the ruffle.  It's visually interesting without being too girly. Source: travelsmith.com via Trena on Pinterest The asymmetric ruffle is a fairly common feature in RTW, as on this Travelsmith tee ($54), with its half neckline flounce that trails down slightly off from center front. Source: bluefly.com via Trena on Pinterest Another example is this RED Valentino top ($59.99 on deep discount at Bluefly), with applied ruffles in mixed materials. Source: bluefly.com via Trena on Pinterest A little wilder is this Shoshanna one shoulder top ($159, Bluefly).  It's hard to tell for sure, but it looks like the ruffle is a couple inches in from the side seam.  I like the way it meanders from the neckline to the hem. ...

I have been wanting to make Burda 01-2009-110 , a mock wrap top with a side panel, since it came out in the magazine.  I even traced it about a year ago, but hadn't gotten around to it.  While the serger was threaded in red, I finally did it in the sparkle sweater knit I just got from Fabric.com. Unfortunately, I didn't make a great choice in the fabric, as it is just too much bulk for this particular pattern.  The stretch and recovery are also not firm enough.  So beware:  if you want to make this top, to use a normal knit with a good lycra content, not a specialty knit like sweaterknit or rib knit. I did my usual Small Bust Adjustment for a crossover top of shortening the crossover.  This top has separate right and left front patterns, so be sure to adjust both (or not, read on). To further ensure that I would have no gapage in wearing, I finished the neckline with clear elastic cut slightly shorter than the neckline and a twin needle. Note that although ...