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

Jason Wu Source: vogue.com via Trena on Pinterest I have collectively spent much more time on Pinterest than on actually making things inspired by Pinterest, but add another project to the list!  I was really struck by this $2590 J. Mendel dress --I love the contrast raglan sleeves, trim down the front, and full-skirted shape in a sophisticated fabric.  I thought it might be a good use for the remainder of the silk suiting I used for my A line skirt .  Then I saw Burda 08-2012-120 and knew it was fate.  I used the skirt from Butterick 5315 , which I meant to mention at the time was very nicely drafted.  It fit on the bodice with no changes, cutting size 10 at the waist. After I'd made it, I saw the Jason Wu at left in a similar style. I first made my broad back and small bust adjustments and then made a quick muslin of the bodice (these are the final pattern pieces, after taking length out of the bodice and adding width at the center front and side seams). Th...

I still stand by my statement that a pencil skirt is more flattering for a pear , but a pencil skirt is awfully difficult to ride a bike in.  So I accepted that I was going to need to find the perfect A line skirt.  When I saw Simplicity 2211 , a Lisette pattern, I thought it had promise.  Darted skirts can be tricky for me because of my round belly in the front and caboose in the back.  The front darts are usually too much, and the back darts are too little.  The princess lines on this one take the place of darts, so there's no chance of pooching and poking and pointiness. I've made this skirt three times already, and it got the royal treatment of being traced onto tissue paper and having interfacing fused to the back.  This is an awesome way to preserve a much used pattern.  As a bonus, the interfacing sticks to some kind of fabrics (does anyone else remember flannel boards?) making the cutting layout quicker because it requires fewer pins.  My ...

DD (aged 19ish!) is out shopping with the girlfriends and sends me the following photo.... ...and the added request of ' can I make this but without the threads hanging, hole in the side seam, baggy boob covers and crooked hemline?'  And reading between the lines I also could add 'within her price range, in her length (she is 6'2"!!!) and this weekend!!!'  These light weight chiffon summer tops seem to be all the trend for the coming summer months for the younger age group. From the picture, I do like the use of 3 colours to also tick the colour-blocking-trend box. A simple loose design without many seams was needed to compliment the fabric. Chiffon is usually such a fiddly fabric, but well worth perserving with. And I will be in my element of joy with making a shirt, with French Seams! Ahhh, heaven... So my plan of attack is to cutout a shirt from what I have, using pattern 6436 from McCall's. The sleeveless View A will be ideal, though minus the shoulde...

  Source: rstyle.me via Tatiana on Pinterest I am still looking for a pattern for my special mustard wool fabric--purchased two years ago now!--and decided to give New Look 6067 a try.  The triple front darts add visual interest, and the slit neckline is a different look for me.  I like it in the dress at left (it was on Piperlime but no longer available; I have no idea who made it or how much it cost ). Thanks to sewisewedthis , I now know this is the Milly Mariella Windowpane Tweed Pencil Premium Work Dress, $187. I did my usual litany of adjustments (broad back, small bust, etc.), including swayback adjustment.  For dresses with a seam at natural waist, I split the swayback adjustment between the bodice and the skirt, as you can see.  Unfortunately, I should also have shaped the center back seam and taken just a little more length out.  Scroll up to the composite and you can see the swayback problem.  Ick.  I'll have to wear it with a belt ...

The second (and last) project I got done last month during PR's Pattern Stash Contest was Simplicity 2177 .  I'd bought this for my sad orphaned Parisian fabric that I bought in 2008 that I just can't find the right project for.  It's a batiste, so it will need underlining, and has an embroidered motif that reads as very wide stripes.  It's a challenge.  I had considered this pattern for it, but in the end decided it wasn't quite right.  Then I got the inspiration to use it as this border print fabric, inverting the border at the bodice's triangle insert to emphasize it and add some balance to the dress. Source: shefinds.com via Trena on Pinterest After I'd finished my dress I found this virtually identical J. Crew dress on Pinterest.  The J. Crew's skirt many more and smaller pleats than the Simplicity and the J. Crew's bust darts come from the side seam, rather than the center bodice seam.   But still.  Very similar. I'm not sure when t...