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

Not very glamorous or very exciting but you cannot beat a comfy warm pair of fleece trackpants when the weather is getting colder. I wore them all day today (excuse the wrinkles and bits of thread all over them!) and they were the ultimate comfy trackie dacks. I have an old pair of Bonds trackpants that I use for painting now but they are a very similar pant so I copied the pockets from them. They are an inseam pocket with the back fleece and the front a thinner interlock to cut down on bulk and they have the top of the pockets sewn into the waistband. I should have interfaced the pocket opening because they really started to stretch/stand out out so I unpicked some of the topstitching and threaded through elastic and restitched the ends. It makes them look a bit buckled when lying flat but make them sit nice and flat against my legs when I'm wearing them. The pattern says to use self fabric for the waistband but again I copied my old Bonds ones and used ribbing, left off the tie a...

A couple months ago BadMomGoodMom stumbled across her local jobber selling silks at $2.99/yd.  She very kindly facilitated my purchase of some of them, including this print.  It's so wacky-cool, with not one, not two, but THREE different animal prints (blue cheetah spots, green zebra stripes, and the pinkish/brown wings) and such excellent quality (thick, fluid, doesn't crease too badly) that I think it has to be designer.  It immediately made me think it was going to have to be a 20s inspired look.  Although the cheetah/zebra isn't very period-correct, the wings seem just about right. I had been thinking possibly Burda 03-2013-113 , but when I got June's issue I had to make Burda 06-2013-102 right away.  It's even a petite (though I've mentioned before that I don't think Burda actually has/uses a petite sloper), meaning I didn't have to grade to a 34 in the bodice.  I cut my usual 34 at the bust, 36 at the waist, and 38 at the hips (or 17/18/19 in pet...

  I've seen a few of these bunting quilts lately, I really like them and after making this one I'm sold! I used the Melly & Me Bunting Quilt pattern and the fabrics are from the Little Kukla range by Robert Kaufmann . I made it for my friends daughter so pieced her name in the back, it adds a nice personal touch that I really like. I made the templates for the triangles up out of template plastic from spotlight and the purple background is a Prima cotton from Spotlight as well.   It went together really quickly and is a really good use of fabric, I only got 1/2 yard cuts of the 5 fabrics and I have enough leftover for a cot quilt and scraps. I borrowed my next door neighbours clothesline for the pics, thanks Sheree! (and gee I need to put a hairdye through my hair, lol!)

The first thing my daughter requested when I made her these pants were some pockets. These were quite simple to add on and I thought I'd show how I did it; Firstly, get the side pattern piece Then work out where you'd like the top of the pocket to fall, we went with 6" from the top of the pattern piece and how deep you'd like the pockets, ours are 8" deep. Next, put some tracing paper over the pattern and trace the pocket out, adding 1.5cm seam allowance to the bottom and 1" for a fold over to the top. I sloped the top to add some interest but you don't need to do that. Don't forget to add grain lines and notches to the pocket pattern! Cut out the pockets, turn over and interface the top 1.5-2" for some added stability to the pocket opening. Finish the top and bottom of the pocket (I serged it) Then turn under the seam allowances on the top and bottom and press. Top stitch the top of the pocket. Line up the pocket using the notches and then baste...

Now that Kwik Sew has been taken over by BMV, it is included in the sales so I have acquired a number of their patterns. Source: shop.nordstrom.com via Trena on Pinterest One of the patterns I picked up is Kwik Sew 3915 , a t-shirt with two neckline options.  I've seen this style of collar in a number of ready-to-wear pieces, including this St. John's Knit ($295).  You know how much I love t-shirt variations, so I had to give this one a try.  I used one of the athletic knits from Fabric Mart .  This is a really nice thick and beefy knit with good recovery.  I almost regretted using it for regular clothes because it is definitely athleticwear-worthy! Full disclosure:  it's unfair to call this a review of Kwik Sew 3950, because the only thing from the KS pattern in the finished top is the width of the collar.  I used the body of my TNT tee so I wouldn't have to worry about fit, copying the KS neckline onto it, and then ended up altering the neckline su...

I was lucky enough to get picked to pattern test these (I am such a fan girl, I was so excited to get that email!). They are a pajama/lounging pant with an elastic waist and side panels that have optional piping on them. I ran out of satin for the piping so only put piping on the front seam. I made a size 16 with about 1" added to the inner seam on the back and front legs. They are generously cut though and easy to adjust with the elastic waist. The only thing to note is the side pattern piece stays the same for all the sizes so you don't see as much of the piping as you would in the smaller sizes, next version I think I'll take an inch from each of the front and back pieces and add them to the side pattern piece. I did a 3 step zig zag around the top of the waistband to keep the elastic from twisting. I love the waistband tie, its nice and long! The fabric is a vintage rayon I bought a couple of years ago, I got it on ebay and its moderately faded out, enough so that I d...