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

One of the things I've been meaning to get into my wardrobe is a pullover top with a cut on sleeve.  It's a dolman top, so how hard can it be?  But I've been too lazy to draft my own, so when Joann had Simplicity at 5 for $5, I picked up  Simplicity 1805 .  Had it been $2 I wouldn't have gotten it. Zooey Deschanel in Derek Lam It turned out to be fortuitous because I got a haircut the next day, which is a whole other conversation, and while I was waiting I picked up the Lucky magazine they had out and was instantly enchanted with this dolman top on Zooey Deschanel.  It's Derek Lam, and I just love how the simplicity lets the fabric be the star, and the perfect proportions.  And I already had the pattern!  The "Eh, it's only a dollar, it's ok if I end up giving it away" pattern was muslined and earmarked for a fabulous silk within 24 hours! This has been a popular style with designers for several years.  There are plenty more examples out there, li...

I had a fairly small piece of this Fabric Mart yellow wool crepe (purchased in October 2010 for $9.99/yd) leftover from a dress that I made last winter (and haven't blogged about because I want to change the skirt from dirndl gathers to darts but haven't).  I couldn't make my usual A line skirt  so I looked for an interesting pencil skirt pattern.  The curved darts on Burda 07-2010-120  and I decided to give it a shot. The dirty little secret nobody talks about with wool is that it wrinkles as much as linen, maybe more.  Or maybe this doesn't happen to anyone else? To try to keep the wrinkling under control (I sound like I'm talking about my face, ha!), I decided to underline the skirt in silk organza.  For the back, I treated the organza and wool as one at the darts, sewing them together.  However, for the front darts I wanted to take maximum advantage of wool's moldability with steam.  Getting those darts flat was going to be crucial to making ...

I've joined into the Lekala sewalong hosted by Lara at Thornberry . The pattern is 4329 and since Lekala has personalised sizes the theory is that we shouldn't have to adjust the pattern........except for me, lol. I printed out and taped together the pattern this week. I used my measurements plus adding extra to the back, high waist and making the upper arm 17". Once the pattern was printed (and I checked the 4" printing square) I doubled checked the arm measurement and it was only 16".....based on that I decided to make a muslin. Now while I really do like Lekala patterns my biggest issue with them is that they work off full bust and don't add an option for a FBA (though they do now allow for a narrow shoulder option and I really should have added that), so the shoulders were too wide on me. Adjustments I made after the first muslin; Added 2" to the bicep width Added .5" to the back width. Took in the waist 1" at the centre back. Petited the...

  We have been having a heatwave lately, had the hottest day on record a couple of weeks ago. I've never been so thankful to work in an airconditioned office! But it means I need more hot weather pants to wear. Its funny how sometimes we find a TNT early on and don't appreciate it until we try different patterns! I actually muslined up the StyleArc Tori pant first but found the fit on the legs was terrible on me, my legs must curve in a lot and the Tori pant curves out so they got chucked and out came this pattern again. Same as last time , I cut about a sz 24 adjusted with my pants block and the fabric is bengaline from Lincraft. I got rid of the waistband and instead used a fold over waistband. They fit really well and are so comfy to wear! I added pockets on but since I'd raised the back height they are way too low, I used steam a seam before I topstitched though so those suckers are staying put! I've changed the pattern for next time to raise them buy a couple of in...

This rayon/mohair suiting fabric was a Fabric Mart Crazy Price $2.99/yd item that I got in September of last year .   I wasn't sure if it would be too shiny (the description was slightly alarming) but it turns out to be a very lovely rich navy with a hint of sheen, though because of the high rayon content it wrinkles fairly heavily when sitting on it.  All in all a pretty good buy (not that I ever need more fabric). In deciding what to make with it, I was heavily influenced by this Antonio Berardi ($2065).  I love the cowl, the wide corset-style midriff, and the slightly drop waist.  I remembered that Burda 03-2012-104  had very similar lines and just had to make it.  Spoiler alert:  Mine does not capture the magic of the inspiration dress. The major issue with the Burda was the narrow, cut-in shoulder.  I wanted full shoulder coverage with a sleeve so I needed to extend the shoulder.  The upper cowl portion of the front is cut with a full se...