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

... is the sleek shaping. And thanks to Kristy from HandmadeRetro for her quick proof-reading  (see first comment below) I will also add in that this pattern is Vogue 8759 ... Son J has a athletic figure, with broad shoulders and a smaller waist, so the typical menswear shirt with a back pleat just billows out around his waist. This shirt has princess-style seaming in the back to allow for a closer fit at the waist. Don't giggle at the 'man-boobs!' Apparently one of the current season trends for young guys shirts is having them move away from the typical plains, stripes or plaids that have been around prior to Summer. Floral is the new Plain! Floral shirts (shorts and tees) have been seen everywhere for young guys, and actually look quite good.  Front yoke and inside-out collar This shirt is made from a piece of Japanese cotton, currently on sale at Spotlight. It is light and breathable, and fits the bill of being 'on-trend!' The shirt is quite a slim fit compare...

  I've had this stretchy thin wale corduroy in my stash for awhile, I got it on the clearance table at Spotlight ages ago. Its got a lot of stretch and is a purple/burgundy colour. I used Vogue 8774 again and since I only did shorts on the last pair I didn't realise the legs were so straight. I shaped them a bit to be tighter on the thigh and flare slightly from the knee but next version I'm going to frankenpattern on the Thurlow legs. I did an adjustable waistband again, I stuffed up somehow though and did the waistband narrower than the last pair and couldn't do any topstitching as I could only barely fit the elastic through! I used a metal zipper and the facings are cotton that was from a garage sale. I've never had a pair of corduroy pants before and they feel funny to walk in, its like the cord acts like Velcro on itself! They are seriously comfy though and something different than the usual denim jeans plus it was stash fabric!

... it was this easy!!! We all know that parenting requires a great sense of humour. Luckily, this couple have it in abundance!  Enjoy!!! Canadian photographer Patrice Laroche surely will have no trouble explaining to his kids about the birds and the bees. During his wife Sandra Denis’ pregnancy, the artist created hilarious explanatory photo series titled “ How to Make a Baby ”.  The creative couple planned and carried out their project throughout the whole period of 9 months, taking pictures in the exact same settings as Sandra’s belly expanded. The pregnancy saga of Sandra and Patrice basically denounces the traditional under-the-cabbage and delivered-by-stork stories. I know this isn't sewing related in the slightest - but how much fun this would have been to do ...

... that I will never, ever cut into! This piece of fabric is destined to remain at the back of my stash, rarely seeing the light of day.  Do I like it ... NO!  If it wasn't so special, would I make something from it ... NO!  But untouched it will remain for my entire life. One of my lucky kids (sorry!!!) will inherit this piece of fabric with strict instructions to " Never-ever-cut-it-or-else !" And they both know when I am serious! So, what is this piece of fabric ... ... 1 yard of tweed! Enough for a skirt!  And it's specialness lies in the fact that my Grandmother purchased this little fabric package in 1961, when visiting Scotland, and returned with it to Australia. She never sewed with it, so passed it onto my Mum, who also never felt inclined to make it up. On Mum's passing I inherited it, and there is no way I am going to be the first in three generations to cut into this fabric. This piece of tweed comes complete with a label, zipper, lining and instructi...

... is a part of successful sewing! Should we be looking to quantify how much fabric is in the good old stash in measurement terms (that's metric for me), as well as the dollar value of the fabric? I think we would all be amazed at the investment we have made - who needs real-estate in retirement! There is a bit of a start-of-the-year trend happening, to find the best use of the hoarded fabric stash, and the best management of that ever growing stockpile of luxurious fabric. We have all spent so much time, and money on our stashes, whether it is one piece of must-have fabric, or shelf loads. We build the fabric stash, just like we build our homes - with love, care and thought! From the blogs popping up at the moment, it seems that many (many, many, many) of us just simply collect fabric. We see a bolt of fabric that just 'grabs us' and we simply just have to have it. Beautiful fabric that we simply must own, we buy a length and take home with us. There is no garment in mind...

Trina Turk Ruched Ponte Dress, $328 Source: saksfifthavenue.com via Trena on Pinterest This look is fairly popular in RTW, and I've made a couple of pieces with these side pleats, notably my red Simplicity 2053  (and Butterick 5672  in a knit). However, in past projects the pleats have not quite worked, being too poofy over the stomach and emphasizing rather than disguising it.   Simplicity 2337 's pleats are contained by the princess seams, so they do not radiate over the entire front of the dress.  It turns out that is the key to wearing this style for me.  When they are the entire width of the front there is too much room for them to open up over the belly.  Over a narrower area, they are contained and stay put. Source: promadvice.com via Trena on Pinterest I wasn't sure if the denim would end up looking dated, but this collection of denim dresses convinced me otherwise. There is a printing error on the pattern.  What appears to be the lower bu...

"I, Suzy, commit to using as many pieces as possible of stash fabric in 2013. I am committing to not buying any fabric just because its cheap and only getting fabric I have a clear idea for and is a natural fabric (no more polyester knits!)"  Shelves of apparel fabric So the stash.....when I started sewing I would buy one piece of fabric, sew it up then buy another.....That went out the window pretty quick! To be fair, I only have Spotlight and Lincraft locally so when I see anything of decent quality on the clearance table/on sale I tend to snatch it up, but I still have way too much fabric and its time to cut right back!  Quilting fabric stash I'm going to the Melbourne shopping day in February so I'm not buying anything until then and then am hoping to get over to Melbourne again in August for another shopping trip (yay, tax time!). Plus any extra money saved is going towards a new sewing machine (Janome 1600p-qc, mainly for quilting but will be used for no...