it’s been a while since I posted to the blog. Today is the first day of Fall, my favorite Sew Season. I thought I would share a few things with you about what’s to come on rieshanicolles.com blog page. Lots of Jumpsuits, Cardigan’s, and maybe some sweaters will make an appearance this fall. Dresses are a given as I am loving the fall looks with a dress, tights, and a cute pair of booties.
The last pieces that I created were strictly for summer and I am making the transition of summer to fall outfits, now sure why, because there a few days of 80 – 90 temperatures in the upcoming forecast. I really need it cool off.
Here are a few of my fall outfits that I have made in the past. Stay tuned for October makes will be shown soon.
Clothes can help you transform into who you need to be perceived as. `Kerry Washington (Olivia Pope, Scandal)
Well not sure when that is going to be as the date keeps changing. That is not a complaint, it allows me more time to get my wardrobe together for when that date does happen.
The Simplicity 8982 pattern is a great starter to get your SewJo flowing again, mine never left, but if you are stuck in a funk and want to sew something quick and cute, this one would work to satisfy both of those elements.
I like easy to style and easy to dress up or down patterns. This pattern has a dress, 2 tops with different sleeve variations, and 2 skirts of different lengths. I am not a fan of the skirt, made it in 2019 and it just does not fit my body type. It was not cute. I have seen other sewist wear the skirt and it looks good on them, but not on me.
I had enough of this pretty fabric left from a jumpsuit I made for my wedding anniversary dinner in 2021. There are a few scraps left which I may turn into earrings or a bag. Stay tuned for those items, still deciding.
This is the 3rd dress that I have made with this pattern and it makes me happy each time. I love the fit and it the simplicity of the pattern. You can view my review of the first and second dresses here. You will see the skirt on the mannequin (Brittany), she wore it well.
Now that I have somewhat a “NORMAL” schedule, whatever that means, I am sewing more. July I made a few pieces, shorts, pants, tops, and currently on the sewing table is a kimono. I need to install the facing, but not sure I want the facing on, due to the print on the fabric to me it takes away from the print. I will pin and see how it looks. I may even do a poll on Instagram for some feedback. Here is the kimono in its unfinished state. I am using McCall’s 7790 View C and the sleeve variation from View B. I love a dramatic sleeve. I know some of my sew sisters have their eyes on my lining, but it hasn’t been pressed yet, get your eyeballs out of there, I know it’s showing.
For the next few weeks, I have my work cutout for me, yes pun intended. I have matched fabric and cut out several patterns to make for the few weeks. Hoping to have a small get away with the husband for our anniversary. Fingers crossed that COVID cases don’t shut us down again.
Any-who enough of that talk, you want to see what I have up next? Well here goes…
Simplicity 8177 – The Coat
I am making the coat version for our mini trip, this way I only need one coat to wear with every outfit. I picked a black ponte knit fabric for this one.
2. Simplicity 8790 The Hoodie in View D. The fabric selected is a gray sweatshirt fabric for cooler mornings as I like to walk in the morning to start the day.
3. Simplicity 1167 The Tank Top. Black Knit Fabric for the win. I can wear this with the pants that are number 4 and the coat from number 1.
4. Simplicity 8605 The Pants View E. I choose view to see if I will need to take of the usual 5″ of the bottom due to the pattern being 5″ longer than what I need. Once it’s cut I will measure it to see what, if any, alterations I will need to make. This fabric is a leftover piece from another project I made.
5. Simplicity 9268 Top and Pants
This one is not for our trip, but I love this outfit and I found this pretty pale pink . I think this a gauze. I will have to find the label for it, for details when it is completed. For now I am making a muslin of the top for fitting. Although is not a close to body fit, the size I think I need is really big, so I am making a muslin and will alter from there if needed.
I will need a few other pieces to go along with the ones posted here, but for now, so I am not overwhelmed this is all I have set out. I will add additional items when these are completed. Have a great week!!!!
Christmas is my favorite time of the year. All the love you feel, the joy it brings, the decorations, the lights, the food, family (social distance style of course), and most important of all JESUS is the reason for the season.
I love everything about this jumpsuit. The color, the ease of the pattern, the fit on my body with one alteration to the length.
Pattern Description: McCall’s 7910 Misses’ Jumpsuit Close-fitting, pull-on knit jumpsuits with lined bodice and leg variations. I choose the one shoulder bodice (pattern piece # 3) and wide leg pant leg variation (pattern piece #5).
Pattern Sizing: 6-14, I cut a size 14.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looks like the photo on the pattern envelope.
Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were easy to follow.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved the look of all the bodice’s, but didn’t like the exposed waistline, line. I made a belt to match the embellished shoulder, with a faux diamond studded trim and a bracelet that I found at Michael’s.
Fabric Used: Red Luxury Stretched Velvet from Califabrics. There are a few other colors available.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Like all jumpsuits, pants, or maxi dresses, I needed to remove 2 7/8″ from the length of the pants. The luxury of being able to create pants that fit me due to my height.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes I would sew this again, using either of the other bodice options and possibly the pant (pattern piece #6) that has the side slit on the pants leg. There isn’t anything wrong with the straight leg pants, it is just a personal preference for me on a jumpsuit to have a wider leg.
Conclusion: I loved how this turned out, the fit was perfect, no other alterations needed outside of the alteration for the length.
Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for following my blog!!!!
This McCall’s 8035, Misses’ Dresses, and the Sew Your View Instagram pick for April. I decided to save it as my Mother’s Day Dress. This dress is also going along with my May theme to make Me Made Maxi dresses, I love a cute Maxi and this one was easy to make.
I purchased this Cotton Shirting Fabric from Joann Fabric the link is here. It is selling fast so it may not be available anymore.
With the whole Quarantine thing still going on and a lot of us Sewist still practicing Social Distancing, my Sew Sister, Nola and I have been doing “virtual” sew alongs. This has been fun. We pick a pattern that we like and we make it. We have tons of messages going back and forth about what we are doing. We change our minds a lot, LOL, about pattern selection, fabric choice, what order we want to sew the patterns, and we even scrap some patterns, because the pattern says easy and there is way too many steps. It is working out as if we were face to face, we laugh at each other and have the best time. I think this quarantine thing has made us closer. Love that. I plan to visit SoCal, once we are able to travel again and hopefully we can get a full photo shoot going with us together, for now it’s the photo collages we put together and that works for us. Love my sew sister.
Here we are, same dress, different pattern. Check out @alohafornow on Instagram.
Pattern Description: Misses’ Dresses
Pattern Sizing: XS-M, I cut the Medium
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes it looked just like the pattern envelope photo.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes the instructions were easy to follow.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I loved everything about this pattern, from the look of the dress on the envelope to the ease of the instructions.
Fabric Used: I used this Cotton Shirting Fabric Blue Tropical Leaves & Hibiscuses on Ivory from Joann Fabric. It is no longer available online. I actually bought this in store before the whole stay at home orders were in place.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I needed to cut off 4 1/2 inches on the bottom to meet my height. I could have cut off 5 inches, but my plan is to wear it with high heel shoes.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would sew it again, but in a solid fabric color, and maybe a fabric with a little bit more movement to it like a Gerogette or Challis. I would recommend this to others, it’s a great dress for summer and it is easy to sew.
Conclusion: I am happy with the outcome of the dress and loved that I was able to complete it for my Mother’s Day look. Although we stayed inside for dinner it still made me feel beautiful.
Riesha Nicolle 