Hello I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I know I am a week off, but I took some time away from the blog and also a little bit from social media, except for my business page. Just thought I would jump on and make a quick post showing all of the pieces I started and finished in 2021. Some of them are still not finished, that’s another blog post. LOL!!!
When writing this post and uploading photos, I was surprised at how much progress I have made with my sewing for 2021. I felt as though I didn’t sew a lot. Let’s see what 2022 has in store. I have a red wool cape that is almost complete and a dress that needs sleeves and hemming. Those will be finished by the end of the weekend. Have a great rest of the week and I’ll see you all next week.
A little progress each day adds up to big results. ~Unknown
As promised, here is Part of my Sew September collection. I made 5 garments and was able to pair them with each other to make a mini wardrobe collection for Fall/Winter. The first set I made was Vogue 1835, you can find the blog post here. The top and the leggings were an easy sew and a must make it again pattern. Great for running errands or dress it up with the right pair of shoes and accessories.
Piece #3, The Idra Hoodie Dress from Mood Sewciety. It is classified as a hoodie dress, but it wasn’t long enough for me to wear as a dress, so I made as a top. I am sure if I would have measured and extended the torso portion it would have been a great dress. I am seeing a lot of hoodie dress with thigh high boots, in the fashion world and I just love the look. This another easy sew and the instructions were straight forward and easy to follow.
Piece #4 Simplicity 8424 Leggings – If I had to pick this would be my favorite piece from this collection. It could have something to do with this fabulous fabric I used. The fabric is a knit that I have had in my stash for over 4 years, I rescued it from the fabric store and kept it on the shelf. I had no idea what I was going to make with the fabric when I purchased it, but when I saw this leggings pattern it was perfect. These leggings are versatile as well. They can be worn with boots or booties, sneakers or flats, a t-shirt or a sweater, the outfits are endless.
Piece #5 – Simplicity 8177 Misses’ Top Leopard Animal print, you can’t go wrong with animals matched with solids. I love animal prints to add to the simplicity of an all solid color outfit, for example the all black vogue outfit. This top can be worn with so many different bottoms, the possibilities are endless. I styled it with flats , but you can wear boots, flat sneakers, or even sandals to complete the look.
Here are all the pieces together as different outfits.
Are you ready for Fall? I sure am. Fall is my favorite time of year. The trees change, the time changes, the temperatures are cooler, and I can finally wear my warm and comfy clothes.
For my first official Fall pieces I used Vogue 1835. Vogue describes this as a Misses’ top, pants, and slippers pattern. There are two top variations, short and long-sleeved. I choice the long-sleeved to prepare for the Fall and Winter months that we “should’ be getting in California. The weather today is a high of 75 degrees, which is still slightly warm for October.
I was able to cut the top and pants both in a medium. I was pleasantly surprised that I did not need to alter the length of these pants. I stand proudly at 4″11 tall and usually cut off at least 4′ from the length. I did taper the leg from the medium to the small my calf muscles are still under construction.
Pattern Description: Misses’ Tops, Pants, and Slippers
Pattern Sizing: XS – XXL I cute the M
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looks exactly like the pattern envelope photo.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes Super easy to follow the instructions. They were laid out and easy to understand.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked how versatile the pants are. I can dress them down with sneakers for running errands or dress it up with flats for brunch with the family.
Fabric Used: I used a Ponte Knit that was in my stash. I think I purchased it 2 years ago.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Although I cut the medium in the pants, I graded from the knee to ankle for a tighter fit. My thighs are fuller, which makes the medium fit from the knee up, but it was to loose from the knee down.
No alterations made on the top.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I will be sewing this again, in either a sweatshirt fleece or velour stretch for the Holidays for running errands.
Conclusion: Love the look, love the pattern, it is definitely one of my new favorites in the category of quick and easy to Sew.
Part 2 – Sew September
I will showcase how I styled these pieces for multiple looks to be wore on different occasions. Follow my blog get notified.
Thanks for stopping by. Make it a Fashion Forward Day!!!
The hubby and I will be celebrating 24 years of marriage on September 12. We took an early vacation for 4 days down to Monterey, Ca, it’s a spot we both love. We spent the days eating good food, relaxing, walking the pier, and most of all enjoying each other. We both work full time and have other activities, so to not have to do anything was the best.
Few weeks before we left I asked my hubby to help me pick a pattern and fabric for my dinner outfit. We also enjoy a fancy meal at The Chart House on Cannery Row. He picked a fabric I had purchase from the August Nina Ramel Fabric Box and Simplicity 8426 Jumpsuit.
The evenings in Monterey can be a little cooler for me so I added the jacket from Simplicity 8177, fabric used was a black knit I had in my stash, to go with the jumpsuit. It worked out perfect and I loved how the whole look came together.
I added some red drop earrings, red belt, and red flat shoes to complete this look. I was so proud of this look and the hubby he loved it. He’s my biggest supporter. I love me some him. He also gets all the credit for all the photos of me on this trip. He was the best, coaching my poses, and also reminding me to smile. I think I’ll hire him for my photos, not sure he’s ready for that job.😂
Here’s to 24 more years of marriage. Happy Anniversary to us!!!
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!!!!
Riesha Nicolle 