Tag: #bloggingwiththesewcialsewist

Hello december

Well hi there, I hope you are doing well. It has been a while, since I posted a blog. Well here is an update of what has been going on with me and my sewing, and a few other things I have gotten myself into.

Yes I am still sewing. Woohoo!!! That’s my first passion, along with fitness. I have a few items that I have made that I will post in the upcoming weeks, need to take photos and add my review of them. Some are summer outfits, yes I know it is full blown winter and cold, but hey I am playing catch up here. The fabric below I used for one of the dresses that I will blogging about soon. Look for that by the end of the weekend.

During this time, I have also found out that I actually enjoy putting together PDF patterns. I know that sounds weird, but it allows me to think about only putting that pattern together at that time. It is easy to let your mind wander when you are creating/crafting and I try not too, but there is so much to think about right now. MoodSewciety has a great selection of PDF patterns, and they are free, so I have been utilizing those to create a few pieces. The one thing I love about their site, well in relation to the patterns, is that a list of all the supplies used, along with alternates are listed, which makes it so much easier to shop for all of your notions and fabric. Here is a sneak peek of a dress coming to the blog soon. I know it’s not much, but you will just have to come back to the blog once it’s posted. 🙂

I opened an online T-shirt/Sweatshirt shop during this pandemic, as if I needed anymore hobbies, lol!!! It has been fun, but business, is a little slow, but steady, so I am not complaining about that. Here is the link if you want to take a look around, www.sixtwentytwo.shop. You can also follow the shop on Instagram. I have also been playing around with wine glasses and coffee cups, nothing fancy and still learning the process of getting the vinyl to stick, it’s a tedious process, but it keeps me out of trouble and off online shopping.

I hope every is staying safe and that you had a great Thanksgiving week! Please enjoy time with family, safely of course, and make the best out of the days to come. Happy Holidays!!!!

Bye for now, time to go Sew Something!!!!

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Me made may – 2020 UFO’s Completed

I was busy…

I love when my sewing plans fall into place and I am able to make something or in this case, finish up some things I started. May was a busy month and I ABSOLUTELY love it. I always look forward to Me Made May every year, seems that’s when I am most productive.

Besides my me made garments I was also able to make over 500 face covers for local veteran’s, local hospitals, and family and friends that were in need.I was happy to be able to make and provide them, it was tough making them knowing that this may be the new normal for a while. I just hope and pray that will be a vaccine to help with the virus.

One thing that I did that I am so proud of, is that I went through my stack of Unfinished Outfits (UFO’s) and started finishing those off. I found some of the garments I could wear and others were just way too big, I am a good 12-15 pounds lighter than when I started some of these projects. So with that comes the good and the bad.

Simplicity 8638

So let’s start with the bad….it’s not a bad pattern, but was a bad fabric choice, wondering if that’s how it ended up in the UFO stack. The fabric as you can see is completely see through and it is really, cheaply made if that’s a word. It wouldn’t hold up for a everyday summer dress.

McCall’s 7741

This one I absolutely love, the fabric is fun, the dress is cute, but…it’s way too big. So big that I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking a photo of myself and posting it, as the whole left side of my girlie parts (boob) is completely out of the dress. I would love to take it apart and size it down to fit, but not sure if that will happen. I may take the fabric and make something else out of what I can salvage. This dress was the dress I was going to wear to my daughter’s college graduation 2 years ago. I ended up wearing a store bought dress instead.

Vogue 9112

If you know me, you know I love a good jumpsuit and this one was no different. I started making this one 2 years ago, I must have had a lot going on in 2018 to have so many UFO’s. This one fits, I did have to seam rip the bodice and shorten the elastic a bit, but other than that it works perfect. I can’t remember where I purchased this fabric from, but I definitely need some more.

Butterick 6330

This one fits also. I used a border print on this on this one. Fabric was purchased from Michael Levine’s about 3 years ago. I did make a rookie mistake on this one. I should have cut the back on the fold, to not interrupt the pattern on the back. It’s okay, I usually wear a cardigan over my dresses when working in the office, so it wouldn’t be seen and if I wear it at home, no one really cares. LOL!!!

Still in the stack…

Here are a few that are still in the stack.

Style Sew Me – Bree

I do plan on completing this one, just haven’t gotten to it. This is a great dress and the fabric I have chosen is super soft and great for the heat we are already getting here. Today it is a high of 104 degrees, that’s okay as I am currently working from home.


Simplicity 8334

This one I am going to have to work some magic on. I don’t know what I did to the area on the front of the dress for the front facing goes, but it is definitely cut the wrong way. I am going to get creative with it, I can’t just let some good camo fabric go to waste. Like a good jumpsuit, I love camo.

Simplicity 8601

This one is coming soon. I started it and the pattern didn’t line up and I took it apart, did it again and the same thing. I need to get the walking foot out and get started. I made this one and love it. I need tops in my wardrobe. I feel as though I wear the same ones all the time.

There are also a few coats, which I won’t post on this blog post, as they will not see the light of day, it’s too hot for that. Look for a blog post next week, with all the new garments and a few collaborations that I have done in May. I will also be re-taking pictures of me in the UFO garments, my lighting was horrible on the ones I took and now I have access to more lighting.

Please remember to stay safe! Happy Sewing!

Bye for now, time to go Sew Something!!!!

McCall’s M8035 – Dress

My Mother’s Day Maxi Dress

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. 

    McCall’s 7946 Misses’ Dresses

    I bought this pattern last summer for a quick summer. I typically lean towards the quick, Learn to Sew for Fun Patterns for quick outfits. Mostly when I need to get my sewing inspiration back up. It feels good to have a completed garment and it encourages me to keep sewing. This one did not disappoint.

    I used some fabric in my stash that I purchased from Fabric Mart maybe 2 years ago. It was on sale and I bought about 2 yards of it. It has been sitting on my shelf that long.

    I went with View A, although View D is also cute and I may end making it later. I love sleeveless or off the shoulder dresses, maybe because I like the way my arms look and I don’t feel constricted in sleeves during the summer months.

    I love the sun on my skin, the warm sun makes me happy and gives me that natural glow. Love it!!!!

    Pattern Description: Misses’ Dresses Learn to Sew for Fun Level 2

    Pattern Sizing:4- 12 I cut a size 10

    Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it came out just like the pattern envelope photo.

    Were the instructions easy to follow? The instructions were easy to follow .

    What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that is was quick, easy, and very stylish.

    Fabric Used: It’s a cotton blend of something. I have had this fabric for over 2 years and couldn’t remember exactly what it was, so the best way to describe it is a cotton blend.

    Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I only used 2 rows of elastic, instead of 3, this was a personal choice, I am top heavy and have a tummy, I was trying to avoid the stuffed sausage look.

    Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I would sew this again, because it was easy and I love the look, but I think one dress in this pattern is good enough for me.

    Conclusion: I loved the dress and how it turned out. The fit for me was perfect.

    Happy Sewing!!!!

    February Makes – Black History Month Designers and Fabric

    It’s February, which means it’s Black History Month. In honor of Black History Month and showing support to Black owned businesses in the Sewing Industry I joined the Instagram challenge hosted by @sewnaturaldane and @onesweetsew.

    My first make for February is this Lisa top from Style Sew Me Patterns. I love this top it is a quick and easy make. This is the second one I have made using this pattern and I love them both. I need to find the other make it is in a Pink Camouflage, my favorite fabric and I can’t find it.

    This one is made out of a Vino Camouflage I purchased at the San Francisco Fabric Outlet. It can be found here. The Vino is no longer available online, but the same fabric can be found in brown, grey, green. purple, pink, white, and black camouflage combinations.

    This is Vogue 1314, by Tracy Reece, a Black Pattern Designer for Vogue, it is now Out-of-Print (OOP). I tried sewing this dress when I started sewing 5 years ago and it did not come out as planned. I had no idea how to line a dress, do the rousing or any of that in the construction of the garment. So this year for Valentine’s Day I decided to make this again and it came out great. I have no plans for Valentine’s Day, but I love this color and the dress, so it became an honorary Valentine’s Day Dress! This fabric was purchased at Michael Levine’s in Los Angeles, about 4 years ago. Still sewing from my stash.

    This fabric is from My Daily Threadz

    And as much as I love this dress and the way it turned out, the bodice is too tight. I can’t move in it, the struggle was real getting out of it. LOL!!! I do know that I need to adjust the bodice moving forward when making garments out of non-stretch materials. I am so sad, because I even added pockets to the dress, who doesn’t love a dress with pockets. I am going to salvage this fabric. I don’t know how yet, but I might extend the opening down the front and have it be an open shirt dress. Not sure, but I am sure I will figure something out. This fabric is too fabulous for it to be a Mannequin dress. No ma’am.