I have tried very hard to not purchase fabric until the last purchases were completed. I have done fairly well but I broke down and purchased two fabrics:
The inspiration today is a popover top:
This is the Striped Point Collar Popover Top by Lafayette 148 New York. Price tag: $598.00. Description: wide point collar with slit opening, short sleeves, boxy straight fit, cotton, machine wash & dry.
I love the look of this top. I even like that skirt. Make an outfit everyone. I was not able to locate a top pattern exactly like this. My first thought was the Donny Shirt by Friday Pattern Co or the Factory Dress Shirt variation by Merchant & Mills but neither shirt was exactly right. I was not able to find another pattern similar. Let me know if you find something more appropriate.
Happy Stitching!
This shift dress is perfect for hot weather. Sew it now and be ready for the season early. Here is the dress:
This is the Lafayette 148 New York Sleeveless Cotton-Blend Shift Dress. Price tag: $698.00. Details: dress featuring bust darts, pick stitching, back gore darts; approximately 37-inches long; round neckline; sleeveless; shift silhouette; knee length; back zip; cotton/nylon/polyamide/elastane blend; unlined; machine wash cold, and line dry.
Here is a tutorial for pick stitching. As for the back gore darts, I am not familiar with that term and neither is Mr Google. Maybe they are simply referring to the back darts that simply shape the back of the garment. If you find some better explanation, please let me know.
Now, I will admit that I probably would not make a white dress but that is why I sew. Sewing allows me to pick the color and shape that I want. Now, how about the pattern. I generally recommend this dress:
Although New Look 8500 is a great pattern, the shape is a little bit different than the inspiration photo. I will keep looking.
Simplicity 1609 without the collar might be a good interpretation of the inspiration photo without the collar. This might be an A-line dress. It is not part of the description but it could be modified slightly.
McCall's 7533 View B might be a good contender as well. This pattern gives you a little more bang for the buck with the hem variation and sleeve variations.
Well, it looks like I have given you lots of pattern options for this one. This feels like it should be a very basic dress and easy to find but it was not. Hope you are inspired to sew a nice dress.
Happy Stitching!
This is a basic skirt. I can not decide whether it is actually the fabric that I love about this (probably) or the actual skirt style.
This is Akri Punto Fringed Check Denim Midi Skirt. Price tag: $695.00. Details: fringed check detail, raw hem, high waist, side slip pockets, hem falls below the knee, skirt falls straight from hip to hem, center front vented hem, hook/zip fly, belt loops, cotton/polyester, dry clean.
I looked around a little bit for this type of fabric and I found it. It is not inexpensive. I found varies fringed fabric from $19 per yard to $50 per yard. Yet, you could make several skirts for the price of this one skirt. By the way, did you notice the plaid matching perfection. Now for a pattern:
This is the Style Arc Tommie Jean Skirt pdf pattern. It is a pretty good version of the inspiration photo with the exception of the slit. This is a little more casual.
Make sure to deep dive your pattern stash. There might already be a pattern that can be used there. If not, here is a tutorial on drafting your own pattern. Here is a tutorial on added a kick pleat vent to any skirt.
Hope you are inspired to add a nice skirt to your wardrobe.
Happy Stitching!
Itch to Stitch has a trench coat pdf pattern just in time for spring. It is call the Acari Trench. Here is the line drawings:
The Acari Trench is a pdf pattern that can be printed at home or sent to the printer to print on a large scale. The pattern has the following features:
This inspiration is definitely for the crocheters and would keep you busy on the long, cold days.
Today's scrap buster project is storage baskets and bowls. This is a tutorial for braiding scraps of fabric and creating baskets and bowls. From experience, this might take a little bit of practice to get the bottom to stay flat but it is fun and addictive.
Hope you are inspired to use up those bits of fabric.
Happy Stitching!
I really enjoy wearing linen tops and bottoms in the summer. This inspiration outfit is beautiful:
This is the Lafayette 148 3D Carnation Raw Linen Sleeveless Top and Midi Skirt. Price tag: Top - $695.00, Skirt - $895.00. Details: Top - sleeveless, crew neckline, relaxed fit, invisible back zipper, linen, dry clean. Skirt - high waist, hem fails below knee, a-line silhouette, invisible back zipper, linen, dry clean.
This is a perfect silhouette for summer. It is even dressy if you put this applique on.
This is the Phoebe Tank from fabrics-store dot com. It is a free pattern and might take time to fit but it is worth it. I have made around seven of these tanks and they are worn all the time.
This is McCall's 8510. View A of the pattern looks like it might work for the inspiration photo. Although it is more like a 1/2 circle skirt so it may be too full.
In reality, there are not any skirt patterns that I could find in the big four that matches this simple skirt not there were not a lot of nice skirt patterns.
If you have a straight skirt pattern fitted, this tutorial shows how to draft an a-line skirt using an existing pattern. This would be an ideal solution and help with the fitting portion of making a new item. Here is a tutorial on how to draft an a-line skirt using your measurements.
There is also a chance that you can find a pattern on Etsy.
Here is a tutorial on making 3D flowers. Hope it is useful. Hope you are inspired to create something wonderful.
Happy Stitching!
Itch to Stitch is having a Birthday Sale through 11:59 PM US February 1, 2025 with 20% off all patterns. I am an Itch to Stitch affiliate. Any purchases made through product links will result in small commission at no cost to you.
Here are some of my favorites right now:
Following are patterns in my collection that I have not gotten to yet:
This is just a few of my favorite collected Itch to Stitch patterns. Hope you find something that inspires you.
Happy Stitching!
This inspiration post is for a very basic item. This is a menswear style pant:
This is the Lafayette 148 New York Menswear Stretch Wool Pants. Price tag: $348.00. Details: flat front; slim, straight legs; tab/zip front; wool spandex; dry clean.
I am the first to admit that if you can get a nice fit in a pants pattern, that you are a winner. One basic pair of pants like the pair shown here and you can make as many pair of pants as you want by just changing the type of fabrics. Design details can be added. Here is a couple of patterns to consider:
This is the Liesl & Co Hollywood Trousers pattern. This pattern has a little bit wider leg but you can make changes during fitting. The pattern has side pockets which I do not think that the inspiration photo has pockets. Again, this is a style detail that you can keep or delete.
I have both of these patterns and really need to work on getting both of them fitting. Honestly, I would much rather sew than fit but it is very rewarding to get a basic pattern fitted and then sew over and over. Hope you are inspired to create something wonderful.
Happy Stitching!
In the winter, I tend to wear a lot pants. This outfit caught my eye. It is a perfect outfit for going to work.
This is Houndstooth Tweed Jacket by Anne Taylor. Price tag: $189.00. Details: split-hem, crew neck, long functional button sleeves, button front, button welt pockets at chest and waist, back vent, lined, 27-inches long, hips at hip.
Now, for patterns. I found this pattern for pants:
I have three cats. Two of them are kittens who need to be entertained or kept busy. While looking at a sewing website, I found this toy pattern and thought it would be a perfect little toy. The kittens can easily carry it around, they can pull on both ends, etc. This is also a great little scrap busting pattern. I went the scrap busting route with some leftover corduroy. I used a 1/3 of the yard of fabric to create four little cattails. Here is a picture of the cattails before stuffing:
I changed the instructions a little bit. I did the top fold down with the seams instead of the after stitching the whole piece. I used a jumbo tube turner to turn each cattail.
It probably took 30 minutes to stitch and turn the tubes. The actual challenge with these toys is stuffing. I used the jumbo tube turner to assist with getting the catnip into the tube. Here they are stuffed with catnip and tied:
Happy Stitching!
So, I am finally getting around to working on The Pussy Bow Blouse by Sew Over It. Here is the line drawing:
This is a Walmart find and actually feel like a nicer fabric than I thought it was going to be. When washed this fabric turned out to be one that puckers in certain areas. I am hoping this does not affect the muslin too much. I ended up ditching this fabric. Although it was a very interesting fabric, it was not suitable for actually sewing. When I cut it out, the front had moved around so much that parts of it was much smaller than the pattern.
Since I don't have muslin fabric immediately available, I decided to spend some up close time with the pattern measuring all the lengths. I am really glad that I did as the pattern would have been huge on me. Here is my altered pattern:
I am still trying to figure out the changes for the sleeve cap without completely flattening the sleeve cap. I ended up measuring the original armscye and the original sleeve. Then, I measured the altered armscye and made changes so that the original sleeve ease was there. Here is a look at the altered sleeve:
Thankfully, Wal-Mart precuts yielded a fabric that might be approrpriate for a muslin. Here is the new fabric:
It is thin and drapey and kinda interesting but not something I would ever wear (chiffon like). The majority of the pre-cuts were knits and not really appropriate for this project.
Here is the muslin:
I am not sure that this side view says anything about the garment.
Overall, I am surprised at how well the adjustments that I made worked. I was a little concerned about the armscye depth but it mostly looks good unless that funky diagonal line on the left shoulder is result of needing more depth. Once I figure out that one item, I will be off to make both versions of this blouse.
Happy Stitching!
This week's scrap buster is more of idea with a picture:
This is the Peyton Reversible Patchwork Quilt from Pottery Barn.
This would be a great way to use up excess flannel scraps/yardage whatever you have. Of course, you would need an idea of how big you want your quilt but it could be baby quilt all the way to king size quilt. Here is a link to a chart with quilt sizes.
Personally, I think that varying the size of blocks would be more interesting but it is your quilt to do what you want with. Generally, I use a 1/2" seam with flannel because of fraying but I am sure if you do a little research you can find the answer.
Happy Stitching!
I found this tutorial for making a packing cube. My niece started a new job a couple of weeks before Christmas and it will include a significant amount of traveling. I thought this would be a perfect additional to her gear. This was suppose to be a Christmas gift but life got in the way and now it is a late Christmas gift. I did not use the fabric stated in the tutorial but chose to use a cute cotton print from my stash. This makes this a stash buster project. Now, to be honest, it could also be a scrap buster depending on the size of the scraps you keep hanging around. Here is the fabric that I chose for this project:
Looks like stripes are catching my attention so far this year.
This is the Sailor Striped Rib Knit Crewneck Sweater by Akris Punto. Price tag: $695.00. Details: merino wool, crew neck, long sleeves, fitted, pull over style.
This is a great looking top. It is a little more fitted than I prefer to wear but since I sew, I can make any way I want. Here is a pattern that has the look/feel of the inspiration pattern:
This is a great basic to add to the wardrobe. As always, if you have a t-shirt pattern already fitted the way you like it, use it. Save those dollars for fabric. Hope you are inspired to create something wonderful.
Happy Stitching!
Today's scrap buster project is a good one, if you have left fleeces, shrunk sweater, whatever.
The Cozy Slippers should be a really good project. They could be really scrappy as well. Nothing says that they need to all the same fabric.
Hope you're inspired to create something fun. Remember to share.
Happy Stitching!
I love a good cardigan. Especially one that is worn as a top.
The striped knits are easy to come by but the cashmere striped knit is not. Just grab your striped knit combo and make it. Here is a perfect pattern:
