Inspiration...Tie Neck Blouse

 Today's inspiration is an interesting little blouse:

This is the Pleated Elbow-Sleeve Tie-Neck Blouse by Lafayette 148 New York.  Price tag: $698.00.  Details:  Approximately 20 1/2-inches from shoulder to hem, v-neck, elbow blouson sleeves, banded cuffs and hems, relaxed fit, pull-over style, silk, unlined, dry-clean.   For reference, model is 5'10".  Item can be found on the Neiman Marcus website.

There are many things about this blouse that I love - the tie neckline, the blouson sleeves, and the blouson hem.  I have been unable to locate a pattern with this sort of style but found this pattern at The Maker's Atelier:

This is The Tie Blouse and Dress pattern.  This pdf pattern is not exactly like the inspiration photo but it has the tie neck.  The sleeves could be spread to create the pleats and bands could be added to the hems.  I think the feel of this is similar. 

Hope you are inspired to create something beautiful.

Happy Stitching!

Sewing Related Christmas Gift Part 2...

 Sometime this past fall, I found The Maker's Atelier.  These patterns seem to be loose fitting for the most part and there are a couple that I am interested in.  I am very interested in the magazines.  I have not ordered in yet but most likely will.  Somewhere a long the line I discovered the Hurth Ruler at Home Atelier. This ruler interested me a great deal.  I requested this ruler and received it for Christmas.  If you are in the US, the ruler can be found at Cochenille.  Here is a peek at the ruler:

I have downloaded the instructions for using this ruler. I am really looking forward to having time to play with this.

There are also measuring bands available.  I am also intrigued by them.  In fact, the Cochenille site has many interesting things.

Have you tried these rulers?  Did they work for you?  I will post my results as I do the measuring and compare to the pattern.

Happy Stitching!

Sewing Related Christmas Gift Part 1...

 I received a surprise sewing related gift for Christmas.  I do not remember noticing this book before:

 There may or may not be ulterior motives with this gift but I do enjoy sewing for my husband.  If you are looking for menswear patterns, this book has several - long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt, trousers, jacket, boxer shorts, pajamas, house coat, slippers, messenger bag, wallet, bow tie, cravat, and flat cap.  There is enough here to create a wardrobe.

It might be fun to compare the patterns in this book to other patterns that I have collected.  I have the Silhouette Patterns George's Shirt pattern which is a classic men's dress shirt.  I have the Liesl & Co Alvalade Men's Trousers pattern.  I have not attempted either pattern.  

You can see some of the shirts that I have made for my husband - here. Those were made using an older Simplicity pattern and using measurements from RTW to determine the size.  I do enjoy sewing for my husband.  He is willing and happy to wear funky prints.  

I guess if I am really going to work on sewing something for my husband that I should get some measurements.  There is a basic measurement chart in the book but it is just a starting point.  Posture affects fit a lot and that generally is done by draping.  

I will share anything this gets made.  Somethings might be modeled by my husband and/or my son.  I do sew for both but generally it is pajamas that get made the most.

Did you get any sewing related items for Christmas?

Happy Stitching!

A Look Back At 2023 Sewing...

 As I look back at my sewing for 2023, I found that I did not do much sewing.  My sewjo really took at vacation.  It did slow down my purchasing both fabric and patterns. Here is what I found:

Most sewn patterns:

1.  Fabrics-store dot com Phoebe Tank.  This is easily the most sewn pattern I have ever owned and it was free.  

2.  Love Notions Allegro Bottoms.  This is a great elastic waist pant pattern with pockets.

3.  Liesl & Co Classic Shirt pattern.  This is a great basic.  Designer has tons of information on the website about this pattern.  Definitely will change over to short sleeves for spring.

Most loved patterns:

1.  Merchant & Mills The Camber Set.  I have made this dress multiple times.  Quick and easy.  The dress that I made this year with it was a linen blend.  The linen was definite perfect for the pattern.

2.  Itch to Stitch Taroko Skirt.  This is another great basic.  This is not as quick and easy as item 1 but still a good one. 

Most disliked item that I made:

1.  Blue-gray Phoebe tank.  Not sure why I did not love this top.  I thought for sure that I would love this but the fabric was a little different with this one and I just did not find myself reaching for it very often. In fact, everything else had to be dirty for me to even considerate it.  

2023 Sewing Reflection:

I realized that I did not do as much non-apparel sewing as I had intended in 2023.  As much as I love sewing apparel, other things are more creative. Maybe that was what caused the sewjo vacation.  I also realize that I did not come close to accomplishing my list of goals that I made for 2023.   All I can do is keep trying.

How did your 2023 sewing end up for you?  Were you happy with what you accomplished?  

Happy Stitching!

2024 Project Lists...

 I did not do some well with my 2023 project list.  I finished about half of it.  I guess that is an accomplishment in itself, right?  My thoughts for 2024 are:

1.  Make clothing only as needed.  I know that sounds odd but the last couple of years I feel like I was making myself sew clothes as in 6-8 items for spring/summer and 6-8 items for fall/winter.  I think this year I want to be more intentional with my sewing.  Make it if I need it.
2. Make at least one non-garment item each month.  This might not be doable.  Maybe some months I will be more done than other months.  It just needs to be fun. 
3. Finish 1 or 2 or 3 unfinished items.  If I do not finish them, they will end up in the trash should something happen to me.  
4. Purchase as little fabric as possible.  I have so much fabric that I could open my own store.  It will not happen.  I need to really evaluate the fabric that I have.  I loved it when I bought it. I just tend to over plan.
5. Purchase patterns only if I really need it.  At this stage of my life, I do not need anything fancy.  I tend to wear a lot of dresses/skirts when the weather is hot and more pants when the weather is cooler.  I own hundreds of patterns and it is hard to let go but I have started.  Go check out my Destashify store.  Maybe you will find something good.
6. Work on fitting some of the patterns that I already have.  It will reduce stash and keep me busy.

This year's project list is definitely less defined than last year's project list.  Maybe that will keep the creative juices flowing and the machines purring.

Happy Stitching!