McCalls Early Spring Collection

McCalls recently published their early spring collection.   I'm wondering if they also ship an early spring along with the patterns, we're in a deep freeze here with temperatures dipping to -30C before you account for the wind chill factor and -42C if you include it.!

The collection can be found here McCalls early spring collection.

I adore the fabric in M6883.   I'm not really interested in the pattern because it's such a basic style and I'm sure I have similar patterns in my stash.  But, dear McCalls do tell me where I can find the fabric.

 

 

I'm also drawn to M6905, what a cute duo of tote bag designs from Tiny Seamstress Designs. 

 

 

 

I can hardly wait for spring...what about you?

 

Christiana



Aloha!

Aloha!

I'm back from my trip to Hawaii were we enjoyed fun and sun on the island of Oahu.  It was my first experience snorkeling, and I absolutely loved it!  We bought our own gear; matched to our prescription lenses.  We hope to be back to Hawaii soon, perhaps Maui on our next trip.

We stayed in Kailua, but I did manage to make a trip into Honolulu to pick up some souvenirs.  Now for someone who sews, the perfect souvenir is fabric.  Here's some photo's of my Hawaiian fabrics.  A big thank you to Kyle and Shannon for their fabric store recommendations.   Kyle, the timing of your post was perfect, just days before we left on our trip.  I found just what I was looking for...

This first one is a rayon.  I'm hoping to transform it into a Maxi dress; perhaps McCalls 6700, which comes highly recommended on pattern review.com.

These next two cotton prints are for summer skirts.  What I have in mind is a simple A line skirt with a yoke.  Hoping to draft my own pattern based on the Craftsy class - Design & Sew your own A Line Skirt.

And finally, these bright cotton prints are going to be lining fabrics for some funky tote bags.  I've yet find the exterior fabrics, but I'm thinking either a dark purple or a silver grey for the mauve one and either a black or dark denim to go with the pink. 

 

 

I'm back in Canada now and after several days of rain the sun has finally decided to show up.

 

 

Cheers!

Christiana

 

 

 

In the sewing room New Look 6892

In the sewing room this week is a fast and easy project.  New Look 6892, I just finished cutting the long sleeved version in an embroidered cotton fabric.  The fabric is quite sheer, so I'll likely layer it over a cami or a sleeveless T when it's done.  I must be on an embroidered fabric "kick" because my last project was an embroidered knit fabric.

I am fortunate that I have a separate sewing space, that way I can leave my projects out and work on them in snippets of time.  Rarely do I have a full day to spend on sewing, so most of my projects are completed in small chunks of time. I enjoy it when other bloggers share photos of their sewing space, so I thought it might be fun to let you have a peek into my sewing room.

The cutting and pressing area

A peek inside my cabinet, stuffed to the brim not with fabric but with patterns and sewing books

The sewing area where the bears play.  The bear sitting behind the serger was sewn by me.   Faux fur, fully jointed it was a fun diversion from sewing garments. The basket to the left, is a fabric covered ice cream pail, a bit of sewing and lots of glue.  It holds my machine accessories.

Jalie Faux Wrap Top Project Update

Pattern traced, cut and ready to sew!  Yeah.    After perusing the instructions, this pattern looks delightfully simple to sew.  I'm still thinking about the armhole finish; I'm making the sleeveless version  The instructions call for serging the edge and folding over and top stitching.  I'm considering either serging some clear elastic to the edge to stabilize (before folding over and top stitching) or attempting a self fabric binding.   ...thoughts?

Christiana

Refashioning

Once again,  I am amazed at the creativity of my fellow sewing enthusiasts out in blog land.  Today,  The Selfish Seamstress blogged about her recent project, a chic hat she made from a pair of plaid pants Follow this link to see this amazing project.   I love how she lined it with multicolour pieces, of lining; this brings back memories of my mom's big box of fabric scraps.    While surfing I also came across a blogger, Sharon, who wrote a tutorial on refashioning a mens dress shirt into a camisole.  Inspired by Anthropologie but not willing to pay the Anthropologie price tag, Sharon offers us a great way to get great style and recycle at the same time.  And then there's Angie, at Sew I Thought who took a potato sack of a dress and used it to create a fabulous skirt Check out this skirt.  Angie also did a refashion of a way to big 80's suit into a sundress.  Although she wasn't happy with the fit of the end product, I think it's an amazing refashion.  Have a look at the before and after shots.  And at the blog Bytes and Bobbins you'll find a refashion of a skirt into a dress Yes, a skirt refashioned into a dress. Usually, it's the other way around.   Oh and I just adore the peasant top that was recently posted on the blog My Gramma Said. The blog post has a complete tutorial.

Wow! With all these creative ideas I'm so happy I sew. 
Christiana

Finding the perfect fabric...

Ever have one of those projects where you know exactly what kind of fabric you want and you can't find it?  A while back I blogged about the asymmetrical top in the June 2010 issue of Burda Style.  You can see the original post here.   This weekend I decided that I'd head out to get some plain t-shirt knit to make this top in a basic black or navy to go with jeans or capri pants.   There are three fabric stores within a 1/2 hour drive of my home, 2 Fabriclands and a local store called Fabric Depot.   First stop, Fabric depot...closed for holidays.   Fabricland, both stores left me empty handed.   Well, not really only empty handed in terms of getting the fabric I needed for the asymmetrical top.   Patterns were on sale so I did scoop up some new ones for my collection...not that I needed any.  

Butterick 5498, tunic length open front jackets with raglan sleeves

Butterick 5493, collection of tunics with embellished fronts

McCalls 5989, robe, nighties and pyjama sets

McCalls 5941, pantsuit with a kimono inspired jacket by Palmer/Pletsch

The asymmetrical top project is on hold until I find the right fabric.  In the meantime, I'll head to the sewing room and work on projects that have a matching set...fabric and pattern.

Christiana