Mirroring Suzy Bee Sews - Life So Strange It Should Be Fiction

Vogue 1329 has taken the sewing world by storm!  I've seen so many great versions of it.  It has a ton of elements that make it flattering to any size or shape: -Princess seams for easy fitting -Colorblock possibility.  The sinuous shape of the side front panel coaxes even the most non-existent curves out of the closet. -Suggested for ponte double knit (which most people have chosen), which has enough stretch to make fitting easier but is thick enough to smooth over lumps and bumps -Pleating on center front panel offers some tummy disguise Basically, this is pretty much the most flattering pattern ever devised for a fitted dress. So I pretty much had to have one.  This sort of sheath dress is the kind of thing I need for networking events and other not-quite-suit-level work-related events, but I don't have many of them because they are not bikeable.  In the ponte, this one actually is bikeable so it's a win-win! I got the black/white/red houndstooth from the G Street $2.97

I've been holding onto this fabric since we had the Melbourne social sewing shop back in February. Its from the Alannah Hill outlet and is lovely and soft to touch (I did a burn test and I am guessing its a silk cotton). It is fairly see through so I decided to underline it with a quilting cotton from my stash to give it some body and to stop the seams showing through. I haven't underlined anything this thin and shifty before. It wasn't as bad as I thought though, I cut it  in a single layer and then machine basted around the pieces. I was worried about the top layer shifting or bagging out but it all seems to be sitting smoothly now its sewn.   I did let it hang overnight and then thread basted it around on the hem line before turning under and stitching. Probably overkill but at least it sat nice and smooth when I sewed it. Adjustment wise, we muslined up the dress first, its a sz 14 with the bust raised by 1", the waistline raised by 1/2" and the side seams tak

I've had Vogue 8631 in the pattern drawer for several years now, waiting patiently to be made.  It's been in there so long that it is unfortunately now out of print. Soprano Faux Wrap, Nordstrom Anthropologie This style has shown up in RTW fairly often the past couple years (both of these items are from last year). I saw a girl walking down the street wearing a dress in that style a couple of weeks ago and it was so cute I decided the time had come!  As usual for wrap styles, I took out 2 1/2 inches of length along the front diagonal neck opening.  For Burdas I do about 1 1/2 inches but I find the Big 4 need much more.  Here, 2 1/2 inches still wasn't enough.  I took up some of the extra length by slightly stretching clear elastic while serging it in place, but I finally had to resort to the Universal Symbol of Sewist Surrender:  tacking the crossover closed where the left and right front intersect at the neckline to prevent gapage.   For next time, I've folded out ano

  I've had this made for a week or so now but the weather has been so dreadful I haven't been able to take photos. I still only got a couple of pics in between rain downpours so the photos are a bit uninspired!   I really like this pattern, I've made it a few times now (including a slight disaster of a zebra print version last month, sounded like such a great idea but was way too overwhelming once made!) Grey version  and  Black version .   It has tons of included ease so this is a sz M with a 1" FBA, 2" upper arm width, 3" off the length, graded out at the hips and an added back seam for shaping.   The material is a striped ponte knit from fabric.com which is out of stock now unfortunately, its thinner than I what I would normally call a ponte but has just enough stretch and was lovely to sew.   I wear one of these cardigans at least once or twice a week through winter, they are so warm and comfy and so easy to throw on with a pair of jeans in the morning.

Burda 01-2012-127/128 bottoms, McCall 5400 View E top.  I got the striped fabric from G Street's $2.97/yd table in February 2012.  I assumed it was a polyester knit, but after I'd already cut the whole thing out, taking extra special care with all the stripes, I wet a scrap to make sure it would be opaque with my mesh lining.  And then when it got all papery and stiff I realized it was rayon.  Ugggghhhh.  It was too late, though, and I didn't have anything else in stash suitable anyway.  I using the lining as underlining to help the pieces keep their shape and it held up ok...for one wear.  The bottoms are already pilled.  I'm glad I considered this a muslin all along.  At least I moved 1 1/4 yards out of stash. Top: right side out; Bottom: right sides together One of the features I really love about the top is the keyhole opening between the upper and lower front bodice.  McCall's directions have you sew the fashion fabric and the lining separately, sew them toge

I have entered many, many PR contests over the years and have been flattered by the many votes I've received, but I've never actually won.  They're more for fun motivation and a way to decide what project to sew next. I entered my  Downton Abbey silk dress  in the  Natural Fibers Contest  at Pattern Review.  Well, I got 2nd place!  I was very surprised because there were tons of great entries in that contest.  Thank you to all who voted for me! The prize was a $75 gift certificate to Schmetz Needles , which is a really great prize.  I sew with Schmetz needles anyway, and remembering to buy needles tends to slip my mind and if you don't have the right needle--you can't sew.  Not to mention it's sewing money that could be used for fabric, lol. They had me send them my list of needles and supplies and they shipped it to me super quick in a nice little box. I got a whole bunch of universal needles (love the multi-size packs) and my favorite specialty needles.  I go

... my mind, that is! At the end of my last post, prior to heading back to the dreaded time-waster of work, I had plans of making up Vogue 8721 view D. Well those plans eventuated and the little jacket is nearly completed... Half-finished front It is looking great, and fitting well so far. The three quarter length sleeves went in a like a breeze, and just need a decent press to set them. Inside front lining The lining was the closest I had stashed away, but even though it isn't a perfect match to the purple in the main fabric I think it will do - well, it will have to now! You can see the interesting main fabric in this view, how the purple has a black thread running through it. Such beautiful linen-y fabric. The unfinished bit! So all that is left is attaching the two different sized bottom bands. At the moment it looks like a bolero type jacket - for me it definitely needs the bands for length. So what is the problem with finishing it off - a mere 1/2 hour of work left (the band