Readers, If you sew, you’ll know just what I mean. I’ll pop into a clothing store and, after checking out the shoes and accessories, browse the racks, admittedly without enthusiasm. The usual comments run through my mind like a news crawl: Too big. Wrong color. Too trendy. Boring. Huge armholes! What is this weird fabric? […]
Sur la Table: Quilted Placemats
Readers, After months of pants pattern-fitting and muslin-making without much to show for my efforts (yet), what do you suppose perked up my sewing spirits again recently? An easy project using existing skills, with virtually guaranteed success, requiring no fitting: Placemats. It’s ridiculous how long it took me to make placemats from this cotton print. […]
Fitting Conclusions
Readers, In case you’ve been wondering where I’ve spent much of the last six months, it’s been down a very deep rabbit hole called Fitting a Pants Pattern. More accurately, this particular rabbit hole should be called Not Fitting Several Pants Patterns. Does this need further explanation? For most sewers, a well-fitting pants pattern is […]
My Own Little Piece of Givenchy
Readers, News of the passing of Hubert de Givenchy reminded me that I have a pattern dating from 1960 for a suit he designed, as the envelope proudly proclaims, “exclusively for McCall’s.” I bought it in an eBay auction about fifteen years ago, and while I don’t remember what I paid, it couldn’t have been […]
All Projects Great and Small: Creating a Task Analysis Tool
Readers, There are few things I love more than having a good project. I love projects with the keenness of Fame(US), the border collie who won the Westminster Kennel Club agility championship recently: Maybe I was a border collie in a previous life. But despite my love for projects–sewing and other kinds–I don’t have a […]
Book: Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff
Readers, Like the majority of sewers, I’m enchanted by novelty. There’s always a new fabric, new pattern (or new-to-me vintage pattern), new tool, new technique, new Craftsy class, or new discussion of the Craftsy class vying for my attention. Likewise, the prospect of starting a sewing project is practically irresistible. Despite numerous failures and unfinished […]
Decisions, decisions
Readers, Yesterday I wrote this post and was almost finished with it when I had to stop for the day. This morning I sat down to finish it, add images, and hit Publish. I reread what I wrote and–saw a glaring omission. I hate when that happens! I asked myself whether I should scrap this […]