Wow. This summer was a lot, folks. Moving was more challenging that I was prepared for. Mostly because selling was new to us and then closing dates and finish dates meant we had to spend the hottest month of the year in a rental apartment. Needless to say, there was…
A Tosti raincoat for him
I had big plans for my husband’s birthday this year. My first ever real raincoat! His birthday was in May… I finished it in the final days of October. It was a very dry summer, so he didn’t need it until now, but I’m usually not so tardy. This one…
Closet Core Sasha Toile
Today, in the category of pants I’ve planned to make for literal years and finally got around to, only to find out that they’re pretty much perfect for me and I should have made them years ago: Closet Core Sasha Trousers. The simple thing that kept me from making these…
Lander sailor pants
Inspiration struck recently. It started with wanting to experiment with a pair of Lander Pants in stretch denim. I picked up some 9 oz. organic raw stretch denim (2% spandex 98% cotton, though it feels lighter and more stretchy than that) from Fabricana in Richmond but they didn’t have a…
Cropped Grainline Archer
I was gifted this cut of light-weight embroidered cotton by the same lovely friend who gave me the flower print viscose that I used for my recent Orla Midi. There wasn’t a lot of it, only at 1.5m in a narrow width, but it was lovely and light so I…
French Navy – Orla midi dress
I had two summer dresses on my list this year. The first was my Fiona dress with gathered skirt. The second, I wasn’t certain of until I started to work on it. My uncertainty was about the fabric. In both the many vibrant colours and the large size of the…
Closet Core Fiona-ish
I first had this idea in the late winter or early spring⎯a fitted princess seamed bodice with straps, a gathered midi skirt and a button front. I debated briefly whether or not to look for a pattern before deciding to shop my existing collection. The Fiona dress from Closet Core…
Paola Workwear Jacket for him
This year, for his birthday, my husband wanted a custom garment. His specifications were a heavy, dark grey wool over shirt with wood buttons that he could wear both inside as a house jacket and outside if needed. I looked around at patterns and decided to start with the free…
Tilly and the Buttons – Arielle Skirt
My impromptu Arielle skirt a few weeks ago gave me an idea for the leftovers of my Italian wool. After my Jasika Blazer and my first Oia Dress, I only had a very small amount of the gorgeous grey wool twill that I brought back from Italy in 2019. Remember…
Another Oia, but different
Ever since I made my first Itch to Stitch Oia Dress in early 2021, I’ve wanted to make another without the centre front bodice panel. I didn’t know if it would work but I knew I had to try it. This is the dress I was finally cutting out (after…
My modified V9253
Yes, it’s the dress that everyone seems to make. I’ve scrolled the hashtag on Instagram for so long wondering if I should make it too. Then Sitka Fabrics gifted me some lovely washed linen in the colour teal and I decided the time was right to tackle this fan favourite……
Ginger Jeans 3 – More Experiments in Stretch
Believe it or not, these are Closet Case Ginger Jeans. They started out life as the high-waisted, skinny leg pattern and became these cropped, straight leg beauties that just need a black and white striped t-shirt to complete my fantasy of dressing like a mime. Seriously though, I will make…
Closet Case Kelly Anorak – Take 2
I first made the Kelly Anorak from Closet Case Patterns early last year. My first version was a size 8 (based on my measurements) made of cotton chino twill. I was really pleased with my work on it and I loved it at first. After wearing is a few times…
Blueprints for Sewing – A Frame Skirt
This make wasn’t originally on my list for this year but I lost my desire to sew for most of January (I thought it was because we’re in the middle of a furniture overhaul and our place is a mess with stuff everywhere) and I realized it was because I…
Avery Leggings – Side Panel Hack
The first makes on my Make Nine 2020 list are a workout set made up of leggings with side pockets for my cell phone and keys/credit card for when I go for a walk, a sports bra, and a fitted half-zip pullover. I started with the Avery Leggings from Helen’s…
Make Nine 2019 Recap
My plan for this year’s Make Nine was to really dig in – to pick nine makes that I wouldn’t just make, but would toile and make and make again until I felt like I’d mastered something new. I set out my plans at the end of 2018 and stayed…
Upgraded with a ruffle
Just a short post today because I’ve finally learned the power of adding a ruffle! My Deer and Doe Magnolia was one of my first makes of the year. I wore it a couple of times but I had cut it a tiny bit short and combined with the light…
Vintage Butterick 6275
Not being a curvy gal, I usually stay away from vintage patterns. Their waist/hip ratios are not designed for straight old me. But when I was looking for a very specific blouse shape this summer and could not find it in my indie pattern search, I turned to my mom’s…
Megan Nielsen Rowan Dress
Prior to my recent, quite successful efforts to turn the Megan Nielsen Rowan top/bodysuit into a swimsuit, I also decided to experiment with a knit, high-neck, body con dress. I’ve had a vision in my head of this dress – a navy and ecru striped double knit, fitted turtleneck dress…
Marigold Clyde Pants Hack 2
I tried it again! The same Clyde pants hack from my last post but this time much narrower and made out of Tencel Twill from Blackbird Fabrics. I made these while I was up in Nanaimo, helping my mom after her double knee replacement. She’s a champ though and I…
Marigold Clyde Pants Hack
In my ongoing Make Nine 2019 quest to use, and reuse, and reuse patterns some more, I decided to hack the Tilly and the Buttons Marigold pants that I used for my Marigold jumpsuit and my Anza/Marigold mashup. I used a brilliant tutorial by Catherine at Thread Snips to turn…
Marigold/Anza Jumpsuit
This make was ALL ABOUT the fabric. I bought two metres of this gorgeous Linen/Cotton Chambray from Blackbird Fabrics on a whim before I new what I wanted to make. I thought, and thought, and thought some more – then was walking downtown wearing my Marigold Jumpsuit when it came…
Langers – Lander/Ginger Mashup
After my first two pairs of Lander Pants and after seeing so many high-waisted, wide -leg, clean front pants in my Instagram feed, the idea popped into my head to mash the Lander Pants pattern and Ginger Jeans pattern together into one super pattern – Langers. My goal was to…
Tilly and the Buttons – Marigold Jumpsuit
I put the Tilly and the Buttons Marigold Jumpsuit pattern on my Make Nine 2019 list after seeing a few versions online with the front neckline squared off. I really liked the wide straps, elastic waist and tapered legs. Right off the bat, let me tell you that I WORKED…
Helen’s Closet Avery Leggings with added back waist pocket
I’ve been wanting to make my own leggings for a while. I tried the Seamwork Aries as part of my Make Nine 2018 but I was unimpressed with the fit. Looking at a bunch of photos and reading review online, I chose the Helen’s Closet Avery Leggings for my second…
Double Reversible Ogden Cami
When my Sudley Blouse collar did not survive the wash (my fault, not the pattern or fabric), I wanted to reuse the lovely fabric by making a stash-busting Ogden cami… but I didn’t have enough fabric for the lining. That constraint was the impetus behind this idea. If I was…
Blackbird Fabrics Linen Blends and Grainline Hadley Review
There was a definite theme to my last Blackbird Fabrics order. Aside from the viscose poplin I used for my Orla maxi dress hack, my other four purchases were linen blends and all fabrics were blue, white, ivory or blue and white. I also raced through this fabric order faster…
French Navy – Orla Dress #3
It got hot this summer. So hot that I was craving a long, light, loose-fitting maxi dress. I saw this gorgeous embroidered viscose poplin from Blackbird Fabrics and I immediately thought of making a maxi version of the Orla dress (previously made here and here). Modifying the Orla was easy. I…
Tessuti – Lois Dress #2
Immediately after I made my first Tessuti Lois Dress back in January , I made plans to try it again. I loved the fit of the top of this beautiful, simple dress but the hips ended up far to large on me. This isn’t surprising since I am very much…
Pauline Alice Quart Coat – Modified
This coat has been a vision in my head for well over a year. Green wool. Black faux leather sleeves. Double breasted. I bought the wool from Gala Fabrics last winter but I just couldn’t find the right pattern for it so it sat waiting in my stash. Then I…