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…
Merchant and Mills – Harlene Overalls
One day, in the not too distant future I hope, I plan to expand my creative repertoire to include making furnishings for our home. Yes, I’m going to become a person who works with wood – a wood worker – eventually, when I have the space to. So, of course…
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…
A skirt made of leftovers
I was cutting out a wool dress that I’d been planning for a while when I noticed I had more leftover fabric than anticipated. I’m not sure why but I immediately became obsessed with making the leftovers into something wearable, but before I’d even finished cutting out the dress, I…
Three Pairs of Landers
The latter half of this summer, in part because a return to in-person office work appeared to be fast approaching (since which time everything was delayed, again), and in other part because my previous pairs are both too small, I made three pairs of True Bias Lander Pants. Making so…
Italian Wool Blazer – Closet Core Patterns
I decided to make the Jasika Blazer in the late summer of 2019. I picked up the wool in Florence, Italy from Bacci Tessuti in October 2019, grabbed the Learn to Sew a Classic Blazer Closet Core course on sale in November 2019, put it on my 2020 Make Nine……
Ginger Jeans Take 2 – An Experiment in Stretch
One of my goals this year, and the reason I purchased my cover stitch machine, was to learn to construct skinny jeans the way my favourite ready-to-wear jeans are constructed. I wanted to figure out how to maintain the horizontal stretch of the fabric but still use what appeared to…
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…
By Hand London Rumana Toile
I’ve had a vision in my mind of a very specific coat for over two years: Grey wool, knee length or a little longer, double breasted, fitted, with polka dot silk lining. I bought the lining two years ago from Gala Fabrics in Victoria and the grey wool from Blackbird…
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…
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…
Closet Case – Kalle Dress
I told you I’d make another Kalle! After my first go at the pattern – the shirt version made in a size 8 – I immediately decided to take another run at it. This time, I sized down to a 6 and made the dress version with pop-over placket and…
Closet Case – Kalle Shirt
I’ve decided to replace one item on my Make Nine list – the skirt. After making five pairs of high-waisted jeans so far this year, I’m not really in any need of more bottoms. What I need it tops. I also wanted a pattern that I felt I could modify…
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…
Closet Case – Kelly Anorak
I got rolling on this year’s make nine and haven’t wanted to stop. After the success of my Ginger Jeans, I took a quick break to make a free-form sweatshirt project and then jumped right back in with the other Closet Case pattern on my list. The Closet Case Kelly…
I finally made jeans!!
Jeans have been on my list for a couple of years but it wasn’t until I put them on my Make Nine 2019 list that I got up the guts to try. I don’t know what it is about putting something on a list for me… if it’s on a…
Deer and Doe – Magnolia Dress
I put the Deer and Doe Magnolia dress on my Make Nine 2019 on a whim. I liked it as soon as I saw it but I knew I wouldn’t be brave enough for the plunging neckline version right away so I started with the safer neckline. When I say…
Make Nine 2019
Last year was my first year attempting to stick to a Make Nine. Obviously I make more than nine projects a year but by putting a few specific goals and garments that required more perceived effort on a list helped to keep me on track when new shiny patterns showed…
DIY Jean Jacket
It’s been two years since I decided I wanted to remake my favourite RTW jean jacket. Last year I painstakingly traced each piece and added seam allowances. I also bought and died (twice) the fabric for it then I ran out of steam. Since then it has sat in my…
DIY puff sleeve sweater
This project came from somewhere in my brain, probably from seeing so many puff and bishop sleeve garments in my feed this year. I wanted a cropped but not too tight black turtleneck with long tight cuffs and puff sleeves. With this vision in my head, I started with the…
Seamwork Mesa with DIY crossover shoulder detail
If you’ve been here before or you’ve seen my instagram, you know that the Seamwork Mesa dress is a staple for me, which makes it the perfect thing to hack. I recently became curious about trying a cross over shoulder. I’m not sure why. Likely I saw it somewhere and…
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…
Closet Case – Fiona Dress
I’ve finished my very first Closet Case Patterns garment! Yay! I don’t know why I waited so long and I didn’t start on the easiest one but here it is… my Fiona dress. This make started out great. The PDF pattern was the easiest and clearest I’ve ever worked with…
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…