Paris, Here I come!

I am so excited to be going to Paris this summer! I have never been to Europe. I hope to find some beautiful fabric or trim or buttons and see couture dresses and jackets and gowns. Any advice from my sewing friends about where to go, what to see, what to bring, what to buy, etc. would be so welcome. I am a travel rookie.

V1183 and my 30 year reunion

This weekend was my 30 year high school reunion.  The dress is my version of Kay Unger's V1183.  I used stretch cotton poplin from JoAnn's.  The center back seam is matched below the waist.  I hand stitched it with invisible thread.  My husband was so proud of me, he made it a point to announce to everyone at the after party (there were seven of us) that I made my dress.  What a guy!  Isn't he cute?

My Wonderful Husband

Yearbook Photo from 1983

All better now

I recut the the off grain side.  Here it is. Honestly, it was a chore to do. I melted it with my iron and had to clean my iron and recut it yet again. By the time I got it sewed together, I was so sick of it that I wasn't even going to photograph it.
I mentioned I have a class reunion coming up, right? Well I decided to sew a sleeveless Kay Unger design in a stretch cotton I found at JoAnn's. Here is the pattern.

I modified a custom princess dress pattern to add the midriff.  You can see that I have more coverage at the front and back armscye.  I also omitted the back vent and lengthened the skirt.  In front, I lengthened the waist darts to accommodate my (ahem) athletic thighs.

This is the fabric I am using:

Here are some of the pieces cut and ready to sew:

In other news, I finished my recent contract and have turned my attention back to pattern drafting and grading. I couldn't be happier. I only have a couple of patterns completed, but soon, I will do a quiet launch of my website. Soon...

So... I sewed. A little.

I have been crazy busy this last month. I have had to put my pattern company plans on hold. I am doing some contract work helping a company meet a deadline in mid April and another in late May. That means almost all of my productive time is going to fulfill my contract and I am too tired to grade patterns or blog or sew. I did manage to draft a pattern for a surplice sleeveless shell, but in my haste, I cut the front left on the wrong grain. I have enough fabric to cut another left front. I wish I had enough time to fix it! Here is a picture. We'll call this one "BEFORE". Stay tuned for the "AFTER"... -->

Has it REALLY been that long?

My iPhone has been beeping all day. My classmates are all abuzz about our upcoming 30 year reunion. I can hardly believe it has been thirty years. Of course I am excited to see everyone again, but I can't stop thinking, "What am I going to wear???" I sew. I am about to release a pattern line. I HAVE to make something fabulous, right? Here is what I wore to my 20 year reunion (which, by the way, does NOT seem like it was ten years ago). I did make it myself. I think it was a bit too dressy compared to what my friends were wearing.

I am thinking about making a knee length dress this time. The reunion is in late June. The days will be long. I like the idea of a sleeveless design. What do you think of these? I didn't make any of them, but I could copy the design and draft my own pattern. These are all silk, but I am thinking of using a lightweight wool crepe. The color I have in mind is a deep sapphire blue. If I go with the third one, I would shorten the hem to the knee. The images expand when clicked.

Pinstriped Menswear - Not Just For Men!

I saw a dress on a Google Image search and I had to have it. So I challenged myself to draft a custom pattern. I like the white buttons better. What do you think? I would add it to my pattern line but it might be difficult for some to custom fit.

It's been a long, long time...

Hello World!

I have been quiet for many months, but I have not forgotten you. As a matter of fact, you have been on my mind more than ever. I read your blogs and your comments with great interest. You see, I have been learning about pattern making, grading, technical writing, fashion illustration, cad drawing, and running a small business. Can you guess why?


Did you guess that I decided to start an independent pattern company? If you did, you are correct! At first, I wanted to wait until I had a full collection of patterns to offer, but I am too excited to delay any longer. Soon, I will release my first patterns. Here are a few sneak preview illustrations: