Sharon Sews

Remember a few weeks ago when I shared that awesome mustard colored skirt with you? You know, the one from Vogue 8355 . The one that I wasn't sure what color would work best. Thanks to your comments I tried a few color combinations using jackets and sweaters already in my closet.  Most didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Like this multi-colored jacket with burgundy boots.  But today I hit a winning combination with this plum jacket I sewed a few years ago.   And did you notice the scarf? I just happened to have a scarf on hand with both the mustard and plum colors in the pattern! Lucky me. Instead of a black heel, I paired it with a neutral shoe - a grayish taupe suede wedge. It works because it's just a bit unexpected but not obviously so. After a day at the office wearing the skirt I can tell you that is indeed a winner. I wasn't sure about the length but it's actually really nice for the office. And in case you're curious the jacket is fro...

I have a fairly large collection of vintage 1970s Betsey Johnson sewing patterns. When I decided to participate in the #sewvivjoyvintage challenge on Instagram I knew it was time to pull one out and sew it up! I used Butterick 3290 and sewed the topstitched wrap jacket. From what I can tell, the pattern is from 1973. There is no date on the pattern envelope or instructions, so I dated it based on pattern numbers on the Vintage Pattern Wiki that were close to this one that had a date of 1973. The pattern includes the wrap jacket with tie belt, wide let pants, and a mini skirt. Don't you just love those illustrations!?! The fabric is a scuba knit from Boho Fabrics . It was lighter weight than I expected, but it ended up working perfectly for this design.  My original thought was to sew the wrap jacket with matching wide leg pants. Kinda trendy with the all over print jumpsuits and matchmaking floral blazers and pants I've seen in the fashion mags and online. Instead...

I did it! I finished my first challenge over at The Sew Weekly. I even managed to finish it on time. The challenge this week was to sew something inspired by an accessory - shoes, hat, shoes, brooch, shoes, jewelry, belt, shoes.  Yea, I had shoes on the brain. I figured I'd sew something inspired by a great pair of shoes, after all I have dozens to choose from. But when my eye landed on this clutch I knew this was my inspiration piece and that I would sew something that mimicked those gray fabric roses. That's when I remembered a pair of silk/rayon pants I had purchased five years ago. The. Perfect. Color. Knowing I had very little fabric to work with, I planned to sew a sleeveless tank and embellish it with fabric roses. As I searched my patterns for a simple tank and came across Simplicity 2599 .  Not only was it a B, C, D cup pattern (woot! no alterations) it included instructions for fabric roses.  Perfect. I managed to squeeze the sleeveless versio...

Slow and steady wins the race - at least that's how the saying goes .  It's a little challenging for me to be sewing for more than a month on a simple pencil skirt, but my available sewing time has been reduced to 10 to 45 minute blocks of time. The progress so far. Feb. 17 choose the mustard yellow wool fabric to sew a skirt using Simplicity 2343) I choose Simplicity 2343, because I wear my orange version fairly often. Feb. 23, sewed upper yokes to front and back skirt pieces Did you notice anything odd in the photo above? Think about it.  The piece on the left is the upper side yoke of skirt back. The piece on the right is upper side yoke of skirt front. I didn't even notice I had sewed it incorrectly until I was done pressing... And that is why you should not mix Margaritas and sewing. Feb. 24, decided to do add embroidered running stitches to emphasis the yoke seam lines Can you believe it? Me, a self-proclaimed hater* of hand-sewing, actuall...

What?!?  A year to sew a bomber jacket?  Okay, true confession.  It didn't really take a year to sew this bomber jacket. I only worked on it for seven months. But it did take me a year to blog about it! Let me back up and start at the beginning. When McCall's announced a bomber jacket sew-a-long on their blog in August 2016, I decided to join.  Right away I was behind schedule as I wanted to wait for a sale to purchase the pattern (McCall's 7100 ). Next, I couldn't make up my mind what fabric to use to sew my bomber. I purchased a couple different pieces locally from SR Harris: a pretty brocade, a border print suiting, and a faux leather. But after bringing them home they just didn't say "make me into a bomber jacket".  (Your fabric speaks to you too, right?) Then it hit me!  I remembered this gorgeous piece of fabric I had purchased from Emma One Sock in 2010.   It was described as "Milly faux leather applique border taffeta in a h...