Sharon Sews

Between the workout at the gym and Project Runway (which will be airing in a few minutes) there wasn't much time to sew this evening. However, I was able to get the sleeves on and basted the midriff piece onto the bodice. The sleeves are narrow. I realized this before cutting them and added width to them using the same pivot and slide method that I used to adjust the bodice. I tapered back to the original seam at the elbow. However, after sewing the sleeve in a 5/8" seam as is allowed, I tried the sleeve on and found it tighter than I like at the elbow. I took that seam out and resewed the seam in a 3/8" seam. I'm very glad I added the extra at the bicep. After the sleeves were sewn on, I basted on the midriff band. At this point I placed it on GiGi to evaluate. I'm not sure I like the midriff band in the same color. I won't have a chance to sew for a few days so this weekend I'll dig in the stash to see if I have a piece of black velvet I can use of for t

I now own most of the "Duro" style dress patterns (as well as HotPatterns version). I wasn't 100 percent thrilled with the Simplicity version I made and haven't worn it yet. The fabric I choose for the McCall's version is too summery and I'm not going to begin something that has no hope of being worn until next summer. Of course, by then it may be hopelessly outdated. HotPatterns I was hesitant to sew because of the tight sleeves many people on Patternreview commented on and I guess I'm just too lazy to tackle that right now. That left Butterick's version. Originally I was going to use up a piece of winter white crepe I have in my stash, but thought maybe I could try it out of a color that wasn't on the pattern cover. Hey, now there's an idea! You'd think after all these years of sewing I could see beyond the illustrations! Knowing that I wanted to wear it this fall (with boots of course) I dug in my stash of costume fabrics and pulled out

In my haste to create a suit in two days, and then my disappointment over the fit of the jacket pattern I had chosen, I forgot to mention the success of the skirt. I choose to sew view B, which is the view without the contrast band. I used the same fabric as the jacket - a lightweight black wool with some lycra. However, I was short fabric as the skirt calls for 1-1/2 yards of 60" wide fabric (size 14) and I barely had 1-1/4 yards left after cutting out the jacket. This was before I knew the jacket would become a potential wadder and I really wanted the two pieces cut from the same piece of cloth. The solution? I shortened the center back and side back pieces by 3". On the side back piece I was able to curve the hem back to the original cutting line. This meant I did not have to shorten the skirt in the front. As you can see, from the front this is a plain looking slightly a-line skirt. From the side, you can see that the dramatic contrast in hem lengths is not as evident as