Sharon Sews

Look at this cute maternity dress! Oops, that's not actually what it is intended to be. It's Butterick 5173 , a Maggy London knit pullover dress, that didn't work out quite as well on me as I had hoped. While I thought the dress was really cute, in the end the style of the dress isn't to my liking. FBA I did make a few minor changes to the original design, but nothing drastic. The first th ing I needed to do was an FBA (full bust adjustment.) and I wasn't sure how to do it on th is design. So what I ended up doing was tracing the dress front pattern above the waist only. Then I cut and spread the area where the gathers f all over the bust in three places. This worked pretty well, but I still could have added more to the width of the front. As it was I sewed the upper side and back seam in 3/8" seams rather than 5/8" seams. Back The back of t he pattern has a v-neck with a contrast band and I changed that. I raised the back neckline by using the back

Do you use Google Alerts? I do. Not familiar with a Google alert? They're simple. If you have a Gmail account you can set up Google Alerts on whatever topic you want. You then receive email updates with the latest Google results (web, news, blogs, etc.) based on what your topic is. I have one set up for the company I work for to help me track news coverage as well as one for sewing. Knowing I wouldn't be attending the Puyallup Sewing Expo this year, I set up a Google alert for the expo. I guesses there would be bloggers who will attend and will likely write updates as well as post photos. Sure enough, here's the first few updates that came my way. Article in the Puyallup Herald Expo update on About.com Expo update on Sonya's Snippets Try setting up a Google Alert with your name...you might be surprised at what you'll get.

Are you going? Sadly, I won't be attending this year's Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA. (Feb. 28 & 29, Mar. 1 & 2) I know, I know, y'all were hoping we could meet up and swap sewing stories over a cup of coffee. Me too! I might not be there, but my incredibly talented friend Cheryl will be there. Honestly, I can *not* believe they do not have her listed as a celebrity. I'm certain that will happen soon - she's definitely a celebrity in my eyes. This woman is not only talented (and cute) but she has the sassiest sense of humor. If you take her class, Low-Sew Boutique Worthy Bags , you'll discover that for yourself. Just be prepared for the muscles in your face and stomach to hurt from the constant laughing. If you're at the expo, be sure to stop by Cheryl's booth ( Homestead Specialties , booth 161 and 162) . Just follow the laughter and you'll find it. Who knows, there might even be an impromptu fashion show going on. When

In a past post I mentioned I was having issues with the collar not laying properly - Tany commented (on this post ) it might be the velvet against velvet (the naps) fighting against one another causing this. In an attempt to try and combat the wayward collar that I decided to tack the collar edges in place - by hand! Now you know how much I *hate* hand sewing but there are times it just can't be avoided. To disguise the stitches I'm sewing beads onto the front of the collar - they are a ice gray so they blend in pretty well. My goal is to prevent this jacket from becoming another UFO - so tonight while watching Project Runway I'll finish beading the collar.

My 70's inspired faux wrap dress worn to the disco party was my third dress sewn using New Look 6429. Guess that makes it a TNT (tried and true) pattern, right? Fabric While I like both of my other ones, this one is my favorite. The print is great - modern with a retro feel and it was wonderful to work with. Its an ITY knit (polyester/spandex) that I purchased at Hancock Fabrics when I attended the Pati Palmer seminar . If you don't have a Hancock near you it's also available online (click here ). For this version I added the collar but not the cuffs - mainly because I was on a tight deadline and it was quicker to hem the sleeves than add the cuffs. Clear elastic neckline Rather than finish the neckline with a facing, as the pattern instruction calls for, I used clear elastic. My serger is still broken ( note to self...bring serger in for repair ) so I sewed the clear elastic to the neckline on the wrong side of the fabric using a zig-zag stitch. Then I simply turned tha