Sharon Sews

The perfect marriage of a cowl neck and a turtleneck with a little drama thrown in for good measure. Burda 7444 pullover knit top The turtleneck is pretty obvious. The cowl neck is hinted at with the front drape. The drama? Well, that's the back shoulders, baby. All in all it's a pretty simple top to sew. Tedious, but simple.   I managed to cut this out and sew it all today. And that was in between helping my husband rip up carpet and prepare the floor for our new flooring. The front piece is gathered along the shoulder line and wraps over the shoulder where it is gathered and attached to the back like a raglan sleeve (as shown above).  The instructions have you run two rows of long machine stitches along the shoulder line and the back side edge.  Next you pull the gathers up to a specified measurement. In my case it was 7-1/2" for the shoulders and 10-1/4" for the back side edge. To keep the stitches from pulling out when I was gathering them I p

Butterick 5562 Instead of working on my sewing recap for 2010, I completed one last project. It's a silver metallic knit ( thanks for the idea Gwen! ) version of the striped top I sewed the other day .   Sparkly yet warm and comfy. Perfect for a casual New Year's evening at home with the hubby. Wishing you all a very Happy New Year! *******************************************************

This striped fabric was destined to be a pullover top from the moment I saw it.  It is incredibly soft. Soft enough that you just want to bury yourself in it to guard against the cold.  At least I do. It's only been sitting around since October as I purchased it during my last trip to my favorite local warehouse fabric store. Not bad, huh?     Hmmm,  now that I look at this photo I'm reminded that I've also sewn the planned pullover top from that fuzzy blue knit also.  I'll tell you about that one another day.  Today it's all about Butterick 5562.   The pattern itself it a very basic tee with a wide scooped neckline.  The thing that sets this pattern apart is the sleeve variations and the large draped and gathered collar on view D. Butterick 5562 , image from Butterick.com Now y'all know I went for the large collared version, right?  Butterick 5562 View D To be honest, I didn't really think this one through. For my needs - which are to pair

My Sandra Betzina Power Sewing Toolbox sewing books arrived last week.  Among the last-minute hustle and bustle all I had time to do was unwrap the books, give them a quick glance and place them on the bookshelf. Until today. Today I finally had a chance to look at them a bit more closely.  If you haven't added these books to your library yet, you'll want to do so. Especially after this little sneak peek. I pre-ordered them a few months ago. True to her word, they arrived  before Christmas and each had a signed sticker on the inside cover. Am I the only sewing-book-junkie who gets a kick out of having books signed by their authors? Having the books signed will bring a smile to my face every time I open one. Sandra Betzina may not have known who she was signing the book for but she did know it was someone who shared her love of sewing. The books are lovely to look at.  They're large - approx. 10" x 10" - with glossy hard covers.  There is a gold elast