Sharon Sews

Ah, McCall's 5330, how do I love thee? I don't have many TNT (tried and true) patterns as I'm easily seduced by the pretty pictures on the covers of the sewing patterns. This skirt pattern is an exception. Not only does it have three skirt designs in one pattern envelope, but it is basic enough to allow for creativity. The first skirt sewn from this pattern was the button front out of a gray embroidered border linen remnant; The second skirt sewn was the straight pencil skirt sewn from an embroidered (with sequins) black linen remnant; The third was sewn from a black stretch woven pinstripe - you guessed it - remnant. Each skirt cost under $10 to sew including skirt fabric, lining, zipper, interfacing, trim, and thread. Gotta love that $30 and some time invested for three skirts that can be worn often. My original thought on this pinstripe was to use it lengthwise on the main body of the skirt and crosswise on the bottom of the skirt. What I hadn't taken into

I've been on a self-imposed pattern diet lately. I mean, let's get real here. The $3.99 and $1.99 pattern sales from the past years have led to an overabundance of unused patterns taking up space in my sewing studio. But then Vogue had to go and release some great spring designs. And Joann Fabrics held a $3.99 Vogue Pattern sale. And I convinced myself I had to have  Vogue 1282 , a Donna Karan draped knit top and skirt.  So off I went to my local JoAnn Fabrics store. Only to discover they did not have the new releases out yet.  Sigh. However, I know from past experience this store is not always meticulous as to where they place patterns.  See what I discovered when I pulled open the drawer labeled 73XX - 75XX?  Numerous random patterns tucked in in the 79XX to 86XX number range.  So I started opening all of the pattern drawers. And something odd caught my eye as odd.   A bag pattern that I was pretty sure was discontinued.  And a Vogue Elements pattern - again one