Sharon Sews

When the June 2020 BurdaStyle magazine arrived I knew I wanted to sew the jumpsuit on the cover . And I don't even like jumpsuits. Then I picked fabrics that were not even suggested! I know, a sewing rebel, right? LOL. The jumpsuit is designed to be sewn in lightweight wovens, like a rayon challis. I loved the fabric of the sample shown on the magazine cover and really, really wanted to sew mine in something similar. Well, truth be told I wanted that exact fabric! When I realized I wouldn't be able to find something even close, I put the idea of sewing this jumpsuit out of mind. That is, until a sewing challenge on Instagram popped up. It was called a #sewingbowlchallenge. When you expressed interest in participating, the organizer pulled out components of the challenge from six little fishbowls (which is how the name came to be).  My challenge was to sew 1) from a magazine or book 2) a suit, 3) in a neutral, 4) using colorblock, 5) with my choice of fabric, 6) in three weeks....

I like the easy comfort of a knit dress and this one has the added bonus of a flattering cross over bodice (no gaping!) and waist detail (that gives the illusion that I still have a waist!) This is a new release from Itch to Stitch and I must say this will likely become another favorite! The waist detail is slight ruched, the flared skirt is a flattering, and there are pockets!  The Antrim Dress was released on Sept. 1, 2020 and will be 20% off for one week (through Sept. 7, 2020. ) This striped version was the first one I sewed. It's a double brushed poly knit that I found at Walmart of all places. It was one of those pre-cut bundles they offer for sale. I purchased it to use when testing the fit of a knit garment.  After sewing the dress I realized I rather liked the final dress and added it to my closet.  This dress pattern, a PDF by the way, is available in sizes 00 to 40, with multi cup sizes.  Well you know how I love a well-drafted pattern than allows me to e...

After months of casual at-home attire I was ready for a comfy, yet cute look! When a testing call went out for the new Celeste Dress by Itch to Stitch I applied.  I liked the design lines and knew this would be something I could wear in place of my current at-home attire. Okay, let's get real. My casual at-home look had gotten rather sloppy.  On a daily basis I was donning cut-off jean shorts, tees and skipping the hair and makeup.  I mean with no reason to leave the house it was easy for me to slide into a sloppy look under the pretext of being comfy.  Yes, it was incredibly comfortable. But so is this dress.  Plus wearing a dress makes me want to fix my hair and add some makeup.  The dress is described as " a relaxed-fit dress with flattering lines. It features a pleasing V neck, feminine princess seams, high-waisted center-front gathers, ample pockets and breezy short sleeves."  Here is the line drawing. I was a bit concerned about the...

Over the past few years I've sewn - and purchased - a few tops with an attached back cape design feature. Such as the blue Butterick 6490 top  and the black Vogue 8907 top , that were both sewn and blogged in 2017.  My latest cape back top is this one sewn from a pink knit. This is McCall's 7541, released in 2017 and now out of print (OOP). It's a loose-fitting, pullover top with an attached overlay aka the cape.  The fabric suggestions are challis, crepe de chine, crepe, and stable knits.  I choose to sew this in a light weight stable knit I purchased two years ago from SR Harris i n Minnesota.  Because SR is a fabric warehouse, fabrics typically do not have the fiber content listed. I purchased the end of the bolt of this pink gingham knit and tucked inside was this fabric tag. There are four views to choose from and as you can see they are pretty similar. I sewed View B, the one with the shorter, curved "sleeves" and the longer back overlay wit...

At the end of May, as the temperatures were rapidly rising, I realized I had very few casual tops suitable for warm weather.  So the majority of my June sewing focused on making tops. This is the Urban T-shirt from The Sewing Workshop . The fabric is a striped knit that I received in a mystery bundle from Fabric Mart Fabrics . Am I the only one that loves ordering and receiving those mystery bundles?  I'm not positive of the fiber content but am guessing it is a cotton blend. Not too heavy and with excellent recovery.  The striped pattern in the knit made this a great choice for the Urban T-shirt! I had sewn this tee only once before. In November 2010 to be exact. I know the date because I tucked a note inside the pattern with changes to make next time. Mostly to sew it smaller.  I'm a larger size than I was ten years ago, so I ignored the note and started fresh. I used a small at the neckline/shoulder tapering to a medium at the bust, waist and hips. I ...

Back in March (was it really only three months ago?!?) I participated in a sewing challenge with two fellow sewing YouTubers.  We purchased identical fabric from Hawaii Fabric Mart and each of us sewed a  maxi dress using a vintage sewing pattern. For "vintage" we agreed that anything before the year 2000 would work, so we were pretty lax on that requirement.  We also agreed we would not share our pattern or final dress with one another until March 31. On that day we each revealed our pattern choice and maxi on our YouTube channels. Here's the maxi I sewed. I picked McCall's 7127, from 1980, for my maxi dress pattern. I sewed the short dress from this pattern when it was a fairly new release.  Hmmm, does that make me vintage too? :-) I repurchased the pattern a few years ago in a larger size. At the time the size 14 was too large, but lucky for me it's the size I now start with when sewing tops or dresses. As the saying goes, everything old is new again....