Category Archives: Garment Sewing

This Project in Use

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A few days before leaving for France, I finished a long, flounced halter dress for my granddaughter, Ridley, who would turn 10 at the end of the month. Ridley’s mother’s family has a lot of height genes, so this child was wearing size 9 shoes and girls’ size 14 clothes when she was 9. I believe I”ll be making clothes for her for years to come. As I said in the blog post about the dress construction, I had cut the dress too large, but was able to alter it in such a way that I will be able to … Continue reading →

Geometric Goodies

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I was bored early one morning before leaving for France, and started exploring Mood Fabrics’ website while lying in bed, waiting for the Jazzman to wake up. Bad move. I found several things I had to have. This one is called “Bright Multi Geometric Jersey Prints” and is a whole bunch of colors that look good on me. I knew I would use it for one of Marcy Tilton’s or Katherine Tilton’s tops they’ve designed for Vogue Patterns. So I wanted a complementary fabric to bind the neckline. Lookee here! The photo doesn’t do it justice. Look at how look … Continue reading →

But Not for Me

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In preparation for our upcoming vacation in France, my recent sewing frenzy has been totally focused on moi. But, ever the devoted Grandma, I saw a cute new McCall’s pattern and decided DGD needed a new dress for her upcoming end-of-year festivities. Ridley will be 10 in a few weeks, but she got her height genes from her mother’s side of the family. She’s probably about 5’4″ and wears a girls’ 14 (although there are items in her closet in Misses Small). I did not ask her mother to measure her before cutting out the pattern–oops. I looked at RTW … Continue reading →

Second Verse, Better Than the First

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Hot off the sewing machine today is another pair of Marcy Tilton’s Vogue 8859. My first attempt occurred last week. Today’s version proves one can improve upon success. I wore the gray slacks two or three times last week to test them out. Each time, I found myself pulling and tugging at the waist and hiking the pants up. The more I thought about it, the more I realized they were too big. I purchased another piece of fabric from MarcyTilton.com, this time a cotton/poly/lycra blend from Theory. Marcy calls it Cocoa Canyon Stretch Woven. This has a sateen finish … Continue reading →

Done *and* Completed

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After writing about my feeling of exposure given the length of the front “ruffles” on Katherine Tilton’s Vogue 8691, I went back to my sewing table and gathered up all my scraps. Alas, there was not enough fabric to cut new, longer panels. So I pulled out the pattern piece for the two front panels and cut a second panel to be attached to the bottom of the first panel. The piece started at the bottom edge of the front panel, extending down 2″ and up 1″—a total height, if you will, of 3″, with the bottom of the first … Continue reading →

Done but not Completed

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Here’s the top I finished yesterday. It’s another Katherine Tilton top, Vogue 8691. I snapped a quick pic to send to Jas at work before I left to attend a performance of Mahler Symphony #2. As I was walking from the car to Stambaugh Auditorium, I realized I felt a tad exposed. I wasn’t comfortable with how short the front was. No, you can’t see my crotch, but it feels like you can. That just won’t do. This morning I tried it on with my EF black slim washable stretch crepe pants, and didn’t like the look. That was going … Continue reading →

Love at First Sight

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You’ve seen two versions of this pattern so far (1, 2). Those were all View C/D of Katherine Tilton’s Vogue 8817. While I was in Santa Barbara for Design Outside the Lines, I saw two women wearing tops out of View B. It was very flattering on them, and I wanted to try it for myself. I had seen a gorgeous stretch rayon/lycra knit on the Emma One Sock site. The print is a mix of large abstract and small marbelized pools. Just gorgeous! The colors called my name. When the fabric arrived a few days later, I almost purred … Continue reading →

A Stripe Obsession

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Have you noticed all the stripes in ready-to-wear these days? Every time I click on a website or open a magazine, I see a plethora of stripes, with lots of variations in placement and alignment. I picked up this soft little gray and pale aqua stripe while in Santa Barbara at Design Outside the Lines. It’s out of stock now, but look at all the other sweet stripes Marcy has ready for your sewing pleasure. As I’ve probably mentioned here before, I’m a tad busty. I always have a hard time getting darts to aim properly, even with an FBA, … Continue reading →