Posts

HP Nexus T-Shirt Dress

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Happy End of November! And, yep, it's been a while. Again. I've sewn a number of things over the last few months and have at least one more blog post in the wings with photos loaded and waiting, so hopefully I'll get that published soon too. Today, however, I'm going backwards and starting with what I made most recently. As in, last weekend. The photos are kind of meh and as usual include some from the work bathroom but … hey … that's me. So, let's get started. Spoiler alert — I'm not thrilled with this pattern. The pattern is the HotPatterns Nexus T-Shirt Dress, pattern shown below. I bought the downloadable PDF version. Pros for HP PDFs — no trimming. You just butt the edges and tape. Cons - No layers, so in places you end up with a million indiscernible lines overlapping in place. And the pieces are not laid out with printer limitations in mind, so near the edges there is usually something missing. Mostly,  you can work around this. Sometimes, it's hi...

One More Hot Patterns Classix Nouveau Primavera Dress

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I last made this dress just about 1 year ago . I've worn it a LOT since. It's the perfect combination of great fabric, easy wear, easy care. Every time I wear it, I always tell myself to make another. I finally listened. Another classy work bathroom selfie. The pattern: Bodice, in progress. Like last time, I fully lined the bodice to eliminate the facings. I also raised the neckline another 3/4". The last version is passable, but it still teeters on low-cut. Teeters. Hah. That's the only alteration I made to this version, having incorporated the incremental fixes from last time into my actual pattern pieces. It was nice to pretty much just cut and sew. Lots 'o gathering at the front waist. CB stripe matching like a BOSS! If you look close, you can see there's actually a seam in there. Almost BOSSy matching at the side, but not quite. I had a brain fart and forgot to match the pocket facing. The eagle-eyed among you will also notice that I didn't even attemp...

Itch to Stitch Nottingham - My thoughts

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How does so much time go by between posts?? I really always intend to post more often but then either my sewjo disappears or my blogjo (is that a thing?) does, or both. And then I make excuses to myself or figure no one wants to just read about my day-to-day, especially with no pics! But anyway ... here I am. And I sewed! (I thought this pic was both creepy and hilarious, in a 'The Shining' sort of way.) This past Memorial Day Weekend was the most productive I've been in a short time in months! I made two tops and three skirts. Yay! Today, I'm going to talk about the Nottingham top from Itch to Stitch. Link to pattern  here   ( not an affiliate link) . This is the first Itch to Stitch pattern I've actually sewn. I've bought a few and downloaded the freebies and they are in my queue but see comment about sewjo above. Plus Magpie Syndrome. I know ... preaching to the choir! :-) But I love me a twisty top and so this one jumped into first position. Overall, the ...

Cashmerettte Rivermont Review

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I know, it's crazy. Two blog posts from me within days ;-) Here I am in my Cashmerette Rivermont dress. In the bathroom at work. So classy. My face says it all, no? Obligatory pattern cover. And line drawings. And size chart. Since I don't fit into any one size on the size chart, I do the morph-o-roo between a few sizes. Following the Cashmerette instructions to choose by my bust size doesn't work for me. I end up with a too-wide neckline and a bodice that falls off my shoulders. So, I pick for my bust size but ALSO for my upper chest/shoulder size by blending smaller for those areas. For Rivermont, that meant between 14-16 (C/D cup) at neck/upper chest and underarm, outward to the 20 at waist/hip. Kind of like my "cheater FBA" but in this instance it's my "cheater NSA" ( narrow shoulder adjustment). (And OMG, now that I've typed NSA twice, should I be worried? Hah .) You can see what I did looking at the yellow highlighting below. This gives m...