bodner066

It's done. I really hope whatever my next project is turns out to be something I like better than the last few. I don't dislike this jacket but the fabric is not going to hold up or be washable and it's actually pretty darn warm, which means it won't get worn a whole lot here in Florida. Plus, the zipper isn't really correct (it's a 2-say separating zip) and it gets caught every time I zip it. There's really no taming the chenille next to the zipper teeth. When I first made/hacked this pattern, I added a back yoke and CB seam. I decided to keep these when I was retracing smaller.Yeah, you can't see them at all and what you can see looks all off-grain. It's not, though, which you'll see below in the inside shots. I had thoughts to line this and even cut a lining. But I decided I didn't want to fight with the chenille anymore and besides being a warm layer already, the black inside looks and feels OK without a lining. I serged most seams with ...

Zillie (my dressform) holds my in-progress, or in this case, stalled projects. I liked this fabric because it's all of my colors and a little sparkly too. But it's been in the stash for YEARS and so I'm not entirely sad to be tossing it. A little sad, yes, but onward and upward. This is the pattern. The problems are there in the photo, if only I had paid more attention. But I wanted to try a different silhouette than my usual. Yeah, no. There is just way too much fullness and fabric at belly and below. Camouflage is one thing. Ridiculous added volume is another. Plus the way the print "landed" is also unfortunate. From the side ... can you see how much width this thing adds? Would make an awesome maternity tent. ;-) Needless to say, I won't be finishing this one. And you won't be able to convince me otherwise. Next up is KS 3764. I'll be finishing this one, if only as a wearable muslin until the fabric disintegrates. Which, I'm guessing, won't...

So you've just sewn your knit neckline/neckband carefully and correctly and STILL end up with The Gapes, like this: And then you end up with a big case of The Mehs when you had such high hopes for a cute top/dress using that pretty fabric you just bought (or sacrificed from the stash) . Well first, stop beating yourself up. It happens to all of us and doesn't make you a sewing failure. Sometimes bad things just happen to good fabric and/or techniques. Next, get yourself some elastic thread, like this: And a big-eyed, blunt-end needlepoint needle, like this (the blunt end is important so you don't snag the fabric and make a difficult task of threading the elastic through) : Cut a LONG piece of the elastic thread, roughly 2-1/2 times the length of the neckline area you need to fix, stretch it a couple of times, and thread your needle with it. Then, push the needle under the stitching that's holding down the neckline/neckband, starting at one shoulder seam. Make sure you g...

I sewed up this skirt and top 2-piece dress last weekend and while it's OK, it's not fabulous. Part of the "meh" is because the fabric is just not a nice ITY. I swear, Fabric.com labels everything ITY now and I'm starting to think they're on crack. It's an OK knit, but it's certainly not one of their better ones. It's a bit on the sueded/clingy side. Not *too* clingy, but more like collapsing on me, if you can understanding what I mean. Hard to explain. Still, it's better than the uber-clingy, pill-y, icky rayon crap I'm still trying to get out of the stash. ;-) I like the print, though, which is why I went ahead and used it, ignoring that little voice in my head. The other part of the "meh" is because apparently *I* was on crack when I was sewing up the Jalie top. A top, mind you, that I have made 6 squillion times. Let me tell you, it makes a HUGE difference if you sew RS together where the gathers flip over instead of WS toge...

As you probably already know, the lovely Gillian of Crafting a Rainbow is again hosting the Top 5 series, aka The Yearly Roundup. (Click on that link to Gillian's blog to see the other bloggers participating and don't forget to include a link to yourself if you recapped. I noticed more than a few blog links missing.)  It took me a LOT of time last year to pull everything together so I almost didn't want to do it again this year but I always enjoy everyone else's round-ups/reflections, so .... The good news is that compiling this 2014 recap was actually easier than I was anticipating. The bad news is that's because my sewing output for 2014 SUCKED. Hah. But I completely understand why and it's not really that big of a deal ... now. Before I get to the sewing, my biggest "miss," as I'm sure you can all guess, was unexpectedly losing my job this past April and in the middle of a house move, and my biggest "hit" was finally becoming a perman...

I'm still here, I'm still here! December has flown, January is flying ( Happy New Year! ), and I'm still behind on life. I've got a couple of posts in the works, but I'm so overdue on picking the winner from the giveaway post that I'm just going to stop and do it. Congrats to Nursebennett!! Please email your shipping details to me at dcook100 at gmail dot com , so I can forward the info to Trudy and Jeremy at HotPatterns who will be shipping direct to you. I don't think the Curvy Sewing Collective has drawn the winner yet either, so good luck to all who also entered there! Thank you again Trudy and Jeremy! You're the best!

I'm Debbie Cook. Welcome to my blog. I live and work in Tampa, FL, and I'm Mom to 2 grown sons, one a U.S. Marine and one still living at home. I'm also adopted mom to 2 very cute and very spoiled pooches. I put up with the oppressive Florida humidity and ravenous mosquitos as a trade-off for sunshine and warmth nearly every day of the year. I love to sew, but I didn't know it until I was more than grown up. My mom and grandmothers sewed my whole life and while I never had real lessons from them, I found out later that I had actually learned a lot just by watching and helping. With these "custom dressmakers" available, I never felt the need to sew for myself or sit in front of my own machine unless I was mending, hemming or sewing on Boy Scout badges. Fast forward to my late-30s and the sewing bug finally bit and I haven't stopped since. I've sewn almost everything - home dec, quilting, gifts, lingerie & more, but sewing clothes for myself is what ...