Posts Tagged ‘fashion’

Sewing A Muslin That I Love

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I sewed! I’ve had a few projects in the queue, it’s just a matter of building up the courage and carving out the time to actually execute. But in the mean time, I’ve been sewing muslins and tailoring clothes to fit me and/or the kids in the cracks. 

One of those big projects in the queue is a romper I want to make. Harts Fabric sent me some fabric and the Toaster Pattern from Sew House Seven to try out. I’ve been so hesitant to cut into the fabric, that I wanted to sew up a “muslin” first out of some cheap fabric I found to make sure it fit right. And oh my I’m pleased with how the “muslin” turned out, I wear it constantly. I’m excited to work on my romper, but I just haven’t had the time or mental space to do it yet. It’s more of a fall/winter piece, so I hope to be done with it before the cooler temperatures hit. 

The toaster pattern itself is a dream to sew up. It’s the perfect beginner top to start, especially if you’re just starting to sew knits. The arms and hem can be done in a straight stitch because the pattern is meant to be slouchy, you don’t need stretch there. And there’s no hemming needed for the neckline! It’s a beginner’s dream! 

One of the things about indie patternists is that you never really know how good it is until you bust into it. This pattern is fantastic. It’s easy to piece together (if you’re purchasing the PDF version) and the instructions are clear and logical. It’s a great base for manipulating and making all sorts of fun things as well. I’ll be using this pattern for years to come, I can already tell. :) 

The split hem is a great, contemporary detail. It’s a short-er boxy top, but the perfect length for pairing with mid-rise jeans/pants. I’m 5’6″ and sewed up a size small. Hopefully that helps you with gauging if pattern alterations are necessary. 

To pair with this top, I’ve been loving lighter, pastels! This necklace sent to me by Ash Jewelry Studio has been a staple with this top. Scratch that, it’s been a staple with every darn thing in my wardrobe lately. Blush pink is the new nude, amiright? Earrings are also by Ash, and the perfect lightweight “hoops”. Actually, I don’t own a pair of hoop earrings, but these make the cut because they’re minimalist and light-weight. Seriously, If you’re looking to invest in some fantastic accessories that will go with everything, check out Ash Jewelry Studio.

Outfit details:

Have you made anything recently? Share your favorite things you’ve seen/made in the comments below!

Products were donated, no payment was made for this post or product placement. I just love supporting small businesses that are making and providing their customers with great products. All opinions are my own.

Sewing, Weight-Gain & Le Tote

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This post is in partnership with Le Tote. They’re like Netflix for clothes. Borrow clothes, wear them, try out new styles and return them. They do the laundering and help with styling and fit! Try it free for 14 days with this special link.

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I’ve talked about depression before. It’s not a big deal when it’s under control with lifestyle, diet and medication. But lately, I’ve been frustrated by one of the most common side effects of my medication: weight gain. It’s like I have no self-control. All I want is sugar and carbs and I’m always hungry.

In the last 2 months, I’ve gained nearly 5% of my body weight. It may not seem like much. And to be honest, it’s not as big a deal as many other medications out there, but it’s significant enough that I don’t feel comfortable. I have a rather healthy body image, so I really don’t mind what I see when I look in the mirror when I get out of the shower, but I don’t feel like I belong in my own clothes.

WEIGHT DOESN’T MATTER, but confidence does. 

Over the last three months, Le Tote has “grown” with me. As I’ve fluctuated, I’ve always had something fabulous to wear. Going through transitional weight phases sucks. It’s happened every time I’ve had a kid. I have a conundrum of wanting to look and feel beautiful, but not wanting to buy clothes in that transitional size for fear that it won’t fit later on. What a waste!

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Le Tote has had my back. They’ve been there to make me feel beautiful inside and out, no matter what my size.

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This month I wanted to challenge myself to sew. I’ve had this shirt half done on my cut table for nearly a month, it was time to finish it. I literally used the leftover scraps from two projects (this skirt and this shirt) to piece together this top. I had barely enough fabric! There’s something satisfying about keeping great fabric from going to waste.

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I had a fun time getting back into the sewing game. I made a scout tee and added a ruffle bottom to it. I found the print in the L.A. fabric district and the plum at JoAnn.

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Outfit Details:

 

Matching Back-To-School Tees

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Girl Charlee approached me to see if I wanted to sew something with their fabric. Uh DUH. Yes! It’s about darn time that I turn on the freaking sewing machines.

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This horse fabric screamed both Penelope and Junie. And heck, I had enough yardage, I made a third shirt for Penelope’s BFF, Kate. The girls were particularly bored yesterday so I asked them if they wanted to help me make matching tees for them.

Their reactions couldn’t have been better if I had asked them to go to Disneyland with me. #bestreactionever

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While they helped me cut the pattern pieces, they were planning on which days they schemed about which day of the week they would wear their matching shirts. Originally they wanted to wear them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Ha!

Shirt Details:

  • Penelope’s shirt (2/3 of a yard) using size 6/7 in Megan Nielsen’s Mini Briar
  • Kate’s shirt, 2/3 of a yard using one of her favorite tees as a template (using this concept)
  • Junie’s shirt, 1/3 of a yard using a pattern I made for her Easter dress (still not posted yet, EEP!)

The fabric is light weight, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for a dress unless it was gathered at the waist to add extra volume. However, when the girls wore it, it was substantial enough that they didn’t need to wear camisoles underneath. It’s possibly because of the print/color. Love it though. Easy knit to work with and plenty of structure to sew with a standard sewing machine (although I totally used my serger for most of the work).

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Can you guess who’s the star of the show? It breaks my heart that Junie is growing up so fast. How did this girl get so big?!? She’ll be 2 next month!!

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Sewing Style: Floral Two-toned Shift Dress

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I live in this dress. It’s comfortable enough to throw on and chase the kids all day, but it’s nice enough for a date night out.

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I originally bought this fabric (Mood!) like 3 years ago on a girls’ weekend to L.A. fabric district. We each bought a yard of this gorgeous fabric to see what we would do with it. I was so nervous to cut into the fabric, I ended up tying it around my waist and joking with a “no sew” tutorial. To see what everyone else did with the fabric, click here.

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Just before leaving for Hawaii back in May, I decided it was time to do something about that yard. I didn’t have enough yardage to make a dress knee length, so I got creative and color blocked the top to give me a little extra room at the hem. I didn’t want it to look like I just pieced a top and a bottom there. I sliced and diced Megan Nielsen’s Briar tee pattern. I raised the neckline a touch and pieced the front and back. Piecing isn’t as hard as you might think. Especially if it’s in straight lines. It’s easiest if you have some tracing paper. I like to use large sheets of tracing paper from a roll (you can get them in 24″, 36″ and 48″ widths). See below for the full tutorial.

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We had so fun at the photo shoot that I forgot to get a straight on back shot of the dress so here’s one flat from my studio.

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Sewing the ‘v’ together was a little tricky since I didn’t want any puckering to occur (go slow!), but I tell you, using two knit fabrics for piecing like this is a lot easier than piecing two woven fabrics together. There’s a lot more wiggle room. Literally.

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First things first, you’ll need:

For this, I used a pattern piece from the Briar Sweater pattern. This technique works on any pattern piece.

 

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Draw a line where you want your color blocking to happen. Drawing directly on the flat pattern how you want the pattern piece to look and where you want the seam to fall.

Then slip the pattern piece under the tracing paper and trace each section carefully. Transfer markings and information.

THEN ADD SEAM ALLOWANCE. You’ll add the same seam allowance to your color blocking lines as the pattern calls for. Write those seam allowances on the pattern pieces.

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Cut your fabric pieces out and align right sides together from the top corner to the middle. Pin at the pivot point.

Sew up to the pivot point and release your presser foot while keeping the needle in the fabric. Align the remaining fabric pieces and pin. Continue your line.

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Here’s the key: press your seam and top stitch the seam allowance to that side. I chose to stitch the seam allowance pointing upwards because of the fabric choices it just looked better.

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Now sew your pieces together as directed in the sewing pattern. DONE!

View More: http://piersonphotocompany.pass.us/melissaoutfits
View More: http://piersonphotocompany.pass.us/melissaoutfitsOutfit details:

  • hat and bracelets: c/o Tai Pan Trading
  • necklace: handmade (tutorial)
  • dress: handmade by me! using Briar tee pattern
  • shoes: Toms
*This tutorial is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering any files is NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this freebie for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!

Sponsored Style: Striped Tunic Shift Dress

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This post is sponsored by Sven Clogs. Original hand-crafted clogs since 1974. Clogs made-to-order with premium styles and materials for man, woman and child.

Connect with Svens Clogs on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!

After I made Penelope’s sweet summer romper, I knew I needed to make a matching look. I mean, seriously. Gold clogs and red striped fabric? YES. So much yes.

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All images by Pierson Photo Company

I’ve got a few of these dresses in my closet now, I can’t stop making them. Can we talk about how awesome shift dresses are?! I can have a giant food baby in there and no one would ever know. And yes. There was a food baby in there. No real baby.

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To switch up the style just a touch, I added a tunic-style hem with a slit on the sides and a high-low hem. The blunt high-low hem changes the look from any other shift dresses out there. I feel like it adds a bit of edginess in there. Maybe a slight ’90s vibe? I’ve been crushing on the ’90s hard core lately.

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Creepy skull!! Hahah! I love that. This is one of the few stores I’ve been to lately that didn’t have Christmas Decor up already. Sheesh. It’s still September. I’m not sure I want to think about Halloween quite yet!

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This dress is perfect for Summer, but I’ve been layering it with blazers and jackets to transition to fall. I think the black leather warms it up for the cooler season that’s approaching.

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Let’s talk a little about the sewing process! Here’s what I did:

  • Used Megan Nielsen’s Briar Tee as a base
  • Raised the neckline
  • Lengthened the hem to a dress
  • Shortened sleeves
  • created a high-low hem

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Creating a split hem isn’t as hard as one might think. It’s a little trickier when serging the side seams, but not impossible at all. Here’s how to do it with a serger:

  • Serge the side seams before putting the layers together (if it’s woven, if it’s a non-fraying knit, no need for this step).
  • Sew the seams about 5″ shy of the desired slit spot.
  • Switch to a regular sewing machine, with a straight stitch sew all the way to the slit line (make markings on both sides for consistency).
  • Fold the seam allowance back in on itself and sew a top stitch around the slit. I do up over and down on one slit in one go.
  • Hem front and back as desired.

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If you’ve been nervous about split hems like this, don’t be! They’re super easy! Let me know if you need illustrations for the above instructions. :)

Outfit details:

Let me just say, I absolutely love these clogs. They fit perfectly. I’m wearing them constantly. They’re the perfect momiform shoes: they’re easy to chase kids in, they’re comfortable all day and they look so cute! I’m a huge, huge fan. Seriously, I can’t seem to get enough.

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