Happy Monday! It’s the second day of April and I am so excited to share with you my first quarter makes in 2018. I am so estactic and for the most part satisfied with the makes for the first 3 months and the sewing skills I have gained. I have come a looooong way as for the first 3 years of sewing, most of the items that I created were skirts, skirts and more skirts. I pretty much have mastered every skirt you can possibly make. Just a little less than a year ago (May 2017) I started working with commercial patterns. This top was my first successful commercial McCall’s pattern 7573 creation without using a tutorial or getting help. Even though I had over 80 in my stash I was terrified to attempt even the EASY sew pattern. NOW, I will grab any Big 4 Commercial pattern and start googling techniques and take the risk.
I have had a few challenges along the way but overall I am so happy with what I have made thus far. in the process of making another pair of jeans, the zipper broke and that was thrown to the side. I still haven’t decided if I want to redo the entire zipper, start on a next pair, or simple put it on the back burner. 2018 is the year of learning and growth and I am alway up for a great challenge. My first successful make was my maxi dress for my Fabric Mart blog post (here) using Simplicity pattern 8124 which I hacked. I was very happy with the results as the pattern was an easy sew and any beginner can create it.
Up next was my sew your view with Monica (thatsewmonica) for the January challenge. Who doesn’t love a great gym set? The pattern used was McCalls 7482 and I had so much fun making it. My fabric was found at a local store and I was NOT disappointed in the least.
Will I make this again? Maybe! I am not a fan of spending time making items that I can purchase which is way cheaper than the price of the fabric to make it. I can find me a good tights and top at Ross for under $20 and this fabric ran close to $15 a yard.
If you know me, I am notorious for shopping on a budget when it comes to fabric so GYM wear won’t be on regular rotation for me unless I find some great deals on fabric.
After creating my GYM wear, I wanted to make one of the new Pre-Spring McCalls pattern (7722) and create a versatile top. Working and lining up stripes is something I plan to master in 2018 and this project was perfect. This top was a quick Sunday morning sew and yes, I made this top to wear to church and got so many compliments. Check out my blogpost here for all the details.
The pattern that I have fell in love with the minute I saw it is the McCalls pre-spring top pattern 7723. I knew I wanted to create a mommy and me look with this pattern as a mini version of a popular 2017 sleeve variation pattern was launched as well. MCCall’s is notorious for creating sleeve variation and Jackie the pattern designer did an amazing job. I can truly say that the patterns that are launching are fashion forward and the pattern designers are keeping up with the trend. Check out my February Fabric Mart blog post here for more details.
Mommy and me looks are always so much fun to create. I truly enjoyed making this look and to top it off, it was both my sew your view and Fabric Mart post for the month of February.
My mini Spring Capsule was a great pants learning experience. I am still trying to understand the key changes on patterns and how to modify pants based on my hips, butt and waist proportion. For every pants pattern, I have to modify the back pattern piece for my butt and grade the waist and hip for my curves to have a decent fit. Learning more about pants FIT is a goal for 2018 and I plan to focus on creating pants that works for my BODY type. First up is this palazzo pants that I love so much. The linen was easy to sew and the drape and feel worked out just right. I modified Simplicity 8389 and created a PAPERBAG waist palazzo pants. This yummy marmalade linen fabric was under $5 as the New Year sale at Fabric Mart.
So I took a quick break from my pants and created this amazing set mixing prints. I loved the skirt and the top could have been altered slightly for a better fit. The pattern that I used for the top is Simplicity 8549. Next time around, I will modify the center pattern piece and create a sweetheart neckline. Check out my blogpost here for more details.
Immediately after making this set, I decided to work on my March blogpost for fabric mart. YES another palazzo pants with this yummy linen. I wanted to grab more but within a few days, it was sold out. I took an elastic waist Simplicity palazzo pants pattern (8605) and modified it. Well, this pattern came out just as I expected but definitely will make few changes next time around.
Check out my Fabric Mart blogpost (here) for more deets and my inspiration for this creation. The fit came out just right but for this paper bag Simplicity pattern that I hacked, modifications will be made the next time around as stated in the blogpost.
MORE PANTS! YES! This crop pants using MIMI G Simplicity 8558 pattern was a quick and easy sew. The fabric and drape was oh so perfect to complete the 3 looks for my Spring Break capsule. I was super happy and minimal modifications were made. This pattern is perfect for curvy girls! CRUTCH, grading is just right and I plan to hack and create a palazoo pants next time.
My final make was the paper bag pants with FRONT zipper for my March sew your view. YES! I am happy to make it as this pattern has opened up my eyes to fit. I will be making a few changes and will change a quick update for my April Fabric Mart blog post.
Check my previous blogpost here for all the details on this look!
Thank you so much for stopping by and I promise to make a few great pieces the next quarter! I honestly want to focus on fit my daughter and I. So for the next few weeks, I will be taking a break or less stories from social media to create a mini SPRING capsule for her and at least 2 looks for my May projects. I am super excited and can’t wait to share! I have a few pattern hacks up my sleeves and I am ready to start on her projects. I will definitely share what I made for my daughter via 2 blog post this month!
STAY TUNE and as always, THANKS for stopping by!