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I wore my new Megan Nielsen Briar top to drop off my son at summer school this week, and I felt like I was nailing that “effortlessly cool mom” look. My clothes said, “Oh hey, I know all the best playgrounds AND hip local coffee shops.” I was winning at style for the day. I wasn’t wearing workout clothes OR a graphic T-shirt AND I was still comfortable. […]
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I wanted to post a blow-by-blow pattern review and tips for sewing McCall’s M6696 shirtdress, sewing friends. Alas, my fitting skills came up short. […]
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We’re halfway through 2017 (this year is FLYING by 🚀), so now’s the perfect time to see how I’m doing on my 2017 sewing goals. […]
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Instead of a straight-ahead sewing pattern review, I thought I’d walk through my process for making a muslin. I stitched the Sew Caroline Larchmont T that appears in the new “Weekend Style” sewing book. It’s a simple woven T-shirt pattern that was a freebie in the spring issue 2017 of Sew News magazine. Because it’s only three […]
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The sewing pattern for May’s installment of Project #SewMyStyle is the Cali Faye Collection Pocket skirt. For me, it’s been the most difficult pattern so far (keep reading for details on why!). […]
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Sewists have good reason to sweat over buying an iron. A good iron for sewing is as important as a good sewing machine for professional results. If you’re on the market for an iron for sewing, keep reading to discover which features matter most to sewists and my top five iron picks that won’t break the bank! […]
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I am sergerless. At Van Handel Headquarters, I’m sewing knits with a sewing machine. And, for the most part, sewing knits without a serger works just swell for me. I’ve sewn scuba knit, sweatshirt fleece, ponte, heavy sweater knit, cotton spandex, and more on my Babylock Elizabeth machine and been happy with the results. And then I sewed my Bridgetown backless dress. And I scowled a lot. That experience inspired an epic sewing experiment. […]
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The Seamwork Manila leggings were the tipping point. The leggings wrapped uncomfortably around my calves. The print on the fabric, stripes and flowers, distorted comically. Worst of all, the seams threatened to tear. It was the pattern; it wasn’t anything I did as a sewist. The subpar outcome was on Seamwork, not me. I cropped the leggings and canceled my Seamwork magazine subscription. […]
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This week’s post is all about the April pattern for Project #SewMyStyle: the Bridgetown backless dress and tunic from Sew House Seven. Guys, this dress took me forever to sew. It was just one thing after another. This dress isn’t composed of a ton of pattern pieces, nor is it a beast to fit. On the surface, it seems like a straight-forward sew. […]
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Colorful, classic, washable, lean, and playful. These words describe my core style, and they’re my touchstone for sewing a capsule wardrobe — the final piece of the Wardrobe Architect process. Keep reading to discover tips for identifying favorite outfits, my plans for sewing a capsule wardrobe, and what I liked (and disliked) about Wardrobe Architect. […]