Summer's Style Studio

  Whether it's trending or not, I love the nautical look! When I saw this Know Me 2078, I immediately thought of nautical styles from the 40s, and knew I would be making it. I have several Know Me patterns, but this is the first one I've sewn, and I love it! I'll definitely be sewing the others that I have. It took me long enough, but I finally sewed it, and am over the moon with it! The pattern is a good one. All the pieces fit together perfectly, and even better than that is that I didn't have to make any fitting adjustments to it.  What I did do differently is that I didn't interface the facings. My thinking is that with the collar interfaced and the facings, too, it would have been too thick.  The collar stabilized the neckline, so interfacing the facings was unnecessary. It turned out fine. Also, I sewed it as a sleeveless top. Even that didn't take much to finish. I just turned the armhole edge twice and stitched, and it was done. That's it! I wore it ...

    I finished a McCalls 5499 PJ Jones jumpsuit. I made another one a while back, but it's long gone. The fabric I chose for that one was in a very muted color that washed me out, I think I wore it once and never wore it again. It was not bright enough to be flattering on me. The color was terrible on me. Color really matters.  I am a Bright Winter and coral is not a color that most Winters can wear. I think it works for me because my color season is right next to Bright Spring, and because of that, I can wear some of my sister season's bright colors. Lucky for me because I love the color coral. I'll sometimes wear it belted like the pic above, but sometimes I'll wear it sans belt: It's comfy either way. Here's the pattern: It was super quick and easy to sew. It has elastic at the top, but the elastic only gathers fabric at the center front and center back. It's flat under the arm, which makes this very flattering and comfortable when worn. I didn't sew ...

  This 11 piece pink collection started off as a teeny itty bitty module, but I kept adding to it until it grew into a collection of 11 classic styles.   I'm an advanced level sewer, but because I'm a classic and love simple lines, almost everything in this collection is easy to sew. Of the 8 pieces I've sewn so far, my fave of all faves is the fuschia/magenta flared skirt:   I made View C of McCalls 8452. It has an elastic waist and a set of pork chop patch pockets set above cargo pockets with flaps. If you like this style, grab it before it goes out of print! This is my second skirt like this. My first one was a bright yellow, which I no longer have but am planning to make again in the same bright yellow. Can't wait to have more of this skirt! It is unbelievably easy to sew, wear, and style. McCalls 8216 is from the NYNY line. With it's cut in shoulders and wing collar, it's not too revealing or too tight, but the style itself reminds me of tops that Marilyn M...

I made this anorak a while back and now that we're having cooler weather, it's getting a lot of wear. I'm really glad I made this. I haven't sewn in well over a month. I was just too busy, but I'm really excited about sewing some pieces with vintage junior sized patterns now that I have some time. First up is Butterick 4220, in a nautical blue knit. I'm sewing it with long sleeves and am planning to wear it with some high waisted denim pants: There's a misses pattern that's the same as my junior pattern. Not sewing the misses pattern because I have the junior pattern, but sharing it because the graphic is so cute!  And then, I'm sewing the long sleeved top from this Willi Wear pattern, Butterick 4092. I love the wing collar. I'm using striped fabric that looks like the stripes on the pattern envelope: I also want this slip sundress in blue in my wardrobe: And these, too: Sewing this in magenta, but changing the neckline to give it more of a curre...

Simplicity 5158. The back neck was too high, and the shoulders too wide, but everything else fit well. I didn't have to shorten anything. I love where the waist and hip fell and the flare was perfect for my petite self. Not too narrow, not too full. And the neckline was not too low. Make a muslin for the fit of the back. Simplicity 6620. I don't know what it is about this pattern, but I made the jacket a few times and each one was just a little off on me. I also didn't like the sleeve cuffs because they don't have an opening. Easy to fix, but it's something I really didn't like. The collar is also a little too big for my taste. I made the pants, and they fit me perfectly! I won't be sewing the jacket again for myself, but I'll definitely be making the pants again!    I like knit tank dresses and just made this last week. What a disappointment it was. I should have made a muslin, but didn't. The shoulders were too broad, and the neckline was too low. ...