Summer's Style Studio

        This was the last project I cut out and started in 2023, but I didn't finish it until January 2024. It was an incredibly easy dress to sew, but when I got to the binding, I couldn't bring myself to finish it because I wasn't sure how the binding was going to turn out. I thought it was going to be a little too sloppy for my taste. I even cut out a facing for this, but I had the same problem, I didn't want to finish it with a facing. After avoiding this for weeks, I finally sewed the binding, and it was perfect.   Here's a bigger pic:   The sassy criss cross back:       I'll be wearing this to lounge at home, to run errands, to brunch, etc. When I wear it out, I'm planning to wear it with my cropped denim jacket (made this last year):     This is the pattern that I used for the dress, OOP Butterick 5996. It's OOP, but you can still find it at online shops:   I cut a 6 at the neckline and armholes, and a 10 at the sides. I...

It's time for a reset of my wardrobe. I'm creating and sewing it for myself. My goal is not to spend too much $$$, while sewing a wardrobe that's stylish, of good quality, and comfortable. I'll be sewing my styles only, in my colors and prints. I'm going to love my new wardrobe! I'm keeping the cost down by sewing with fabric packs reasonably priced (3 yards of 60" wide fabric priced at $8 for the pack, 4 yards of 60 inch wide fabric priced at $6 for the pack, some 2 yards of 60" wide fabric priced at $4 for the pack, and some of the 2 yards of 60" wide fabric priced at $3), some cottons sold by the yard at no more than $7 a yard, and a lot of fabric that has been in my stash for a while. When the dust settles, I won't have spent too much. I'll definitely have spent much less than if I had put together a RTW wardrobe.   And I'll have styles that I picked for myself, in prints and colors that I also picked for myself. I'm a true win...

In the color scheme of things, I am a true winter. I've known this for a while, but I am just now starting to make use of that knowledge. The first thing I did was to check my makeup.  When I first started wearing foundation, I wore one that was cool toned. It worked perfectly, but somewhere along the way, I switched to something warm because I really liked how the warm tint of the makeup looked in the bottle. And I wanted that warm tint on my face. But make up doesn't work like that. So, even if it looked great in the bottle, it looked off when I put it on me, because my natural coloring is cool, not warm.  I'm in the process of switching out all of the clothes in my wardrobe that aren't cool toned for colors in my cool true winter palette. It's a monumental task, but it's the first step in building the perfect wardrobe for myself, so I'm ok with it. Thanks for stopping by. Be well and stay safe.  Until next time, Summer

I found a few work pieces from Target at super low prices, so I got them. Honestly, I could not make these pieces for what I paid! My black and white collection of work basics: I have been wanting a black and white striped skirt like this for a while. I was tempted to buy this exact fabric when I saw it in the store, but held back because it cost $21.99.  I'm glad I did because this skirt cost $23.99.  All I have to do is shorten it by 1" and it will be perfect:  I also got this pencil skirt for $27.99. Just need to shorten it a little and it will be perfect. $27. Can't have too many black pencil skirts:    This dress fits me perfectly, even the length!  It was on clearance for $16 and change:  This one fits me perfectly, too! It wasn't on sale, but I really like it so I got it. $30: And the crowning glory of the collection is this dress. It was on clearance  for $2.66! It has bodice...

Hi! My name is Summer. And I'm going to be keeping track of my sewing projects here. Welcome! For the past few years, I went about my life without sewing. I am an average size petite, so buying clothes was not a problem. I bought a lot of Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Forever 21, Donna Karan, and a few other brands. I was happy enough with my wardrobe, until late last year, when I started thinking about making my own clothes again. It seems that my style and colors come in waves in RTW. There are some seasons when I see a lot of what I want, but there are more seasons when there's nothing that I want in the stores, at all. I clean out my wardrobe regularly. That, paired with not seeing anything I wanted to buy in the stores, meant that my wardrobe was shrinking fast! I kept hoping I'd see things I wanted, but it wasn't happening, so I finally decided to just jump in and start sewing again. As my very first sewing project back...