Jasper Giveaway Winner
The winner of the Jasper Sweater/Dress pattern giveaway is… (drumroll please) Grace L.! I’ll be contacting you via email to get the pattern to you. Continue reading Jasper Giveaway Winner
Author: JamieDSC
I'm blogging at https://denversews.com/ and you can find all my posts at https://denversews.com/author/jamiedsc/
Jasper Sweater Review + A Giveaway!
This is the recently released Jasper Sweater by Paprika Patterns. (Full disclosure: I received a copy for free in exchange for an honest review.) I made it up in a rayon double knit from JoAnn’s. The pattern calls for a stable heavy weight knit (sweatshirt fabric, basically) but this is a little bit stretchier than recommended because of the high rayon content. I made View A – the pattern also has versions for a longer dress version and a turtleneck instead of the hood. Continue reading “Jasper Sweater Review + A Giveaway!”
March Challenge Announcement
After looking through all the half finished projects in my sewing space, the theme for the March challenge was clear to me… UFOs! (That’s Un-Finished Objects.) So, dust off something you’ve had lying around for way too long and make it work! I don’t know about you, but I’ve got WAY too many options for this one! Who else is in? As always, anyone is welcome … Continue reading March Challenge Announcement
February Challenge: My Tiny Sewing Corner
When the February challenge was announced as “show us your sewing room”, I snorted at the “room” bit. My sewing room is a 4×4 foot corner of my small apartment attached to the kitchen. I was trying to figure out how to take a panoramic picture to fit it all in, but… don’t need to, it all fit in one shot! Here’s a diagram I’m calling The Anatomy of a Tiny Sewing Space:
Continue reading “February Challenge: My Tiny Sewing Corner”
Carolyn Pajamas and Shoddy JoAnn’s Flannel
Early this January, Heather of Closet Case Files sent out her latest pattern to a group of pattern testers along with a fabulous description of how she wanted to make a pajama pattern she could wear working from home and feel like a sophisticated business woman, or something you could make in silk and look like Katharine Hepburn… I mean, look: The pant + long … Continue reading Carolyn Pajamas and Shoddy JoAnn’s Flannel
Vogue 1367 – Rebecca Taylor Blouse in JCrew Rayon Twill
Like Kitty, I’ve been in a sewing slump for the last month. For me the only way out of a slump is to make something I really love, which is a dumb thing to say because I don’t start any project with the intention of hating it. If I was smart I would have picked an easy win, like a pattern I already know fits made out of a fabric I’m really into… but I never sew with that much intention. After abandoning a couple other projects I won’t even name (okay, Burda top I was in love with from the November issue… you let me down big time) this Vogue pattern literally fell out of my closet. It’s a Rebecca Taylor designer pattern and the cover photo was great. If I thought harder about it, I would not have picked a Vogue designer pattern during a slump considering the number of fitting issues they always seem to bring about. (Kitty laughed when I told her I was working on a Vogue designer.) But… I think my slump is over! Continue reading “Vogue 1367 – Rebecca Taylor Blouse in JCrew Rayon Twill”
January Challenge – Quick Bias Binding Tip from Threads
This challenge made me realize I need to get a physical subscription to Threads! I converted all my subscriptions to digital some time ago (except Burda, duh) to try and cut down on paper clutter. But after waiting 20 minutes on my iPad for EACH issue to re-download, and then having them all mysteriously disappear the next day so I had to wait for them to download AGAIN… I’ve had it with the digital subscription. Anywho… the thing that caught my eye was this tiny tip on the bottom of a page in the October/November 2014 issue:
Continue reading “January Challenge – Quick Bias Binding Tip from Threads”
Burda January 2015 Review (International Edition)
The January edition of Burda magazine is always a low point because they devote a section to costumes for Carnival – a holiday in Germany where you dress up like Halloween, I guess? This month there was also a maternity wear section with a bunch of dresses that didn’t really interest me, so double disappointment. There were still a few good patterns to be had though… Continue reading “Burda January 2015 Review (International Edition)”
December Challenge: Simplicity 1459
This challenge gave me a much needed excuse to do something I’ve never done before – sew up a vintage pattern. I had a grand total of 3 vintage patterns in my collection that I’ve actually paid money for (and a few more that people gave me), so I pulled out those. Are you sensing a common theme in these 3 patterns?
Jalie 3248 – Gold Drop Pocket Sweater
This was a quick and easy make – Jalie 3248. I bought the pattern probably a year ago already and left it lying around because I didn’t have the perfect reversible fabric in my stash to inspire me to sew it up. A couple weeks ago I was at JoAnn’s (just to get zippers… you know how that goes) and picked up this neat fabric. It’s a gold and black variegated knit that has some kind of gold lame finish applied to one side. (I *think* this is the fabric – it was part of the Gilded Age collection still in stores.) When I saw it I thought of my Jalie pattern instantly. Continue reading “Jalie 3248 – Gold Drop Pocket Sweater”
Burda December 2014 Review (International Edition)
This month’s issue of Burda was a bit of a let-down for me. Generally the December issue has some fun party dresses and fancy tops, but the dresses this month bored me and the tops were mostly oversized and shapeless. There were a handful of items I liked though and the plus size section was great so it’s still worth the subscription price to me. My first pick is this 70’s style A-line skirt with a front pleat and decorative tabs on the side. I’d make the tabs from leather and perhaps add some buckles or other hardware to snazz it up a bit. Fantastic styling for once – this whole look is really in right now. I was just at DSW and there were two full rows of black knee high boots so they must be having a moment right now. My only complaint is that I really wish Burda gave us the pattern for that top too! Continue reading “Burda December 2014 Review (International Edition)”
Tutorial – Fagoting by Machine
I made a bunch of test swatches before sewing up the fagoted dress I posted on Friday, so I thought I’d share a tutorial with you… The first step was to sew a line of the stitch I wanted on some stabilized fabric. (I just put paper behind my fabric here – this is just to keep the stitch from bunching up and giving you a wrong measurement.) Get out a ruler and measure how wide you want the gap between your fabrics to be. In this case, I measured between the points of the ‘>’ shapes and got 1/8″. Continue reading “Tutorial – Fagoting by Machine”
November Challenge – Papercut Clover Dress with Fagoting
This was a HARD challenge for me because I’ve never had much interest in decorative stitches. My previous machine had maybe 12 different stitches, just the basics really. The newer machine I bought a couple years ago has something like 300 stitches but since I’ve never needed them before, I haven’t touched them. I usually start any kind of challenge by flipping through a potential project list I keep with inspiration photos to see if anything jumps out at me and I stumbled on this photo with a note: “Anything with fagoting”
Continue reading “November Challenge – Papercut Clover Dress with Fagoting”
Simplicity 1318 – Leopard Print Kimono
This make is a month old already and was just meant to be a wearable muslin, but I wore it to the last ASG meeting and Kitty talked me into posting it. It was a muslin I made up to test the kimono pattern I used for the silk kimono from the October challenge. The pattern is Simplicity 1318 but I pieced it together to remove the center back and sleeve seams. Continue reading “Simplicity 1318 – Leopard Print Kimono”
Anna Sui Silk Kimono (October Challenge)
Does this fabric look familiar to you? A month ago I laid down a challenge to my fellow DSC bloggers:
Use a fabric that you’ve been hanging onto a long time. We probably all have fabrics in our stash that we love so much we’re afraid to cut into them… but they’re not doing us any good sitting in a closet. Be brave and cut into it! It doesn’t have to be silk or anything fancy, just something you’ve hung onto for awhile. Continue reading “Anna Sui Silk Kimono (October Challenge)”
Burda October 2014 Review (International Edition)
I love the fall because that’s when the best jacket patterns come out, and the cover for Burda’s October issue did not disappoint. More pictures below of this jacket in a plainer fabric so you can see all the details. The lapels and peplum are both flounces (pieces of fabric cut in a spiral so that one edge is longer than the other), and they … Continue reading Burda October 2014 Review (International Edition)
Colorblocked Chambray Archer
I usually am not the type of person who makes the same pattern multiple times, but I’ve been thinking that maybe my sewing projects would go a little smoother if I had a few tried and true patterns to work from. So, sorry to bore you, but I made another Archer. This is my 3rd one – I think three is a pattern duplicate record for me. Continue reading “Colorblocked Chambray Archer”
October Challenge Announcement
Big news everybody! The Denver Sewing Collective has decided to start doing monthly challenges. We thought it would be a good way to unify the blog a bit and push us all outside our comfort zones once and awhile.
Everyone is invited to sew along with the challenges! The due date will be the 15th of each month. You can post your creations on our Flickr pool at https://www.flickr.com/groups/denversewschallenges/ , and we’ll do a round up post at the end of every challenge where we’ll show off whatever you post in the Flickr pool. If you like, you can add a description of your make or a link to your own blog in the comments of the Flickr photo and we’ll add those to the post as well. Are you ready to hear the October challenge?
Use a fabric that you’ve been hanging onto a long time. We probably all have fabrics in our stash that we love so much we’re afraid to cut into them… but they’re not doing us any good sitting in a closet. Be brave and cut into it! It doesn’t have to be silk or anything fancy, just something you’ve hung onto for awhile.
Grainline Archer Buttonup Shirt
I had a plan for the the PatternReview.com “One Pattern Many Looks” contest to make up a bunch of Grainline Archer button-up shirts. I’ve made this pattern before and really like it, and I figured that since I wear blouses more than any other type of garment it would be a good thing to have several of. Now, Kitty tried to warn me that making up multiple button-up shirts in the span of a few weeks was a bit ambitious, but I was too stubborn to listen. And to make things worse, I chose this drapey silk-feel polyester that is perhaps the shiftiest fabric I’ve ever worked with. Seriously… I cut the button band exactly along the selvedge and by the time I lifted the pattern piece it was a crazy wiggly worm of a strip of fabric. Eeeesh. The reverse of the fabric has a ribbed look to it so I think perhaps the weave pulls it in a wavy line, because I swear I cut it straight! Continue reading “Grainline Archer Buttonup Shirt”
Athletic Mesh Cutout Hem Skirt
Last week Wednesday the theme for Sew ‘N Sudz (which I didn’t end up actually making it to) was skirts, so I decided to start sewing a skirt on about Monday. I bought this stretch athletic mesh after looking forever from a seller on Etsy because I had plans to use it as an overlay on the contrast panels of some Fehr Trade PB Jam Leggings. But by the time I found the right fabric for winter skiing tights it was May and I lost my mojo. I’ve had the mesh sitting out for months and every time I look at it I think of new things I want to use it on – I wish I would have bought more! If you can’t tell by this rambling story, my sewing is less “Sewing with a Plan”, and more… Continue reading “Athletic Mesh Cutout Hem Skirt”
Burda September 2014 Review (International Edition)
If you’ve forgotten Burda is a German magazine, the Oktoberfest theme throughout the September should remind you. What? You don’t have dirndls and fabric pretzels at the top of your September sewing list? Fine, I’ll start with the (somewhat) normal stuff. If you remember from the preview last month, I called this lovely pic “Grease extras with a wardrobe malfunction”. Burda apparently calls it “Oh so very British”. Who can keep those English speaking countries straight anyways?
Continue reading “Burda September 2014 Review (International Edition)”
Try a Style Arc pattern for free!
UPDATED! January 2019 I’ve seen a few promos lately for a free downloadable Style Arc pattern if you join their mailing list. Since I’ve been sewing a lot of Style Arc patterns lately I thought I’d evangelize a bit and pass them along… I swear I’m not a shill for the company! I just really appreciate it when I find a company who puts out … Continue reading Try a Style Arc pattern for free!
Burda August 2014 Review (International Edition)
I’ve been subscribing to Burda for about four years and they seem to cycle through high and low periods. After the last stinker of an issue I expected them to be a slump for a few months but… this issue was surprisingly good! I’ll start with my favorites because I’m a “dessert first” kind of gal. The crazy (in a good way) seamlines in this dress look great colorblocked or in a solid. I love the idea of the print mixing on the left. Or, I could see it in a solid with top-stitching to make the seamlines really pop. Or, how about a mix of black ponte and faux leather? So many possibilities. Continue reading “Burda August 2014 Review (International Edition)”
Burda July 2014 Review (International Edition)
What goes up must come down and Burda is no exception. After the excellent issue they put out last month, they seem to have gone into a death spiral. I’ll try to stay positive and give you the good news first. My favorite piece from this issue was this color blocked raglan sleeve top. The suggested fabric is jersey, but I could see going up a size and making it in silk (with a zipper in the side probably). Continue reading “Burda July 2014 Review (International Edition)”
StyleArc Antionette Pants
I was intrigued enough by the design of these slouchy pleat front pants by StyleArc that I bought the pattern, but then I waffled on whether to actually make them. I’ve never tried on a pair of pleat front pants that I liked, and frankly the image they always bring to mind is something like this…
Burda June 2014 Review (International Edition)
The July issue of Burda just showed up in my mailbox which made me realize I’m a month behind in reviews. I think I was putting off reviewing June because there was so much I liked, I knew it would take awhile. Warm up your scrolling finger and let’s do this…
Continue reading “Burda June 2014 Review (International Edition)”
Testing the Drape of a Fabric and StyleArc Antionette Pants
Choosing the wrong fabric for a pattern can ruin a garment for even the most experienced seamstress. I’ve been wanting to make the Antionette Pants by StyleArc since the pattern was released, but I haven’t been able to find any pictures of a finished pair online to see what fabric others have used and front pleats SCARE ME. There’s a fine line between slouchy cool and having enough room to be smuggling something down the front of your pants. Seriously, that is a dangerous area to accidentally have too much volume! Continue reading “Testing the Drape of a Fabric and StyleArc Antionette Pants”
Local News – Westminster Joann’s Closing and Elfriede’s Fabric Swap
Some news for Denver folks – the Joann’s in Westminster is having a “closing” sale. (Don’t worry, they’re just moving to another building in Westminster and selling everything off rather than moving it.) I stopped in on Saturday because I heard they were selling off the fixtures and I wanted a pattern cabinet for cheap. (Yes, my pattern collection is embarrassingly large.) Unfortunately for me some guy had showed up before me that morning and bought the whole row of cabinets!
Continue reading “Local News – Westminster Joann’s Closing and Elfriede’s Fabric Swap”
Vogue 1395 – Back in the saddle
After a few busy weeks where I didn’t have time to sew, the thought of going back to the the moto jacket I was working on was starting to feel like a chore. Do you ever spend so long on a project it starts to weigh on you? I’m still going to finish it, I SWEAR, I just felt that at the moment I needed an easy win to get my confidence back up. Enter Vogue 1395 – a Rebecca Taylor dress pattern from the latest spring Vogue collection. Continue reading “Vogue 1395 – Back in the saddle”
Burda May 2014 Review (International Edition)
Considering the summer styles are usually when Burda patterns seem to drop off in complexity and I start to lose interest, I was pretty happy with the variety in the May issue. Let’s jump right in… My favorite dress from this issue was this v-neck raglan sleeve dress with contrast bands along all the seam lines. Unfortunately for me this was a tall pattern and I don’t know that I have the enthusiasm to shorten it. Continue reading “Burda May 2014 Review (International Edition)”
Goldilocks Makes a Ziggi Muslin
Considering how much work I knew it would be to sew up the StyleArc Ziggi Moto Jacket, I wanted to make a muslin to check the fit first. Sewing a muslin can be pretty quick because you can take a lot of shortcuts. For this jacket I just did the bodice, collar (slapped on with seam exposed), and one sleeve. It looks pretty good, right? Except… Continue reading “Goldilocks Makes a Ziggi Muslin”
Burda April Review (International Edition)
I thought this month’s issue of Burda was stellar. The features were varied enough that there were styles for everyone, and most of the looks were fairly original patterns I haven’t seen before. Let’s dive right in! My favorite pattern this month is this dress below with the crossover front bands. The fabric listed for the photo is a jacquard, and I think finding a fabric that looks slightly different at different angles is key to being able to see the front bands. I’m considering for myself whether it would work in a suede. Another option might be stripe or some directional print. Hmm, a ponte stripe sounds great too… do I need two of these dresses? I should also mention that this is a petite/short pattern. (Yay for me.) Continue reading “Burda April Review (International Edition)”
Ziggi Moto Jacket – The Plan
I’ve been trying to gather the courage to make the Ziggi Moto Jacket by StyleArc for a couple months now. The pattern is just my style but… there are SO MANY PIECES. There are 23 (!) pattern pieces, most of which you are cutting 2 of. Basically there are about 50 pieces to sew together. I had fabric set aside that I bought at Colorado Fabrics at the end of last year, I cut the pattern out in February, and then… it just sat there. Until a couple weeks ago when I found out that Sew Maris is doing a Ziggi Jacket sew-along, which was just the spark I needed to get off my butt and just do it. As an aside, I don’t do many sew-alongs because they are mostly targeted towards beginners, so I am so happy that someone is doing a sew-along involving some more advanced techniques. I really need help putting those pocket and sleeve zippers in! Continue reading “Ziggi Moto Jacket – The Plan”
New York Designer Fabrics at Colorado Fabrics
Thursday night Colorado Fabrics had an exclusive after-hours event to debut the fabrics they acquired from designer workrooms on a recent trip to New York. I couldn’t believe how much fabric they added to the store! There were new racks up front full of bolts, bolts piled up on tables, and half the cutting tables were sacrificed for more bolts of fabrics. SO MUCH FABRIC. And all of it from the workrooms of big name designers (whose names I don’t think I’m supposed to mention). My favorite were the two racks of silks, shown above. There were lots of gorgeous prints and weaves. Everywhere in the store I found rare fabrics that you just don’t see much of. To the right is a “silk gaberdine” – I’ve heard of wool gaberdine, but never silk! Some of the fabrics had lots of yardage on the bolt, and some only had a few yards. They said if it was fabulous they bought it, regardless of the yardage. Continue reading “New York Designer Fabrics at Colorado Fabrics”
Burda March 2014 Review
It’s hard for me to review the March 2014 issue of Burda because there is so much crazy WTF in it that it’s all I can focus on when I’m flipping through it. However I do greatly prefer weird to boring, and since I’m afraid hurting Burda’s feelings might lead to a regression to the rectangle based patterns of this summer, I’m going to try and focus on the positive. The best part of this issue is that they chose a pair of jeans for the “sewing lesson for beginners” feature. That means four glorious pages of color diagrams on how stitch pockets, insert a fly front zipper, and attach the waistband. Useful! Continue reading “Burda March 2014 Review”
Burda Plus Spring/Summer 2014
I received the March issue of Burda Style and the Spring/Summer issue of Burda Plus in the mail on the same day and decided to pick the better of the two magazines to review first. Sorry “regular size” ladies… Burda Plus is where it’s at this month! First up, can we talk about that sheath dress on the cover? Perfection. I don’t remember if they’ve always done this, but a few of the patterns in this issue are petite plus size which means zero alterations for me personally. This dress is going straight to the top of my make list. Continue reading “Burda Plus Spring/Summer 2014”
StyleArc Nina Cardigan
I bought the last 2 yards of this printed jersey fabric over the summer and was looking for the right pattern for it. Unfortunately for someone my size, 2 yards doesn’t give you a lot of options and I wanted to make something a little more interesting than a t-shirt. I had the idea of making a waterfall cardigan because I liked the way the black lines looked when the fabric was bunched up a bit, but with two yards that seemed impossible. When I was riffling through my StyleArc patterns and I saw this cardigan only required 1 3/4 yards, I did a double take! Continue reading “StyleArc Nina Cardigan”
StyleArc Billie Top
The Billie Top by StyleArc is a an interesting top made out of (basically) one piece. By “one piece” I mean that the front and back are all one giant piece with a single side seam down the right side. (There is a neck facing too, but more on that later…) I made this up in a black and tan striped knit that was 50% cotton, 50% rayon. I think the rayon helps with the drapiness, and the stripes really highlight the craziness of the pattern. Continue reading “StyleArc Billie Top”
Fabric Swatch Cards + Plantain Contest Update
I’ll be honest… I’ve reached a point where I have too much fabric to remember off the top of my head what is there. (And when I do remember, where the heck it is.) I’ve been storing most of it in boxes, stacked sideways so you can see an edge of each piece. Still, I find myself ripping everything out of the box when I start a project so that I can feel the weight of the fabrics. (Must touch the fabric!) I’ve seen other bloggers do various organization techniques with swatches and decided that was just the ticket for my handsy approach to finding fabrics from my stash. Continue reading “Fabric Swatch Cards + Plantain Contest Update”
Lattice Cutwork Plantain T-shirt
Over my sadly sewing-free Christmas vacation I had been window shopping (or whatever you call the on-line equivalent) for laser cut shirts. I don’t think the ability to laser cut fabric is that new, but for some reason I’ve been seeing a lot of really cool applications of the technology lately like lace patterns in leather. Of course I don’t have a laser, but with knits or other fabrics that don’t fray you could do the same with a scissors. I saw one shirt with a lattice / grid type pattern that I thought would be easy to duplicate. I was planning on just buying a RTW T-shirt and chopping it up, but then French indie pattern company Deer & Doe released a free knit T-shirt pattern, the Plantain T-shirt, that was exactly the swingy shape I was looking for. And then they announced a contest for said pattern and I figured, hey, why not kill two birds with one stone?
Continue reading “Lattice Cutwork Plantain T-shirt”
Burda February 2014 Review
I have a running hypothesis with just about all pattern magazines that the number of patterns I like in an issue is inversely proportional to the attractiveness of the cover. Hence I was stoked to receive this month’s issue of Burda UK in my mailbox because… well, just look at that fugliness! It reminds me of the color scheme of every bathroom in the Midwest I can remember from the 80’s. Let’s see if the patterns live up to the cover… Continue reading “Burda February 2014 Review”
Hot Patterns 1167: La Strada T-Shirt
The Pattern
The self-proclaimed “Fast & Fabulous” La Strada T-Shirt is a recent release from Hot Patterns. I received it in the mail a couple of weeks ago and sewed it up immediately since it did seem like a quick project. There are only four pieces to the pattern: front, back, yoke, and front facing. It took a little longer to put together than a regular t-shirt with all the gathers, but I think the extra effort was worth it.
New Patterns I’m Excited About – Plus a Freebie
Maybe I had too much free time over the New Year to browse the Internet, or maybe a lot of people were inspired to release new patterns, but my to-sew list grew quite a bit over the last two weeks! Here are some new releases I’m excited about. (All images should click through to wherever you can purchase the pattern.)
#1 Workout Wear by Fehr Trade
Fehr Trade has been one of my favorite blogs for a long time, especially for pattern magazine reviews, but Melissa has really outdone herself with these two new pattern releases. The leggings description says “the design lines carry around the sides so you look good from all angles” which is something SO many RTW leggings patterns overlook, and they have a hidden back pocket big enough for keys and a cell phone. The top pattern has a built in bra which can be adjusted independently of the top, and the pattern testers (up to a DD!) seem to agree that it’s enough support without an additional sports bra. I may be making a lot of these! Continue reading “New Patterns I’m Excited About – Plus a Freebie”
Burda US versus UK/International Comparison
Way back in July, BurdaStyle.com made an announcement that they were working on a release of Burda magazine for the United States. For those of you that aren’t familiar, Burda is a sewing pattern magazine that originates in Germany but is translated to many languages and sold in about 90 countries around the world. A sewing pattern magazine looks kind of like a fashion magazine with spreads of styled photo shoots, but instead of displaying designer clothing the garments are made from patterns which are included in a sheet that you trace from. Continue reading “Burda US versus UK/International Comparison”
Tessuti Fave Top – The Ombre One
Great sewing friends will give you the shirt off their back… so you can test the fit, of course! I had seen the Tessuti Fave Top on other blogs before, but passed it over because I generally shy away from anything that is “one size fits most”. That is, until Jill wore her version to a Denver Sewing Collective meetup and let me try it on. I’m kind of amazed that the exact same top looked good on the both of us, so I decided to sew up my own version. Continue reading “Tessuti Fave Top – The Ombre One”
Denver Sewing Collective 