To Muslin or Not to Muslin

To Muslin or Not to Muslin
I have a confession to make….come closer…..closer….closer still…..OK, I have never in my life made a muslin – until today. This wrap shirt has been sitting in my collection for quite some time. I finally purchased fabric that I think would make this blouse pop – a rich red silk that I purchased from Fabricmart Fabrics. The pattern was EXTREMELY easy; I finished everything in four hours. I always look like hell when I sew, so I had my daughter try on the shirt. When I redo this for myself, I will add about two inches in length.

The pictures on the pattern do not show this little treat. The bow really adds a little something extra to the blouse, n'est pas?


Is it arrogant of me to like my incarnation better than the ones printed on the pattern envelope?

In other news, I discovered these neck-tabs on Etsy and thought them rather clever. I have wanted to make one since last summer. I finally had the five minutes to construct this from an Old Navy tie. Tomorrow, I will make a choker from the smaller end.


Well, I am busy with spring cleaning, so hopefully, I will be back to show you all the neat things I am doing in the next week.

Thrift Store Refurbish

I absolutely adore silk! My love affair with silk began when I was 14 and my mother bought me a pale green Diane Von Furstenburg church dress. That dress was so soft and silky that I wore and treasured it until I was 25.

I was a spoiled brat and still am, but I don't always have the coinage to fund my Cosmopolitan tastes. This is one of the reasons why I make my own clothing. Another mechanism which enables me to maintain my Cosmopolitan leanings on a pauper's dime is the friendly neighborhood thrift store. While foraging this weekend, I came across these two delicious pieces of silk:

Often, one can find perfectly fine pieces in the thrift, but more often than not, one has to perform minor (or major) surgery to make a piece work. Like these two beauties had a couple of fixable imperfections. The skirt had a hideous piece of tulle attached to the hem. That might be OK for a twenty-something, but I'm pushing forty, so I can't do what the chickadees do. The blouse had an aweful cut out neckline (well, it was aweful to me, but someone else may have found it perfectly acceptable):

So, I removed the tulle from the skirt and reshaped the neckline of the blouse after removing the cutout.Here is a closer look at the back neckline:

Well, that's it for now! Back to the studio....

Simplicity 2896

I saw this pattern last year at Joann's last year, but didn't buy it because the price was beyond my pocketbook. Thank God for dollar sales! I purchased this pattern last week, along with a few others to update my spring/summer wardrobe.

The first incarnation of this shirt is in denim:

I have about five yards of beige linen that I got at the end of last summer for a song and that fabric will be the second incarnation of this shirt. This shirt was fun for me to make as I always loved these types of sleeves. When I was a young girl, I would try to iron or pull my sleeves upward so that they would form a pouf. If it was up to me, all ladies shirts with sleeves would have poufs!

Until we meet again...

Bbitce Is Bback!

My apologies for the super duper long hiatus. My digital camera was on the fritz (right after the warranty expired, I might add) and it has taken me quite some time to get a new one. Since I've been gone, I have continued creating and have gathered a few "toys" along the way.





I'd like to introduce you to Ching Mai:

She was a (belated) Christmas present to me and already has proven to be indispensible. The only problems I have with this dressform are that the dials are hard to turn and the waist does not expand as far as the specifications state. Right now the waistline is a problem because I am at my winter weight…le sigh. But, I will be back down to my summer weight in a few months, so then that won't be a problem.


On a late night forage through the internets (sic), I came across these:

They are paperless reusable patterners that adjust in size. With these two particular tools, I am able to make basic patterns without paper for jackets, blouses, shirts, coats, dresses, and skirts. The company also sells the pants patterner, but since I also have these:

I don't think I'll get the pants patterner……BUT then again, I have an obsession of keeping 'sets' together, so I probably will break down and get that as well.





Well, back to Ching Mai and the tools….I am working on this coat (that my son swears is a poncho):

With Ching Mai's help and using the rulers and French curves, I hope this will end up as a wool coat with a quilted lining.



I'll share other projects later, including some crocheting and knitting. So in parting, take a look at this 'fun' scarf and hat set I crocheted for my lovely mini-me: