Sew Wrong

Finished: McCall’s 6078 Tank


Spotted Cowl Tank

Spotted Cowl Tank


Pattern: McCall’s 6078 (View B)

Size: Small
Fabric: Rayon interlock from Hancock’s (bought over a year ago)

I whipped this top up for the Sew, Mama, Sew Make It Wear It Challenge at the very last minute, and what better to make than something I can wear to work! I’ve had this fabric in my stash for over a year, and found an easy tank pattern that’s similar to the Calvin Klein tops I’ve been wearing for work. I bet I’d probably save money making up that pattern in all sorts of different fabrics than buying the tanks each time they come out in a new color!
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Collapsible Shopping Tote

For Christmas, my sister gave me the new sewing book “One Yard Wonders,” which has so many fabulous projects in it made of – obviously – just one yard of fabric. The projects are quite inspiring as to how to use up the odds and ends of fabric that seem to accumulate over time from miscellaneous projects, impulse purchases and what not. So needless to say, I have a lot of projects planned from this book!

Collapsible Shopping Tote
I absolutely love my first project – the Collapsible Shopping Tote. It’s a lot like those overpriced bags that you see at stores for sale; I worked at a store recently that sold flimsy nylon ones for $12 each! It does fold up a little bit bulkier than said overpriced bags due to the fact that it’s made from quilting cotton and is obviously thicker than cheapy nylon.

Collapsible Shopping Tote - Folded Up


The fabric was originally intended for a pair of PJ pants from Heather Ross’s Weekend Sewing, but my fabric wasn’t wide enough for the pattern pieces. And since I bought two yards and needed just a yard for this project, I have enough left to play around with and make something else!

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What I’m Working On – Simplicity 2652

On a better note, here’s a muslin that worked out and is now moving into final construction stage:

Simplicity 2652 – Inspired by Project Runway. There’s all sorts of options to change this little jacket up, like different sleeve lengths and collar details. I’ll be sticking with the cropped jacket and short sleeves, but I had a bit of difficulty attaching the collar. I’ll probably go with the neckband instead.

This jacket looks even cuter on in real life than on the mannequin. The back looks a little funny in the photo since it forms an elastic casing, which pulls in and shapes the back.

I especially love the darts on the sleeves, front, and back of the jacket. It gives it an extra dash of interest.

I’ll be cutting out the real fabric for this tonight, a bright pink linen blend with some nice drape and body. And then, if this one turns out nicely, I’ll make another one for work.

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Pretty Pretty Pincushion (and muffins!)

Pincushion from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts

Since I have special pins for quilting that I don’t want to get mixed into my regular sewing pins, I figured I should have a special pincushion just for them. This pattern is from Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted gifts, and was a seriously easy project to whip up in an evening.

Pincushion detail

I opted to not use embroidery thread to accentuate the different segments and instead covered the intersecting segments with a button to hide the fact that they didn’t meet perfectly in the center (whoops!) I probably could have stuffed it a little firmer.


Also made some yummy blueberry muffins today. Dee-lish!

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Re: What’s Your Sewing Backstory?

These photos are from my sewing “peak,” which was when I was a junior in high school.
Today, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing any of these in public!

A couple of weeks ago when I was browsing my usual list of sewing blogs I read, Lindsey T’s post asking her readers about their sewing back story prompted me to think about how far I’ve come since I started sewing at age 9 (even though it isn’t too much!) .

So here’s my backstory, in a nutshell:

  • My interest was first piqued by the extra scraps of fabric I used to play with in my Mom’s sewing room. She showed me how to thread a needle and do a running stitch, and off I went making dresses for my dolls from a pattern she drafted for me. After a while, I wanted to learn how to use the sewing machine since it would be so much faster to make little outfits. I received two sewing machine books for Christmas and learned how to sew on my Mom’s Bernette machine. What an awful machine! It always ate my fabric and jammed up at the drop of a hat.

  • After moving beyond making blankets and outfits for my dolls and Beanie Babies, I tackled my first garment when I was 13: a purple floral drawstring skirt.

  • In high school, I took home ec classes in sewing construction as well as fashion design. I often visited Goodwill to look for old jeans I could rip up and turn into skirts, shirts to attach grommets to, and pretty much anything I could refashion into something new with my machine. I also got my first sewing machine, a Bernina 1005, which I still use today.

  • By my Junior year, I was making costumes that I *ahem* would wear to school…I refer to this period in time as my “freak” period, because clearly people must have thought I was a freak for wearing Renaissance dresses and corsets to class! It’s still embarrassing to think about 🙂

  • Senior year I channeled my inner costume freak towards the theater department and made/designed costumes for the spring musical.

  • Once college rolled around, I didn’t do much sewing. No machine at school, and I was pretty burned out. And no, I didn’t continue to wear my dresses and corsets in college. That would have been tragic.

    • It wasn’t until the end of my senior year in college that I returned to the machine (I had an apartment that year so I had room and time to sew!). I will admit that Project Runway was a huge inspiration and motivation for me to get back to creating clothes, and this time around I’m focusing on everyday garments that are more practical than my previous endeavors a few years ago. I’ve recently caught the quilting bug as well, which is another avenue that I’m sure will expand my sewing repertoire as well.

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