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I've done the Cielo Top by Closet Core Patterns three times now. The first one wasn't a great success - the fabric choice was all wrong. The second one was much more successful and I've been wearing it regularly so really wanted to make another.

Pattern Details:

The Cielo Top and Dress by Closet Core Patterns came out a couple ...

Before I started sewing my own garments, I was never a fan of button-up shirts on me. I've always been busty and in order for there to be no gaping at the bust, I always needed to size up and then the fit was all wrong at the shoulders. Of course, sewing my own clothes means I could remedy that and make myself a few nice shirts. 

For my second attempt at a shirt, I chose to use the Itch-to-Stitch Bonn shirt pattern.

Pattern Details:

The Bonn hasn't yet been updated in Itch-to-Stitch's full size range - it ...

I completed my second Spring/Summer capsule outfit over the weekend: the Itch-to-Stitch Tierras Joggers and Newport Top.

The Tierras Joggers pattern is very similar to the Arden Pants pattern I love so much - elastic waistband, side pockets and straight legs, but the rise on the Tierras is lower, which I personally find more comfortable. These hit me about 2 inches below the belly button and will be perfect to wear with the tops I've made that finish at my high hips.

They are a tiny bit long for me so I rolled them up to right above the ...

I've made the Ashton Top and the Arden Pants a couple of times now (both patterns by Helen's Closet), but I hadn't made an outfit from both until now and I'm in love!

I've been working on creating a small capsule for the warmer weather months and these two pieces are part of that capsule. Participating in Me Made May this year made me realize I don't sew "outfits". I sew individual garments that may or may not fit with the rest of my wardrobe and that means I have a few orphan pieces ...

When True Bias released their latest pattern - the Mave Skirt - I didn't wait for very long before getting it. I love maxi skirts in the Summer and I had the perfect fabric in my stash, a beautiful viscose from Blackbird Fabrics.

It was a little bit chilly when I took the pictures so I'm wearing a sweater with my new skirt, but when the temperature rises a little bit, I plan to wear this with a tee shirt or tank top. A white top would look really nice with this skirt I think - a white to match the ...

 I've been on a quest for a comfortable, stylish and somewhat simple to sew pair of pants. I have made the Arden pants by Helen's Closet a couple of times now (here and here), and I love them. But they are very casual pants and I would love to make myself a pair of "dressier" pants.

I searched through the Seamwork pattern library and found the Channing. I liked the flat front waistband and the comfy elasticated back. I wasn't sure about the pleats (I really don't need volume added to my tummy area), but I ...

When Itch-to-Stitch came out with their new Seychelles top pattern recently, I pressed the Buy button almost immediately. I loved the V neck, the fun pleats on the short sleeves and the narrow shoulders. I have found lately that most of the patterns I make are a little too wide for me and I keep forgetting to make a narrow shoulder adjustment. Well - Seychelles has a narrow shoulder built-in!

The pattern itself is really straight-forward to sew, even the pleats and the V neck. However, the fabric I chose to make my version of the Seychelles was hard to work ...

I've been wearing the Arden pants I made last Fall pretty much every week and I love them. So I had been planning to make a few more pairs for Spring and then Summer. I had a slightly lighter weight stretch suiting in my stash and decided to pull it out for my next pair of Arden.

I made the exact same size (18) but lengthened the legs by 1 inch so that I could wear my new pants with short heels. And that is when I learned that even when you make a garment from the same pattern ...

I hadn't planned to make this just yet. When I took out my black sandwashed cotton, I meant to make a new Gilbert shirt. And I'm still not sure why I decided to make the Sabalito top instead. It is completely inappropriate for this time of year and now that I've sewn it up, I realize that the fabric was a terrible choice for this pattern.

This definitely isn't a success and the poor choice of fabric isn't the only reason. The proportions are all wrong and I dislike anything that sticks out at my ...

I love simple tops such as the Ashton top by Helen's Closet. It's the perfect top for summer and I've been wearing mine all winter with cardigans. And then a little while ago, Helen came out with an expansion pattern to put sleeves on the Ashton top, making this top even more versatile! I immediately purchased it and pulled some fabric from my small stash.

The fabric is a gorgeous blue Tencel twill from Blackbird Fabrics. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy to work with for a beginner like me because it ...

I made the York Pinafore a couple of years ago and I really wanted to revisit this pattern in a denim. But I've been doing a lot of research into what styles would look best on my body type and the cocoon shape of the York isn't recommended. So I hesitated.

In the end, I was swayed by all the lovely York Pinafores I saw online and decided to go for it.

I made View A (the longer length with the low neckline) but used the pocket from View B. The fabric is a gorgeous 8 oz non-stretch ...

Last Summer, my step-daughter gave me a really cute cover-up which I absolutely love. I'm a huge fan of wearing layers, even in the warmer months so a light cover-up to wear with shorts and tank tops has been on my list of projects for a while. I purchased the Suki Robe pattern from Helen's Closet a while ago and Helen published a hack to turn it into a cover-up.

Well, right before the Holidays, I was doing research on community-made Sukis because I was thinking of making one for my mom and step-mom. And during my web ...

After making a pair of Arden pants that ended up being a little too big, I decided I really needed to try the pattern again in the correct size. I re-cut the pattern in a size 18 and chose to go with another stretch woven from my stash: a really nice stretch suiting from Minerva.com in a dark grey.

This pair turned out much better! I made no other adjustments and followed the pattern exactly. This is such a nice, easy and fun pattern to make. All those years of quilting really came in handy with all the topstitching ...

I made a shirt... with a collar... and buttons!! 

Well, I made a whole outfit which I had high hopes for, but the pants are a bit of a failure (not due to the pattern because it's amazing).

All right - let's start with the shirt. I used a gorgeous viscose linen slub from Blackbird Fabrics and it was an absolute dream to sew. It's also really comfortable. It's going to be amazing to wear next summer but over the next few months, I can easily wear it with a cardigan on top.

To say that I ...

About a week ago, because the weather here really turned and it's now officially fall, I decided to take my Fall/Winter clothes out of storage. While I was doing it, I took an inventory of everything I have and everything that would be appropriate for working from home. Like a lot of people, the fact that I've been home all the time for months now means I've been eating more and moving less. As a result, I gained a few pounds and many of the pants I wore last Winter don't fit comfortably anymore.

So ...

Ever since I made my first two Seamwork Clarke tank tops, I've been wanting to try one with a woven fabric (you can see my first two here and here). The pattern can be made up in both knits and woven fabrics but to prevent the "tent" look, Seamwork suggests making the top with the woven fabrics cut on the bias.

I haven't really ventured much into pants sewing (I only tried one pair and although it was somewhat successful, the fit was far from perfect). Pants are hard to fit due to tummies, bums and thighs, but I really want to nail the fit on some comfy pants - I mean, I'll be working from home for the foreseeable future, might as well have some cute comfy pants!

With the need to work from home for the past 3 months, it feels as though I'm sitting at my computer for 15 hours every day and I move a lot less than I used to. I'm not blaming anything or anyone other than myself for that - I could go for walks or bike rides during the day. I also should have a lot more time to cook healthy meals now that I don't have to commute back and forth to work, but I have found myself feeling lazy at the end of the day so we ...

The Love Notions Rhapsody blouse has been on my To Do List for about a year now. I even had the pattern printed and traced, but Love Notions re-designed the blouse recently and seeing all the beautiful versions on Instagram just pushed it all the way to the top of the list!

I made a size XL based on the finished garment measurements and it fit me without any modifications at all. The pattern is very well written, simple to follow, with lots of step-by-step guidance and pictures. The pattern ...

Back in September, I purchased the Rome pattern collection from Closet Case Patterns and then in October, I got to work sewing the Pietra pants from the collection. They were super easy to sew but they had some really interesting details to them so I was anxious to sew another pattern from the collection.

In November, I made a muslin of the Cielo top (view B). Although I really liked the results, I wanted to try making view A with the short sleeves with a flowy fabric. I also wanted to try to dress.

I started with the dress. Based ...