Cheerfully Observing Thread

This is a very interesting corduroy I happened upon a while back and am finally getting around to doing something with.  Instead of being a traditional corduroy, it not only has an almost tweed pattern to the print, but it also has a gabardine/twill nap to it instead of the usual parallel lines.   I decided to make a skirt out of it, and chose Burda #6147 as my pattern, as I liked the flounce around the bottom. Burda patterns (like Vogue patterns), seem to assume you already know a fair amount about sewing, but I was very happy with how this one worked up.  The only thing I really did differently was to change the zipper from the back, like it calls for, to the side (and then shortened it to only 7”, as they called for 9”).  I’ve had pants and skirts that fastened in the back before, and personally prefer a side zipper.  I didn’t have any issues with it sticking out and changing the shape of the garment, but you could always use an invisible zipper if you were worried about that (I did

Last week, in my post about the knitted scarf , I wore a light blue coat, and it was actually one I had made from this pattern.   My favorite color is blue, and in all honesty, it is rare that a day goes by where I don't have something blue in my outfit.  While I like all shades of blue, light blue is a particular favorite of mine, so when I saw this wool, I knew I had to make a new winter coat out of it.   One of the best hints I ever read for making a wool coat was to use French Fuse interfacing.  I have now used it several times this way, and have been very impressed by how the fabric hangs when I do.   A friend of mine pointed out these dragon buttons to me quite a few years ago, and I had been saving them for a special project.   And yes, we got a ton of snow and freezing cold weather this week!  As you can see from the pictures at the top, I'm busy keeping the birds... er, squirrels, supplied with bird seed.

  A couple years ago for my birthday, my mom took me to a yarn shop called Henny's Yarn Shop to get some yarn to make a scarf as my birthday gift.  It was a fun trip, and I had a great time looking around the shop (they have a lot of choices) before I settled on these three yarns.  And, I finally got around to knitting it this winter!   I used size 9 circular knitting needles, and cast on 150 stitches.  This was a very easy and simple scarf to make, as you just keep knitting back and forth, leaving a long loop of yarn at each end so that you can tie fringe later.  Here it is part way through... When I got done, I laid it out and pinned it down on a couple towels to block it into shape.  I spritzed it with water to thoroughly dampen it, then rolled up the towel and left it until dry. A couple days later, it was ready to wear.  

I am not a huge plaid person.  Not to say I own nothing in a plaid, I just don’t gravitate towards it.  Unless it’s a scarf.  I love how a plaid scarf can take a basic outfit up a notch, and how different color schemes can make the same outfit look completely different.   I wanted a little bit bulkier scarf for winter, but one that could still be worn indoors.  I found these two flannels to coordinate, and I purchased half a yard of each, because it really is more versatile to have a scarf that is close to 72” long.   I cut one piece in half widthwise, so that I had two pieces 9”x58”, and then cut one of the larger plaid ones in half on the fold (ending up with two pieces 9”x29”), and then I cut a 14” piece off the uncut piece, being careful to cut the piece where it would line up pattern-wise with the two halves I had cut. And then I did the exact same things for the second print.   I sewed the three pieces together for each side, and then pressed the seams. Then I sewed the two sides

If you sew, then you know that if  you ever see something in the store, a picture, a catalog, etc., and wish you could make that exact garment yourself, because they're out of your size, or you know you could do it for less money, or could tweak some detail about it, or maybe just love the fabric but want a different piece of clothing out of it, then you also know that your odds of finding that fabric on a bolt in a fabric store are low.   Really low.   In fact, probably nonexistent.   That’s what I thought when I saw a really cute vest outfit that came up in a google search of fall outfits. I saved the picture to keep in mind for later, figuring I'd be able to do something with the idea in the future.  But then I found the perfect fabric (almost identical to the picture!) only a few weeks later.  I pulled out this Simplicity pattern,  got to work, and now I have the exact garment I had wanted in a warm wool for the fall and winter weather.