Sewing: Cinnamon Camisole

I bought this fabulous brown silk with hexagons on it from the Bolt sale this past weekend. I thought it would be perfect for the Cinnamon camisole, another great pattern from the local Colette Patterns. The pattern is very easy to follow and sews up quickly, the perfect criteria for a weekend project that gives you gratifying results. I think it turned out really cute, but perhaps the silk is a bit too heavy, in terms of not having enough stretch on the bias. I chose this particular fabric because I wanted something that could also be worn as a tank rather than only as an undergarment. The one mod I made was to do a small bust adjustment, which turned out to be a rather large bust adjustment (I made the size 4). Don't you think this cami would be cute sewn up in a Liberty fabric?

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Sewing: Summer Sundress

This cute sundress is a pattern from the Japanese book Happy Homemade Vol. 3 (you can see the cover of the book here. This is dress F-3, but made with some modifications: no lace trim, gathers instead of pleats, and shortened to above knee length. I picked up the print from the designer fabric sale at Modern Domestic a while back. It's a super soft cotton lawn weight fabric that sewed up nicely. I love the empire styling and cap sleeve.

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Sewing: Silk Tank

Here's a simple silk tank that I sewed up last night. I draped the pattern last week and used some silk from my stash that I got at a Bolt fabric sale. The silk is shiny on one side and matte on the other side. I chose the matte side as the right side of the fabric, so it would be a little less flashy. I like sewing silk, but this fabric was difficult to deal with because that one side was so slippery. I love the print though! This will look great under a blazer.

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Sewing: Zip Me Up Dress

At one of the Bolt sales I bought a couple of yards of this great navy and pink print fabric. I'm not normally into prints like this, but the colors were attractive to me and it reminded me of a lot of the fabrics from Mociun and Rachel Comey. It's a cotton lawn weight and I thought it would be great for something summery. I had seen this Dusen Dusen dress a while back and loved the zipper front detail. It also comes in a number of prints that reminded me of the fabric I was using. So, with the Dusen Dusen dress as inspiration, I decided to drape something similar. The original dress has princess seaming, but I used front and back waist darts, as well as bust darts. My neckline is a little more squared off too, but other than that I think it comes close to the original. It's perfect for summer!

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Knitting: Sweater with Smocked Front

I finished up this sweater this morning. I sewed the bottom band in place and then steamed blocked the entire sweater. I love it when sweaters are knit crossways. It's unexpected and makes the sweater a little more unique. This was a quick knit and only took three skeins of yarn.

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Designer Fabric Sale

Check it out!

Designer Fabric Sale
Modern Domestic Sewing Studio
Wednesday, July 14
5-8 p.m.

Get your hands on some unique fabrics from local Portland designers at or below wholesale prices. There's sure to be some great deals. Modern Domestic is at 1408 NE Alberta St.

Weekend Sewing: Liberty Vest

Here's my Liberty vest made from a pattern in the Homspun Japanese pattern book. There are some great details: the pintucks on the front that you can't really see in the photos, the side ties, and the gathering in the front and back, depending on how tightly you tie the sides. This project was pretty quick and I can't believe I put it off for so long. The ties are a bit long, so I'll probably shorten them. I love vests for their versatility. I could wear this one with a t-shirt, button-down shirt, or dress. This vest turned out much better than I thought it would. I should make another one with some of the new Nani Iro double gauze that Bolt now carries.

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Sewing: Gauze Vest Muslin

Here's the muslin I just sewed up for the gauze vest from the Homspun Japanese pattern book. I wanted to sew up a muslin prior to cutting up my Liberty fabric just to make sure it would be something that I liked. And the verdict is a thumbs up! I didn't take the time to sew in the casing or the ties on the muslin, but I think those will be cute details. This should be a quick project once I get the fabric cut.

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Sweater with Smocked Front

I finally found a project for the GGH Soft Kid yarn I frogged a couple of weeks ago. I pulled out my collection of Rebecca pattern books and found a great sweater with smocked front in issue number 23. The sweater is worked in one piece crossways with a panel of interlocking cables in the center top section, which is the right amount of detail to keep me interested.

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Ribbit

That isn't a pile of ramen noodles, it's yarn! I had just finished all the decreases at the waist of the Soft Kid Bubble tunic when I looked at what I had knit and decided I didn't like it. There wasn't any specific reason, just that I don't think I would have worn a knitted tunic that often. So, I decided to frog all my knitting and start something new. I'm looking at another project from the Rowan Studio book (it has the Balloon Sleeve Top pattern I recently made). It's full of projects made with mohair and mohair blend yarns, which is exactly what this is. Perfect!

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