duck bucket sewing

In my never-ending quest for the perfect t-shirt, I decided to give the Kirsten Kimono a shot. It gets a lot of love on PR -- and it's free! (Just realized the pattern's been updated since I first printed it years ago. Whoops.) I made a size medium using the bird-print fabric purchased from Julija's in Antwerp. Here it is on me: "Stand like an 18th-century fencer!" says my husband every time he takes these photos. "They always stood that way at parties!" Harley helped. Thanks, buddy. So, pros: I really like the nice loose fit. It's really comfortable. It's simple, just two pieces, ideal for stripes and patterns you don't want to break up. Love the higher neckline. Cons: The sleeves felt too short to me, so I lengthened mine by about 3 inches. I also lengthened the hem by about 4 inches, knowing that it would take me a few tries to get the hem even. I didn't get the neckband instructions -- they s...

Finished the last panel of my Alabama Chanin fitted dress tonight. (The stitching, at least.) Harley helped by guarding the window. Closeup: I'm a little scared to cut into it, but the two back panels are already done, so LEEEEEEROY JEEEEENKINNNNNS. Save Save

I emailed Vogue to ask about the fabric choice, and they say: Thank you for your email concerning Vogue Patterns.  Whenever possible we try to provide our home sewers with the information they desire. That is the designers original garment, we will not have credit information on the fabric. -- Bummer. :(

New Vogue patterns today! I'm super super excited about V1510 , the Sandra Betzina tunic and dress: I need this, like, now. I love the fabric they used, too. (With this and last year's jacket pattern , Sandra Betzina really seems to be going the Mad Max route. I like it.) Second pattern on the shortlist: V1517 , the Anne Klein collarless jacket. It's very Quinn in UnREAL or Cat Grant in Supergirl. Dig. On the maybe-shortlist: V1516 , the Tom and Linda Platt batwing top, layered-overlay top, pencil skirt and pants. Interesting combination. I'm intrigued by the layered-overlay top. Could go well, could go horribly wrong. Only one way to find out. And I like the batwing top too (minus the cutouts, which maybe I can find a way to eliminate?), and the pencil skirt is a nice basic. Just one question: The only recommended fabric is satin-backed crepe? For everything? Really? <runs to look up satin-backed crepe> Overall, I'm really pleased...

I wrote an Antwerp city guide for Seamwork, and thought I'd post a few extra pics here. I have to say, I was ridiculously excited when Colette okayed the city guide — Antwerp is one of my all-time favorite cities, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't get a lot of tourists. It was so fun to go back and geek out on sewing and textile and fashion stuff! So here's the fabric I picked up: On the left: a knit by a Belgian designer from  Julija's  that's destined (I think) for a Kirsten Kimono tee. On the right: a French terrycloth from  Kokette Katinka , which I'd like to use to make a knit pencil skirt. Not pictured: A pale pink knit with swallows, also purchased from KK as a present for Lisa, who catsit for us. (Thanks, Lisa!) Julija's and Kokette Katinka had the best knit fabrics. I really wanted the robots at KK. beep boop beepity beep (Did I mention they also had one with cats wearing monocles? They did.) More knits at Julija's. ...