Sew-To-Fit by A.D. Lynn

Well, hello all, today I come to you with two new pattern playmates.  We have the Katherine Pants, from StyleArc Patterns, sharing the spotlight with a true success!!!. a shirt from the Vogue 8747 patterns, which may very well become one of my favorite button downs.   I don't know about you, but I like to eat my dessert before my dinner...just in case I get too full, at least I had the good stuff first.  Thus, it is with this post...I will give you the gist on the top first. Vogue 8747 top view D: I call this my Mardi Gras blouse, because a friend told me, after I showed here this fabric; "Oh, those are Mardi Gras colors!   How exciting."  I had no clue.  I bought that fabric last year, and was just drawn to the beautiful watery movement of buildings nearly hidden in the print. I'm embarrassed to say just how much per yard I paid, so if you don't know, then you are like I was, "Clueless".  For those of you who do know about "Liberty of Lon

Meet Barb, a StyleArc pattern, a yoga pant type, basically, a comfort pant. I have had a few problems fitting these and other StyleArc pants on my figure. You will see a few more in post to follow, since I need to get more pics of the pattern alterations. For now I wanted you to know about these. They have a simple elastic waistband. The way the waistband is installed, actually, saves bulk at the waist and keeps the area flat. You use a 1.5-2" elastic, sewn on the flat band and then folded before attaching it to the pants. The problem I have had with accepting the StyleArc RTW concept is this-- "If Ready-To-wear does not fit me, then why would I want to deal with a pattern that purports RTW?" It doesn't seem to make much sense to struggle so much with a pair of pants that pose all the same fitting issues I deal with in RTW. The following are the long list of challenges that plague me with RTW, as well as have shown to crossover into the StyleArc

Did I say season?  Oh, yes, this is Houston, Texas.  We have the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, better known as RodeoHouston, the world's largest live entertainment and livestock exhibition. (wikipedia.com) RodeoHouston is only second to the International Quilt Festival.  So, it is only right that I celebrate both in my Gringos and Cowboy  Cowgirl hat , like baseball and apple pie, they go together during this time of year. The weather during Rodeo season is just as unpredictable as bronco busting, you never know which way the cowboy will be thrown, so we have to be ready for anything here.  I decided to wear a simple dress I made to go with my boots or my house shoes, slippers to some of you. The day started with a bank of fog all over and a slight chill, and ended up by mid-morning at nearly 70 degrees.  This is why we call it Rodeo season. It's quite fun dressing in Houston, because you can actually have the best of both worlds...excluding the summers.  I ge

Sewing for and working with ladies trying to get patterns and clothes to fit their body has reminded me of my own insecurities that were present in my early years.  My studies have taught me that pattern companies and clothing manufactures must use standard measures based on norms they have found helpful as a basis for sizing sewing patterns and ready-to-wear clothing.   These sizing standards of measurements, I think, however, can form insecurities in us that may contribute to our obsessions regarding our body and cause use to feel "we" are abnormal.  While, in actuality, the sewing patterns in this case just don't "fit" us.   When I was younger, I thought that as long as I was fitting into the size 10 pattern as it was drafted with no knowledge of FBA's, Sway back, prominent buttock adjustments and the like, then I was "normal" and of good weight and build, and therefore, acceptable.  I fitted into the "CHART" used by the patter

Shameless self promotion!!!  Thanks to Rhonda for all her hard work in making this contest possible.  You can now vote on your favorite entry through Monday, February 9th.  Of course, I know it's me you can't wait to vote for, so I made this fancy button to assist you. You can find the original blog post "Project Runway contestant or not?" here , explaining my complete process and inspiration for creating this lovely two-piece outfit.  The fabric was the main reason and inspiration for the challenge. To make it even easier to vote, here are the instructions: Click on the picture above or here . Scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see the group of Get Your Motors running entries. : Cast your vote by clicking on the heart shape in the upper right of your selection. Everyone did such a wonderful job.  If I weren't a contestant, I would have a hard time voting objectively.  What will I win?  I get to win an online class from Craftsy.

A few years back I completed the current application for Project Runway contestants. While answering the questions I began to question my competitiveness.  I chose then not to participate because I didn't want to put my creativity under the gun like that.  Not very many people can pull me into a competitive event, but in this case.... Rhonda, you did it, here I am...competing in a fabric creativity contest.  I was excited to receive the print, a bark cloth with a one way boarder design.  What was I to do?  I know I couldn't just stick to the black and white, since I prefer color burst in my designs, I thought it would be good to die the print.  That quickly left my thoughts, since I was not sure how it would turn out.  I only had one shot at this.  So I tested some machine embroidery,  and copying the print onto another fabric.  That didn't work either.   Painting, was my next option, and of course it did work, and that was what I set out to do. I wanted to make