Category: womenswear

Summer date dress

  Since Sidra entered Junior High School, he becomes very busy with all the school activities. He even has to be at school on weekends for his sports club activity. My husband and I got a bit lost on what to do as the three of us usually did things together on weekends. But we have to get used to this. Eventually Sidra will have to be by himself as he grows up so maybe it is time to start letting him go. One of the thing that my husband and I are starting to do at weekends is having a […]

Soma swimsuit

I made a swimsuit! The pattern is Soma swimsuit by Papercut Patterns. I made size XXS, with the only alteration was shortening the bottom part about 1 cm. Instead of elastic strap, I just use the foldover elastic for all the binding and straps. The fabris was lined with skin-colored swimsuit lining.   It was an easy sewing and I love how little fabric are needed for this swimsuit. I still have enough leftover for another swimsuit, but I guess one is enough for this year.

Merchant & Mills Workbook: The Strides

  I’ve often heard about Merchant & Mills patterns and sewing supplies, but have never found the patterns here in Japan. The closest that I can get was several T-shirts by Uniqlo when they collaborated with Merchant & Mills. So I was very happy when they contacted me to review their newest book, Merchant & Mills Workbook. The book has six paterns for vest, dress, skirt, top, jacket, and trousers. Four of the patterns have style variations so you can get more from this book. Although the patterns are simple, they are aimed to develop new sewing skills. So it is […]

Neon skirt

Since Sidra entered junior high school, he became very busy with all the school activities. Even on weekends, he often has to go to school for sports practice. I suddenly found myself with lots of free time, so I started taking a couple of jobs recently. One thing that I do is working with a designer in developing a product. The company makes bags for outdoor use like backpacks, photography bags, and such. I’m very excited with this job because I get to work with materials that I’ve never used before (do you know what a gatekeeper is? I didn’t know […]

Review: The Express Corset Making Course

I always love to learn how something works. When I was a child, my favorite book was ‘How Things Work’. In the sewing world itself, there is still so many things that I don’t understand and want to learn. People often says, ‘Isn’t it difficult to make this or that?’ Of course everything is difficult when you don’t understand, but there is a satisfaction when your brain is slowly figuring out how something works. In pursue of this satisfaction, a couple of years ago I learned to make a corset. It was a very satisfying experience and I really love […]

Shortie shorts

Summer is coming and it means shorts season! Sometime ago I bought BurdaStyle Retro Classics Pattern Collection which have 9 patterns from the 1950s-60s, one of them is pattern for these shorts. I’m not sure what’s so retro about them but I quite like the double pleats on the front. As usual for Burdastyle patterns, I printed them at 92% at cut size 38. They are quite short though, so I lengthened the hem about 5 cm. The fabic is cotton twill with a bit of stretch on them. Sewing the shorts was quite straightforward. The only thing that I don’t […]

Yogawear

I have started to go to a yoga class several months ago, in addition to daily exercise at home. After seeing Gingermakes’ post about her yoga leggings, I got very inspired to make my own! I considered using Fehr Trade Steeplechase Leggings pattern like her, but at the end I chose Ooh La Leggings by Papercut Patterns. The reason was because I’ve used Papercut Patterns several times before with good result. I had no idea about what kind of fabric that I should use, so I picked this black soft ponte knit at the store.  The content is 73% polyester, 21% rayon, […]

Sandra jeans and Basic tank

I made a new pair of jeans! Actually they were made a couple of weeks ago, and I have been wearing them a lot ever since. The pattern is Sandra narrow leg jeans by Style Arc, a classic narrow legs jeans with contoured waistband slightly below waist. I love this pattern since I made them last year, the first one that I made get lots of wear. The fabric is dark denim, it has less stretch than the previous jeans so the fit is a bit different. I find it funny that you can see a dachshund in these pictures, similar to the one in […]

Burdastyle Wide Sleeve Lapel Jacket

This is my favorite jacket in the last couple of months. You have probably seen me wearing it to Sidra’s elementary school graduation here. The pattern is Wide Sleeve Lapel Jacket 02/2015 #122 from Burdastyle. The jacket has boxy shape with wide straight sleeves, wide lapel, and wide back pleats. It is an unlined jacket with no closure so it’s perfect for when the weather is not too cold. The jacket reminds me of my old jacket that I made in 2010. I lost it during a visit to IKEA! So sad. The fabric is wool in this undescribable color. Recently I have […]

Culottes and tops

  I haven’t sewed for quite a while because it was too cold so I’m happy that it is now getting warmer everyday! This cropped top is part of Burdastyle February Flagship kit that contains about 40 patterns. I printed the pattern at 92% as I usually do for Burdastyle patterns, not realizing that it is already a petite pattern! So I have to add the length back to the pattern. I should have used size 17 in normal printed size (100%). If you’re not a petite, this top might be too short as it is already the perfect length for a petite person. […]