A nice little wrap skirt that won't unwrap

I’ve been really happy with working with My Label patterns and like to take creative license with them. I wanted a wrap skirt, but not all the quirky problems with a true wraps skirt. This was done as a "faux" wrap. The fabric came from a remanent I found at G Street Fabrics. 100% linen and a true steal!

Between where the basic skirt ends and the wrap starts I inserted a hidden invisible zipper:

I also added a slit right below that for walking ease:

Also I used a combination of the multi-hoop program in the Bernina Designer Plus 6.0 and the giant Hoop-it-all to create the embroidery design as this one was done on my Bernina Artista 165E. The embroidery design was from the “Dressed in Damask” package from Emblibray. Had I used my Artista 630E (which I did not have at the time) I could have auto split it with the mega hoop.

I then added buttons for the faux closure. I really like the versatility of the My Label patterns. It’s amazing what

The kimono jacket - perfect for an over air-conditioned office

As anyone who works in the DC area knows offices are notoriously over air-conditioned. When it's hot and muggy outside you can count on freezing in the office. That's why having some nice Summer jackets are a good thing.

This was a pattern for Bernina My Label that was released after the original package came out. There have been six more patterns released, free to anyone who has the program. I've been really happy with My Label and have tried just about every pattern so far.

 This komono jacket was quite challenge in construction. I found some really nice stripped texture linen at G Street Fabrics and some turquoise linen to make the trim with. The embroidery as a fairly inexpensive download from Emblibrary. It's worth checking every so often with them. They frequently have $1 designs that are fun to use. I used a giant Hoop-it-All for the design with assistance from the multi-hoop program on my Bernina Designer Plus software. That's the way I could split designs on my Bernina Artista 165E. On my Artista 630E I can use the Bernina Megahoop and the softwear will auto split it for me.

The back was actually one piece at the top but I liked putting the strip across it to give it more interest.

The sides are slit with hidden pockets - I love to hide pockets when I can because I never seem to have enough!

So I'm really happy with this program  - I haven't had to buy a pattern since I started using it!

The essential LBD

I don’t know what took me so long but I’ve always wanted a little black dress. It seemed kind of ridiculous that I can sew and have virtually anything I want but didn’t have one of those. Well, the Tim Gunn challenge on Patternreview.com was just the motivation. I have the princess dress My Label pattern drafted specifically to my measurements. I used it for the day time dress but I thought it would work well for the LBD. I had some black on black striped silk fabric from Michael’s Fabrics that I had received in a bundle a while back. Those bundles are fun when offered! Any fabrics I don’t like become muslins and any I do are a great bargain. Anyone interested in this watch out on the MichaelsFabrics.com website.

I also lined the dress in black silk charmeuse I ordered from Mood.com. I made the sleeves ¾ because that way it would work during either Winter or Washington’s over air conditioned Summers. There is a slit on the back. This might be the first of several black dresses. Now that I’ve made one I’m inspired to make more!

Tale of two Singers

I'm very much a Bernina person but I have two wonderful Singers. The big guy is a 1938 Singer 201-2 my Mom got when she combined a birthday, Christmas and graduation from Junior High in 1942. This was a very gently used machine and came in a very handsome Queen Anne style cabinet. It's still in the very handsome cabinet.  I'm happy to have it grace my upstairs hallway and I do bring it out when I want a very quiet wonderful straight stitch. Since this is the machine I learned to sew on I fell like I'm sewing with a good friend.

The Featherweight 221 dates to 1946 and came from a very good deal on Ebay. It's in pretty good shape (although the people who had it did not baby it as much as we did the 201-2) and I might at some point want to restore it to perfect. Not sure though. Thanks to Mike at the Quilt Patch in VA it runs beautifully!

One of the cool things is they both have the nice scrolly faceplate so they really look like siblings!

And they take the same attachments and feet! I just love the two machines when I feeling truly vintage!

Day Dress

This is the day dress I did for the Tim Gunn Sewalong on Patternreview.com. He suggests a day dress and when I got this fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics I knew that’s what it had to be! I think this fabric really has a Tommy Bahama feel to it.

It was the Bernina My Label basic dress pattern but, of course, I had to change some things. I put pockets on the front because I always wished dresses had pockets! Hey, I made it so I can do whatever I want with it! I put the slits in the front as opposed to the one in the back and added a placket neckline. I finally mastered doing plackets so now I want to use them more often!

Black dress pants for the Tim Gunn Sewalong

These are my completed black pants. I used the Bernina My Label flared pants but narrowed the leg. I also omitted the back pockets as I didn’t see any reason for them. The back is much smoother this way. I used a classic fly front and belt loops. The fabric was a black on black stripe silk suiting fabric I got in a Michael’s Fabric bundle a while back. This is how they look in the front:

 And this is the back:

Gotta love those My Label patterns!

Bernina Design Skin and the curious bird....

Bernina has arranged with Design Skins to make skins for the Activa series and the Artista 635. I happen to have an Activa 220 which is my travel and class machine. I thought it would be fun to design a skin and Bailey would be with in spirit. Needless to say when she was it she was really curious about the machine! But then, she's an Amazon parrot so curiosity is her nature.

 

Design Skins are a company in Germany. They got the first one wrong - it had a dark brown background. I emailed them and in just a few hours they answered back saying it was being redone and I would recieve it shortly. I'm so impressed I think I might need a skin for my laptop cover! Now that's customer service!