Sewing a reversible nylon raincoat – my longest Work In Progress ever! I started this coat from a (now) vintage Vogue Elements pattern back in 1997!! This pattern, now vintage, is one of the Vogue Elements line from the early…

I was inspired by this capelet from designer Devi Kroll.  So I went to a thrift store, bought a man’s sweater (any sweater you can slide over your shoulders with comfort is fine – men or women’s) and turned it,…

Get ready to be on trend with stylish sport-chic sewing patterns to sew for this fall. I recently purchased several in the trendy sport chic and lounge sewing pattern category. I bought these because my life is increastingly casual –…

Hockey moms are the true anchor of the most expensive of youth sports*. The rinks are freezing (but at least you normally can control the precipitation indoors), the hours are long, the driving is even longer. Hockey moms need to…

My birthday is in October, this is a year of sewing patterns – celebrating a handmade birthday wardrobe. Here’s what I’ve sewed since last birthday (links to all the blog posts below!) Finished some 1990s jeans and jean shorts (from…

Do you catalog your Make Nine garments? This is what I sewed this month – the Make Nine edition including a running total for the year! Two quick wins with these two garments, the Nikko mock turtleneck and the Evie…

I own this McCalls 4202 vintage pattern (ca. 1980s) and decided this year I’d start sewing my vintage patterns more (not just buying more patterns.) This pattern features knit separates you can sew in 90 minutes. It contains a top…

Here are my five favorite patterns that will be perfect for your fall 2025 wardrobe. These are all patterns that I have sewn before or are sewing now, so they’re tried and true! I’ve picked one pair of pants, a…

I just got back from Germany, Austria and Italy. I’ll share European style and sewing patterns to match in this post. We went to the same town in Germany (Wurtsburg, on the Main river) two years ago – our kids…

Ever wonder who owned your thrifted clothes before you? Years ago, I thrifted a pale blue cashmere sweater, short sleeves with little ties on the sleeves knit right in. I know she was a stylish woman, but the sweater felt…

Uh oh. I think a lot of us have been waiting for the other shoe to drop on this one. Design Group Americas, DGA, which owns Simplicity patterns (and the other “big 4” sewing pattern brands), has announced 60% layoffs.…