Concert Black Haiku - Part 1

All About Vision

Cutting, Pinning  - Plan to Sew

Replace Concert Black

M3650 - Out of Print - Many Vendors Still Carry This Pattern Used

Tired of the black top I've been wearing to sing as a member of Stanford Symphonic Chorus, I've recently cut out a Tried-and-True Pattern. The material is some kind of heavy-silklike, man-made fabric. I bought it in New York's Garment District. When performing we all wear black. The styles are up to us.

Our next concert is early March. Nothing like a goal to get something sewn!

Nothing like using a Tried-and-True  pattern to inspire me to dream about something new, take up my shears, and get going.

Fall Fundamentals: Black Elastic Waist Twill - Cropped Pants

Yup - they already work great with a number of shirts I have.

Very quick to sew.

I used 3" wide elastic for the waistband

Sewed onto the waist area  with two lines of stitching- not run through a channel

No pockets - Saves sewing time, improves fit, decreases issues involved in setting the pockets neatly into the side seams

Why else do I not sew pockets? When I used to sew pants pockets they would develop holes in the bottom (because I put heavy things in them) - I used to lose my keys (- cell phone - money).

I used to do all kinds of reinforcing with heavier material  - but then I just kept putting the heavy stuff in and losing it.

I still like sewing pockets in shirts.

These pants fit nicely - because I made them to fit me and work on my figure. That is the pleasure of sewing my own.

They are some kind of black twill material. Yup I found it in my fabric inventory.

Out of print - Many similar can be found

Terminado! Wardrobe Builder: Midnight Sky Black Denim Skirt

Nothing improves my wardrobe so much
as another good basic denim skirt

In my July Enchanted by Sewing Podcast, I mentioned several garments I was considering sewing next. I got that cap done (in fact technical details for the cap will be featured in this month's podcast) and also recently finished this great basic black denim skirt. I finished it early this week and have worn it three days since then. I like it for walking (it looks cute with blue or black tennis shoes:-), running errands (with my red or sage green sandals), and working at home. 

I didn't used to wear skirts much in my mostly casual life, but since I made my Summer Skies blue denim skirt with this same simple elastic waist, size vented pattern in June, I've found myself reaching for it all the time. I don't know if it's the low-key nature of the denim or whether I'm simply changing my personal style to include more skirt wearing.

Simple lines and styles, like this skirt, are starting to appeal to me more than they have in the past. I think that's because I'm more in control of the pattern work now, focusing on what flatters my figure and how I want fabric to hang in a garment. I draped this straightforward skirt pattern myself. 

While I worked on this skirt I was also working on two other sewing projects.
1) Altering a shirt dress pattern (I've been using my dress form,  draping skills, and a length of muslin to create a flattering fit). 
2) Another simple cotton print sleeveless summer blouse - close to being done! For that I've been working on making more changes to the pattern I used, for the semi-fitted sleeveless blouse pattern I developed* last month, and created in pink and white striped seersucker. I called that blouse "Amaryllis" and  talked about  it in the July Enchanted by Sewing Podcast. I'm still trying to decide on a name for this new blouse. It's got a print of berries on a text background, so It's the Berries, seems like an obvious name. But it doesn't really grab me. 

Working from patterns I'm really familiar with and continue to alter over time to suit my needs, figure, and personal style 

is the kind of thing that keeps me . . .

Enchanted by Sewing

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Web Resources

Enchanted by Sewing Podcast Show Notes: http://EnchantedbySewing.blogspot.com

Inspired by Amy Adams: Creating the Perfect Shirt Dress for Me http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/08/inspired-by-amy-adams-creating-perfect.html

Terminado! Amaryllis Blouse: http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/07/amaryllis-my-new-semi-fitted-blouse.html

Termininado - Sewing a Simple Denim Skirt (My Summer Skies Blue Denim Skirt) http://www.meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/06/terminado-sewing-simple-denim-skirt-is.html

* I didn't drape that sleeveless blouse pattern from scratch. It started out as a commercial shirt pattern and has undergone many transformations since.

Vintage Threads: Downton Abbey Inspiration (Embroidery on Black)

If it's British it Must Be Good!

I'm a big fan of British Costume Dramas. I'm also a big fan of Cora's black embroidered dress from Downton Abbey. Does this inspire anybody else to think about creating some machine embroidery using a similar layout? Though it would be gorgeous on a wool crepe dress, it would see a lot more use in my closet if I did something like this on a nice dark knit tee shirt.

Get behind me Satan! Don't give me another excuse to put aside less-than-exciting plain sewing projects aside. 

But it's certainly given me some ideas for a not-too-distant future project.

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