News

    Hello everyone!       I can't believe it's that time again! Time to release a new pattern, have a sale and write a blog post. I'm so excited to introduce the Burnside Bibs overalls pattern!  Before I get into the details of the pattern may I just say that true to form, I am already second guessing myself. This time, it's not about the pattern itself but rather the name. "The Burnside Bibs" is starting to sound a little to me like a condition. "I'm sorry, I can't go out with you because I have the Burnside Bibs." OR...

          Hello all and happy spring!      Last week I returned from my much needed spring break trip to Thailand and I am just now settling back into the swing of things. I always forget how bad the jet-lag is coming back. Before I left, I was tired of staring at the same walls in my house and needed to get away (working from home will do that to a gal). Now I'm just tired from traveling but I am also refreshed and ready to get back to work.      Anyhow, we had a great...

Hello stitchers! Today we finish our Bridgetown dress! This is the shortest entry of the sew-along; we are simply joining the bodice and skirt, and installing our elasticized waist. First, we sew up the bodice to the skirt, right sides together, at 1" (top of page 15). I used the lightning bolt stitch for strength. Making sure there are no puckers in this seam, clip those long facing ends, and then finish this raw edge: Stitching from either the public or inner side of the garment, stitch down this finished raw edge to the skirt side. In this case, I...

Hello stitchers! Today we are halfway through our Bridgetown backless dress, in knit jersey. We will be attaching our sleeves, and constructing our side seams and hem. I absolutely love the sleeves on this dress. They are constructed so that the hem is created by a fold, bisecting the sleeve's width (piece C). Fold the sleeve wrong-sides together, and presew on the raw curved edges (top of page 11). In my case, the jersey "glued" to itself nicely, so I did not presew. Recall the notches on both the front and back bodice armscye; those, as well as the shoulder...

Hello stitchers! Today we are starting our Bridgetown in a jersey fabric - in my case, a lovely stretch hemp from Nature's Fabrics, in a colorway called "Everglade". I made version C - that is, the dress length with the shallow hem. Above, you see my supplies - the fabric, needels (both a ballpoint for construction and a twin needle for topstitching), elastic, and matching thread. If you are relatively knew to sewing with knit fabrics, you will probably know you want to have the proper needle (ballpoint or jersey are best for most knits) and a strong thread (polyester or...