Another Change to the Drawer Unit

Photo 5

There was no sewing this week. Instead, I finally added a shelf to one of the drawer units that sits underneath my sewing table.

Dress with rushing on the neckline and straps

Front

Continuing my attempt to recreate my dresses, this time I chose a design with a gathered neckline and an elastic waist. I used the same patterns as in the previous dress — the A‑line skirt and the strappy bodice — but added 5 cm at the center to allow for the gathering.

Square‑Neck Dress with Two Skirts

Some time ago, I saw this dress in a shop and decided to try it on. I liked the design, but two details bothered me: it had sleeves, and the fabric was far too transparent. Since I can now make my own clothes, I took a photo so I could try to replicate it at home.

How I Copied a Dress: Part 2 – Sewing

Original

To recreate this dress, I chose a viscose similar to the original. My first idea was not to include pockets — they usually don’t sit well on my body, get wrinkled, and I end up having to adjust them all the time. But in this design they’re well positioned and that doesn’t happen, so I decided to keep them. To add a special touch, I used a brightly colored fabric both for the finishing and for the pockets themselves.

How I Copied a Dress: Part 1 – Patternmaking

Original

To avoid spending time sewing pieces that I later realize don’t suit me, I decided to take a more practical approach: replicating dresses I already wear and love. I went through my wardrobe and, since almost all my summer dresses are good candidates, I started with the simplest one.

A Sunglasses Pouch to Attach to Your Bag

I was asked if I had any suggestions for making a sunglasses pouch that was easy to use or could be attached to a bag. I have to admit, I had never thought about hanging the pouch on my bag, but the idea made perfect sense — especially because my bag is small and the sunglasses case takes up a lot of space.

The wallet that led to the creation of my YouTube channel

When I started sewing, one of the first pieces I made was a wallet following a tutorial from the Sewing Times channel. It turned out a bit wonky, the zipper on the central pocket wasn’t great, but I still used it for a while. In the beginning, one of my biggest challenges was visualizing the position of the different parts of a project. The fact that we sew with the wrong side facing out and then turn everything right side out took a while to make sense to me — and even today, every now and then, I get confused and end up sewing on the wrong side.

3‑in‑1 Bag — a new version - crossbody / tote / backpack

A few years ago, I made a 3‑in‑1 bag to use when running errands. The idea was simple: carry a small crossbody bag and, if I happened to buy something, unfold the larger bag that stays hidden inside the front pocket. You can see the original version here.

Exploring Patternmaking: Three Strap Tops from the Same Base

A piece I wear constantly in the summer is a strap top, so now that I’m learning patternmaking, I decided to experiment and create a few designs from my basic blocks — and this process resulted in three different versions.

First version: testing the darted base 

A coat that became a winter hat and leg warmers

Transforming a Forgotten Coat into Unique Pieces

I was given this unused coat to repurpose in my sewing projects. I must confess it stayed in my wardrobe for several months because I had no idea what to do with it. The main fabric was wool, with details in an extremely heavy material and metal buttons, and the coat had lots of seams and panels. 

Small pouches reusing jeans zippers

 

My latest project started from the idea of using zippers from denim jeans—I decided to make zippered pouches. 

 

Doing appliqué flowers to embellish a kimono style jacket

My last project is a kimono style jacket, I drafted the pattern using my bodice block and made a pilot piece using a duvet cover. The end result was nice enough I felt I could where it.

Mini Pocket Bag: A Story of Creative Reuse

The beauty of creating with our hands goes far beyond the final result — it lies in the story each material carries, in the intention to give new life to what was once discarded. This project is precisely about that: transforming scraps and salvaged pockets into a mini bag full of meaning.

Cell phone wallet

As always, my most recent project started with a simple idea (a cell phone carrier) but it evolved into a cell phone wallet, with a card holder, zippered pocket for coins, an open pocket for bills and a velcro pocket for keys.

Mending and tightening winter pants

This winter, when I put on my wool pants and had to look for a belt to hold them up because the waist was too wide, I decided that this would be the last time since I don't like wearing belts on pants because they create volume in the belly area.

Now that I have more experience in arranging clothes I thought it would be a good time to try tightening the waist of my pants, and as the brown ones were used so much that the fabric between the legs was worn out until there were holes in them, I decided that I would start by trying to mend them and if all went well I would tighten the waist.

6 in 1 wallet

After several months off I returned to creative sewing, this time with a 6 in 1 wallet.

Turning an overcoat into a chanel style jacket

A few weeks ago I participated again in one of Maximus modeling and sewing mini-courses lead by Marlene Mukai, I was interested in making the jacket. Once again the pattern didn't turn out well, I have no idea where I went wrong but this time I wasn't too upset, because after the previous fiascoes (see the shorts and blouse saga) I was almost certain that making  patterns wasn't for me and now I'm sure.

This time around they also made the patterns available as a way of publicizing the pattern subscription they sell, I decided to download the pattern, I was a little unsure about having to assemble it using multiple sheets but turns out it's not difficult and the result is quite good, so I assembled the pattern and copied my size. I didn't get to use it because I didn't have time to go buy the fabric.

Over the weekend I went through my wardrobe and found a series of coats that I hadn't worn for several years and some that had been given to me to use in my creative sewing. Among them was a cream coat with a hood and cutouts and when I looked at it I thought I could make a jacket out of it.

Before

 

After

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From scraps to potholders

The one on  the right is my favourite.

Another project made with reuse of materials, in this case small scraps of denim that I used to make some kitchen potholders. In addition to the denim scraps, I used scraps from a tablecloth and the filling of some kitchen gloves whose exterior was already burnt.

Wall organizer

When I set up my sewing room, I placed a pegboard on the wall to store the most used tools while keeping them at hand. This worked for a while, but as expected, over time I acquired more tools and the space began to be scarce. Furthermore, to get to the tools that were at the top of the board I had to get up, and if that wasn't a problem before, now that I have to keep my foot up, it is. So I decided to make an organizer to fill the wall space between the table and the board.

A tote bag made only with reused materials

For those who think that doing creative sewing is expensive, here is an example of how you can get original pieces without spending money, just reuse what you already have. This bag was made with reused materials.