Shalini's Sewing Space

I finished it!! My Fall/Winter capsule for 2017 is finally complete! The idea had been floating around in my head since spring when I was working on the Spring/Summer capsule. I really wanted to do a Fall/Winter version because it is so much more fun with the accessories. Finally in late summer I put my ideas together on a page and came up with the following inspiration picture - And here is my final completed capsule. Some of the items have changed quite a bit but the overall idea is still there. I ended up with a whopping 32 items, not counting accessories! I didn't count shoes and accessories because they are just fun additional pieces and I don't consider them part of my capsule. It is different for everyone, I'm sure. The one thing I really wanted but could not get around to was a trenchcoat. I have a few patterns for it, including D&D luzerne. I will get to it in 2018 for sure! But what is in this capsule? Well, let's do a count - 4 skirts (2 woven, 2...

Happy Holidays! I made something different for the Holiday Blog Tour. Instead of the usual array of clothing that I have gotten pretty good at churning out, I spent some time making potholders for the kitchen and also some cloth pads that I have been putting off for months now. I also have a really cute handmade cloth pad to give away at the bottom of the post so make sure you enter the giveaway!! Link is at the bottom. The potholders were very quick to sew. I spent more time making the bias tape for the potholders than the actual sewing! For the first time ever, I used the continuous bias tape method of making tape. I am a convert! I love this colorful pre-quilted fabric I found at Joanns and immediately knew I will be making these for the holidays. The fabric is two sided and both prints are lovely! They had so many. I picked this because the color coordinates with my kitchenaid mixer. Here are my gloves which I also love. I made it showing both prints. These will b...

My first foray into german patterns went very well. I bought a whole bunch in the fall sale on makerist.de  this year. I was very nervous about the translation aspect but these patterns have such a good reputation, I went for it. I first purchased a couple patterns that I had to have and opened them right away. I was in awe! The picture tutorial is so detailed, I have not seen many like it! You can just follow the tutorial without even needing to translate. This hoodie is womens sweatjacket by Thread beetles. The other great thing that attracted me to patterns on makerist are the neat little details such as cord stops, leather patches, and such. They elevate the look so much! I am just loving these patterns. The way I approached the pattern was I first figured out sizing. Since this is international pattern, measurements are in metrics and had to figure out what size I needed to use. After that I printed the pattern on letter size but the pattern itself is made for A4....

Itch to Stitch blog tour Day 2 Sewing community is such a vast space spanning multiple continents and what brings everyone together is their love for sewing. When someone in this community is hurting, sewists all over the world come together to make it better. Our much loved designer, Kennis Wong - owner of Itch to Stitch Designs , was robbed a couple of weeks ago leaving her with no way to run her business. This blog tour is promoting Itch to Stitch patterns to make up for some of the monetary loss so she can be back on her feet and produce top notch quality patterns again! I picked up the Newport top in the recent sale and wanted to make a nice top for this blog tour. I'm also really feeling the velvets this time of the year. Stylish Fabrics is one of the sponsors of this tour and I picked up mauve velvet and charcoal ponte to make my outfit. The pinky mauve color is probably my all time favorite color for nail paint but I rarely wear clothes in this color. ...

Mimi G Jeans in Simpli by Ti Stretch Denim This is my most favorite jeans I have made thus far! It is Simplicity 8222 pattern by designer Mimi G. It comes with a quilted bomber jacket pattern as well that I will make some day.  What makes this my favorite is the stretch denim I used by Simpli by Ti ! The denim has 25% horizontal stretch and is mid weight. It is very comfortable to wear. The color is much more vibrant in person than is on the Simpli by Ti sample photo!  The color in my photos is an accurate representation. It is the true denim color.  I like the fit of this pair. I achieved the fit by first making all the length adjustments I need. I'm only 5' tall so I needed to take out length from the inseam and also crotch depth. The jeans are high rise and hips are drafted to fit 9" below the waist. I removed .5". I had made this pattern before and the rise is too long on that pair. One of the biggest changes I made to the pattern was to make an el...

Latest release by Rad Patterns is one to watch out for. Luca Jacket comes with 3 views - crop, peplum, and swing. I like patterns like this which offer more ways to make the same pattern because once I do the adjustments and fitting, I want to use the pattern over and over again especially if it's a great pattern like this one. Luca Jacket  by Rad patterns I made two views in different fabrics to come up with the looks. The swing coat was my first version with long collar and is made with fleece. I used some dots minky for the collar piece. This coat is like getting a big hug everytime I wear it. It's warm and looks stylish for getting kids from school or running errands. Luca Jacket  by Rad Patterns I wanted another version made and initially I was thinking of going with sweatshirt fleece which is the recommended fabric. However, I started seeing crop versions others were making and inspiration to do a moto jacket stuck immediately. Some pinterest browsing ...