Shalini's Sewing Space

I'm working on my shorts muslin for the Wardrobe contest. The pattern I have selected is something that has been in my stash for a while. I never even took it out of the envelope because I was afraid of what I call 'smile wrinkles'.  They are the wrinkles that form in the front and back crotch areas indicating there is a problem somewhere. So far, I thought my full tummy was a problem and it was not suited for a cute pattern like this, meaning I shouldn't wear cute shorts. WRONG! I have always noticed my RTW shorts ride up in the back, the side seams swing backwards giving a 'duck butt' kind of appearance. It happens to skirts as well but not to that degree. Also, my shorts inseams tend to 'walk upwards' when I move around.  I have been working on resolving the wrinkling problem since the beginning of January. Remember, this is the Year of the Pant for me? I want well fitting pants so I've been at it pretty much any chance I get. Here ...

As soon as I started making the garments for the pattern review contest ( previous post on this here ), plans changed a little! I have added a different top in matching skirt fabric. I haven't decided which top will be removed from the capsule. So far, the plan is still to make all the tops I had initially decided and then take one out at the end. Now onto the finishes! I have finished garment #1 and garment #2 for the contest. This was fast because skirt didn't need muslining and top pattern was already tried and true. I did do some hacking for the top but it was relatively straightforward and worked on my first try! That's great because I have very little of this chiffon left. There might be a short cami I can squeeze out of this just to give myself more options. Garment 1 - McCall 7606 Petal Skirt  This skirt is a really simple silhouette and yet, has an impact. I love the way the petals open up to show off the leg. I used a chiffon fabric and it just drapes pe...

It's always a special day when any Designer Stitch pattern I tested is released, but this release is extra special! Synthia top is a very pretty, feminine, and elegant top for work or any occasion. It is also extra special because it has a full page feature in the PatternPages magazine! What's more is my photo is in the magazine among many other Synthia testers. It was really fun to open up the PDF and see my photo in there :-) I chose a pretty gray chiffon from fabric.com called 'smoke'. It is semi sheer so I had to wear a cami inside. I love how dainty the sleeves look in this fabric. The drape is perfect for this pattern. It is no secret that I love ruffles LOL! These sleeve and neckline ruffles are done in a very smart way by Ann in which the whole thing is put together first and then sewn into the neckline in one step. Gives off a very nice finish. I did my usual adjustments to the top which include shortening the top by 1.5", and also a 1.5...

I made our new year dresses out of Simply by Ti's fabrics. Ti has a number of sparkly fabrics in her shop and I got the black sparkle knit to make a holiday dress for Aanya. For me, I liked the leopard ITY fabric which has the perfect drape for the Portia dress. I was so swamped in January that I forgot to share these beautiful dresses! Better late than never! This was us on the way to New Year Eve party. I made a faux fur shawl to wrap. It was the perfect addition. Love the whole look for both of us! Little bit better photos of the Rad Patterns buttercup here. This top/dress pattern has become Aanya's favorite because she can spin in it and it's not tight anywhere. She hates tight clothing and just refuses to wear it at all, including jeans! It was a struggle to get her to agree to the tights. I'm pretty sure I bribed her with extra screen time. Shhhh  The fabric is so pretty with the sparkles. It is subtle and non scratchy which is a must over here. ...