Sunburst Dart Top and Animal Print Skirt

Happy Fall Everyone! I do SO love fall, except for the new (for me) fall allergies. So not fun!

I finally got photos taken of the next part of the mini wardrobe I showed last time!

For the fourth piece I made with the light taupe rayon knit, I used my SFD bodice sloper. I moved the bust dart to the neckline and opened seven darts in a sunburst effect that I first read about in the Oct/Nov. 2006 issue of Vogue Patterns magazine,Here is the article

and here is my pattern piece. I guess I wouldn't need to have sliced my neckline in all those places. One opening would do the same thing. You measure the width of your bust dart and make your darts equal to that width. My dart is 3" so I made three darts (on each side ) 3/4' darts and one in the middle that was shared by both sides

I drew my outfit idea before  I started to cut out and sew . I find this really helpful when I'm designing my own pieces and drafting my own patterns .My idea was inspired by this Claire Underwood dress from Season 4 of House of Cards.

First the whole outfit

Here is the top which turned out really well and I love it.

Here I styled it with a self made necklace that I love.

The skirt was made using my SFD skirt sloper, I changed it to A line . For the skirt front I cut  two side panels and a center panel . I then cut the side panels to form a rather low set pocket  with a pocket band ..

And here is the skirt.

I sewed buttons on the pocket bands to highlight  the pockets. I sewed an exposed zipper to the back which I love.

The skirt fabric is stretch cotton poplin.

My husband snapped the photos just before I left for a retired teachers' meeting. .

I forgot to get one with the long cardi over it!

Well, I have two more outfits to show you where I experimented  moving the  bust dart . I'm quite over that  now and am anxious to sew something more important. like maybe finishing a moto jacket I started two years ago.

Until next time,

A Special Outfit for a Special Occasion

My husband has reached a milestone birthday and I decided to simplify the celebration by hosting a dinner party for our family at a favorite restaurant. Expensive but oh so much easier than hosting yet another family get together at home !!

I admit the summer has left me tired out . Bob and I are back to our quiet life and watching lots of Netflix . Of course I'm never too tired to sew so there's been a lot of that going on.

I could have worn my reunion dress for the birthday party but I had one more outfit I wanted to make which would serve as a transition between summer and fall. It turned out to be  perfect for an occasion like this so I wore  it instead.

I 've lauded Fabricville's Milano collection of rayon jersey several times already so I'll spare you but when the 3 for 1 sale started, I bought a lot of my favorite knit . Actually, I bought the light taupe twice by mistake and so as I sewed , I kept thinking of other pieces I could make ,I ended up with four things. It was a very organized way of sewing because I didn't have to change the serger thread and I waited until all four pieces were finished before I hemmed them on my Janome Coverstitch Pro 2000 which I bought in the spring.

Here was my plan using Sally Surefit. I find this process so helpful when I don't know what to make with a certain fabric or when I'm feeling overwhelmed by my fabric stash. I don't always stick to the plan but it at least gets me started.

The first outfit didn't photograph well on the dress form. It looks much better on me and that doesn't often happen. As you can see, I didn't exactly stick to the plan.

The tunic was made using an old  and now OOP pattern

and the ankle pant with elasticized hem were  a modified version of my palazzo pant drafted from the Silhouette Yoga Pant #3400.

I love the extended shoulder and neckline of the Burda pattern. I added side slits for a little interest

It was when I had finished these two pieces that I discovered I had bought this fabric twice and I was delighted because the outfit just screamed for a long topper to wear over it.  I went to my revised version of McCall's 6844 which I've made many times because I love the simple lines of this cardigan.

I added these draped pockets from another pattern for a little visual interest.

I used my Cover Stitch to sew down the facings ( with a little help from Wonder Tape ) and my outfit was complete

I admit I was getting tired of this colour by now but I made one more piece which I'll keep for next time.

I would love to have gotten action shots at the party but that didn't happen but my DH snapped these pics just before we left. Oh and my husband  sisters loved this outfit!

And I'll leave you with a shot  I took of our deck  to check the lighting and the lovely peaceful  view we get to enjoy every day . It's so pretty I thought I'd include it.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I really appreciate your comments. They keep me wanting to blog when I get tempted to quit.

Happy Sewing from

Sewing in Outfits, (continued)

Sometimes, it makes sense to make two, three or even four piece outfits, as I did a couple of weeks ago. One reason is fabrics that coordinate but also when you know it will be hard to find anything to match exactly a certain colour such as this royal blue scuba knit  of the slim ankle pants and the  matching ponte coordinating prints of the tops and skirt..

The pattern I used for the  top is V8497, View B but lengthened by a few inches.

The pants are are slimmed down version of Silhouette Three Piece Yoga Pant ( #3000 ). I turned up the hem to form a cuff to make these just a little different.


I had a lot of fun creating as I sewed with the matching prints for this one.

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The trim is actually a stripe  wrapped around the edges at the front and back and  the neck and sleeve cuff. I trimmed close to the edges and I love the results. Just a little bit of the white shows.

(The colour is really off in this pic!!!)

These two pieces are really fun together and I've loved wearing them a few of times this summer.

Ahh...these lazy days of late summer are so precious! I love everything about them.

The other pieces will have to wait for another time. I hope you've had a lovely summer, as I did .
Now on to fall sewing.

More later from