New Sewing Books!

Yeah... as if I need more! LOL And, they took a little longer than I'd hoped, but they made it! I got Sew U by Wendy Mullin, and Sew What! - Skirts by Francesca DenHartog. After sewing a fedora for Whiplash a few months back, I have much less fear of curves, and fitting round forms. After all, the worst thing that can happen is ripped stitches!


I've already started a beige silk slip (for my Craft: skirt,) with help from the second book! Even though it wasn't quite as simple as I'd hoped (i.e. I added ease, and you don't need it for undergarments, at least not with this slip.) I got the fabric at Vogue, a few months back, and was a little too intimidated to actually do something with it. But no more! Silk slip with elastic waistband = Easy Peasy! I decided to use a faux-flatlock seam on the inside to enclose the seam allowances; the Craft: skirt is finished this way, so I decided to keep things consistent. Basically, you trim one seam allowance down by half it's width, then fold the other side over it, and sew the whole thing down. The silk is extra ravel-y and I needed to finish the seam allowances nicely. Hopefully I'll have it done soon, even though the Chicago weather probably won't be good enough to wear it in - it's just a silk slip with a cotton skirt! The skirt was such an easy project, though; I'll have to write a tut up for it!

I'm going to write more about Sew U later, but this weekend I was totally into Sew What! - Skirts. I'd HIGHLY recommend it, especially for beginning sewers. Even though I'm not a beginner, I still really appreciate all of the tips & techniques in this book. The tone is fun, but not too joke-y or trendy (I found S&B to be too "now" in it's language.) The sub-title is 16 Styles You can make with Fabulous Fabrics - and I have some awesome fabrics laying around! My favorites are Asian Dream (a short ruffled number,) Singing the Blues (a super easy a-line with drawstring waist & pocket,) and East Meets West (a zippered a-line with bias tape waistband.)

I have 4 yards of a very soft black fabric, with a diagonal weave, that I'm hoping to get a nice skirt suit out of! I'm dreaming of a sleek pencil skirt and fitted jacket! (And to think I got the fabric for a curtain! LOL)