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My friend, Lance
I have a complicated relationship with public displays of grief. There are times when it can feel real and visceral and healing, and there are times when it can feel performative, especially when dealing with the loss of a well known public figure. While taking a couple of days to process my own sorrow about […] Continue >
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Faux Fur, Real Opulence
This coat was inspired by a woman named Ariana who worked on the wardrobe truck of my last job. She is one of those people who immediately comes across as VERY COOL. Tattoos, dyed hair, piercings, incredible style. She also happened to be a maker, and every time she came into my trailer we would […] Continue >
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Projectors for Sewing
I read about this phenomenon over a year ago in one of the Closet Core Patterns monthly inspo emails- there was a blog post included by a woman who was sharing her experience working with projectors in her sewing room. Essentially she (and what seemed like a growing community of others) had figured out a […] Continue >
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Sherlock Holmie
I was so intrigued when I came across Vogue 9288 a couple years ago that I feverishly hunted it down online (I *think* this was a pattern I couldn’t find in my size on etsy or ebay so I ended up buying it from an IG follower who had it in their stash), and […] Continue >
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Crazing and Shivering
Welp, this has officially been the worst couple of weeks I can recall having in quite a long time, and it’s probably not a coincidence that the downward spiral began exactly when Mars went into retrograde, lol. I don’t follow astrology much at all, other than the monthly Chani Nicholas horoscope that shows up in […] Continue >
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Theirs and Hers: Plieades Dress and Gosling Shirt with Fabric Godmother Fabric
When Fabric Godmother reached out to me about collaborating on a blog post featuring their new line of vintage inspired fabric, I was prepared to say no because I was busy with ceramics and hadn’t felt very inspired to sew of late. But as soon as I clicked on the link showing all the fabrics […] Continue >
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My Judi Dench Coat
WOOHOO! How y’all doin?? If you follow me on instagram, you know how…special…my experience with CATS the movie was. I’m not here to argue with anyone about whether or not CATS was good. I have been around long enough to know that art doesn’t have to be good to be entertaining, and I was NOTHING…
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A Camel Overcoat
This particular make was the source of a lot of interesting conversations on my instagram a couple months ago, and it all started with curating my closet and defining my color palette. In culling a wide assortment of beautiful looks on pinterest to get a better understanding of my style goals, I found myself coming…
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Where In The World Is Sika San Diego?
I actually hate the nickname Sika and I only let a tiny few people in my family use it, but it does have kind of a nice ring to it in this context, lol! This Vogue 1650 trench coat was a BEAST, but I expected it to be. Occasionally I’ll come across a design that…
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My Journey To A Curated Closet, The Finale! Part 4
Well, it’s not really the finale…it’s actually more like the beginning! I feel like I’ve put in a considerable amount of brain work these past few weeks trying to make sense of all this information that’s been swimming around in my head and that part finally is over- now I just get to implement all…
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More Color, More Curation! Part 2
That last post started so many conversations, both here and on IG, which I wasn’t expecting at all! Thanks for sharing your own experiences and enthusiastic responses- it’s been fun reading about your own forays into playing around with a color palette and being more thoughtful about your wardrobe planning- it feels like there is…
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The Curated Closet and Color Me Beautiful
I took a strong cue from my friend Renee of the Miss Celie’s Pants blog to read The Curated Closet, a lovely little book about how to cull your personal style and create a closet that works best for your tastes and lifestyle (full disclosure: I haven’t finished it yet because it was due back…
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Confetti Dress
I tried making this dress several years ago when I was a) not yet as adept at fitting clothes to my body b) not yet as adept at matching perfect fabric to perfect pattern and c) not yet as adept at handling silk. Needless to say, it was a not a win. I blame it…
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Snowbunny In the Desert
This is a two-for one post because the garments looked so good together I couldn’t bear to separate them! Let’s start with the jacket, which has inspired more ridiculous stories and posts on my instagram account than I ever imagined. View this post on Instagram Controversial decision here but I’m using the “wrong” side of…
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Cielo Dress in Vintage-Inspired Silk
The fabulousness of this dress was a huge surprise for me! I thought that the design might be a bit too simple to pack the big punch I was hoping for, but it absolutely delivered and I am happy to learn, once again, that you can’t always judge a pattern by it’s model photos! Not…
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Amy Jumpsuit in Watercolor Voile
Well I am definitely late, in North America at least, with sharing this make since it’s top of the summer wear but decidedly fall now. This jumpsuit still works well in Los Angeles where it continues to bake like an oven (high of 93 degrees yesterday) but here in Vancouver it’s a whole 30 degrees…
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Oberlin Tote from Klum House
Hey, y’all! Today’s post is brought to you by Klum House, an online store for makers that sells patterns and bag making kits in streamlined, simple designs with beautiful, high quality tools and materials. Klum House reached out to me recently to help launch their new and improved Oberlin tote bag release, and my initial…
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A Jumpsuit in Wheated Silk
This fabric, which I believe is a silk crepe, was gifted to me by a woman that teaches at the pilates/yoga studio I go to. She was a fashion student at FIDM and accumulated lots of beautiful fabric over the years from friends and family adding to her stash, but apparently she just never really…
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Vintage 90’s Swing Dress
Technically this pattern is from 1989 but I think it’s fair to put it solidly in the style of the 90’s- that close fitting, raised collar, that back tie, and that high, curved waistline are just so reminiscent of babydoll dresses- it all screams PAIR ME WITH SOME DR MARTENS! Which I have clearly not…
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Blue Leopard Print Wrap Dress
This stunning, buttery, vivid leopard print silk was gifted to me from Elisalex of By Hand London many months ago after we decided to do a fabric exchange. I was working in Vancouver and oohing and ahhing on instagram over the beautiful slubby linen Blackbird Fabrics had recently stocked. Elisalex wanted to get her hands…
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Dawn Jeans, Zebra Shirt, Gold Heels
There are three separate makes in this post so this is gonna be a BLOOOONG one (I’m coining this term and I hope it really takes off lol). First up are the Dawn jeans by Megan Nielsen, a pattern filling the holes of many jeans-loving sewists the world over. I must admit, when I first…
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Green Silk and Velvet
Hi hi hi hi hiiiiii! It’s been foreverrrrr since I posted here, but not forever since I made anything, hahaha. Here are some excuses: I got a beautiful camera of my own for Christmas last year to replace Claire’s DSLR that I usually used to take blog photos and make audition tapes. Her camera is…
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The Eponine Dress and Furry Heels
I call it The Eponine Dress for reasons that are obvious if you are familiar at all with Les Miz- Eponine’s character is beautiful, sad, and tragic, having faced more hardships than any one young woman ever should, pining after a lost love while surviving on the streets of Paris during the French Revolution (well,…
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Candy Striped Tully Pants + Baby Blue Slides
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv0TIfVBQdw/ I’m really proud of this make because it gave me a chance to demonstrate perseverance to myself in a way that I don’t always experience with sewing! About a year and a half ago when in Vancouver for work, I brought a few new-to-me patterns to be #sewnawayfromhome in my hotel room. One…
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DKNY Dress in Leopard Tencel Twill
I have had Vogue 1287 by DKNY in my stash for a long time but was always hesitant to make it because it seemed like it would be complicated to grade out at the hips and I was afraid I wouldn’t fit a straight size in this pattern. As per usual, I am frustrated by…
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A Golden Dress for Your Grandma
We are way overdue for a #grandmachic make! This gorgeous dress was finished months ago and was purely inspired by the pattern image on the envelope. I had been looking for a pattern like this for so long, and had even attempted to draft/hack something close to it (it was the original inspiration for the…