Sewing has always been a part of my life. In the early years, it was watching my mom as she sewed school outfits and semi-formals for dances. Both my brother and I received handmade blankets and quilts, as did my son when he was born. I remember her helping me sew an outfit for my cabbage patch doll that joined a full-on fashion collection she had already completed. However, I didn't start sewing until after college, off and on as time permitted. Of all the projects I attempted during that period, only two worked out--a gown worn at an awards ceremony and a costume used in a dance performance.  Tissue paper pattern Back then, I primarily used traditional tissue patterns. This fragile, transparent, beige paper always stresses me out because I lack gentleness and would need to tape tears before I even pinned the pattern to the fabric. PDFs were in their infancy at this time and weren't always an option for sewing patterns. A lot changed during the 5-year hiatus I took from sewing...

When I started The New School Parsons " Fashion Industry Essentials ," I took it hoping to get some technical design training. I realized quickly this was more of a theory-based class that took a broad view of careers in the fashion industry. I had to decide whether I would finish the course, especially since I had found more technical tutorials with Seamwork.  But I decided to finish what I started and take away what I could from the remaining modules.  It took me longer than I anticipated to finish the class. Training for Ironman Alaska took 12 to 18 hours a week, plus some downtime while I recovered from COVID. I completed the assignments for the first two modules quickly. But the last three took a bit more work. Though I had experience with micro-blogging fashion on FB, IG, and Twitter, those posts were mostly to show finished clothing I had sewn. There wasn't really any discussion about the process of sewing a garment. I also highlight other content on my ...

The sweatshirt dress of my youth has evolved, and I couldn't be happier. Designers gave the original long, bulky bag of comfort dimension and shape so I no longer felt like I was wearing a sleeping bag with a hood. If it hadn't been for these changes, I wouldn't have looked twice at the Idra Dress Pattern (MDF231) . This sweatshirt dress is the perfect mix of geometry and structure. You have the fitted lower sleeve and lower band with a nice puffy sleeve along with enough length for the option of wearing a belt or letting it hang loose.  Since this is one of Mood's regular PDF patterns, there was the usual extensive prep (downloading, assembling, and cutting). However, this is one of their "kit" projects, which means fabric and notions could be purchased online at the click of a button. I really like this, especially when it comes to sending gift ideas to people. I noticed some of their newer sewing projects don't have this feature, and I get it. Not every...

Project Interrupted A little late in the season to make a pair of shorts, but this project sat uncompleted on my sewing table while I trained for Ironman Alaska. Now that the race is done, I figured I'd finish them for next summer.  The Colette "Iris" Pattern (No. 1002) came from the Seamwork website, and the fabric is leftover from when I first started learning how to make pants last year.  The same material was used to make a skirt.  It's slightly stretchy denim that I'm not all that fond of, but at the time I wasn't willing to invest in heavy expensive denim that needed to be shipped from the Lower 48. I no longer own the original pants or skirt, mostly because I lost 10 pounds and they no longer fit correctly.  They were donated to charity. Searching for A Pattern Finding a pattern for shorts is harder than you might think. I searched all the major labels, but they all tend to focus on professional and more formal designs or day designs that are most...

As part of my online Fashion course at The New School Parsons on Fashion Industry Essentials , we cover the Accessories Industry. When I think of accessories, I tend to think of jewelry, shoes, and belts. Though I love hats, I don't wear them as often as I used to when I was a hip-hop dancer. Now they are a practical way to keep the rain off my head in the fall or keep my head warm in the winter. That's not to say that I'm not picky about how my hat goes with my overall looks; I just tend to see them as a necessity in Alaska more than a fashion accessory. A decade ago, I loved to knit. Honestly, I don't even know why I quit knitting. Most likely, some significant lifestyle changes happened, and many changes occurred around that time of my life. I mainly knitted towards the end of my paraprofessional dance/choreography career. Hats, shrugs, backpacks, blankets, scarves, and more. I never knitted an entire sweater though I know I had that planned when I stopped knitting,...

I have just enough skills to be dangerous. 😂 Just another line to add to my epitaph. When I went back to sewing, I started because women have so few options beyond the basic fast fashion stores like Old Navy, Walmart, and Fred Meyer. I don't have grand ambitions to have a fashion line, though I would consider making an occasional item for a friend if asked. After a year of sewing, I realized I have "good enough" skills to make wearable clothes but not excellent skills to make "wow" clothes. Not that some of my clothes haven't gotten their fair share of compliments. The number one garment that receives the most real-world likes is my patchwork pants  my friend Andy affectionately refers to  as "Bayside City Rollers" pants. The construction in the zipper and waistband isn't perfect. It took several modifications before I realized I needed to alter the pattern for my hip-to-waist ratio. I hadn't considered this since a different pant pattern ...