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Growing up I hated skirts. I couldn't think of anything worse to wear when swinging on monkey bars, climbing slides or running around. After witnessing a girl in my school accidentally having the back of her skirt tucked under her backpack and having her whole backside exposed, she must have not noticed it when she was putting the backpack on, also made me super paranoid about wearing skirts. You have to behave like a lady when you wear one and I think I had trouble with that. But over the years, and since my monkey bar days are behind me, I slowly grew fond of skirts and looking like a lady (or pretending to look like one). This is when I realized there was a definite lack of skirts in my closet and I decided to remedy that. I discovered Sewaholic a while back and I was addicted since. Tasia is very talented and the things she makes are very inspiring! I also love her tutorials and I absolutely adore all her patterns. She drafts specifically for pear shaped ladies and unfortunately I am not quite pear shaped. But I really wanted to give this Rae Skrit a try! It's easy, super cute and absolutely versatile. I ended up going with version A (B is slightly fuller and C is longer). It seemed to have the right fullness and length. The only thing I changed was elastic waistband. I decided to omit and substitute it with a regular waistband. I do not like adding too much unnecessary bulk to my waist and I also didn't have the right elastic size in my stash. I cut the pattern off where the elastic waistband would start, added seam allowance and cut a separate waistband based on my waist measurement. I also cut the center back piece as two separate pieces since I wanted to put zipper closure in the center back seam. I didn't follow the instructions, so I can't speak to their clarity but they seemed pretty straight forward when I looked at them. I sewed up all my seams first, except for the back seam and zipper. Then I gathered the upper edge of the skirt and attached it to my waistband. After I attached my zipper and sewed center back seam. Voila! I love how this skirt turned out! It has just enough fullness and flare without adding too much bulk at the waist. I find that although I love my regular gathered rectangle skirts, they do tend to add bulk at the waistband and make my tummy look a little bigger. This skirt does not do it. I definitely feel like a lady when I am wearing it! In the future I think I will add inseam pockets to this skirt. I love my pockets and if I can add them to anything I will! I already have plans on making another one, as well as one or both other versions. Love, Anya

Last week I discovered IndieSew (where was I hiding before this?) and as I was browsing Hepworth Dress caught my sight. This pattern is made by Sinbad and Sailor and has elements of everything I love in a dress – it is feminine yet elegant, playful yet great for the office… I was sold. I’ve never tried any of Sinbad and Sailor’s patterns, as a matter of fact many indie designers are new to me, so I decided this dress will be a perfect item to start with. The pattern assembly went without any issues, all pages came together nicely. I am a stickler for tracing all my patterns, even if they can be re-printed over and over again. So I traced UK 10 size and made some alterations to the paper pattern. I am tall, so bodice on any pattern is usually too short for me and the garment waist does not sit at my natural waist. I lengthened bodice front and back and widened the waist, as by judging from the finished garment measurement chart provided in the pattern it seemed like the waist may be too tight on me. I also lengthened the skirt by 5cm. I want this dress to be office appropriate and in the end it is always easier to make it shorter than to make it longer, right? I decided against making a muslin, because I felt lazy and the pattern seemed like it would fit me. I was also craving a fast and easy project. I went straight for fashion fabric! I used this beautiful stretch cotton blend in coral color that I had in my fabric stash. The dress construction went without any issues. I did not follow the instructions, as when I looked at them the neck facing was not done in my preferred way. I like to attach my facing before I do the side and back seams. I find the neckline and armholes have a cleaner finish this way. But it is a slightly riskier way since the first time you get to try the garment on is when it is almost finished and it is hard to make alterations at that point. So I would definitely recommend using this way only if you know the pattern or have done the muslin. I, apparently, like to live on the edge and I just went for it. Because I didn’t follow the instructions I can’t speak to their quality, only to the quality of the pattern. In the end the dress turned out lovely! I only had to lower my armcycle to create more room for my apparently massive armpit, but that wasn’t too much trouble at all. I will make some minor adjustments to the paper pattern before I use it again to accommodate for specifics of my body. I will take it in at the waist, as it turned out just slightly too big. It seems like I should have went with the original pattern measurement. I will still lengthen the bodice, as the waist line sits at my high waist right now. It is not bad, but I may like it a little lower. I will also make armcycle slightly bigger, lower the neckline just a touch and lengthen the skirt. I did find that the 5cm that I added to the skirt length were barely enough. I ended up using wide bias tape to hem the dress. I will definitely use the pattern again. It is drafted really well and it fits great! I am already planning on making a gray Hepworth dress. I think it will be a great basic dress that will fit many occasions. Love, Anya

I wouldn't say that my love for re-upholstery began from this chair, but the chair did spark something in me. I originally picked it up with an idea of it being my future sewing room chair. I wanted a funky, bright, yet delicate and vintage looking chair. Since I was on a saving spree, I decided to give this sad looking chair I picked up from someone else's porch for free a go. Why not? What's the worst that can happen? This chair was indeed in a very bad shape. It was missing screws and it was already part painted by someone else. It was not a great paint job either... So I gave the chair a good sanding and primed it with the primer. Mind you I should probably make it clear it was one of my first furniture painting project too. Truly, this chair was my first revamp in all possible ways! After a few coats of paint the chair was starting to look better. I decided to add foam to it's seat to make it cushion-y (is that a word? It is now!). Then I added some funky fabric from my fabric stash. Why did I even have upholstery fabric stashed when I didn't do any upholstery at the time is beyond me... Anyways, at that time the chair was really coming together! I ended up not using this chair as my sewing room chair and gave it to a friend of mine to use it as a chair for her vanity table. I am very happy with how it turned out! It is definitely one of the easier upholstery projects there is and it did serve as a great introduction into other more challenging projects for me. Once again, Mr. Chair!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Anya and I am absolutely crazy about anything fabric related. I was toying with an idea of starting a blog for a while now, but something seemed to be in the way (isn't it always??) This weekend I decided that's it, I need space to track all my projects and write about them so I do not overwhelm my friends and family with seemingly endless supply of DIY stories and ideas. I figured in my first post I'll tell a little more about the story behind my passion. I became interested in sewing at the tender age of 6 or so. I remember being completely fascinated by how my mom turned her old sock into a pair of “knitted” tights for my favorite doll, even complete with a ribbed waistband! From then on all I could think of is creating clothes for my dolls. Well, my vision of a complete wardrobe full of outfits did not turn into reality, but a girl could dream. At the age of 8 I made my first skirt for myself. I did not have access to a sewing machine so I did it all by hand. May be that is why I hate hand sewing so much these days… I don’t remember much about that skirt. I think it was striped red and white, made out of some fabric I found at home. I think it was stretchy too. It had a cased elastic waistband. I do not remember if the stripes were matched, or if it was hemmed. I think I told everyone I ran into that I made my skirt, in case they didn't notice, but I am sure they did... I was so proud that I made my own skirt! I grew up around women who sew. My grandmother made her own clothes. I remember sitting next to her as she was making her summer dresses and how excited I was when she gave me a serious task of tying threads on dart ends before she clipped them off. My mother actually has a seamstress certification and she made quite a few clothes for me and my brother as we were growing up. Needless to say she was a wealth of knowledge when I myself began trying to read patterns and came crying to her when something was wrong with my projects. She was able to understand me, calm me down and point me in the right direction. Bless her heart for hanging through tough sewing times. Like when I decided to use a black permanent pen to trace a pattern for a blouse on the white fabric she just reluctantly bought for me, fully aware that I chose a pattern too difficult for me to attempt. Or when I promised to make her a coat, my very first coat, and I got so overwhelmed that I never finished it... It is because of this understanding of sewing challenges, encouragement and patience when it came to my bombed projects, I think I am where I am today. So there, thank you, mom! I can not say I was sewing all my life. When I was in university I gave it up. I was too busy studying and trying to fit in. One day though, I saw a girl, whose style I admired, wearing a beautiful houndstooth mini skirt. It looked so good! And I wanted one so bad! I was also so broke and there was no way I could afford to shop in the stores she shopped. Saddened I was left to admire the skirt and the girl and her amazing sense of style. Then when I got home it occurred to me that I can make it! It’s a simple mini skirt. Geez, I made a skirt when I was 8, I could surely make one now! And so my affair with sewing began again. I did make a similar skirt and I did wear it proudly. This time the skirt was properly hemmed, lined and even had a zipper! These days I make a lot of the things I wear. Partially because they fit better, I can make exactly what I want and the items are of better quality than what I would buy at the stores without spending a fortune. I also am completely crazy about the sewing process and how a simple fabric can transform into amazing finished garment that is available for wear! I also recently became interested in re-upholstery. My not so little reno project at home unexcpectidly turned up this brand new interest for me and so far I was able to successfully, I think, translate my sewing skills into upholstering skills. So… where does this all lead? I don’t know! I see this blog as a personal journey, a space where I can share my passion, my knowledge and my creative process, as well as a way to document all the crazy things I do, successfully, not so successfully and even when I fail miserably. Come, stay awhile, grab a glass of wine, or a cup of tea, and if you feel like it, drop me a line! Love, Anya