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I think in all my time sewing I've made more skirts that I could ever imagine. I started sewing with skirts. I made pencil skirts from my mom, I made simple gathered skirts for me... As a matter of fact, now that I am thinking about it, my very first me-made item for myself was a skirt. I was about 8 years old and I managed to sew by hand a simple rectangle skirt with a fold over elastic casing. By hand! I don't think I would ever do that again... This skirt does not have an exciting background story at all. I saw the skirt (Model 122) in Burda Style magazine for August 2014 and I really liked the technical drawing. I didn't like the model picture at all to be honest... It must have been the fabric choice and the way that skirt is paired with that shiny shirt... It's just off! I also didn't like how the front of the skirt has these awesome pleats, but the back does not. I prefer my pleated skirts to have pleats all around! To remedy all of that I decided to omit the zipper at the front and go for an exposed zipper in the back,. I cut two front pattern pieces on fold, one for the front and one for the back, which was exactly the same as the front. This way I had my pleats at the back as well! I used 100% wool suiting from my stash. As you can see I am really trying to use up my stash fabrics here! A few years back I managed to score quite a bit of beautiful thin wool suiting on great sale and I bought enough to last me a while. The wool is a deep forest green color which translates into a fun basic, yet not so basic, solid color. The fabric also has a subtle texture to it and I love fabric with texture! I always, always line my wool suiting. So this skirt is fully lined with rayon bemberg lining from my stash. The pockets though are made out of green polyester I had that matched the green wool a bit better than the lining. Exposed zipper was a fun challenge! I find if you interface and stay stitch the fabric where the zipper will be places and go slowly, the exposed zipper is not hard or scary at all. Megan Nielsen has a great tutorial on sewing an exposed zipper. I definitely recommend it. This skirt turned out really nicely. I am very proud of the quality of the construction and the way it looks. Unfortunately for some reason I haven't been wearing it a lot. However, now that it is back on my radar I am very eager to change that and take it out of my closet more often! Love, Anya

It is almost summer... what am I doing posting pictures of a coat?? Well, in Calgary, although it has been deliciously warm, one can still get away wearing a coat in the morning some days. I am also sure that a cold spell is still bound to happen (I will be happy if I am wrong!) It's Calgary, it is bound to come! It is not weird to get snow on May long weekend here, so see, posting pictures of a coat in April with +22 outside does not seem so weird anymore. The coat is Lekala 4333 coat pattern. When I first made it back in December 2015 I sucked at taking pictures. I am not a pro at it now, but I am very proud of my tri-pod acquisition and how it has slightly elevated my picture quality and photo taking abilities. Also I would like to think that over the past 4 months my modeling skills went from barely existing to "I-can-do-two-poses-yay!". I won't talk about the coat itself in this post, as I've written about it and my experience with Lekala patterns here and here. Feel free to check the posts out and if you have any questions, ask away. In the meantime, here are some shots of the finished coat: I love the two pleats at the front! They help create such a beautiful feminine silhouette. I used Kasha lining, which is a flannel backed satin, to line the coat. This lining is warmer than usual bemberg or polyester lining. And because it is flannel on one side, it is easier to work with. My lining is silver since FabricLand had a limited selection of colors and this silver color was the only one that went with the color of my Melton Cloth wool. I am extremely pleased with how this coat turned out! Between this one and my other super warm Cascade Coat (unblogged) I have been a very happy lady this fall/winter season! Love, Anya

I am completely obsessed with Laurel Pattern. I am not even hiding my obsession or pretending it does not exist. I think I have made over 5 Laurels, most of them un-blogged, and I still have one cut out waiting to be made. I could easily wear Laurel dresses every day of the week and be as happy as I can be. This pattern is so versatile and so easy to make! Lately I have been strangely drawn to drop waist dresses and I have been collecting images of what I liked on my Instagram. There is just something about that dropped waist and slightly gathered skirt that completely stole my heart. I envisioned a very simple dress - boat-neck, bust darts, dropped waist, gathered skirt and loose fit. Originally I had my eye on Malvarosa Dress by Pauline Alice and I even bought the pattern. But after trying to put together a muslin and running into fitting issues with my shoulders I quickly gave up. I have enormously wide shoulders! So wide that it would seem that I can swim for hours, if only I knew techniques other than doggie paddle (though my doggie paddle is da bomb!) It does seem that Malvarosa Dress is a great pattern, but I just didn't want to deal with shoulder adjustments. So I gave up and turned to my tried and true Laurel. My modifications were not complicated at all: I've completely eliminated back darts. Just outright ignored them I've added about an 3/4" on to each hip for less fitted silhouette, and used my French curve to draw a new side seam I've decided that I wanted my dropped waist to start right around the widest part of my hip. I felt that it was a more pleasing look. I've measured the length from the center of my shoulder to my widest hip and that became the length of my new dress bodice pattern For the gathered skirt, I've planned to use rectangle with 1:1.5 ratio for the width of the skirt but I didn't have enough fabric. So I cut two rectangles instead, both the full width of the fabric. I sewed the side seams of the rectangles, gathered them and attached to the bottom of the dress. I also slightly pressed them so the skirt wouldn't "puff out" too much as I didn't want a tutu look I've left the top part of the dress and the sleeves untouched. I also didn't insert the zipper since I didn't have issues getting into any of my other Laurels without the zipper. So both my dress front and back are cut on fold I am completely in love with how this dress worked out! The fit is exactly what I was looking for. All my previous hard work of fitting Laurel to my body has completely paid off and the dress is ridiculously comfortable in my chest, back and shoulders. The fabric came from my stash and is a polyester suiting blend that came from a local FabricLand. It irons well, but definitely requires an ironing cloth! It melts so easy and shine marks are super easy to make. Other than that, the fabric was easy to sew with and is really nice to wear. I do wonder if I've hemmed it a little too short. The length is probably okay as is with dark opaque tights, but I am unsure if it will be too short with bare legs... I have left a really wide hem of ~2.5" in this dress so I can easily let it down a little longer. What do you think? Love, Anya

How many Hemlocks are too many? I don't think it is possible to have too many Hemlocks. At least not for this girl. Shortly after whipping out at least four Hemlocks (most of them un-blogged) I was thinking of my next Hemlock. As I was falling asleep one night a thought crossed my mind - "make it into a dress!". I do tend to think of sewing as I fall asleep, as I am sure everyone else does too because it is a totally normal thing to do, right? So the next chance I got I promptly got onto making this pattern into a dress. To make the pattern into the dress I added extra length to the pattern. The rest I sewed up as usual. Prior to hemming it, I've tried it on to see if it is too wide (it was) and / or too long (it was). I ended up taking it in at the sides a little bit and cutting off a couple inches at the bottom. I finished my neckline with a band and used a chain-stitch on my coverstitch machine to topstitch it so it lies flat. I hemmed the sleeves and the bottom of the dress using the coverstitch machine as well. I have had it since Christmas (it was my present to myself!) and I am slowly learning the ropes on it. I find coverstitch machine slightly more finicky than serger, but I am sure I will charm my way to it's metal, gear filled heart. Oh, and check out the stripe matching. Like a boss! Ever since I started pinning my fabric at the stripes, stripe matching has not been an issue. The fabric came from Blackbird Fabrics. It is a loosely knitted cotton sweater knit. It is so lovely and so comfy against the skin. Unfortunately Caroline does not have any more left, but I am hoping next fall she will get some more awesome knits in stock There is nothing much else to say about the dress. It is easier than easy to put together, especially if you have a serger. It is super comfortable to wear and you instantly look put together after throwing it on in the morning. I find all dresses do that though. All of this got me thinking of what else can be done with Hemlock pattern... I mean it's free! Would you try making it? Would you make it into a dress? What else would you make it into? I also still need to try Mandy Boat Tee, I hear it is just as fabulous. Love, Anya

I have finally and fully gave into my desire for loose, almost shapeless garments. After wearing fitted dresses, low waisted pants, fitted sweaters and shirts for years, I really thought that something was seriously wrong with me. How could I even want a pair of pants that sit right below my natural waist?... Or even a loose fitted dress? Gasp... I certainly thought I caught some kind of virus that clearly affected my brain. But lo and behold, I think this is what growing up and getting older (and of course, better!) looks like for me. After realizing that just because a garment doesn't closely hug my bust, waist and possibly hips, it doesn't mean it still can not be flattering, I went on a pattern search of all cool loose fitting dresses and tops I could find. I've seen Inari Tee Dress before a number of times and although I did think it looked good on others I never thought it was for me. Well, it grew on me fast, with my new urgency for looser fitting dresses, I had to have it. The pattern was easy to tape together and I ended up picking a size based on my bust measurement - 40. I adjusted the shoulder, since my shoulders are so wide, and proceeded to put it together. It was easy! It all came together in one night. But... there is a but... it turned out too tight! Seriously, this was a loose fitting dress and I managed to still pick a wrong size. My mistake was that I simply assumed that my hip measurement wouldn't matter because of the looser fit of the dress. Well, it certainly does! I could put the dress on, but my hips were way too tight in the dress. There she is. Just hanging on the dress form, waiting for my friend to pick her up.... Thankfully though, I had enough fabric leftover to make me another one! This time I cut size 42 right away and went from there. I still widened my shoulder, but in hindsight I should have done a full broad back adjustment. The dress still feel a tiny bit tight across the shoulders, but it is not a big deal at all and it is barely noticeable. The fabric came from my stash and has been a part of it for at least 3 years. I bought it thinking of making a shirt dress, but I never got to it. I think the Inari Dress really suits it though. The fabric is a polyester blend. It is very light, yet opaque. It has a beautiful drape and hangs nicely. It was also not hard to work with at all! I have been wearing the dress all the time. It is so comfortable! I also like how versatile it is. It looks just as cute with a chunky cardigan and tights, as it would with sandals in summer. I am thinking I should make another one for the summer. Something in lighter fabric in a color that makes you think of summer... There, how poetic was that? Love, Anya

This is not quite the Friday Fail. It's actually the opposite, I would consider this dress a Friday Win, if you will. I don't have any current photographs of my recent fails to post as a Friday Fail. And there were some fails... The most recent one was so bad that I ended up throwing the whole thing out. Photographing it would not have even been possible! But I'll talk about it in a different post. Now onto Moneta Dress! Moneta... The sewing blogosphere is full of them! And for a good reason. The dress is such an easy make, fits well and is super versatile. It really doesn't get easier, there are no darts, the sleeves are set in flat and it's made out of knit fabric. One can't go wrong with this dress! Just like majority of Colette patterns, I had to make adjustments to make this pattern work for me. I lengthened the bodice, increased the width of the shoulder and made some changes to the sleeve cap. I made all alterations on paper paying close attention to my measurements since I didn't want to make a muslin. I tend not to make muslins for knit garments. I used my serger to put the dress together. The bodice was quick to sew and rather painless. The sleeves were set in flat. I finished my neckline and sleeved with bands as I much prefer the finished look of them and my machine always has trouble with double needle. I tried to use clear elastic to gather the skirt but that was a major fail for me (there! Friday Fail after all). I just couldn't do it! In the end my skirt didn't gather evenly and looked completely off. So I pulled my seam ripper out and took the elastic off. I gathered my skirt the old-fashioned way by using the longest stitch on my machine, stitching around the waist seam and pulling bobbin threads. It took some extra time but I am very happy with my gathers and how they turned out. The fabric came from my local Fabricland and is a polyester mix. I tend to be rather snobby when it comes to knits and polyester, but I am getting over it. This fabric actually feels and looks good. It's pretty soft and drapes well, but still, it does have that polyester-y feel to it. The print was what really got me, so in the end I didn't care about the content of the fabric. I just had to have it! Honestly, I am very surprised that I have only one Moneta Dress in my closet. They are such an easy make! And after throwing one on you instantly look and feel put together. I am thinking I need to make myself a solid color Moneta. Something in a neutral color that can be an easy basic item. But then, there are summer Moneta's as well to think of. So many choices, so little time! Love, Anya

It has occurred to me this morning that I completely forgot to post an update on how my No Buying Clothes Challenge is going. It has been another month of not buying any clothes and I am continuing to learn and develop from this process. An update is in order! I am happy to report that in terms of staying away from buying any clothes is has been a successful month! I haven't bough any clothes and continued to make everything that I need or wear what I already have. However there are still a few things I learnt I could improve on. I am in need of a plain off-white sweater... I am talking super simple, off-white sweater that would go with everything. In the past J-Crew's Tippi pullover was my go-to buy. It's exactly what I am looking for. I have to admit, I even almost convinced S to buy me one as a gift... But it didn't work. My main issue when it comes to the sweater is not that it is hard to make. It's easy! With a serger it will not take long either. However, I am having trouble finding the right knit. I want something that is of a better quality with some natural fibers and is a light sweater knit, not a t-shit knit. But I am having trouble locating the fabric in Calgary and actually in Canada... If anyone has suggestions for good quality sweater knit I could buy, on-line or in store, outside of Canada too, I would love to hear them! I have noticed that my fabric spending has increased dramatically! I guess having an excuse of not buying clothes for a year somehow justifies buying all the pretty fabrics I see even if I am not going to get to them in a bit. I guess a fabric stash is not all for sewing and can be considered a collection of sorts, but overspending on fabric was not part of the plan for the year. I am not sure how, but I will have to curb my fabric spending and shop my stash. There is this thing they call willpower... I wonder where can I get one of them... Finally, I have been doing my Wardrobe Architect project, mainly following along with Christine's journey and doing the exercises as she completes them (because I am too lazy to do it on my own). I was very excited to have my color palette finalized and named!It am sure that I could have narrowed my Main Colors to include less of cream tones, but it was unbelievably hard for me. They are all so pretty!! So I left it as is. The experience lead me to realize the full extent of my love for warm off-white and cream tones and come to terms with it. So now I don't feel as guilty sewing all shades of off-white tops! I love them and I will wear them.Having the palette also affected the way I look at my fabric stash and how I shop for my fabric. I used to come down on myself for not having enough bright pretty loud prints, and would force myself to "venture out". The reality is though, that I just don't wear them and don't like them. It is also okay to have a more toned down closet if it reflects my style. There you go, I think it was another month full of learning and reflecting. We'll see what the next month brings! Love, Anya

This weekend I managed to stay away from painting the main floor walls using the excuse that the floors were being done and I didn’t want to bother the flooring guys with my painting. They didn’t work all weekend, and I really could have went through my stuff and started de-cluttering… but I really wanted to sew. So I did and in the end I was one happy lady! Creating something always makes me feel good. I’ve had a pattern for Hudson Pants for a while now and I have even attempted making them once, but my lack of understanding fitting issues and going straight for woven fabric did not produce a wearable pair of pants. I threw my first pair away, crumbled the pattern and left it at that. Then over the past couple weeks I kept seeing similar pants everywhere. I just love the look of a comfy jogger that can be dressed up or down! And if I can get away wearing an elastic waistband at work, it was worth giving the pattern another try. I mean, “sweatpants” at work? Sign me up! This time I made all the adjustments straight to the pattern before cutting into the fabric. I now know what adjustments are likely to be needed for my pants. The usual ones are – deeper seat, increased back seat length, longer pant leg and shorter front seam length. I triple measured myself, compared the measurements to the pattern, made adjustments and off I went cutting into my fabric. My first pair turned out pretty well! It was a wearable muslin that I decided not to photograph. They look just like a pair of joggers you would expect to look like. They did turn out on the roomier side, which I don’t mind for sweat pants, but I wanted my fashionable joggers to be rather slim. I transferred all my adjustments to the pattern and decided it was time to cut into this cotton/poly twill I got at my local Fabricland. The fabric has about 25% stretch, so it is not as stretchy as the pattern instructions recommend. So I had to make sure my pattern would still have enough ease. Because the fabric is not really stretchy, I also had to make my calf bands wider so that I can get my leg into my pants. Finally, I cut the pocket trim piece on bias so it curved nicer along the pocket opening. The pants came together very fast! Once I knew how the pattern worked and didn’t have to worry about the fit, it barely took much time to make these. I omitted the drawstring cord just because I didn’t have one in my stash and I doubt I would use it. I also used the longest straight stitch on my machine to finish the elastic waistband, I just like the look of straight stich better than zig zag. The waistband looks great and wears great! I will likely mainly wear these rolled up on my calves as I find even though I added a couple inches to the length, the pants are still a little short. But it doesn’t bother me at all. After I made them I promptly wore them out to go for a coffee with a friend. They were comfy and made me feel so stylish! Now how many joggers would be too many? Cause I am really wanting to make them in every color! Love, Anya

My apologies for going MIA last week. It has been a very busy week and although I have been doing my best to get some sewing done, I have only been able to sneak away a few hours here and there. We have been toying around with an idea of moving for a few months now, but this past week it all came down to making decision to actually try and go through with the move. As exciting as it is, it involves updating our current place and potentially some major updates to the place we have in mind. Hence, all my Easter Weekend was spent taping, filling the holes in the walls, painting, more painting and even more paining. As well as de-cluttering. Fun! Nonetheless, I managed to snap some pictures of this bra I made a couple weeks ago in between painting and cleaning up. This bra is my usualm absolutely favorite pattern by Orange Lingerie - Boylston Bra. Seriously, I have so many of these that I feel bad posting them up. But they are so comfy! And pretty. This bra in particular came together by accident. I wanted to try using stretch knit for my cups and cradle because I loved the look and feel of it. It is a super soft rayon knit blend from Blackbird Fabrics. The fabric was part of a bra kit Caroline had in stock at the beginning of this year and it is no longer available. I actually still have the full bra kit in my stash, it comes with beige findings, which I ended up not using as I wanted to try adding white lace and white findings as a result. I still have enough fabric for another bra though! Since the knit fabric I used for the cups and cradle had quite a bit of stretch I decided to line the bra with stable lingerie lining fabric I had in my stash. The only thing I did differently this time is I sewed the bottom cups of the lining and fashion fabric together separately first and then connected them all when I attached the top lace cup. So the bottom cup fabric and lining is not connected at the middle seam. I think I like it better with the stretchy fabric as I find it lies nicer and doesn't gather at all at the seam. I decided not to top stitch the middle seam of the lower cup since I wanted a more seamless look. I think since the cup is lined, it turned out just fine! I used white mesh from my stash, together with white elastics and closure to finish the bra. I really like how it turned out! The fabric is so soft and feels so good on. I have a couple other knit fabrics I bought from Blackbird Fabrics to make Lark Tees and I am very excited to try using the left overs for more bras. Love, Anya P.S. I will try my best to write about my makes and sewing as much as I can. The next couple weeks will likely be busy with more painting and updates to our current house, but I will try to snap pictures of my un-blogged makes to write about. In the meantime, I will likely only post once a week until the whole living situation is sorted out!

Over the last couple months I found my style changing quite a bit. I am no longer drawn to fitted garments and I find myself reaching out for looser fit items in my closet. This change was a little unsettling for me and I kept thinking that something must be wrong with me. I must have gotten a fever or a bug or something... Then I finally gave into it and decided to give another loose dress a try. And hence this Fen Dress was born. Prior to settling on Fen Dress I did some research looking for a loose fit dress that was not tight but yet not very loose. I wanted it to have some idea of a form despite having lots of ease. After searching through indie patterns I settled on Fen Dress by Fancy Tiger Crafts. The pattern had everything I was looking for - subtle waist definition, loose fit, sleeves and even pockets!! It also is intended for woven fabrics and that's what I wanted as well. I printed it off and taped it together without encountering any issues. The instructions are clear and well written. Really, the pattern was a pleasure to sew. I chose a fabric from my stash. I really have been trying to use my stash as much as I can! This rayon was in my stash for probably 5 years... Its super soft and pleasant next to the skin. It is also very drape-y and easy to press and sew. Unfortunately, it does wrinkle well. But because of the busy print it is barely noticeable. I didn't muslin the dress. I cut the size I fell into with my measurements straight from my fabric. I figured the final adjustments will be minor and I could do them right on this dress. After I put it all together and tried it on, the dress was a little looser than I wanted it to be. I ended up taking in 1" from each side. I also hemmed it a little shorter than the pattern. This was based purely on my personal preferences as well. After making the adjustments to the side seams I transferred them to the pattern. For my next Fen Dress I will take 1" off the center back and front. I find the neckline on the dress is quite wide and I don't like when my bra straps show unintentionally. I think taking extra width off the center front and back will adjust both the neckline and the sides. I am very happy with how this dress turned out. It is so comfortable and easy to wear! I love the pockets, I love the sleeve and I love the overall ease of the dress. I am already trying to think of what other versions of Fen pattern I can make. Possibly a sleeveless summer dress? A top? If only I had all the extra time to make everything I want! Love, Anya

Do you ever find that you put off sewing the easiest garments the longest? I certainly do. I mean I have had the pattern for Lark Tee for a few months now, I have even assembled it and cut it out, but I have yet to actually sew myself a t-shirt. The whole shirt would take me may be 45 min to sew, but exactly because it is so fast and easy I keep putting it off. Grainline's free (!) Hemlock Tee was no exception. I've had the pattern for at least a year before I finally got to it! It only has 4 seams, excluding hemming and neckline, and I still couldn't bring myself to making one. Sigh... It was only when I realized there were no light, roomy, cute sweaters in my wardrobe that I finally decided to make Hemlock Tee. Sure, the pattern is for a t-shirt, but I decided to use a sweater knit. I think as long as the knit fabric used is not bulky, Hemlock will turn out just fine. The only modification to the pattern I made was taking the sleeve in at the very end by 3/4" at the seam. It made for a slightly narrower sleeve throughout and definitely more narrow sleeve at the end. I don't like when my sleeves are wide and hang on my arms. I like them slightly taught so I can pull them up just a little bit. I left everything else the same. I didn't change the length of the pattern and I haven't taken it in or let it out. For reference, I am 5'10" and take size 10 in regular Grainline tops. In the end I am left wondering why the heck have I not jumped on Hemlock train sooner?! It is such an easy and versatile pattern. It comes together in under an hour and goes so well with so many things. I have been wearing this Hemlock pretty much non-stop since I made it. I definitely recommend this pattern. Not only it's free, it's also amazing. Do yourself a favor and if you already don't have the pattern, go get one here. Your closet will thank you :) Love, Anya

Coatigan Silvia by Schnittchen is slowly taking over all my social media. I think I've seen in almost everywhere and it has slowly grown on me. Normally I prefer fitted coats but seeing coatigans over a few weeks I went from "hmm... this is interesting but I don't think it is for me" to "OMG! I must make it!". It was Lauren's coatigan that pushed it over the edge for me. She just looks so chick and effortless! So I purchased the pattern and this weekend I was set to make it. There is not much to say about the pattern itself. It didn't take long to tape it and I didn't even have to trim the edges of the paper at all. That's always a plus! I fell in between the sizes and seeing that this is an oversized garment and I generally up to this point wasn't comfortable with oversized items, I decided to go with the smaller size. I am happy with the size I picked, it fit perfectly and I didn't need to make any alterations to it. Well, except for the sleeve length. But that alteration is so common to me since I have to lengthen every single sleeve, so I don't even count it as a major change. The instructions are not the best. They do not have any pictures or much explanation to them. The translation from German is not perfect either and some parts of instructions are very interesting. But if you have made a coat before and have some experience with sewing, it's not bad. I've read over the instructions once before I started sewing and I ended up not following them. I am pretty sure I've added some extra steps, took some steps out and merged others. I didn't even try to read the instructions on how to line the coat as I always follow Grainline Studio's tutorial on bagging a jacket . Jen is amazing and her tutorial is very good. It does take some head scratching at first, but once you go through it step by step it's so straight forward. I am never lining a jacket any other way! I used a coating blend fabric from my stash. It has been waiting for it's moment since 2009! I bought it back in the day with an intention to make a warm winter jacket, but I never got around to it. The fabric is a pretty lose weave and I doubt it would make a very warm jacket. It also frays quite easily, so I am happy I waited on it since I don't think I would have had the patience and experience to treat it right back in 2009. The lining is also from my stash. I used some kind of black polyester lining fabric I had. It's not quite my favorite Bemberg, but at least I didn't have to buy it! I ended up lowering the button placement. The original placement looked weird on me, probably because I am tall. I just tried the finished coatingan on and then decided where I wanted to button placement to be. I used a sew-on snap closure instead of the button as well. I like how the snap is not showing from the right side, so it is quite invisible when the coatigan is closed. The coatigan turned out exactly as I anticipated. In hindsight I could have added another 1/2" to the sleeve length, but it is not bad the way it is. It is also not very warm, but it is just perfect for the spring and fall wear. I feel so cozy wrapped up in it and a scarf! It is also roomy so if I want to add extra layers under I definitely can do it. The bagginess of it is definitely growing on me even more. I probably will be wearing this pretty much every chance I get. Love, Anya P.S. I am wearing a Hemlock Tee under the coatigan which I will blog about later.