Simply Stitchy

Hi all, With summer just around the corner, I’ve been thinking about updating my summer wardrobe with something other than shorts. Something practical, stylish and summery. I’m thinking skorts. A cross between a skirt and shorts, they’ll add variety and maybe even a bit of chic to a warm weather ensemble. McCall's 4388 from 2004 looks like it might fit the bill. It’s a used pattern for two skirts and a skort. The pattern is cut to the largest size but a quick count confirmed all the pieces are present and complete. My tracing heart skipped with joy when I opened this one. The previous owner was a pattern tracer. I know this because the traced copies are still in the envelope. Reading the copied pieces gives me an insight into the original stitcher. From the shape of the pieces she traced, her intended garment was also the skort. She traced the pattern around late April 2004 and, she lived in Pennsylvania. Most likely, Shamokin Pennsylvania. I also know she was ma

Hi all If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been having some fun stitching men’s shirts. Simplicity 1544 From the mishaps with the mock up to falling foul of pivoting plaid , it hasn’t exactly been plain sailing. In fact, both previous attempts were dismal and a bit of a dog's dinner. Pivoting Plaid Mockup Mishap I was a phone call away from purchasing larger shirts for T from an online outlet catering to taller guys. That left me feeling more than a little defeated. Even deflated. By a shirt. How sad is that? Was I really thinking of giving up? Me? The person once described by an ex-boss as a dog with a bone? A rather unkind British term meaning, to go on and on about something. To never give up. Basically to be a bit of a nag.  Now, I know he wasn’t being motivational when he said that, but the shirt shambles reminded me of it.  I. Never. Give. Up! So, like any self respecting doggy with a fresh new bone, I started chewing. 

Hi all, Have you ever bought a fabric online and thought, “Oo, I know what to make with that,” only to get the fabric and discover it isn’t what you were expecting? It happens to me all the time. Probably due to the fact I pick the patterns before the fabric arrives. I ordered this blue fabric online months back. It's more of a blueberry blue than a bright blue like the picture. After taking an age to reach me, it finally arrived a couple of days ago. The shipping company decided to take it on a cross-country tour. I’ve been watching the tracking. It’s made some very interesting reading! This is a very well traveled piece of fabric! With a stopover in every northern State west of the Great Lakes, except Alaska, it’s had a better road trip than most humans get in a lifetime. I wish it could talk. I’ve never been to the Dakotas or Montana… The stories it could tell! I think the arrow hiding between the E and X in the company logo must be a euphemism for boome