TNT Wrap | McCall's 6713

Hello, lovely people!! I told you I'd be back with this bomb wrap dress again for Thanksgiving and who would've thought that I'd ACTUALLY do it LOL. I'll make this quick!

Fall Plaids | McCall's 6713

Heyyyy! I hope ya'll have been appreciating my weekly consistency lol 

Today I'm back at you with a pattern that I've had in my stash for YEARS. So many years, in fact, that the pattern is now out-of-print lol. I have to admit, I'm a bit of a pattern hoarder. I probably have more patterns than I can sew really. Better late than never, right? This is McCall's 6713, faux wrap dress.

Mixed Media Sweater | McCall's 7195

I can't even tell you how long this project has been in the works lol So I'll just avoid that excuse and just get into it!

I made McCall's 7195 in View D. It's simple sweater, great for Fall or Winter, and great for me to use some of the remnants I've stored up over the years. I cut a size 12 and the only adjustment I made was to add a 1" swayback adjustment (which added a CB seam).

Textured Lilac | Named Kielo Wrap Dress

Hello lovely people! I'm back with a dress that I can't wear right now. I have made another Named Kielo! I finished this in September and didn't even wear it out until mid October when it was already getting a bit chilly. NOW, I can't even look at it until probably next spring. (smh)

Happy Birthday, Panama! | McCall's 7606 & McCall's 0525

Happy Independence Day!! To Panama, that is! The 3rd of November is the day that Panama got it's independence from Columbia!  About a month ago, I went to Brooklyn, NY to partake in the pre-independence celebrations that take place every year in the form of parades, food vendors, bands, music, and just a general celebration of the culture. It's always amazing to see the diversity of colors (in clothes & people) and the love and pride that we all have for the republic!

This year, I decided that I wanted to make some outfits for me and my mom out of some of the traditional fabric that I purchased back in 2013 when I went to Panama to visit. For myself, I settled on a skirt, and for my mom, a shirt!

Farmer Chic? | Named Ronja Dungarees & McCall's 7543

Hello beautiful people! I'm back and I'm going to get straight into it :-D

Early this year I connected with a photographer in Chicago over social media that admired my makes and expressed his desire to shoot together one day and luck would have it that I had plans to be in Chicago some point in the summer! I decided to make something that would be unique and offer some cool shots for him. In walks in the Named Ronja Dungarees. I admired this pattern right away when the collection dropped because of it's interesting back strap detail and the cropped length. I decided to make an off-the-shoulder top to go under it because that's the style I saw trending all over the web. And I think it made a great complement. 

Floral Cold Shoulder | McCall's 7412

Hola amigos! Hope everyone is doing well in the best month of the year! :-D

I'm back to share a top I planned on making to wear to my 10 year High School reunion. I did finish it in time but the resulting outfit that I had put together wasn't enough "va va voom" for the situation, so I ended up changing my outfit completely. It's crazy to me that I've been out of high school for 10 years! Honestly, it feels like more LOL

Anyway, back to the top! The pattern I used is McCall's 7412. I did a combination of views A and C for the shorter tunic length and shorter sleeves. I cut my normal McCall's size, Medium.

Fabrics from Germany

In my last post, I talked about visiting Germany on my first Eurotrip! I planned most of the things I wanted to do and see before I left but one thing hadn't even crossed my mind. I have been on a "fabric fast" all year so fabric shopping wasn't anywhere near my list of desires, but once I got acclimated into my accommodations in Cologne I started thinking "there might be a fabric store around here".

Her first language is German | Closet Case Kelly Anorak

It's been some time, friends. And in that time I had a LOVELY eurotrip vacation that I was DETERMINED to make a jacket for. I was working on this jacket up to a few hours before my flight. That's how close I was cutting it. It was a busy last few weeks of May, but I'm happy I was able to eek this out.

 Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Kelly Anorak from Closet Case Patterns. This features of this jacket were everything I wanted; the back yoke, the drawstring waist, a hood, nice big pockets, and I would be learning new things as I made it. That last one was huge for me, especially when I first started sewing. I used to try to learn a new technique every single garment. But over the years, trying to sew fast and just get things done kind of led me off of that path.

Birthday Shirt for Dad | Colette Negroni

Hello there! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Today I'm coming to you with a blast from the past. The past being March... which is not extremely "past" but it's also not present... But actually it IS a present. #inception? no? lol

Earlier this year I set out to make my father a shirt for his Birthday. A few friends of mine and I had signed up for a men's shirt-making class scheduled for February so really, the stars aligned perfectly I his favor lol He also believed I only make things for myself so I decided to prove him wrong. Cuz you know, "parents just don't understand" like Will said...

Moving on, the class was based on the Colette Negroni. It is basic, modern silhouette that I thought would be a smooth intro to the shirt-making world. I was right in my thinking. The lack of button placket as well as the fact that I chose the short sleeve option helped to make this venture feel like a breeze.

the hems meet. shirt just laid crooked

When choosing the size, my dad gave me 1 of his favorite shirts that he likes the fit of and I just measured it and compared to the pattern measurements. Before he gave me the shirt, I did try to get some measurements of his body and when I compared the physical measurements to the shirt he gave me, I realized that he and the shirt were in different Negroni size ranges. His body told me that he was a size Large but his favorite shirt told me that he was an XL. It did eventually hit me that my dad likes quite a bit of ease in his shirts so I made a compromise. I cut an XL all the way to the shoulders but then graded into a Large at the neck and collar.  That seemed to have work well. I feel like if I make this again, I can get away with cutting a large in the sleeves as well. They look big to me but he told me they were fine.

Crossover Seasons | Vogue 9111

On this ninth day of May in the year of our Lord, two thousand and seventeen, it is 60 degrees in Northern Virginia. SIXTY degrees!

I have this make to share that I made 3 months ago when it was actually winter and I am resenting the fact that it is STILL seasonally appropriate in the month of MAY. I guess if I look at the positive side of things, I have more time to wear it before it's swimsuit season lol.

Anyway, to the point of this post! I made a sweater! Vogue 9111 to be exact. I loved the look of the pattern illustrations and I remembered my mom had a really cute striped sweater that looked exactly like the one on the envelope. I cut View B in a size 12 as to try to replicate my mom's.

You like me! You really like me! | 30 Sewing Bloggers under 30

A couple of months ago, I received an email with the subject "Seams and Scissors would like to feature you...". In my head, I'm like ".... Me?! For what??"

I have this thing (complex maybe) where I feel like most people don't know who I am. And that's in regular life, so you can imagine how deep those feelings go for the interwebs. I'm always very surprise and completely honored when people tell me they see me and enjoy what I'm sharing in my tiny corner of the world wide web.

"Get on with it!", right? Sorry, tangent. Anyway, Ashley of allfreesewing.com had chosen to feature me as one of the 30 Best Sewing Bloggers under 30! What an honor and real excitement to know that so many young people REALLY enjoy this craft! I am happy to be named among quite a few faces that I know (Hey, Carmen!! Hi, Taylor!) and have my eyes opened to so much more talent!

You can check out the link of all the features here as well as the second part to the list where Ashley shared what we dubbed our favorite makes!

I can't end this post without saying how proud I am to represent the limited amount of melanin on the list. Representation matters. (and you can be mad :-P)

Hope you all check it out! If I can ever keep on schedule, I will be back soon lol

xoxo,
Tasha

Middle East Florals | McCalls 7566

Hello lovelies!! This is a VERY late post, as it is a blog about the dress I made (and wore) for Easter. I'm going to make this quick.

This is McCall's 7566 view C. I cut a size 12 but a 14 through the bust area. I was hoping that that cheat would suffice and I wouldn't have to do an FBA but I was WRONG lol. It would have worked for the knit view but not for this woven view.  I'll get to that more in a second.

Gifted Ankara | Named Helga Wrap Playsuit

Greetings to all! I've been away on vacay so I've been trying to get acclimated back into normal life but it's haarrddd. lol I was in beautiful Guam with it's hot temps and beautiful beaches, so to be back in the DMV with bipolar temperatures and city pollution is not the easiest transition.

As I had been planning for my trip, I knew that I didn't want to make anything new. I have PLENTY of outfits and warm weather pieces and I didn't want to stress myself out by trying to rush a last minute garment with my schedule being so packed the weeks leading up to my trip. It was decided: NO VACATION SEWING.

......thennnnn Named Patterns came out with their Spring/Summer '17 patterns: The Playground Collection. I basically dropped everything, including my payment information to buy the Helga Wrap Playsuit. If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you may know by now that anything with a wrap bodice is my cup of tea! That afternoon I had already picked up my copy shop print from Kinkos and was on my way home to whip up a quick muslin to check the fit and see if it would be an easy sew.

Mommy & Me Ponchos | McCall's 6209

Promised you I'd be back soon and HERE I AM! lol Back to share a 1 for 1. Something for me and a gift for someone else.  This is my remixed version of "Mommy and Me" outfits because I'm not the mom lol but I'm sure it still counts. :-) Back in my fall/winter sewing plans, I mentioned I wanted to make McCall's 6209 in 2 different fabrics. I'll start with mine:

I have made McCall's 6209 previously. Then I made View A but this time I wanted to try out View E.  I cut a Medium just like I did the other one.

Sewists give the best gifts!

Well hello there! Didn't plan on being gone so long, but no matter that now. My time away has been happily spent sewing but that's not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about how grateful I am to be a part of such a giving community. Sewing friends are one of a kind and I'm always honored when I get to meet someone who I've talked with online in real life! It brings me so much joy!

Another Clean Slate - from 2016 on to 2017

I want to have some closure for 2016 so I'm going to do a VERY quick overview so that I can move on with the future!

I made 17 garments for myself in 2016. Pretty lame considering I've made 25+ things in a year in the past. But I'll cut myself some slack because the reason for my sewing productivity was replaced with lots and lots of family time. And I LOVE my family so I'm not THAT disappointed.

Things I wear CONSTANTLY:

• Tweed Cropped Jacket


• Gray Hood Scarf


• Light Overcoat

 Most of the other things haven't been worn because they were made at the END of their appropriate seasons lol So we'll see this year how much use I make of them.
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Mixing in Hardware - Simplicity 1280

Okay, I just need to get in one more 2016 make before I do my wrap up!

I actually made this before I made the red bomber but just lost timing on when I wanted to drop this post. This is one of the pieces I planned from my Fall&Winter sewing plans. sn: I'm still working on that list and will probably let it guide me all the way up to summer.

Okay, let's get into it. This is Simplicity 1280. I cut a size small looking at the finished measurements but I absolutely should have cut a medium. I think I was in the "I'm a 12!" mode and not facing reality but whatever. That's why it is sleeveless, but we'll talk about that later.

The Telltale 30 before THIRTY

I've been wanting to make a "30 before 30" list for a while but I just kept forgetting. Now that I'm 26.5, I figured I better get to it if I want to be able to put down some big BUT tangible plans out there. I'm pretty sure I will be able to do most of them, I just want the list to keep me accountable. So let's get to it!

I finally made McCall's 6886

A few months ago I was invited to attend the wedding of a friend of mine and I knew I wanted to make a new dress for it. I already had 3 weddings to attend that I was wearing handmade garments to, so why not this one too?! I knew I wasn't going to have time to do a lot of fitting or work with a pattern with tons of style lines and features so I decided I was going to go with a VERY simple pattern and use a standout fabric.

A story about "Hot Needle &Thread" - Ometa A. Bowen

My grandparents! Grandma wearing a dress she made :-)

When I first started sewing in 2013, I was under the general impression that I was the first one in my family to really pick up the trade. My mom alluded to having done it in the past and told me she had a machine somewhere in the basement (that we found and I use) but I had never seen her or anyone else in my family ever sew a stitch. The more I got into it and started bring my machine to my aunt's house, my grandmother would just observe me, make a comment here or there mentioning that she used to sew, and then go back to observing.  It wasn't until I started walking in the house with dresses I made, affirmatively answering someone who would ask, "Tasha, did you make that?", that she started giving me "Back in my day" stories! She would say "I used to sew alllll my clothes!" and I would give her this "yea, okay" smirk and keep it moving. lol Little did I know, that my grandmother had mad skills before generations after her were even a thought!

My grandmother, Ometa, was raised in the Canal Zone in Panama when the US had control of the Panama Canal. She and her family grew up with little to no money so she was no stranger to the "make do with what you have" mentality. She used to tell me about how they would eagerly await packages from America with food and school supplies and that is what they lived off of. Even after meeting my grandfather in Panama City and starting a family, they were still living in poverty and had to do what they had to do to survive. I came to find out, she did in fact make ALLLLL of her outfits. Mostly because they didn't have money to buy clothes. Basically, if she didn't make something to put on, she wouldn't have had anything. She became so skilled, story has it that she would get some fabric in the morning and have an entire party outfit ready by the evening to go out! She picked up the nickname "Hot Needle & Thread" because of her speed.

My mom tells me that every Easter, my grandmother would get the fabric on Saturday and sew up outfits for her 5 kids AND herself to be ready by Sunday morning.... all from scratch! No patterns, just measurements. All of her children attest to the same thing. I can't even IMAGINE being able to do that, but she did what had to be done. It sounds shocking but in those times, in that place, that was common. What an amazing legacy to be a part of.



My grandmother made all of the girls dresses in this photo for Easter... the day before! Can you guess which one my mom is?! lol

A month before she passed, I stayed over the house with her for a week while my aunt went to visit Panama. I brought all of my sewing stuff because I wanted to get a few projects done that week while I was there. I already had them cut out so she mostly saw me putting things together. The first out of 3 that I brought was my Red Bomber jacket. I will admit, I'm a pretty slow sewist- but she made sure I knew it! hahaha After the 2nd day of constructing it, she said "Uh uh! You too slow! If that was ME I woulda done sew it up, put it on & gone!" loool What made me feel good, though, was when I finally finished, I went to her room to show her and she said "WOW! If I didn't see you sit right there in front of me and make that I woulda said you nah make it! It look like it from the store!". Such a humbling compliment from an amazing seamstress-and a lady that wasn't too easily impressed (haha)!

Although my grandma isn't here anymore, I'm happy that I can follow in her footsteps and cling to this trade I love with her in mind. (Now I know why I was her favorite grandchild ;-))

Forever stitched on my heart

Ometa Anne Bowen

5/16/34-12/14/16

Grandma and Me (wearing my Christmas Refashion)