Seasonal Sewing Plans

I had fun this week while starting to put away summer fabrics. Most pieces had been slotted for a particular garment that didn't get made.

I decided that ,in order not to forget what I wanted to make , I would take photos of indidvidual fabrics paired with the patterns they had been intended for.

 I used my android tablet to take each photo and then made up a page  with each photo and ended up with this!

This little exercise became quite addictive so, I made up a page for my Fall/Winter sewing plan.So far I have these pieces planned for.

I'll add more to this page. of course, but I'm going to try very hard to stick to this plan. In this way, I'll use a lot of fabrics in my stash and I think it will keep me from adding too  many more new fabric to my well stocked shelves.

Don't you love starting a new season of sewing? There are so many possibilities ahead for creativity and pure enjoyment of our craft, isn't there!

Happy Sewing to you all!

Changing a French Dart to A Regular Bust Dart (on Vogue 1313)

If you follow SewPassionista by Diana, you know I've just finished V1313 by Ann Klein.
It turned out well (with a reservation or two) but I did make one important change to the pattern because of the striped front panel. I new a regular bust dart would distort the stripes less than a French dart which was on the pattern.

This post is to explain how to change a French dart to a regular bust dart.

Here's what I did.

Step 1. I traced the  upper bodice center pattern piece.

Step 2. I drew a line from the side seam to the bust point about 4" below the underarm..

Step 3. I cut a line through the center of the French dart, to but not through the new  bust line.

Step 4. I then closed the French dart . This  opened up the new bust dart.

If you don't need to do a Full Bust Adjustment, you're done  .

However I do need an FBA ,so this is what I did.

Step 5. I cut through the bust point and through the center front.

Step 6. I added paper underneath ,closed the dart ( no picture)to shape the outside of the dart  .

Step 7. ( Only if you did an FBA) .On the side front pattern piece,I cut to but not through to the side seam and spread the pattern the amount I added for my FBA  like this.

That's all I did. BTW, I got this info from Peggy Sager's video "Darts Are a Girl's Best Friend"

This worked very well for me  and I'm glad I gave it a try.

To see more about this garment, please visit Sew Passionista by Diana. I'll leave you with a couple of outdoor shots my DH  took this morning before I left for church.

More later from

Professor Pincushion Video Lessons

I've just found a treasure trove of videos at a site called Professor Pincushion.

I wasn't aware, before, of these video lessons and just happened upon them on the McCall's website. I've watched  some of them through and I think there is some useful info here for new sewers and probably for not so new.


The link for the videos is Professor Pincushion

The individual videos are as follows: ( I got these on the McCall's site but they are on Page 1 under videos at Prof. Pincushion ) They range from about 10 minutes to 20 minutes each .

 I've rearranged the order of the vdeos to make it easier for beginners .

Note: If you're reading this on the BlogLovin Feed , you won't be able to access the links below. However, they work fine on the original post.

1.How to Take Your Measurements For Sewing

2.How To Read A Commercial Pattern Envelope

3..How to Read Commercial Pattern Directions 

4.. How to Mark Your Fabric For Sewing                               

5..How To Arrange or Layout Sewing Pattern Pieces

6.How to Cut Out Sewing Pattern Pieces

For those of you who already sew, there are other  videos  that may be of interest to you.One example is Function and Design Ease. Another is Working With Leather and Vinyl.

This is a great website. Access to it is free but you can also pay a fee for a Premium account which lets you access stuff not available to free members.

I hope this is useful to someone. I'm planning on using these videos to help me prepare for a new sewing class I'm starting in the fall.

Happy Sewing from