Anthropologie Knockoff Alert: BurdaStyle 2/14 #111

I was browsing Anthropologie this morning (normal Saturday morning event) and noticed this charmer:

flutter sleeve tee

Which is practically a dead ringer for tee #111 in BurdaStyle's February issue:

Tee #111 also has a dress version, so you could lengthen it to match the Anthro top. I think I actually prefer the square neckline and raglan sleeve of the BurdaStyle tee, but if you really like the yoke/sleeve combo thing of the Anthro top, the same issue also has this top, Tee #137 in the Plus section:

Combine the two and presto-chango-voila! Knockoff.

I'm still planning my next project (MY FIRST PROJECT OF 2014!), but I'm leaning heavily toward the Colette Hawthorn:

I definitely plan on the top version at some point, and it will most assuredly be in a polka dot (swoon!) but I really love the dress and I have no idea what stash fabric will end up being used, but I'll keep you posted.

At some point I should probably finish the Colette Crepe I have started too. Hey, it's only a year after I started it. :P

Happy weekend sewing!

Colette Sorbetto Inspiration

My ultimate summer top has come out of winter hiding again!

Colette Sorbetto - Free Pattern

I've been wearing last year's versions (vers 1, vers 2) and of course dreaming up new variations. (Last year's are now too big, so there's that motivating factor too). Here's another cute gathered version (and the linked post has several other adaptations):

via craftser

These are toddler dresses from the etsy shop pinkdixie, but I think they're adorable and would be easily adaptable for a Sorbetto (or any tank pattern).  FINALLY. A use for all those cute cottons I have in my stash!!

quilty cottony faves

doilies? yes/no?

old sheet or tablecloth or giant peasant dress cut down! YES!

And Mary's buttoned version is one of my all-time faves. Plus Mary is adorable.

source - Mary I <3 a="" u="">

Oona's feathery embellisment (and DRESS variation!) makes me swoon.

Oona

 There are a ton of cute variations out there.  The best of the lot seem to benefit from fiddling with the (somewhat dodgy) armhole/armscye shape.  Be forewarned and make a muslin for this one! It's not much fabric and takes VERY little time (2 pattern pieces!)

GUYS. I might actually sew something this weekend.

(although I have a huge research paper to write for my class. Yikes. I haven't written one of those in YEARS. Nevermind how many.)

Happy weekend peeps!

Good Spread...and Colette Crepe Update!

Firstly...peanut buttery goodness.  This cause is near and dear to my heart as you well know, and I love ingenuity and creativity, as you also well know.

In a nutshell (hehe, peanut butter humor), these two reasonably handsome fellas have developed a peanut butter recipe that sounds amazing but more importantly is part of a much grander scheme to fight acute malnutrition with the help of MANA Nutrition.  If they can get their factory up and running next week, they'll be in a position to donate a packet of MANA nutrition for every Good Spread peanut butter sold.

Go. Donate. Spread. Eat. 

The Colette Crepe is coming along...the bodice is together (waiting on ties, I'm still digging through supplies looking for that blasted stripey ribbon) and I think I can finish it today. I hope so! It's going to be too cold to wear it if I don't get my tail in gear!

(I need a new steam iron. Ugh.)

I also have a stack of projects lined up behind this one and I'm itching to get crackin on a couple of them.

Like trying out these Juniper trousers also from Colette:

 

 

Or the super sweet and very retro Anise jacket:

And to quote the indomitable Tim Gunn...Carry on.

A song in my head and a dress in my heart.

And a blog I adore.. But first, the song in my head. Do you watch the X-Factor?  Holy Amazeballs, Batman, I can't get enough of Carly Rose Sonenclar:

A fair portion of those 10 million youtube hits might be mine and my 3rd period class...we're all starstruck!

Nextly..I've got dress envy. Would you just look at this Colette Crepe?

source

Gorgeous, right?  Ok and summery, and I'm heading into fall, but I. Don't. Care.  I really want to sew a Crepe now.

This one is super cute too, love the Lizzy House fork fabric;

source

Frankly, I've been dreaming of this Crepe thing for a while now...ever since I noticed the dress Amy Adams wears in the final scenes of Leap Year was so similar in cut and style:

I had it all planned out in this post. I even still have the fabrics, prewashed and ready to go. Deep royal blue dotted swiss:

And a very-similar-to-the-original-dress chambray stripe:

All of which goes to show you...time has sped up way way WAY too fast this year and I plan way way WAY more than I will ever hope to accomplish.  Good thing the planning is fun.

I leave you with a blog I am loving right now, Miss Green.  She's adorable!  And has great style.

Happy Weekend!

Sewjo.

I saw that mojo-coined term on the Pincushion Treats blog. She's so cute. I'm practically salivating over her recent Ava blouse too.

Anywho, I'm feeling a bit of return on my own sew-jo I think.  Especially with fall looming closer and closer.  Of course most of the things I'm going to share with you today are all summery.  Such is my life, right?

In the same vein as Pincushion Treats' Ava blouse, I'm in love with lacy insets and details right now.  IN LOVE.  Like this gorge Zara blouse with lace bow inset:

source

I think I could use my Sorbetto pattern to knock this off.  It would require a cami of some sort, but Lord, it's pretty. 

It reminds me of this Sencha by Colette Patterns: 

source

 Have I ever mentioned how much I love red and blue together?  Speaking of Sencha's, this is another beautiful example of yoke detailing from the Colette blog:

source

I'm never sure how practical all of that openwork is, since I would have bra straps and cami straps showing, but it sure is pretty. 

I'm in total and complete love with this top too, although I've had the devil of a time trying to track down the original source image.  The source link below is as close as it gets I think. Gorgeous Edwardian-inspired white lawn and lace:

source

I'll take two, please. On the same blog I found this lovely creation too:

I think you could use the Colette Jasmine and knock this one off fairly easily (and have sleeves!)  The little jabot and applique are such sweet details. Love.

And then there's this amazing top of tucks and lace. Those are angels singing, btw.

source

The lacework would take a bit of finagling, but note that it's all essentially straight seams.  Totally knockoff-able.

So that's my weekend in a nutshell...finally breaking out the warm fuzzy socks and dreaming about lawn and linen and lace.  

It's a quandary.  

But a good one.

Sorbetto Maxi: In Progress

A peek at what I've been working on the past few days...

The pattern is the free Colette Sorbetto tank top, lengthened 36" to "maxi dress" length!  I gathered the front instead of pleating, and added a smidge of width at the name (grading to the armhole edge) so that I could add a drawstring waist.

The fabric is a cotton law that I got from Fashion Fabrics Club quite a while back...maybe even last year. 

For the drawstring, I decided to do an exposed casing:

That was a lot of skirt to tuck out of the way while trying to pin/sew in place, let me tell you!

Just needs a hem, and armhole bindings and it'll be ready to wear!  I'll snap some photos later this week to share of the finished dress. 

In bloggy news...
You might notice a new Crowdwise widget on the right and a new ad disclaimer on the left.  I'm about to collect my first "earnings" check from adsense or amazon (I can't remember which).  This blog has never been a "money maker" for me, nor do I ever expect it to become so.  I already work full time, so I've never needed this site to be an income generator. However, if a few clicks can earn pennies for charities, I'm all in!

I've been pondering what to do with the ad monies, small though they may be, and have decided to set up a Crowdrise page.  My chosen charity for the foreseeable future is Mary's Meals.  Mary's Meals provides one meal per day in a school setting to poverty stricken children in several countries around the world.  Their mission is two-fold, to feed the hungry who might otherwise go unfed, and to do so in a school setting so as to provide a tangible way to climb out of poverty: an education.

If you're unfamiliar with the mechanisms of Crowdrise, my donation site is set up to forward all monies donated to the Mary's Meals USA charity by default.  I never see or receive those donations.  BUT if you feel motivated to donate to this very worthy cause, I'll see and appreciate and send you virtual XOXO!

Otherwise, anytime you click an ad on the left sidebar and purchase something from an affiliate, I receive a few pennies on the dollar.  I will personally forward all ad revenue to my Crowdrise page as those monies come in (and keep you updated!)  In fact, I've already sent in a $20 donation from my Mr. Rebates account earnings for the month of July!

Happy Monday everyone!

Colette Sorbetto: Ruffles and Vines

This is my favorite.  FAVORITE.

I added little self-fabric ruffley bits to the arm bindings this time.  The edges of the ruffles are roll-hemmed and gathered with my gathering foot. Then I just topstitched them in place, about 1/2 an inch from the edge of the binding.

I probably should have matched my bobbin thread, huh.

The neckline was a simple gather again...no sense competing with those ruffles with anything else, amiright?

It does pull just every so slightly across the shoulders which baffled me until I realized... when I stitched on the self-fabric ruffles near the armhole edge, I drew up the bodice a bit on each side.  Oops.  Something to remember for next time...

Bright, juicy, summery green.

And now I have 15 little dresses to hem. 

New project: Shorts

Time for a new project!  Since it's summer (90s this week!  Ouch.) I thought a pair of cute, well fitting shorts were in order.  I have a couple Simplicity patterns I'd like to try:

Simplicity 2654

Simplicity 2896

And I also have the new Colette Iris pattern.  This yellow version on the Colette website is so cute with the button trim!

I'll be using some cute black & white 1/8 gingham in the stash:

I had thought I would get to a muslin today but instead I painted the living room trim.  All day.  I'm too tired to muslin shorts now, (and I still have 2 window sills to go!)

Tomorrow I'm going to repaint the living room this pretty "Stormy Cove" blue grey:

It probably seems backward to do the trim first, huh?  I hate painting trim.  I don't mind the walls so much, but TRIM.  Ugh.  So I got it out of the way first, that way I can't back out. ;)

SUMMER.  Loverly Summer.

Sorbetto Magic

Today's my LAST DAY!  Tomorrow summer officially begins at my house (for me.  My kids have already been out over a week!)

I have new fabric prewashed and ready to be cut out too.  Remember?  I love my two Sorbetto's and wear them all the time, so I want to start there, but I don't want two more of the exact same top.  So I've been collecting images for inspiration.

Sarai made a lovely plain front Sorbetto.  The fabric makes this one.

Sarai's Chevron Sorbetto

This ruffle front version is a tee, but would be super easy to adapt to any fabric, any top/dress:

Ruffle Tee

Love this scalloped collar:

Scalloped Collar

A touch of lace and tiny buttons:

Lace Trim

 Lacy version...easy to adapt to the Sorbetto shape:

Lacy top

Keyhole and bow...

keyhole & bow

Easy ruffle embellishment:

Ruffle tutorial

Bunting embellishment:

bunting

Raw-edge flowers:

flower embellishment

Anthro-inspired ruffles and faux placket:

anthro-inspired

More self-fabric roses...

roses

Scallops!

Kate Spade

And finally... sleeves. I love the sleeves on the Kate Spade top. I'm going to toy with creating a Sorbetto sleeve pattern. Thus far I haven't seen a really successful sleeved-Sorbetto.

Kristine and I have been mulling this over and have come to the conclusion that this armscye must look better with a tailored sleeve cap (also like the Kate Spade top above).  I'm going to start with either the Violet or the Jasmine sleeve and see what happens.  If those don't work I might try to morph on the cut-on cap sleeve from the Crepe, or from the Colette Sewing Handbook dress, the Pastille.

I think Kristine should start with this one.  It has good arm coverage:

Prairie Dress

tee hee.