This new variant is spreading so quickly that I don’t feel like taking the risk of handling used clothing for an hour in a busy store. My husband had flu like symptoms over Christmas as well so we had to isolate and I haven’t been able to go to the store. I like to shop but more than shopping, I LOVE to find a good deal. I used to stop at thrift store 3 times a week on my way home from work, now I work at home so I don’t go very often. When I do, I tend to go for a big shop. My favorite is to go to a small rural city outside Winnipeg where the prices are very low and go crazy. 10 Cent buttons – yes please! 3 meters of lining for a $1 – oh yeah….fancy heels, party dresses, vintage hats…yes! yes! yes! However, you have to go through everything and that’s not a good idea with such a contagious variant. I decided to try Poshmark and Thredup in the last month to see what I could get online.

Poshmark’s pricing is…pretty high but the things I purchased were practically new. I bought a nice evening gown that was just like new from Calvin Klein. On poshmark you can make offers so I offered $50 from her $75 price and the seller accepted.

I also bought the Faux fur wrap in my prior post and a velvet dinner jacket for my husband. Everything arrived quickly, it was clean and nicely packed. I would buy from Poshmark again if I was looking for something particular as the selection is nice. However, the prices are high for day to day clothing.

I also tried Thredup and I bought quite a few things from them. I actually made 5 orders because I was a bit bored and kept finding great things. When you are stuck at home with little to do….you have hours and hours to search the site. Here are some of the things I ordered:

The price for most of these was around $10 – $12 USD each and I paid $20 in shipping. Everything arrived clean and fit pretty well. What I learned from my orders is if the brand is not listed it is likely from China. Over the many things I bought, there was one dress which was not what I expected and I will be donating it. I would recommend only buying items with a name you know so you don’t end up with a China surprise. To be fair, one of my sweaters was a China surprise and I think it will become my favorite sweater – it’s beautiful! For Thredup, the prices are pretty low but it’s best to wait for a sale code if you are in Canada because you need to make up for the shipping costs. Also, always choose standard shipping because it goes through Canada Post and you won’t likely pay duty/taxes. The express shipping is not that faster and Fedex charged me tax plus another $10 misc fee. I didn’t mind the taxes but the $10 fee for them to process really ups your overall price. I ordered, pants, sweaters, purses, a watch, sunglasses, tonnes of dresses, a jumpsuit…..I found so many great things I would never find locally. One of my dresses had a $450 tag on it and I paid a bit over $20 USD for it. I highly recommend Thredup if you know your size in a brand. You can return things but at your cost so it’s not worth it to return from Canada.

I am taking a short break from sewing for the next few weeks but I will leave you with some pictures of my handsewn ‘karate’ pajamas. They are from Itch to Stitch and I made a pair last year. I loved them so much I sewed a pair for my sister and a second pair for me……I might even sew a third pair for me because I live in them.

Last year at Christmas I had lots of time to look at Instagram as we were in a lockdown and one of the things I loved was Christmas quilting fabric use in apparel. We don’t have a lot of fabric stores in Winnipeg and Christmas fabric is crazy expensive ($30/meter). On boxing day the online Canadian fabric store had it on for $10 a meter but there wasn’t a lot of choice. I had my choice of 4 prints and none of them were perfect so I just picked the one that looked the best. I liked the soft blue background with pops of red and gold of this fabric.

I wasn’t sure what pattern to use so I took out my favorites and let my husband pick. Ofcourse he chose the strapless dress version off McCalls M6956 – the most showy one. This pattern is not lined and it has wire in the midsection of the dress. It comes quickly together but I would recommend making the dress with lining. I was on the fence on whether to add lining to the faced bodice top to cover the skirt but decided not to make the extra effort because I won’t be wearing the dress very often. It’s going to be a Christmas party 1 -2 hr wear dress in a decade.

I added a bow in the back to cover up the hook closure and I also added lace to the bodice and hem. The lace made me feel a bit more covered up on top. I had to take in the bodice a bit to make it tight enough to mostly stay up. However, as with most strapless dresses I had to do adjustments throughout the night to keep my bra hidden. For this reason, I would suggest building in bra cups or using an adhesive tape bra that doesn’t show up higher.

So one final note about holiday dresses and parties….I was invited to a Christmas party at a friend’s house and I sewed this dress up as the ‘tada’ of the night. I think that is what Christmas parties are about….wearing fancy dresses? 15 minutes before we were supposed to go, another friend texted me to tell me the party was in the person’s garage….which is sort of heated. I had to scrap the plan to wear this dress and wear super warm stuff. I was so disappointed:( but glad I didn’t show up in this because I would have froze. Next year I plan to host the friend Christmas party to ensure I can wear my fancy Christmas dress. I lucked into some clearance Christmas fabric for $2 a meter for next year’s dress and I am already making plans.

It’s Christmas season and my workshop is open for making presents. This year as stores will be open, I am not going to sew as many presents as I did last year. Last Christmas all of the stores were banned from selling non-essentials so the only place to shop was online and at the thrift store (they were allowed to be open). Also, we couldn’t do very much and I was isolated at home with lots of spare time on my hands. I like making presents but not a whole month of making stuff for other people as I am a bit of a selfish sewer.

This year my niece text messaged me to say she wanted a homemade present – which made me really happy because I wasn’t sure she actually liked the shirt I sewed her. She asked for a jean bralette and she sent me some Tik Tok videos of people dismantling jeans into a top…not really sewing, just cutting. I didn’t think they looked very wearable but I figured I could try to make something similar….but actually sew it. Below is kind of a nicer version that she showed me but she said she wanted a ‘crop version’. I had a 70’s pattern for something like this but it stopped at the bra line so I had to look elsewhere because it wasn’t long enough.

I came across this pattern on Etsy and thought it might work? It is a well written, well designed pattern and it has lots of good reviews. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to make a crop halter top.

I grabbed a pair of old jeans from thrift store and cut out my pieces. It came together in about an hour. I then realized that I couldn’t have a tie back because the jeans were too thick. I spent the rest of the week trying to get measurements for my niece to make it a closure back. I wish I had realized this before I put the ties on because when I went back to alter it, one of my ends isn’t as tidy as I would like it. I am kind of feeling ok about it because although my niece asked for this, I have never seen her in anything but a sweater 3 x too big. I don’t think she will wear it out without a big shirt or sweater over it…so it’s unlikely anyone will notice the issue.

It’s not perfect but I think it will good in a dark bar for her 18th birthday or underneath one of her XXXL baggy sweaters. This kind of made me think of that band TLC in the 1990’s who would wear crop tops and super baggy pants in their videos….which seems so tacky to me now but way back then I wished I had all those clothes and now decades later…kids want them again!

Teens have a very different sense of fashion than I do – it makes me feel so old. I am sure my mother was shaking her head when I was a teen too. One particular terrible ensemble comes to mind that I felt so cool in….white clogs, white knee highs, a plaid super mini skirt and black crop top with my hair in mini – buns. Oh it was terrible from head to toe —–I am sure the image in seared in more than one person’s memory. Thank goodness cell phone cameras did not exist

I finished a sewing project but I don’t have a willing photographer so I had to use mirrors to get my pictures. They are horrible but I want to show that I have finished a project because it’s been a while.

I decided to sew McCalls 8239 on a whim, I saw it on the pattern sale and wanted it. I went to Fabricland and specifically bought the fabric in the clearance section for the project. I have quite a bit of a stash so it’s rare that I buy new fabric for something but I did. I decided to sew the shorter version – Version A.

I was lucky to get some fabrics scraps from Artsjunktion, a local place that sells recycled supplies for cheap. Overall it was very easy to sew and it came together quickly. A couple issues that I had are the serging and the collar. My collar fabric was thick and I interfaced it, it didn’t need it and as a result it’s pretty stiff. I also serged the edges after I put the garment together- tsk tsk, don’t do this. I caught a piece of fabric in the blades and made a small hole on the front. I covered it with a back patch so you can’t see it….but I know it’s there. Finally, I sewed everything straight but there are a couple of curves on the side which won’t be noticeable to most people but a sewer will see them.

Now to the wonderful/terrible shots of my dress…enjoy with humour.

So…I learned I need to bribe the photographer in the future to ensure I don’t take my own pictures of sewing.

I went to Fabricland in person on the weekend to shop for some fabric for a slip dress I am sewing. Lately I have been buying a lot of fabric online because it’s easier to sort through the different fabric blends on a website. I had a $275 fabric order all cued up on Fabricville’s site (Fabriclands online store) but couldn’t push purchase because the shipping was insane. They usually have free shipping for large orders every few weeks but it never came so I had to go to the store to buy some fabric in person. I am full of summer fabrics but my winter fabric collection is little light.

I don’t like to shop in person at Fabricland because the fabric content is all mixed up. They have them sorted by collections, not types of fabric. The clearance section is a free for all with everything mixed together. I wanted to buy lining for an evening gown, fabric and lining for a slip dress and a print for a day day dress. My husband was waiting patiently in the car so I had to work fast….luckily I knew what type of fabric I needed in regards to feel. It took a while but I found great fabrics for all in the discount section.

While I was getting my fabric cut (which is all other horror story on it’s own) a beginner sewer came to ask the clerks some advice on fabric choice for a blouse. She kept pulling fabric by colour and not by use and of course they were all terrible choices to sew with. The assistance she received from the clerks was a nightmare….I swear they never sewed anything in their lives. At one point she pulled craft cotton and asked if that would be ok for her flowy blouse and they said it would work…???? At which point I intervened and told her what to look for because although you can sew in craft cotton….it has a totally different drape and doesn’t work for everything. I have sewn 2 dresses in it and although it is a dream to sew, those dresses crinkle and crease with the slightest amount of sweat. Both clerks looked at me and thanked me because they didn’t know what to tell her.

I feel like the staff shouldn’t offer advice if they don’t really know and if the staff need to offer advice, they should be instructed in what are the right answers. When I sold pantyhose at Eaton’s years ago we had product nights in which we learned everything about pantyhose and the different fits. We got samples to use to see how they worked for us and to this day, I can tell someone what kind of hose to buy for what use. (Ie. if you are over 5 ft 5″ just say no to Wonderbra pantyhose) .They also served wine and cheese so it was a win win night for everyone.

The new sewer needs to have a lot of guidance to help them have successful projects. Every successful project means you are more likely to have a repeat customer. If Fabricland can’t offer staff with that trained knowledge, they need to organize their store so a new sewer can find the right fabric for their project. Patterns call for challis, broadcloth, nylon, crepe, linen…etc. A new sewer should be able to identify those fabrics quickly in the store and then be able to choose the colour/print they want. They shouldn’t have to dig through a sea of fabrics organized by collection name….what does a collection name when you are looking for Challis? When I was first starting I received a lot of terrible advice and misdirection in Fabricland. ‘Do you have any swimwear fabric?’ ‘No’……10 minutes later, I found the swimwear fabric. Don’t even get me started on the whole swimwear elastic debacle…

My husband says I should get a PT job at Fabricland to sort people out but I don’t really want to spend 15 hours a week working for super low wages trying to save one new sewer at a time. I think I will be more helpful in the store when I come across people who obviously need help….and not leave them to the clutches of the store staff who should only be allowed to find the matching zipper or thread.

I am ok with not shopping in person for a while because I spent about an hour getting a small amount of fabrics cut. The woman told me about 20 random stories for every 2 inches she cut about her family, beauty standards during the civil war and about everything else non-sewing related. It felt like purgatory and my husband came in to see if I was ok because it was taking so long. At once I felt I was saved! She would see my husband and get on with the cutting…nope, it was just one more audience member. We finally left the table with my husband spewing all of the terrible Italian swears he could muster…which actually sound quite lovely if you don’t know the meaning.

So stay safe and don’t shop at Fabricland and if you are a new sewer, I would stick to online shops or bring a friend to help you pick fabric in person rather than ask for help at Fabricland.

My 45th birthday is coming up and I have been thinking a lot about aging. So far I don’t have any grey hair and due to lack of sun exposure I don’t have too many wrinkles yet. However, I am not JLo and don’t expect that I will look endlessly young forever. Maybe some of my patterns won’t be that nice on me in a decade so I need to sew them sooner than later.

Welcome Vogue 1807….I loved this pattern on the website but on second glance it shows alot of skin and the front if very peakaboo. It’s hard to wear a bra and I guarantee you there are not alot of people in Winnipeg waltzing around in something this high fashion. Fantasy sewing brain Kirsten knew she had to have it—-reality really didn’t come into play of whether it would be appropriate. That’s the best part of sewing – you can sew anything you want…and stores don’t get to dictate whether it comes in your size or colour.

The pattern was very easy to sew and fast to cut out. I sewed mine out of a dark green crepe, I had some vintage bright printed crepe but summer was over when I sewed it so I thought dark green was better. I skipped the pockets because in the thin fabric the pockets would have shown and I don’t think they would have been practical. I would say this is a 2 hours sew including the hemming and I finished mine in time to go out the same night.

An issue with this jumpsuit is it is very showy, you can’t wear a bra because there is no back and the front is very low cut. I sewed my front an extra 2 inches closed and it still showed alot. I ended up using adhesive boob tape as a bra. It shows alot of skin overall and I wouldn’t recommend wearing it outside in Fall. Yikes! I was so cold even with a jacket overtop for warmth. My pictures have alot of sour face because we took them in a very quick window before going out for drinks….but here goes…

I think this jumpsuit would be really nice on a hot day and out in a big city – not Winnipeg. It’s pretty fancy for Winnipeg, it’s just a jumpsuit but when I looked around when we went out for drinks on the weekend…..I was so overdressed. Most people were in work out clothes, jeans and a sweater or yoga pants and a sweater. I am usually better dressed than most people when I am out but I was on a whole different level this time. I would say I could wear this in Italy because it is cool for hot weather but women there don’t usually show a lot of anything. This might create a riot in Southern Italy with my blonde hair, odd height (I am kind of tall in South Italy) and all my bits on display….so maybe I will save it for a big city in the US with some killer heels.

I noticed lately that McCalls and Vogue patterns have been putting a lot of designs out with very low fronts. I really like them but I have a bigger bust and when I try to wear something like that, it looks quite scandalous. I would risk it at the beach but not out with friends or at work. So what’s a lady to do when low is too low?

I bought McCalls 7909 2 years ago on a $5 sale at Fabricland. On those sales days I basically bought everything that looked mildly interesting without much thought. On a second look, I noticed there was a plus sized model with a larger bust on the front and she looked ok so it might work for me?..but there were a lot of shadows. I cut it out thinking I would be ok……

This sat in my sewing pile for a few years as life got busy and I just started sewing it this month. When I started sewing….I put it on and it was absolutely scandalously low. I started to search online and noticed people with larger chests had put in a triangle privacy panel. I didn’t like it though because with my bust if I put a straight across panel it looks really stupid. I tried a camisole on with that same line and it looked bad.

So I came up with a new strategy to add on to the existing bodice and create a new V in the bust to create some coverage but still look sexy. I added in 2 hand sewn narrow panels and it created just the right amount of coverage to close it up. I can wear a bra and no-one gets a peep show.

This was a nice pattern to sew otherwise, it was very easy to follow and the pictures were great. It also has a lot of hand finishing which creates a couture look.

Overall, I am so happy with this jumpsuit. I could wear it to work, out with friends, out to the grocery store….in Covid times, it’s the fastest outfit to throw on when I have been in my jammies all day. I went to the bookstore in this and felt fabulous – take that ladies in sweatpants! Social outings are rare these days so a trip to the book store is as good as it gets right now.

As I sell patterns and sew, one thing I noticed is even the plus sized patterns don’t go that big. I sew a size 18 but on vintage patterns sometimes I start with a 20 and then adjust it when I am sewing. I wear a size 12 in ready to wear and there are a lot of people who are above that.

Sewing your own clothes is a wonderful way to get any style in your size and that is one of the biggest reasons I started sewing. I was tired of stores telling me what was appropriate for my body. I can’t speak for people larger than me but I often found that the stores brought in lots of small sizes in the clothes I wanted and then 1 or 2 in size 12 or 14. If I didn’t get there right after they put the new item out, I wouldn’t get it. Besides, we now have so little selection in our malls that if you don’t like what the 4 stores brought in…..there isn’t anything else. Sewing made it possible for me to have any style in my size.

Sewing patterns usually go to size 20 which is about a 14/16 but what about all the people over that? There are so many people who are larger than a 14/16 and I think they deserve to have sewing patterns fit them. There are some independent patterns that run to size 24 – 26 and some even higher but there is no where near the amount of choice there should be. Below are a few Plus sized patterns I have come across and the biggest size is a 26W, which is not actually that big.

Another thing to note is all of these patterns are pretty full coverage. What’s a girl to do if she doesn’t want to cover everything up? I believe everyone should be able to wear whatever they want. Personally I believe in highlighting your best features and hiding lesser attributes because I think it’s more flattering for me. Others want to flaunt everything and I am all for that, especially if they have style or finesse. I think pattern companies should wise up and start making all the patterns to the higher 20’s.

When I sewed my swimsuit, I was kind of insulted when they instructions didn’t go to my size. I felt like they were saying I was too fat to have that swimsuit. I am imagine that’s the everyday struggle for people in the higher sizes. They have to work twice as hard to be fashionable self grading patterns and cutting and spreading the pieces. I bet a plus sized sewer is way more skilled than any of the rest of us who are able to just the use the pattern as is. Bravo curvy ladies! You have my respect. I hope the pattern companies start to adjust their sizes for you.