Burgundy Button-Front Skirt

This is one of those patterns that I liked from the start. It’s Simplicity 9267 and it’s what I call a “soft” A-line skirt. That is the basis of this burgundy button-front skirt. It’s a simple basic design, but at the same time, an elevated look depending on the fabric choice. For mine, I used a polyester blend suiting fabric I had in my stash.

I made View B, which is the mid-length skirt. The pattern also has a longer and shorter version. There are front and back pleats and front pockets in the skirt. In these pictures I’m wearing the skirt with a BurdaStyle Magazine turtleneck I made years ago (here).

This is an easy pattern to make. Don’t be intimidated by the buttons and buttonholes! They really aren’t hard to make, especially since most machines will have automatic buttonhole feet. Believe me when I say the my burgundy button-front skirt was an easy make.

Buttonhole suggestion:

My only suggestion would be to make a couple of test buttonholes on scraps of the same fabric. Not only do you need to know how your thread and machine will act with the fabric, but you need to know in what direction the buttonholer goes first.

The only problem I had was finding the buttons for the skirt. When I have an idea in mind I like to go with that. But sometimes it can be hard to make that become reality. I actually ended up ordering buttons from buttons.com. In the end, I was very pleased with what I got and I like the way they look on the skirt.

I have also included this skirt in my November Wrap Up video on YouTube.

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I’m very appreciative of my viewers and readers!

As far as the sizing is concerned, using a 16 and grading to an 18 waist works well for me.

Thank you for reading. When you sew your own wardrobe, the possibilities are endless…

McCall’s 5252 Fleece Jacket

I have been on a mission this year to a) use fabric I already have, and b) to use many of the patterns I already have. I believe this is the third time I’ve made something from this pattern. Here’s one time and the other. McCall’s 5252 fleece jacket and vest pattern is a “misses’ and men’s” pattern with lots of variations. The pattern came out in about 2006, and I realize now that I bought this THREE different times! But that’s okay because it’s small-medium-large so now I have a pattern for every size. Much to my surprise, the pattern is still available on the McCall’s website.

I color blocked the jacket so that I could use the blue sweatshirt fleece I had leftover from the sweatpants I made. I used the orange fleece that was leftover from another project, as well.

Color blocking is a great way to use up leftover fabrics!

I had to shorten the jacket by about 4″ in order to make this and have enough material.

The pockets (two front side pockets and a chest pocket) can be closed with Velcro, although I haven’t sewn that onto mine. I do plan to make another one with fleece that is at the length the pattern’s supposed to be. If you make workout gear and you want a warm jacket to wear, this is a good option. I wanted something colorful to wear while walking. But I also need something warm. This solves both of those issues.

Planning my projects:

Generally, I’m really trying to plan my sewing projects well this year. Not only do I want to use the fabrics and patterns that I already have, I want to get better at matching up the right fabric with the right pattern. I know that every pattern will give you suggestions on what to use, but sometimes I have other ideas in mind. It often means taking the time to determine what type of pattern adjustments should be made before cutting.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve done any color blocking on your projects. Are you fabric stash busting this year?

Trudy Turtleneck

As I mentioned in my previous post, I want to work on some classic items to add to my wardrobe. One of the things is a classic turtleneck. I have some other patterns that I’ve made, but I really wanted a very basic/classic design.

I found this pattern for the Trudy from Wardrobe by Me after a quick Google search. Here is a picture of the pattern options:

I love it when a pattern has many options and can be used seasonally. The above turtleneck is made from a polyester knit that is not very stretchy. It has enough stretch to get over my head, but it would have benefited from being made in a larger size. This one has the “high” collar.

The next one is this navy blue top made from poly cotton knit. I also used the next size up in the pattern, basing this on the finished garment size rather than measurements.

This is made with the short collar, which is sort of like a mock turtleneck. This one fits great and is very comfortable.

So as I work my way through this year of sewing classic garments, I will probably make this again in black and maybe red (I love using red as a “neutral” for me). I can already think of other things I can make to wear with them.

What things do you consider to be your classic, must-have items to wear? I’ll be sharing more as I continue sewing and building my wardrobe.