“I am not looking like Armani today and somebody else tomorrow. I look like Ralph Lauren and my goal is to constantly move in fashion and move in style without giving up what and who I am”
~Ralph Lauren~
Good morning all my lovely Threaders! I know you’re probably wondering what’s going on this week and why I haven’t posted. Well to make a long story short I have so much going on with work and family that I haven’t had a chance to finish the projects on my table yet. With school being back in session I have to devote quite a bit of time to my now sixth grader who we learned has a learning disability and is really struggling with his studies.
Of course my family is my priority and while I would love to post two to three times a week as I have been I may have to alter that a little in order to fit the current needs of my family. Don’t worry I plan to work harder than ever to balance everything out and still spend time with you my lovely sewing family. So fear not I’m going to do my very best to BRING IT just as I always have. In the meantime I’m still working on my sports challenge, the MD Threadz retail items coming soon and yes more tutorials for all my lovelies out there.
For those of you who have been following me for quite sometime you know I have a pretty extensive pattern and fabric collection. There is something about a good fabric and pattern sale that I simply cannot pass up! I find great pleasure in being able to take a basic commercial pattern and morph it into something completely different with simple design changes and fabulous fabric. So I thought why not talk about some of the patterns I purchased over the last week and why I felt compelled to purchase them. Now please keep in mind I do not have an agreement with any of the pattern companies mentioned herein I’m simply giving my opinion on what I consider to be fabulous patterns worthy of adding to my extensive collection.
McCalls 7025
There's something absolutely wonderful about this coat! At first glance one may look at this photo and think that's all there is too it but ohhh I beg to differ. Right off the bat I see at least ten different designs being birthed from this one simple pattern. From coat to dress, to jacket to skirt ohhhh this list goes on and on. It's all about thinking outside the box and learning to see past what is printed on the pattern envelope. Regardless of what our California weather is saying right now I plan to have loads of fun with this one .
McCalls 6842
Here's another great McCalls pattern that I see leading to several fabulous flirty skirts for the Fall. I know many of you are thinking it's just a simple skirt with a yoke and flounce but again look beyond the mere simplicity of it and thing bigger. Sometimes making subtle changes like mixing more than one fabric choice and adding a little length can give the appearance of a completely different skirt. The best part about this pattern is, even busy working moms such as myself can whip this up in about an hour tops, which is definitely a plus!
Burda 6854
Well need I say more IT'S BURDA! I adore Burda patterns and believe they're one of the more fashion forward pattern companies out there! I will admit that while I have changed the design elements of a few Burda patterns for the most part I leave them as is! I mean really whats not to LOVE about these skirts.
Burda 6856 & 6855
I'm going to end this post with two of my favorite Burda Pants patterns for the Fall. Again what's not to love about these two fabulous patterns. Both of these designs can be styled in several different ways and to speak of them all would be exhausting! Let's just say Burda gets your style ideas rolling with the cover pictures so where you take it from there is completely up to you. I really don't see how you could go wrong adding these to your pattern arsenal. With the simple addition of a jacket, a crisp white blouse or lazy sweater one could easily go from day to evening in a flash! I definitely see several versions of these pants in my wardrobe future.
I think the key to getting the most use out of your commercial pattern stash is truly learning to look beyond what you see at first glance. It's about being creative while remaining true to who you are and what you like. After all no ones knows what works best for you more than you do! Well sew family that's going to do it for me I will check back in with you later this week and fill you in on how the MLB Style Challenge went. I hope you all have a great rest of the week and to all my new sewers out there remember the only failure is never trying at all!
xoxo
~Shari~