Going into spring, don't be coy or dainty with your stripes.  Think big and bold!  Bold Stripes are another popular trend for Spring 2016.  And this McCall's 6886 dress made in a fabulous contrasting black and white stripe ponte knit creates head-turning, optical illusion perfection.

I'm so happy that I decided to create this vertical stripe dress instead of commonly seen horizontal stripes.  I feel that it gave the look more of a unique appeal for this style of dress and as always, vertical stripes elongate the frame.

Orange is most definitely the new black for this spring.  Today, I'm using it to give my outfit a pop of color.  My orange is coming in the form of another spring trend, the Saddle Bag.  We've been deep off in 70's style for a minute now and it's just a natural progression with this style of handbag.  I'm loving them with details such as as tassels and fringe.  And most defintely the crossbody style that leaves me hands-free!

I like dresses a lot.  But I'm completely a lover of separates.  Sportswear is my thing.  So it's pretty much a no-brainer that I would add matchy matchy separates to my wardrobe.  It's a perfect addition because they can be worn together or apart.  

I'd seen style blogger Kela post her outfit that I thought was adorable.  And sewing blogger Jenese had made her version.  And I followed suit with one of my current TNT patterns -- McCall's 6886.  I was already in love with this pattern and who knew how versatile it would become to me.

This is simply the quickest outfit EVER to make.  This pattern produces a quick dress anyway.  So I made a short sleeve dress.  I added additional length to my already modified pattern for seam allowances.  After I made the dress, I tried it on and marked where I wanted the cropped to end and allowing for a 5/8" hem.  I cut there and I took in the sides a bit so that the top wouldn't hang from the bust.  And I added elastic to the waist of the midi skirt.

I normally peg my pencil skirts in, but I left this one as is because of the length.  Since there is no vent or slit, I needed walking ease.  And also my rayon knit fabric (from my stash... I think it was a Mood purchase from last year) is almost t-shirt weight, and it doesn't have a significant amount of recovery so I didn't want the skirt skintight.  I love these pieces because I can take off the heels and put on flat sandals or a cute sneaker for a super casual look.  

Sometimes when your sewing mojo has taken a hike, the easiest way to motivate one's sewing self is through pure magazine inspiration.  In the age of all things digital, it's good to fall back on the satisfaction of simply flipping through the glossy editorial pages of a fashion magazine.  

At one point, I thought Issuu.com and Pinterest had almost ruined the experience for me.  But it's just something about daylight savings time and the turn of the new season that inspires me to grab an actual magazine.  No matter how many Pinterest boards I create, I still love to rip out those pages and push pin them to my inspiration corkboard.  I must know what they think is hot!

My inspiration for this dress was pulled from the pages of the April 2015 issue of Marie Claire.  The dress is Alexander Wang Pre-Fall 2015.

I had recently purchased this fabulous striped ponte knit from Mood Fabrics.com.  The weight and quality of this ponte knit is unlike any I've ever felt outside of a ready-to-wear garment.  If you're looking to make a fitted body-con dress, then I suggest you seek a ponte knit swatch from Mood.  

I used McCall's 6886, once again.  This is such a great basic pattern that is perfect for when you have a spectacular fabric that you want to be the star.

I used the same cut pieces as before, which was the size 14.  But I needed to shave down the sides by 1.5" each.  The stripes run horizontal... selvage to selvage.  But I cut it the other way for my look.  And instead of hemming the neckline, I wanted my dress to be a little closer to my inspiration piece.  So I used the black stripe in the fabric, that was serendipitously 1.25" wide.  Which was perfect for a 5/8" neck binding.  I just cut into the white part so that I would have a seam allowance.  How I did this was to trim down the neckline on the front and the back by 5/8".  And stitch the binding on as if it was meant to be like that.

 I'm thinking that this pattern is officially a "TNT" that I'll be making over and over.

I'm still on my mission to fill in wardrobe gaps in my closet.  This time, I added a long-sleeved cocktail dress.  This is something I most definitely needed.  On cool nights when I go out, I hate having to wear a coat or a jacket.  I'd rather make a mad dash from car to venue.  Or if I have to park and walk a block or so, I'll have something on my arms and I still won't have to keep up with a coat or jacket on the inside.

I'd purchased this fun glitter knit fabric from Hancock.  Sparkle gets me everytime!  And I paired it with McCall's 6886.  This pattern has been made many, many times and it's beyond versatile!  This design can easily go from casual to eveningwear, depending on the fabric selection.

I cut the size 14.  I could've gone down another size, but I wanted the dress to just glide over the body.  I didn't want a full-on bodycon look.  I used view B, and shortened it so it would stop right at the knee.  Being that this is glitter fabric, it sewed pretty well with on my machine and serged with with ease.

I did my research on how to not leave a trail of glitter.  After I was done with the dress, I sprayed it down with hairspray.  And that seems to have minimized the falling glitter.  And for washing, I'll just turn it inside out and hand wash it.