I love the look of the high collar with the keyhole opening. But I plan to wear this into the spring, so I used the view with the neck bias binding and the hook and eye. And even though I added the hook and eye, I doubt I’ll ever actually close it because I love the deep v.

I shaved the cuffs down by 1.5 inches, because they were swimming around my wrist.

The alteration made them fitted and that's the way I like to wear my sleeve cuffs.

When I lengthened the bodice, I lowered the waist also. 

So, I moved the casing and the elastic down one inch.

This was an excellent top to add to my wardrobe and end the year on!

Every now and then, you have to pull out an oldie but goodie. And that's what Vogue 8939 is for me. I made this dress back in 2014, in a solid black ponte.

I was inspired by Tika Sumpter's DVF Finn Dress. 

Happy Holidays! I'm so excited about releasing my second step-by-step video tutorial. The first one took a loooonnnngggg time... but now I feel like I have my sea legs, so it's on and upward!

In this tutorial, I'm teaching how to line pants. I used one of my favorite pants patterns -- Vogue 9181. It's really simple because there are no pockets involved. It's drafted for stretch wovens, so that means the pants fit super comfortable. See, you can be comfortable and polished at the same time! And most importantly, it's a custom fit bottom pattern with back pattern pieces for flat, average and curvy backsides. Pants fitting pose a challenge to most unless you're straight as an arrow with minimal curvature in the back. So, this patterns gives you a great running start on fit.

I've made this pattern for a total of four times. For these two, they're unlined and I added pockets.

But this last pair that I made during the spring, really pushed me over the edge. I wanted a pair of yellow pants so bad! I had this cotton twill that I felt would be perfect.

I took my time and constructed the pants with great precision and even finished them off with a Hong Kong finish. But they were still an epic fail for me. They were nearly transparent. 

Assets by Spanx Footless Shaper

And who wants to go into the hot months having to wear a pair of these? They're my go-to for pants that are not quite opaque.

I decided that the next pair I made would be fully-lined. My fabric is this gorgeous Italian Ivory Wool Suiting. It's described as "Excellent three-season fabric that's perfect for any number of tailored applications. Lightweight with a hint of lycra for wearing ease". So, I'll be wearing these throughout spring! And since the fabric has stretch, my lining had to match it. I picked one of my other go to favorites: Donna Karan Warm Beige Italian Stretch Silk Georgette. I picked a nudish color lining instead of a tonal lining because it hides my underwear.

Trying to find a pair of RTW lined in a normal price range is almost impossible. 

In this tutorial, using Vogue 9181, you'll get:

You can access the tutorial here: 

How to Sew Lined Pants Step-by-Step Video Tutorial

It goes without saying that I was going to make something to wear to the "Black Panther" movie. If you haven't been living underneath a rock and are not "tone deaf", you already know the cultural importance of this film. So, let's move on and talk about this jumpsuit!

I love jumpsuits and would wear one every single day, like Oprah loves bread! So, when McCall's 7728 was released, it went right into my shopping cart.

For my fabric, I wanted something that wasn't necessarily Ankara, but still had the same kind of vibe. I went with this Purple Geometric Polyester Suiting from Mood Fabrics.com. For the contrast, I used an Italian Black Stretch Metallic Mesh.

My initial modification was to change the pants. It wasn't something intentional or planned. When I was ordering my fabric, I was so excited about finding something I loved that I didn't notice that this suiting fabric was actually 45" wide! How often does that happen?? So, I only ordered 2.5 yards, which would have been perfect for the 60" layout. I was determined to have a Tim Gunn -- "Make It Work" moment, so I had to think on my feet. I decided to use another straight leg, high-waist pants pattern that I already had that I knew would fit. Because the originally drafted wide-leg pants took up a lot of fabric. And this turned out to be a great choice because if I had enough fabric and stuck with the original pattern plan, I would've spent an entire day basically matching all of the seams for the pants. If you haven't looked at the technical drawing for this pattern, the pants have back and front princess seams. And this is quite challenging when working with a print.

For the bodice, I cut the size 14. I added an inch of length to it. My fabric has a lot of stretch... it handles like a ponte knit. I ended up taking in about an inch and a half.

For the contrast yoke and sleeves, my stretch mesh was pretty difficult to work with. I found that using a walking foot was key. Since the fabric is translucent, you are going to want to keep the seams as small as possible. There is a lot of ease in this part. I had to reduce the sleeve width by 4". I wanted mine to be wide enough to get my hands through. But if you notice how much ease is at the underarm, it's because of how low the armholes are in the bodice.

I used a black power knit that I had in my stash for the bodice lining.

I made my hems as narrow as possible and used a metal zipper.

I love how the jumpsuit turned out. I love that it's a woven, but wears like a knit without that loosey-goosey fit.

I'm happy I went with a straight-legged style, because it looks good with heels and flats. I ended up changing shoes because it was raining. And once we got to the theater, the parking was horrid and even with pre-tickets, we still stood in line about a half an hour or more waiting to get into our theater. But it was a great movie, and totally worth it!

The newest LBD for my collection is New Look 6524. I picked this pattern because of the really cute sleeve options. This pattern is really reflective of what's currently in stores now. You can't walk into a Banana Republic or Ann Taylor without seeing this style.

Normally, my go-to dress style is a sheath. But every now and then, I'll slip on a shift. When it comes to a shift dress, I like mine darted at the bust, loose through the middle and skimming over the hips. And most importantly, a shorter hemline -- like this one. Not necessarily mini, but definitely above the knees. That's the only way this style of dress doesn't go matronly as in Memaw's house dress and "sackish" on me.

My fabric is a black and white windowpane plaid suiting with stretch. For the pattern, I cut view D in a size 14 and graded to a size 16 at the hip. I added an inch at the waist and 2 inches at the hem. This made the body of my dress 40".

The fabric is a poly/viscose/elastane blend, but it looks like a tropical wool suiting and it cuts, sews and presses beautifully.

This is a really easy dress to sew... the kind that would only take a movie to cut and sew. But complicated it by having to match plaid

The dress has an invisible back zip and a facing. 

I finished off my pressed open seams with my serger.

The dress also has a walking vent, which I rarely see in shift dresses. And I hemmed using a blindstitch.

The sleeve ties are held together with D-rings. The finished size is supposed to be one inch. But I only had 3/4" D-rings in my stash. So I lessened the width. And I actually think I like the narrow size better.

I accessorized with less conservative accessories so that the dress wouldn't look so corporate and conservative in this professional menswear fabric. It's such a cute style, that I could even see pairing this with a pair of Chuck's!

I'm starting to think along the lines of transitional garments, even though it's currently 24 degrees. I have another coat planned for this month, but as far as clothes go, I'm really focusing on things I can make and wear now and later. It seems like after January rolls around, my focus leans towards spring.

In Alabama, we're subject to a brutal period of winter days, that can easily transition into spring-like temps in a 72 hour period. So I have to be prepared for anything. That's why McCall's 7722 pattern with all of its great options is a winner.

My fabric is from Jo-Ann's. I found this beautiful fuchsia pointelle sweater knit while browsing the aisles. I love that the style of sweater knit looks like something you'd find in ready-to-wear. They have it in a couple of more colors and I hope when I go back they're still available.

I cut the size 14 and graded to the size 16 from the waist down and added 2 inches to the length. I did this because my fabric has no stretch, which means zero recovery. With the additional length, I didn't want to chance it stretching from sitting.

When I posted pics on Instagram, the number one question I was asked: Is the fabric difficult to work with? My answer: No, because I used my walking foot! I'm a walking foot advocate. And yes, the Bernina walking foot is super pricey, but some machines actually come with this foot in the box. So if you are fortunate enough to already have one, use it! 

It's the perfect all-purpose foot for sewing difficult fabrics that crawl or fabrics like this one that is subject to stretching. Or if you've been thinking of getting a walking foot and questioning whether it's worth the investment? I say, TREAT YOURSELF! I love mine and I rarely remove it.

I used the solid portion of the knit to create the neck binding.

I didn't want hem the ruffle, so I serged the edge to keep it from fraying. I tried a serged rolled hem, but it seemed to stretch and distort the fabric.

And speaking of the ruffle, the way it's sewn on the wrong side of the fabric is visible. You need to keep that in mind when buying a fabric for this top. 

I used my Bernina 1300 MDC to create a coverstitched hem.

I love this sweater. It completes the perfect "Sweater and Jeans" look. And I can't wait to style it different ways in the upcoming months.