Get ready, because all things flared is a dominating trend for Fall 2016. I'm rocking this trend with Vogue 8945 and New Look 6459.

I previously made Vogue 8945 a couple of years ago. It's a fabulous dress pattern that's been around for a while, but it's perfectly on trend this season. And this pattern is perfect as a dress or as a modified top. 

These exaggerated sleeves are simply to die for. If you haven't been sleeping under a rock, you have seen that current fashion-forward drama is pointing towards cuffs that are as wide, some as waistbands. This is a great white top that I've been enjoying for a while. I originally made it for a dressy occasion to wear with guipure lace skirt. And I've even toned it down with jeans here. So it's extremely versatile.

My cropped flared pants are another iteration of New Look 6459. I made them in a white suiting fabric over the summer. I reached for those pants so much that I had to make another pair in black.

The fabric type is also trending for Fall. Jacquards, brocades and damask is really hot right now. This fabric is Nicole Miller Floral Jacquard in Caviar from Joann Fabrics. It's one of the priciest fabrics I've run across in the fashion fabric section. It was $30/yard (I bought it during a 60% coupon deal!). And it's very luxurious. Nicole Miller is the best thing to happen to Joann's. 

I love the fabric. I love these pants. And I'll be wearing these all season!

Roll Tide, y'all! Saturdays in the South are all about SEC Football. Everywhere you go, everyone is showing their college team pride by rocking their colors.

Crimson and white are so easy to find here. You can even find licensed University of Alabama Crimson Tide fabric. But what goes fast? Houndstooth, in all fabrics. So when I was walking through Joann's about a week ago, I happened across this fabric and I grabbed the bolt and headed to the cutting counter.

The fabric is wool blend, but I wanted to make something I could wear now on gameday, because it's still 90 degrees here. Not much in the way of football weather. So I made another pair of Simplicity 1887 shorts. 

This pair seemed a little bigger in the waist than the previous iterations. Maybe I didn't pull the elastic as tight. Or maybe the fabric grew from the iron's steam. 

But nevertheless, I still love them. They're a great transition garment for our brand of Fall weather. I can't wait to wear them with a thick sweater or a long sleeve black blouse and ankle boots. 

This is Vogue 9184. It's one of those basic Vogue patterns that you can do a lot with and that serves lots of purposes. It's a "Wear Now and Later Dress". It works now with sandals and it'll work in cooler months with tights, boots, jackets and coats. It's a simple sleeveless, fitted, slightly A-line dress that can easily work layered upon. 

When I first saw this dress, it was just "meh"... The short version on the envelope looked like it was done in a shapeless woven. I don't remember what the turning point was when I bought the pattern. It must've been me reading the fabric suggestions and seeing that a stable knit was on the list.

I picked this Mandarin Orange Lightweight Stretch Ponte Knit. Ponte knit is one of my favorite fabrics to sew. It behaves beautifully.

I cut the size 12 and graded to the 14 through the hips. I added 3" to the length. I'm pretty leggy. So after I did that, you can imagine just how high those side slits were. Very! So I had to shorten them by 3".

My seams are serged and pressed open. Here is how the inside looks.

The dress has a collar and the armholes are finished with bias tape.

Here is an inside view of the collar. It's finished with a slipstitch. I know that a lot of you absolutely abhor handstitching, but it's a necessary evil in sewing and oftentimes gives the best and cleanest finish.

Per my usual, I added interfacing to the zipper area. I will preach this each and every project with a zipper... it's necessary to do this. You might want to skip this step. But it really does make your garment look crisp and professional. And who wants a cheap looking or at the worst -- "Becky Homecky" looking wavy, wonky zipper? 

One of the biggest things about this dress is that it is lightweight ponte. It's not as "beefy" as what I'm use to. And in some aspects, it's pretty unforgiving. I had to be very thoughtful in what undergarments I picked to wear beneath it. I suggest a well-fitting t-shirt bra. It gives smooth lines front and back. And perfectly seamless underwear that won't cut into you in those fleshy/meaty places that we all have.

This dress is such a favorite. I'll be making one in black and probably winter white as well. And Mikaela has already put in requests for a couple in her size.

So I made this McCall's 7366 jumpsuit. I thought this jumpsuit was hot, sexy and super fashion-forward when I first saw it and I knew I was going to make it. I think a lot of McCall's fans -- well, the ones that don't have an aversion to having to pee in a public restroom while wearing a jumpsuit -- wanted to love this and probably did in theory. But this jumpsuit pattern has one very scary plunging neckline.

The neckline on the pattern is deep! And if you're tall like me and have to add length at the waist? It's deep-er! I'm no prude. Nor am I on #TeamModesty. Yes, someone created a hashtag to say they dress "normal". But anyway... 

It was time to think about how I was going to handle the sternum-baring plunging neckline. And this is where a lot of sewers look at this pattern and put it back. Just disregarding all of the fabulous potential! No matter the educational level of a new-ish sewer, they all seem to overthink how to modify a pattern to suit them. Sewing is treated with a difficulty higher than Engineering. And it shouldn't be. Sewing is basically operating the machine, which requires: hand, eye and foot control -- like a car. And common knowledge because we've all seen and worn clothes before. So you have a basic understanding of what fabric your clothes are made of and what may potentially work. And if you're reading this, you have the internet. I mentioned in a previous post that you must adapt a pattern to suit the proportions of your own body, taste, style and comfort level. And also how pattern pieces and the instructions that accompany them are just "suggestions". They are YOURS, you bought it! You are free to move them about, eliminate, swap around, cut off, add on and make any changes you want to make. The Sewing Gestapo is not going to come and haul you off if you don't sew precisely based on the pattern. So stop overthinking!!!

So this is what I did so I wouldn't have a belly button plunging neckline. I cut the size 12 and added an inch to the length because the bodice on patterns are never long enough for me.  In the above photo, I show you all of the places I added interfacing to in order to stabilize. For the center front, the instructions suggest where to sew to in order to have that plunging neckline. If you want it higher, then sew higher.  I sewed mine up 7" from the bottom. I wanted cleavage, but I wanted to feel like I was secure because this is NOT a bra-friendly jumpsuit. The thing that you may not know is that when you see celebrities wearing belly button-plunging garments is that they're taped into those things. Double-sided tape is holding those bodices in place. I don't want to do all of that rigging for my regular life, so my bodice would need to stay in place on its own.

My fabric is a scuba jersey knit that I've had for a while. It's very lightweight, like a ponte. The bodice is lined, so I used the same fabric to self-line mine. Here is the bodice after the collar was added.

The back of the jumpsuit is open but overlaps across the top and is closed at the collar with hooks and eyes.

The pants are tapered with front pockets, back darts and a back zipper. I added 5 inches to the length of my pants. They were super short for me. My alteration gave me a 33" inseam. The pattern suggested a center lapped zipper. That's always a no-go for me. I used an invisible zipper and attached the bodice as instructed.

I wasn't a fan of the cumberbund style belt. It was too lady-tux formalwear for me. My jumpsuit is meant to be casual wear and I love having the option of any belt I want. 

This pattern is awesome in my opinion and I plan on revisiting it and also making the View D.

One of my favorite trends so far for the upcoming season is ruffles and flounces. A lot of the runway interpretations of this style can look over-the-top and just downright ridiculous. But it seems that a lot of the designers really watered down the look this year and made the trend really wearable. And I've been completely inspired.

I wanted a striking ruffle top that would go with anything from a statement skirt like this one or a pair of trousers or even jeans, but also simple to wear. I pulled the bodice from Vogue 1308 (out-of-print). I made this a few years back in a romper style. I wore that romper until the fabric had pulls and runs in it. I loved it. So reached for the pattern again. I cut out the bodice and lengthened it so that I could tuck it in. 

Since it's only a blouse now, I eliminated the invisible back zipper. All of the seams are French, the neckline and armholes are finished with bias facings. And it has a narrow hem. What made this one a little more special than the original is that I doubled the ruffle. I finished them with a serged rolled hem. The fabric is this stunning Black Stretch Silk Georgette from Mood Fabrics.com.  It cut beautifully. 

I wanted a white statement skirt. One that would work now during warm weather. And will also work with tights and boots when it's cooler. I've had Vogue 1450 since it was released.

It's from Guy Laroche Spring 2014.

I cut the size 14 and lengthened it 3 inches. If you notice on the pattern envelope, the back seam of the flounce seems to fall across the hip. That doesn't look flattering at all. It looks just weirdly placed to me... almost like it's hiked up on side. That's why you have to look closely at the technical drawings and see the potential. So that was the main reason that I added length, so that the seam would fall below the butt.

My fabric is the most perfect seasonless suiting fabric I’ve come across. It’s this beautiful Italian Ivory Stretch Polyester-Viscose Suiting. This is my second garment I’ve used this fabric. The first was my New Look 6459 cropped pants that I wore all throughout the summer. This fabric is the perfect weight for this skirt. The skirt is self-lined and the asymmetrical draped flounce is also self-lined. And it drapes perfectly. 

The skirt has a side invisible zipper. And I topstitched along the seam detail of the flounce, like the runway version.

I know that a lot of you are often curious where I wear my clothes. I wore this on Thursday night to Birmingham Fashion Week, night 1. I think it held up pretty well under driving with a safety belt and sitting. I’m sure I’ll get a lot more wear out of these pieces individually.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Time for fall sewing! I love fall. I'm a September baby. This is MY season. I typically start off the season with "transition pieces". Those are the kind of pieces that work for my climate... because it's not going to be officially fall until close to Christmas. Unless we have some sort of extraordinarily chilly weather this year. With all of the weird climate conditions, I wouldn't really be surprised either way. So it's best to just be prepared for whatever Mother Nature tosses my way.

So, one of the first things I've made thus far is this dress. It's from the fabulous design duo Badgley Mischka - Vogue 1513. They're one of my favorites and I've made a lot of their designs to prove it. But let's talk about this one...

I make a fabulous white dress every year, so this is my pick for this year. The fabric I selected is this completely gorgeous ivory wool-like crepe with lycra from Mood Fabrics. Since the dress is fully-lined, I needed the lining to match the stretch, so I picked this white stretch polyester crepe de chine.

I cut the size 12 from the bodice and graded out through the waist and the hips in the size 14. I added 3 inches to the length and this is where the hemline falls on me. Keep that in mind.

This is a basic sleeveless, princess seam sheath dress with a back slit. The only things that makes this dress unique is the asymmetrical drape and the collar... and the construction suggestions.  Here are some key factors that in my opinion takes this dress from basic to designer: The interfacing. Interfacing is a big deal. And in my STRONG opinion, the average home sewer does NOT use enough of it. There are so many places in garments that should be interfaced. We ALL use fusible interfacing, so it's beyond easy to do and not eliminate these essential steps. I'm going to just assume it's because a lot of you don't know what you don't know. This is something I've learned throughout the years from sewing the designer patterns (they have all of the good construction details), reading sewing books (seriously, invest in couture sewing books), and reading blogs. Every sewing blogger may not be your cup of tea or shot of tequila. If I had my pick, I'd ONLY read blogs by those that combine sewing and fashion. But there are a lot of blogs by people that can really, really sew... and understand garment construction. You can add in your own fashion.

Here is how this dress is interfaced. I've seen the interfacing for the front, back and sides of the dress in books. I only interface like this on the regular for jackets. But from this point on, I'll always interface dresses like this. Normally, I use stay tapes in these areas, but I love the idea of fusible interfacing shaped like facings. But I interface EVERY SINGLE THING I put a zipper in. It's imperative that the zipper area is interfaced. No one wants a wavy or "homemade-looking" zipper insertion area. 

And if you aren't interfacing your slit or vent area... sigh...  Just don't even bother including that detail in your garment. It just makes the slit area so crisp. And while I was down there, I tapered in the skirt 4 inches smaller than the fullest point of the hip measurement.

The drape is sewn in between the front and the side seam and the center back. And it's finished with a narrow hem.

I shortened the collar by 5/8" an inch. It was too high for me. 

There is some handsewing involved when sewing the lining to the shell fabric at the armholes and the lining at the slit. I machine-stitched the lining to the zipper tape. And I also did a machine blindstitch for the hem. I absolutely love this dress. But sadly, it's so unique with the draping that I can only wear it a few times before I'm over it. But I'll at least have these pictures to reflect back on!