Manic Pop

It's really amazing that I was finally able to release my 1st PDF sewing pattern -- a design I dubbed the "sport skirt" for some reason.  I think it's because it reminded me of ready-to-wear "sportswear" and I didn't have any other creative names at the time, but it stuck.  I have long had this skirt (shown below) which is a skirt from NYC brand, Brooklyn Industries. I used to work for them long, long ago and it was a fun time. This orange skirt has been a favorite of mine for many years -- I loved the ease of it and all-season wearability. It was great with graphic tees and even dressier tops!  So really, with my Sport Skirt variation which I created in about 2016-ish I sought to re-create the body of this skirt (super simple design) but adding another favorite of mine, these crazy contrast slash pockets.  The pocket design came off of a dress pattern that I called "The Mix n Match Dress" in which I was going to have various pieces for the bod...

Well, I documented the making of my sister's wedding dress in 2017, so here we go! This is MY wedding dress for our upcoming wedding! We are really excited to have gotten the date that we wanted (we didn't even think it would actually be possible) for February 29th, 2020 in Hell, Michigan! That's right: We are getting married on a date that normally doesn't exist, in a place actually called Hell (which will likely be frozen over), and I am wearing a rainbow dress!  Needless to say, we have always been a bit un-traditional. The way we are doing it makes it beyond exciting for us and VERY memorable. The wedding itself will not be huge, but the party following in June will be inviting family from across the country and even some from other countries. Alright, let's get down to how I did this! I actually remember seeing this dress online via the Alice and Olivia fashion show for I think Spring 2016. I was bored on break at work, browsing all of the f...

It's been way too long since my last post on here. I made SOME things in 2019 (a pair of flare jeans I edited from  Burda pattern #6543, a crop top from a vintage 70s Simplicity pattern, Mood's Brya pants whipped up quick, and a TR experiment that only failed because my pattern blocks are somehow STILL not a perfect fit. Ugh.) But I mostly was still adjusting to life in Grand Rapids, enjoying the 1st full summer in GR, enjoying the Beetle convertible(s). .... I know. Our asses ended up with two of them. Not gonna question it, just gonna roll with it (haha). I would like to keep documenting what I make though because honestly.... sometimes I look at something and go "How tf did I do that? What did I do to edit that?" I take some pretty decent notes within my pattern packets but still. So this awesome colorblock hoodie! I was browsing Pinterest one day and saw this hack  and immediately I knew I wanted one. I know... I know.... I have like 3-5 other p...

I keep forgetting to post about this super-quick top. (I've had it done for weeks and it probably only took me around 2-3 hours of sewing.) When I found this fabric at Field's Fabrics over on Kalamazoo Ave I knew I had to make a turtleneck! Something really simple because of the colorful pattern. This pattern is Burda's basic turtleneck pattern. After making this, I decided that this pattern is my new "knit block" for anything jersey knit/etc that I may make my own patterns for! (Rather than re-draft and re-fit my own!) I've got a few exciting projects going on for myself, but I've been lazy/working on several projects at once (which I never do) but why not?!