I’ve sewn quite a bit in the past few months, but just haven’t blogged about it much. I’m going to try catching up, so bear with me. Let’s start with the Halloween costume I made for my daughter.

Claire LOVES penguins. Emperor penguins are her favorites, but she likes the Humboldts at the local zoo. Her favorite cartoon character is Pingu. Naturally, she wanted to dress up as a penguin for the holiday. Kwik Sew came to the rescue with a very cute pattern for a Penguin/chicken, No. 3630.

Pattern Description:

Penguin/Chicken Costume

Pattern Sizing:

XS(4-5) – S(6) – M(7-8) – L(10) – XL(12-14)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Yes, except I forgot the bow tie. Oops

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes, the instructions were clearly written and easy to follow.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

It’s super cute and the size range is nice.

The only thing I did not like was how shallow the hood was. I suppose it was drafted that way to prevent to hood from falling forward and making it difficult for the wannabe penguin to see; however, it tended to fall backwards so the face wasn’t visible. If it were just a touch deeper, it would have been better.

Fabric Used:

Fleece. My kid was the warmest one in our trick-or-treating group. It was COLD outside.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

None.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Sure! It’s super cute and she got a lot of compliments. Plus, she discovered you can store extra candy in the wings when her bucket started to overflow. haha

Conclusion:

Great costume; easy to make; a real winner!

I didn’t sew a costume for my son. He took on that challenge himself.

He designed and created a Wolverine costume all by himself. Mama is so proud.

While I was working, I had little time left for sewing, but that didn’t mean I gave up on fashion altogether. I decided to take a different approach. Instead of focusing on the skill-building in clothing construction, I focused on styling clothes. I thought it would be an easier task, but it’s proved challenging to style outfits in a way that was both modern and interesting.

I’ve found a lot of guidance on a fashion forum called You Look Fab. One of the inspiring members there, Ornella, sets up weekly challenges for herself, which help her figure out how she can work with certain elements in her wardrobe. A few of the YLF members, including myself, decided to play along during jacket week. Here’s the series of outfits I came up with. Most of the clothes were commercially made, except for the denim jacket, the grey t-shirt, the lime t-shirt, the red shell and the full black skirt.

Day 1: Knit jacket with belt.

Day 2: Black wrap front jacket over my new satin dress.

Day 3: Military-esque jacket over bright lime t-shirt and wool plaid skirt with ruffles.

Day 4: Chanel-style boxy jacket. I intended to wear this with a pencil skirt, but I couldn’t finish sewing it in time. I’m not crazy about the fuller skirt with this, but thought it was worth a try.

Day 5: The plan was I would wear my home-sewn denim jacket with skinnies and a scarf; however, I wasn’t sold on this dark denim with black pants. Not to mention it was seriously cold and rainy outside, so I opted for a sweater.

And, oh yes, I chopped off all my hair. My husband isn’t exactly smitten with it, but I am enjoying the change.

More sewing will be forthcoming since I’ve unexpectedly found myself with more free time. For some time at least, I’ll keep posting “what I wore” type pieces as I explore new ways to style my garments. Suggestions are always welcome!

Hi everyone! Life is pretty good, but I haven’t had a whole lot of time for sewing and knitting lately. Instead, I’m doing more shopping. *gasp!* I know.

But I need to get my work wardrobe up to snuff more quickly than I can create things on my own. While I feel a little like a traitor to the sewing world for buying clothes, it’s been an interesting experience. I’m learning a lot about what looks good on me, what’s iffy and what’s just plain bad. In the end, I’m sure this will help my sewing too.

Here’s what I wore to work so far this week:

Tuesday:

I sewed the red skirt, which I quite like; unfortunately, it’s prone to wrinkling. Some day, I’d like to find a better red fabric and re-create it. The top is by Vince Camuto. In the store, I was quite taken by the fun print and the interesting draping. I must confess that I’m a little iffy on how the top looks on me. I worry that the interesting drapery makes my upper half look droopy.

The boots are by Clarks. I like them, but they’re not the most comfortable Clarks I’ve ever had. I’m still searching for the perfect boot. My coat is something I found a handful of years ago. Apparently faux fur is in this year, so I shook the cobwebs off and brought it back into rotation.

Wednesday

Wednesday’s outfit was very comfortable and included some of my favorite colors! The cardigan is hand-knit and it has seen better days, but I still like it so it got a day out on the town. The top I’m wearing under it has a pretty butterfly print and twists across the midriff.

My pants are thrifted and a bit too short, but they’ll have to do until I can either sew or buy a better alternative.

Thursday

I wore my crazy batwing sweater dress, which I found at TJ Maxx the other day. It’s terrific! Very cozy. Very trendy. I hope I don’t look ridiculous in it.

I wasn’t sure how to style it. It looked a little shapeless from the front, so I added the belt. I wish I had a larger selection of belts to choose from. This one isn’t quite right. Jewelry was hard to choose too. The collar made it tricky with both earrings and necklaces. I’m going to play with this dress more to see if I can inject the look with more color next time.