Category: Review


May
2017

Craftsy Class Sale Today! Any class is $19.99

categories: Behind The Seams, Pattern Making, Review, Sewing 101

Hi Fashionistas!!

Hope you are well. I wanted to let you know that Craftsy has a sale.  You can get any class for $19.99 with the coupon code below.

Click HERE to get any one class on your wish list for only $19.99.  You will need to use the coupon code below:

The latest class I enrolled in is the one that helps working with sheers, you can see my review HERE 

I also love the pattern making classes I previously reviewed HERE and often go back to reference them.

Do you have any classes on your wishlist? Let me know if you end up taking advantage of the sale.

Talk soon!

XO

Vatsla 🙂

 

 


Nov
2016

Craftsy Class Review and Pattern Making Book Review

categories: Behind The Seams, Pattern Making, Review, What I made

HI Fashionistas!!!

Hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and are enjoying a nice weekend.I am not one to shop the early  morning sales on Black Friday but I do appreciate a good deal that can be scored from my laptop on the comfort of my couch. One that doesn’t require an “early bird” special and does not entice you into a brick and mortar store to bombard you with more specials.

Here are some of my favorite sewing related Black Friday sales that I want to share with you. I already own and recommend a lot of these items so I wanted to share them with you in case you are interested:

My absolute favorite are the following sales on all  Craftsy classes on sale for $ 17.99

I studied with Suzy Furrer at Apparel Arts a while back. She is now also teaching on craftsy and I have all of her online pattern making classes

I got to visit with Suzy earlier this year and tour the new location of Apparel Arts, which is fabulous .

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Here are the classes I am currently registered for. I highly recommend all of them. Suzy is an excellent teacher and also very responsive.

We studied pattern making at Apparel Arts in this order. Now you can benefit from her classes at home! If you want to learn pattern making, these would be the classes to take in order to build a good foundation.

Skirt Sloper : Click HERE

Here are a couple skirts I made for my final collection while studying with her:

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Bodice Sloper : Click HERE

From a bodice sloper, you can draft dresses , tops. jackets. Here is a dress and jacket I self-drafted using my bodice sloper:

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Dart Manipulation/Seam Lines : Click HERE

This class focusses on taking the basic slopers drafted for the body and then manipulating them into different style elements. For example, here you will learn how to change a basic darts on your sloper into princess seams, gathers, pleats, tucks etc.

Here is a good example of manipulating a bodice sloper into a sweetheart strappless neckline and also manipulating the darts into princess seams. (ps- that isnt alkee-hol, i just posed for my final collection :))

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Another example fo a self-drafted garment is this one.  You also learn about adding excess ease and then removing it in the form of pleats (which are dart equivalents)

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Creative Necklines : Click HERE

Collars/Closures : Click HERE

Sleeves : Click HERE

You know sleeves are big this fall. Dramatic sleeves are in. You can learn how to make bishop sleeves, bell sleeves etc. Here is a bell sleeve I drafted this summer.

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Pants : Click HERE

Here is a pair of pants I drafted in school. Not the best fabric choice,which caused the wrinkles. But being a novice, I can see why I selected this fabric. These pants in a stretch denim would be so cute! Hindsight is 20/20 🙂

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Her latest classes are based on wardrobe building. I have registered for one of these, but have not watched it yet. You can view those HERE

I also highly recommend her textbook, which is the Bible of Pattern Making. You can find it HERE

In fact, I just purchased a second copy because I misplaced my original one

All classes are $17.99 for the black Friday sale which I think is an excellent deal. I have been purchasing craftsy classes for years and on average I pay $30 to $35 for each class.

I have also taken and reviewed the following classes in the past. They are both for tailoring a coat:

The first one is Essential Guide to Tailoring: Structure & Shape and the second one is Essential Guide to Tailoring: Construction

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You can read my review of these classes HERE and see the final garment HERE

I hope this post helps you see how these classes can help someone who wants to be a self-taught fashion designer. Gone are the days where you needed to take out crazy student loans and go to fashion school. regardless of whether you want to be creative and design for yourself, or be a self-taught designer and turn into a career option, the sky is the limit. With online learning, it IS possible!

Let me know if you like online learning. Just last night I was watching a video on drafting cowl pants. There is so much to learn, it never gets old!

I am heading down to the studio in a bit to work on my cowl pants and purchase  few more classes ! Hope you are well and I will see you soon with my next sewing post.

Happy Black Friday!!!

XOXO

Vatsla.

 

 


Nov
2016

Warm and Cozy Sweater Dress

categories: Review, What I made

HI Fashionistas!

It’s getting so cold and I plan on doing everything in my power to stay warm!

I am that person who is always cold.  So when I saw this sweater knit with a fleece backing, I was intrigued! I made this dress and have a little bit leftover that I am hoping to use for a top.

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I used this fabric, which is a sweater knit that feels like fleece on the inside. It is very nice and warm. This is my 1st time sewing a sweater knit and I loved it. It is very forgiving as the texture hides and sewing mistakes 🙂 Typically my preference is for fabrics made of natural fibres, but this looked so appealing, so I went for it!

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I made the sleeves super long so they can be pulled over the hands, something I do often in clothes I make (Don’t you love how we can customize our clothes ?)

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For the pattern, I used McCall’s 6886 that I previously used so many times before HERE

Here is the back view:

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And front:

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LOVE the drape on the cowl.  It is self-lined, so super warm . I free-handed the cowl neck. It was very easy to do. I tried to make a pattern at first but it wasn’t chunky enough.. so I just cut off a 28 inch long piece (measuring 28 inches along the selvage), folded it on itself . The fold them became the top of the cowl that can be pulled over the face. So the cowl is essentially like a mini version of an infinity scarf. 

You probably did not notice it yet, but the cowl neck is stand-alone

I really was opposed to doing this initially, but eventually decided to do it. I have been wanting to simplify and downsize my wardrobe, so having pieces that can mix and match to create more looks is key. Deciding to make the cowl separate allows me to wear both pieces many ways.

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The black dress can be worn with many other scarves, and the chunky cowl can be added to other looks as  neck warmer.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I would love to sew with this fabric again! I highly recommend it. Let me know what y’all are working on. Love to hear about your sewing projects.

XOXO

-Vatsla 


Oct
2016

DIY Animal Print Dress – TNT Mccalls M6886

categories: Review, What I made

Hi, Fashionistas!!

Happy Friday! Here is another one of my fall DIY dresses. I whipped up another quick version of TNT McCalls M6886, also known as the easiest knit pattern in the sewing community.

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I made view C, which I have made  a few times before. I elongated the hem by a few inches.

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Here is the view from the back. I did add a CB seam (the pattern does not call for it), but it always helps to get a better fit. Instead of cutting the back “Cut 1 on fold”, I cut 2, adding a CB Seam allowance.

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I made this dress fitted but not super fitted. I paired it with a collarless cape with arm slits for colder days.

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I so love the style lines on this cape.

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Read below for more details on this DIY:

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PATTERN: I used TNT McCalls M6886, view C and added a few inches to the hem.

SEWING:

Super easy. I used this easy technique to attach the sleeves. There are only 3 pattern pieces on this dress: Front, sleeve, back. I did all the hemming with a cover stitch.

 FABRIC: Double knit I purchased on Etsy many moons ago.

I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope this inspires you to sew and make something for yourself. See you next time and until then. Happy Sewing :)

XOXO

-Vatsla 🙂


Oct
2016

DIY Wide Leg Denim Pants: TNT Burda 7122

categories: Review, What I made

HI Fashionistas!!!

Here is another long-term UFO! I initially made these pants in January, but I was on vacation and did not have access to my serger. So I deconstructed the main seams in February so I could serge the raw edges and re-construct them. Well, this pair sat on my cutting table for about 6 months 🙂 I FINALLY finished them! YAY me!

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These are out of print Burda 7122. I have sewn this up before and thoroughly enjoyed them. This fabric was such a joy to work with.

It pressed beautifully for a nice tailored look. The fabric is a dark blue, it looks almost black.  This scarf is my latest obsession too.

Here is my Bollywood side pose for ya. My mum took these pics, so there was definitely a lot of goofing around.

I recently also wore these pants with this leopard crop top I made the last week.

To find out more about these pants, read below..

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PATTERN: Burda 7122, previously made HERE. I lowered the waist by an inch as these black ones are super high waisted.

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FABRIC: I used a denim sateen from Fabric Mart Fabrics.  It has a small amount of stretch, so these pants are more comfortable than the black ones made in a gabardine.
SEWING: These pants are not a bad pair to attempt if you have never made one. Mainly because an invisible zipper is simpler to install than a front fly zipper.
I love this style of pants and will be making them again, but I will draft my own pants from my sloper.Did you get any weekend sewing done? Do tell!
XOXO
-Vatsla.
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