Halla Patterns

Halla patterns are amazingly well drafted and come in a great range of sizes! They also have a few awesome free patterns- the Stardust Tank for Women is my favorite!
Check them out at https://www.hallapatterns.com/

My Favorite things in (sewing) life are FREE!

There are a number of sayings in our culture cautioning people not to trust a free product- and while sewing is far from being an economical hobby (at least for me!), I’ve actaully found the opposite to be true with regard to patterns: many of my favorites are FREE! In fact, a designer’s free pattern…

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Baby got Back! Strappy Top Hack!

A few months ago, Becky Nohava (see her Instagram here) posted a photo of a top in Knitpop that she had hacked to have the most amazing back- like no pattern I had ever seen (and I’ve seen a few!). It was quite popular, but I was too intimidated to try it myself without a little…

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The Family that wears Sketchy Essentials Together….

When people find out I sew, they often ask me if I “save money” with my hobby. Which always provokes a laugh from me because no, I don’t really save money by sewing my own clothing, a la Laura Ingalls Wilder. Making my own clothes could be economical, if one chose to do it that way…

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Tutorial: Adding a hood to a tank top

Hooded tank tops are so fun, and when I sewed up a hooded tank for my son, I decided that I needed one as well! Its pretty easy to do, and saves me all that tedious neckband measuring and quartering (which I can do in my sleep, but somehow dread anyway). Want to make your own…

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Mix it up baby!

Who remembers boom boxes, mix tapes and corded headphones? The screech of rewinding old tapes to hear your favorite song again and again? I do! So when Max and Meena Patterns sent me these designs to play with, I was like “totally dude”- I can rock that. And I can make clothes for my kid…

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There’s coffee in that nebula….

Captain Janeway of Star Trek Voyager was my childhood hero- I loved watching her conquer the Borg, face down Species 8472, and flirt with (but never consummate) romance with Chakotay. What? You don’t have the slightest clue what I’m talking about? Then clearly, you’re not a Trekkie. It’s OK- I still love you for reading…

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