Sewing isn’t just a hobby, it’s a form of empowerment. This International Women’s Day I want to celebrate all the women who create and have created their own paths.

When I saw the new collection at JOANN, I knew instantly that I wanted to create a blouse that also featured a tie at the neck. In a world often filled with suits and ties as a woman I also fit right in.

I chose McCalls’ #m7436 one of my favorite patterns. I added additional fullness to the sleeves at the wrist by widening the sleeve and used elastic for the wrist.

This blouse is very easy to sew but allows for a great wardrobe builder. The fabric was beautiful to cut and easy to sew and press. I plan on buying a few more yards to make a pretty skirt.

Of course, I had to style it with a pair of orange pants which gave it the color factor that I was looking for.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to honor the many women who have fought for gender equality throughout history and to continue the work towards a more equitable world. With every stitch I’m making a statement! Happy International Women’s Day!”

@joannstores, #handmadewithJOANN  #ad

It is important to me to celebrate black history month with my family. With my daughter being away at college I wanted to make sure she was able to celebrate in her own way as well. I created a Black History box and added some handmade items as well as products from the “One Together” line from JOANN.

Check out the box to see everything I made and more. Did you know that JOANN has a diverse fabric assortment to represent black pride and culture? Well this box displays a few of my favorite designs. There are so many beautiful designs that I wanted to buy them all.

I knew instantly that I wanted to create a box for my daughter. I wanted to include things that she could use and also showcase her pride for her culture while she is at college. The first on my list was the keepsake box. I picked up a box at JOANN, but you can use a shoe box or any box that you have. I used gorilla cement glue to secure it in place and also used my glue gun to ensure the corners were secure. Great tip would be to test the fold first and use clips to secure in place. I used bias tape to create a pretty border on the inside to hide any rough edges.

The bookmark was so easy. It would have been a no sew had I not decided to sew on a border. I used cardstock from a folder I had and glued the fabric in place. I added a grommet for a ribbon pull.

My daughter needed a new bonnet that was big enough for her long braids. I made this one measuring 16 inches from the middle and used a silk lining to protect her hair. This was an easy sew. The soft elastic is a good tip so it’s not too tight on the head.

I love accessory/cosmetic bags. I wanted her to have something that she could use daily and added the Black Girl Magic quote on the front for a special touch. 

The last item was a door hanger with her name. I cut one of the faces out of the fabric, used the firm interfacing and a lining and then glued it to the door hanger.

Stay tuned for some “how to” videos.  What are you crafting to celebrate Black History Month? Will you be making a box too?

All items that were used were all purchased at JOANN stores.

I’ve always loved the term loungewear. I felt it was like a upgraded term of saying house clothes. When the pandemic hit many of us were stuck at home and personally, I didn’t want to get dressed in a suit just to go to work at my computer. I also, couldn’t wear my “house clothes”. So I decided that I needed to lux up my loungewear.

I wanted something that I could wear not only inside the house and but also something that I could wear outside and still look chic. When I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics I saw the Luxe flannel and thought immediately that this fabric would be great for lux loungewear look. I think loungewear has definitely evolved and not suggest just the t-shirt and shorts, it’s more about still having some style with your everyday look. I wanted something that was comfortable also moveable but also still fashionable with my style.

Let’s talk about the fabric, this fabric is so soft and honestly it felt like a really nice blanket and that is the feel I wanted with the outfit I was making. I wanted to fill cozy, chic and comfortable. When I washed and dried the fabric I wrapped it over my shoulders, and I didn’t want to take it off.

For the pattern I knew that I wanted a matching set and a top/sweater that was open. I chose Butterick B6244 and McCall’s M7480 to create the look I wanted. To hack the pattern, I just laid the McCall’s pattern over the butterick and cut the front section. I did not sew in the lining. For the pants I used Simplicity S8268.  The Simplicity jogger pattern, which is very easy to make, and it has pockets the only modification that I made is I added elastic to the anchor instead of using ribbing.

The fabric is lovely for sewing and I decided to leave the front end exposed because it gave it a nice finish since the fabric doesn’t unravel.  I didn’t want anything heavy again I wanted something that was very lightweight but still comfortable to keep me warm in the cool fall months or winter months but still transition nicely I think this look would be great for an airport look, traveling where you’re comfortable but still stylish.

I love creating statement pieces even if it’s something that I’m wearing at home. I want to have pride and feel like yes, I made it but at the same time it’s something that you need in your wardrobe. I see myself running errands, heading to the fabric store which is where I usually am going to get coffee and beignets at PJs.

This is definitely the Luxe Loungewear set you need to make!

Fall for Fall in this bright Fall colors Shacket. Yes, I finally made a shacket and I am so making many more. I mean, it literally can be a jacket, sweater, dress, coverup, blanket and more. This plaid fabric from JOANN fabrics brings the pattern to life.  

It’s National Sewing Month and this week’s theme is Fall. Fall by the way is one my favorite seasons. I love the transition of the weather and foliage. I lived on the east coast for years in New York City and also in New Hampshire and some other city and states.  The colors, the smell of the crisp air, apple picking and pumpkin pies….. always make me smile. From the fall festivals to watching the leaves turn and fall this is definitely one of my favorite seasons.

I have been eyeing shackets all last year and really wanted to make one. I knew that I wanted one that could serve dual purposes as I wanted to wear it alone and as a coverup. I live in Texas now and our Fall isn’t like the ones I remember on the East Coast. As I was in JOANN Fabrics, I stumbled across this vibrant flannel plaid fabric and I instantly knew it was going to be my shacket.

I used Simplicity #S9388 to create my look and hacked it by curving the bottom. I sewed a large and will say that it fits true to size. I love oversized jackets and this one was perfect for my look.

The fabric cuts and sews well. To match my stripes, I pressed the fabric first and then used pins to secure the fabric in place. The pattern features a front and back yoke and a pleated back and sleeve detail. What can I say but this pattern and this fabric were a match made in heaven!! This will be in rotation.

I decided to style my look by wearing it with cut off shorts, thigh high boots and a cute hat. I love a hat and a pair of boots for this weather.

Will you be making this pattern? If so, head to JOANN Fabrics to grab your fabric soon.

When I first saw this dress on one of my favorite fashion influencers Blair Eadie, I instantly fell in love. I saved it on my Pinterest board and of course began to see other variations and some of my other favorite fashion content creators in the similar dress. I found a designer Mara Hoffman and absolutely fell in love with her work. Her fashion designs are definitely the style that I love and embrace for my lifestyle.

I was on the hunt for the past year looking for fabric to recreate this look. I couldn’t find anything that I loved. When Jo-Ann Fabrics reached out about trying their new customizer fabric making app I knew this would be the best opportunity. I’ve used the app before and enjoyed making the fabric of my own. They have thousands and thousands of designs and many fabric options to choose from. But this time I didn’t want to enhance a fabric that they already had, I wanted to create my own. I was so excited to use this app again, as all my creative juices were flowing. I love to paint I love art and it brought me back to one of my first love before sewing.

I got out my tablet and began to recreate. As a creative as an artist when we put out our work, we truly want people to enjoy it but at the same time be inspired. I personally was inspired by the dress, as well as the fabric, however I didn’t want to make it the same. I believe that it is important to have integrity in this creative space. And that’s important to me!

To create the fabric I started from the basics that I learned many many years ago in school. I drew some shapes and freehanded some of the shapes as well to create the look that was going for. I used various brushes to give the fabric depth. I knew I wanted bright and bold colors that made a statement. I chose very high pigmented colors when I was designing my fabric. The design process was fun and while I was painting and sketching that fabric, I ended up doing many more. And I’m hoping to order those later. 

The website is very easy to navigate. I uploaded my design and test it out the scale as to how big I wanted the fabric to be. I realized instantly that I needed to scale it larger so that I would have a larger print size. I went in on my design tool and scaled it to the largest available size and that fit perfectly. I decided I wanted to go for a lightweight linen as it would hold a little bit more structure for the sleeves and also give the fabric some weight, I was so happy with the results when I received my fabric.

The colors popped they were so bright, and I was instantly in love. I will be using this tool more often to create personalized Fabrics. You never know you may see a collection from me very soon.

For the sewing pattern I decided to go with Vogue 9253 which is also known as Vogue 1735. This is one of my favorite patterns and it has served a base for many of my makes. I hacked this pattern to create the look.

Here is what I did:

1. Lengthened and widened the sleeve
2. Added elastic to the sleeves for added volume
3. Added tie to the middle portion of the front piece
4. Cut a V in the back pattern
5. Shortened the length about 1.5 inches
6. Omitted the blouse on the front bodice
7. Omitted the waistband area

It’s National Sewing Month and for week 2 the theme is Home Décor. Do you enjoy using fabric to reupholster your furniture? Are you like me, when you walk by the Home Dec you only think of ways to make a fun garment sewing project? Well, I was challenged with this one and I was up for it.

Every time I am in JOANN and that is daily …LOL I see this fabric and I absolutely love it. I’ve eyed it for weeks and would often see other things than just pillows and then I would put it down. Well, this time, I grabbed all of what was left for this project. I know this is a popular print and one that goes so well with your furniture. My house isn’t as colorful as my personality …Go figure!  I have very neutral and earth tone colors and recently I just felt that everything was bland. I be very transparent, when we bought this house, I felt that it wasn’t my forever home and didn’t really put my stamp on it.

Recently, I have challenged myself to begin living more in the moment and for now. Stop waiting for tomorrow or for that perfect moment or when I have more of this or more of that. I need to begin enjoying what I have and NOW. I say all of that to say that when we bought this house, I never really decorated it besides my sewing room. So, for years I said I would change the pillows that I hated on my sofa but never did. I would turn them over and just really hated how they look.

Fast forward to today and I am sitting here with the perfect fabric, that goes well with my furniture, aesthetic, and overall look.

To change out the pillows I contemplated seam ripping the ones I had but was going to be a longer process and when I looked at the fabric, I loved having both sides and wanted to showcase them equally.

Directions:

• I used my existing pillows to measure the size I would need and cut.
• Cut strips for cording
• Add cording to center of strip and fold.
• Sew cording down along edge leaving an opening on one end
• Added cording to right side of fabric with cording facing in towards the middle
  • (TIP- When making a continuous loop for the cording. Cut one end of cording shorter and extend one end past the fabric. Fold over shorter edge ¼ of inch and add the longer end inside. This will create a clean finish as shown below).
• Add zipper to the right side of second fabric (Follow zipper instructions)
• Sew opposite zipper end to cording and fabric sandwiching cording in the center
• Make sure to open your zipper
• Sew along all 3 long edges making sure to reinforce the corners
• Turn right side out
• Stuff with your pillow
• Zip close and enjoy your new lux pillows

SUPPLIES:

• Upholstery Fabric
• Zippers
• Pins
• Sewing Machine
• Cording
• Pillow Stuffing
• Matching Thread

It’s National Sewing Month and for my 1stproject this month I am highlighting JoAnn Fabrics cotton apparel. JOANN Fabrics has a nice array of cotton fabric, and it was hard to choose.

As some of you may know my process when it comes to sewing it involves many trips to the fabric store, paroozing magazines, Pinterest and just looking to be inspired by the fabric, events I must attend or my personal fashion style. Often, I sketch a look with the fabric in mind and think about ways that the fabric can be used.

Let’s get into this look.

On one of many shopping trips to JoAnn Fabrics I stumbled across a pretty striped cotton fabric called Yarn dye Stripe Cotton in Charcoal and white. I knew instantly that I wanted to make a dress and showcase the stripes in the fabric by sewing with contrast sides. This cotton is easy to sew with however with any cotton you want to make sure and keep a lent roller handy as it can pick up loose thread.

For the pattern I used my favorite caftan pattern Simplicity #s8657 that is great for hacking as the base. I cut the Medium as the pattern runs big and added a border with the direction of the stripe going a different way. I did the same for the bottom portion of the dress. Since I cut it smaller, I was thinking I would need a zipper however after doing a fit test I decided that it was wide enough to go over my head. I enjoyed hacking this pattern and each version I have created has been a different look.

This is the perfect dress to wear off shoulder or on and can be dressed up or down. I added an exaggerated belt and used a heavier weight interfacing to give it more stability for my bow.

One of my favorite style of clothing is resort style. I enjoy wearing clothing that look and feel as if I am on a resort vacation where the water is crystal blue, and my outfits give #richauntievibes.Ichose gold jewelry as my accessories with a hat, straw bag with geometric features and twist tie heals. It’s the linear and circular details that help pull the look together. Do you enjoy hacking and styling your makes? This dress is sure to make a fun statement. Simple, classy, effortless and vacation vibes.

Head over to your local JOANN Fabrics and get some cotton to make you a fun kaftan. Happy Sewing and Happy National Sewing Month!

While scrolling through Instagram I immediately stopped on this ad.

The image of this skirt, the sleeves, the color instantly got me out of bed and off to sketching. I wanted this look and I wanted it right away. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever seen a look or pinned something and then wanted to instantly make it? Well it did that day and I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

Off to my sewing studio I went. I started going through patterns that I felt would bring this look to life. I had a few options in mind and then I finally settled on the McCall’s #M8034 for the sleeve, McCalls #M7654 for the bodice and Simplicity #S9375 for the skirt. It was a perfect pairing.

When I went off to JoAnn Fabrics and found the perfect linen blend to match the color. It was meant to be. JoAnn’s has an array of linen fabrics and linen blends that work for any look. I actually picked up a few different colors for upcoming looks.

I got home and quickly took out my MyDailyThreadMe / Nina Ramel Planner book and sketched and added my info and started the plan. I cut the patterns I cut the fabric and I was ready to go. I had everything.

I started on the skirt, which came together quickly. I sew slow(very slow) and this was an easy sew. However, after my excitement of making the skirt, I realized as I was putting it together it was not a true wrap skirt as in the picture. I debated if I wanted to make it a full wrap skirt or cut into the skirt a bit at an angle to give the look I wanted. I even polled some of you on IG to help me.

I ended up cutting it the inside skirt piece a bit more on a diagonal to get the look that I was going for.

The bodice was even trickier to manage. Since I was hacking it and taking the top portion of the bodice from a dress, I needed to use a separating zipper. I couldn’t find any that I wanted. I couldn’t believe that I didn’t realize it until after I was about to add an invisible zipper. I thought about the sleeves and how the I liked the tie feature at the wrist and decided that I would add grommets to the back and tie the look together.

You see when you are inspired you don’t just take the look and make it as is. You use it to infuse to your own style and aesthetic. Here is the finished look! Let me know what you think. Did I nail it?

This was a fun project to work on. When JoAnn Fabrics reached out about the outdoor campaign I immediately said YES! Why you ask? Have you seen my backyard? It lacked color, fun, warmth and overall, it wasn’t really me. I never went out there. I would close the blinds to the patio so no one could look out. However, I had a nice canopy that we hung lights from but honestly, I wasn’t really interested in the backyard.

Well, this project and the gorgeous solarium fabrics have me excited to not only entertain outside, but to redecorate. I wasn’t sure what feel I was looking for. I love bright colors and often time lean to neutral colors when thinking of relaxation. The creams, black, white and hints of green. I saw tans and thought I wanted a spa zen/boho vibe but remembered that I tried that before and though I love that feel for my bathroom and when staying at resorts I wanted more color this time for the patio.

I headed to JoAnn’s for a fun fabric trip. I always enjoy those, don’t you!? There are tons of Solarium fabric options as well as outdoor fabric choices. I looked at all of them, felt them, imagined them but I kept coming back to this printed red and white print as well as a leaf print. I was torn and left empty handed. That is right I was so stuck because in my head I had so many ideas and needed a plan.

A few days later I returned and my thoughts and feelings for the initial fabrics didn’t change. I was sold.  I thought I would only sew pillows to add a splash of color and repurpose the cushions and seat covers I had.  They were dirty I thought, but after careful inspection and a wash of the covers they were unsuasible and in horrible shape.  So back to JoAnn’s I went. Yeah, I think I give any excuse to go there…lol.

I now needed to get fabric for chair covers as well as a cushions. I settled on a nice neutral color that complimented the pillow fabric as well as my previous chair covers.  For the cushions I tried the new JoAnn Nufoam fabric that is great for outdoors. It is cut by the yard and doesn’t require the additional batting that I had on my previous cushions. I also picked up a bottle of scotchgard outdoor water shield as an extra protectant even though the Solarium fabric is treated.

Once I got home, I measured all the pillows and cushions and got to work.  As they say sewing is math and I needed to pull out the calculator for this one. My cushions measure 20×40 and 20×20 with a 2 inch depth for both for the cushion. I created box corners by cutting ½ of the depth and my fabric measurements were as follows: 40 for the length + 2 for the depth and 1 inch for the seam allowance. For the width I did the same however I added 2 additional inches for the depth. There were many calculating tools out there and I used a few to get the right size. I ended up having to cut a .5 inches from the large cushion but for the smaller ones they fit like a glove. With the foam I needed also cut that to size. Make sure to have some good scissors and some strong fingers because that is a heavy task.

Once I did a bit of clean up, I added the cushions, pillows and instantly I wanted to be outside.

This is the first time in years that I enjoyed my backyard. Will you be updating your patio furniture this spring?

It’s Women’s History Month and one of my favorite months in the year. I celebrate being a woman every day and the contributions we have made worldwide that have impacted my life and the lives of others. I was happy to do this campaign where I could celebrate my love for sewing, crafting and DIY and also to show how these hobbies can empower women. Making your own clothes is very empowering, it allows you to be creative, sew ornate garments share your style, craft and create moments in fashion that tell a story. The clothes I make are for my busy “Girl Boss” lifestyle. I make clothes that I can wear to the board room, events and out with the girls. I love bold, colorful and sophisticated looks.

This month JoAnn is supporting Women’s History Month with the launch of some new products. I was happy to try out one of their new fabrics that focus on women supporting women, something I do everyday! I chose this “Girl Power” fabric that to me represented power, strength and community.

I chose to do a statement blazer that I could wear powerfully in a meeting, at an event or girls night with friends. This fabric is bold and definitely showcases GIRL POWER! I used Simplicity 8697 and chose hot pink bias tape as an accent.

I used gold buttons to finish the look. This blazer will definitely be worn all of March!

Will you be sewing a statement blazer this month? If so drop “GIRL POWER” below!