And The Winner Is.....

                 
I must say that I was rather surprised that so many would be interested in my used pattern. Surprised, but happy. So, with further ado, the winner is Joza Jagodic!!!!

Congratulations Joza! Please send me your address so I can get the pattern out to you, sewbussted@yahoo.com
Now, for those of you who didn't win, I am going to do a pdf of the sleeve pattern so that the rest of you may have a copy as well. It will be an exact copy of mine, so no grading, but maybe you'll enjoy having it nonetheless. As soon as I have it ready, I'll let you know. So this time I'm able to spread a little joy around to all of you :)  

The Final Summer Breeze

The Hot Patterns Summer Breeze sew along has come to an end. 

The dress is finished, but Betty looks a little crooked! Who knows, maybe I was crooked when I took the picture ;)

 The blouse with the added sleeves is finished.

 And finally, a picture of me in the dress. I'll post a picture of me in the top later.

And now I have a dilemma, which shoe should I wear???? Such a problem, right? ;) I would appreciate your suggestions.

I added a free form ruffle to the neckline and the armholes. Very easy to do. I explain how I did it in the blog post.

You can see the final post for the dress and the top here on the Sew News blog. There is a final video that will hopefully get added later today. For some reason(computers, love them or hate them!!)there was a technical issue with the video.
If you are working on your own Summer Breeze, check out the Flickr page and post your pictures. We would love to see them! You can find the Flickr page here.

The Summer Breeze Top Gets A Sleeve

A number of you asked for a sleeve option when you saw the currently running sew along for the Hot Patterns Summer Breeze top. So, your wish is my command :), and I've created a sleeve for the top.

 It has 3 pleats that echo the front drape on the blouse.

The back of the sleeve lays flat over the arm, just like the back of the blouse basically lays flat over the back of the body.

The sleeve is very easy to draft. I used Butterick 5678 for my sleeve pattern. The pattern has been used for so many garments. If by chance you're new to the blog, or you just missed a few, you can see the many faces of Butterick 5678 here. I'll warn you now, there are quite a few posts.

The instructions for this sleeve are on the Sew News blog and you can find them here, http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2014/07/17/sew-along-extra-summer-breeze-top-adding-sleeves/

You may have noticed that the hem of this blouse has a little extra fullness. I added a little something extra for anyone who might have mis-measured and the hip area of their top is just a little snug. It will be in the final sew along post this upcoming Monday. 

Summer Breeze Sew Along Week 4

The 4th installment for the Hot Patterns Summer Breeze Sew Along is up on The Sew News blog and you can find it here. This week I talk about finishing the neckline and the armholes with a bias binding.
If you look closely at the dress, you'll see that the shoulders are somewhat extended.

And here you can see how the shoulder falls over the top of my arm.

For this dress, I want a clean finish with my armhole sitting right at my shoulder, so an adjustment to the armhole is necessary. This dress will be sleeveless, but I will be adding a sleeve to a top that I am also doing for the sew along. If you would like to add a sleeve, the adjustment will be necessary. So check out the blog post to see what I have done.
Here's this week's video just in case you would like to take a look. It's very short, less than 2 minutes long.



I have a few things up my sleeve for next week's post. I am adding a trim to the neckline and armholes of my dress and I'll also have a few alteration tips as well.
As soon as the sleeve post is up, I'll let you know!

Hot Patterns Summer Breeze Sew Along on Sew News

The new post for the Hot Patterns Summer Breeze sew along is up on the Sew News blog. For the sew alongs, I'm trying to add a little more to the written post, and give as much information and inspiration as I can without going on forever and ever!! 

For a little something different, I decided to lengthen the top and make a dress. A comment was made about the sheerness of my fabric and needing a lining. First of all, I would not line this dress or top. Once you take a look at the post, you will see how much fabric gets gathered into a rather small space. I think a lining would add a lot of extra bulk and take away from the desired look. So, what to do?? I am a huge slip fan. In fact, I have a number of vintage slips in my wardrobe. They are wonderful under a knit dress, or a dress such as this one. They give me the privacy that I want and keep knit fabrics from sticking to my body. I also like the little element of surprise that I sometimes enjoy adding, like for instance, wearing a red slip under a black dress. Not that it really shows, but I enjoy it nonetheless.  

I was especially happy about getting the black circles to at least look like they match near the neckline. Matching all the patterns was an impossibility, at least for me :)

The gathered waist is a little tricky to do. When I first started working on the top that I made for the magazine, I looked at the instructions...didn't get it. Looked at them again...still didn't get it and then finally after looking at the instructions and putting them down and thinking about it for a few days, I finally figured it out. I hope that between the video and my instructions that I'll be able to make it as clear as possible. But then, maybe my not getting it was just me ;)
You can find my post and this week's video here, http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2014/07/07/summer-breeze-sew-along-week-3-ties-pleats-gathering-notches/
If you have any questions, you are welcome to leave a comment here on this post, on the Sew News post, or the Flickr page,  https://www.flickr.com/groups/sn_sewalong_3.
Many have asked about a sleeve. There will be a special post just for a sleeve next week. We will need to adjust the armhole a bit for the sleeve, so more next week.
If you are sewing along, good luck with the gathers!!!!

Hot Patterns Summer Breeze Sew Along Week 2

This week's post for the Hot Patterns Summer Breeze Sew Along is up on the Sew News blog and you can find it here,  http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2014/06/30/the-hot-patterns-summer-breeze-sew-along-week-2-converting-a-top-to-a-dress/.
For the sew along, I decided to lengthen the pattern and make a dress. You'll find my instructions on the blog post. I'm using a fabric that I'm calling Psychedelic Egg Yolks. I think it will be rather fun ;)

The blog post as well as the video covers French seams. I just love the way French seams look inside a garment. If you would like to take a look at the video, I've linked it below. It's short, less than 3 minutes.



A little side note about the video. This was the 3rd set of videos I did that day and I can see that I was getting rather tired. It was a looong day!!
If you are making the Summer Breeze Top, pop over to the Flickr page and post your progress. A little hint, there is going to be a giveaway at the end of the sew along, so you might want to join in!! You can find the Flickr page here,  https://www.flickr.com/groups/sn_sewalong_3
Happy Sewing!

The Summer Breeze Sew Along Begins!!

The Hot Patterns Summer Breeze Sew Along has begun on the Sew News blog!!! Here's a link to the post, http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2014/06/23/hot-patterns-summer-breeze-sew-along-week-1/

For some reason, I'm having a problem with embedding the video to this post, so be sure to drop by the Sew News post to check it out.
If you have not purchased the pattern, and you would like to sew along, this week is the week to get your supplies together. There are links to the Hot Patterns website where you can purchase the pattern in the blog post.
If you would like to join the Flickr group, you can find it here, https://www.flickr.com/groups/sn_sewalong_3/. We all like to see other's creativity, so share away!!!
In the blog post, you'll see that I'm adding a few extras, like a sleeve and lengthening the top into a dress, so even if you decide not to make the top, I think you'll enjoy the posts.
                         
The top is really quite easy to make, but the gathered detail can be a bit tricky. Although, I think I'll be able to walk you through the process with ease.
Looking forward to sewing along with you!
Rhonda

Sew News Magazine Winner

 I got a little side tracked yesterday and forgot to post the winner of the June/July issue of Sew News.

The winner is Kathy of   http://runningwithrocket.blogspot.com/. Congratulations Kathy!!! Be sure to send me your address so I can get the magazine out to you, sewbussted@yahoo.com.

The next sew along will start on June 23rd and we will be making the Summer Breeze Top from Hot Patterns.

As soon as the Flickr group is up, I'll let you know. In the meantime you can order your pattern here,  http://www.hotpatterns.com/hp-1137-riviera-summer-breeze-sleeveless-tops/ If you decide to purchase your fabric before the sew along starts, keep in mind that it needs to be a very lightweight fabric, like a silk charmeuse or a very light weight knit will also work well. In order to achieve the front drape, a good bit of fabric is gathered into a rather small space, so if your fabric is too heavy, you'll never get it all gathered up.
A little bird told me that there will be prizes after the sew along ends, so you will want to join the Flickr group.
I'm going to be feverishly working on my Sew Chic Myrtlewood dress today so I can post it tomorrow. It should have been finished last week, but life.......
I will be back a little later with something rather fun, so see you later!!!
Rhonda

Sew Liberated, The Final Chapter and Announcing The Next Sew Along

If you drop by most days, then you know I'm a little behind. Actually, Sew News had technical issues with the blog this week(we all know that story all too well), so the final post for the Sew Liberated Clara Dress did not get up until yesterday. I decided to change things up a bit for the sew along and offer a little something more to the Clara Dress by adding ruffles. Here is my completed dress. It's just perfect for summer! My husband nor I noticed the plastic bag on the ground until we took a look at the pictures. Sorry about that. 

If you would like to take a look at the last installment for the Clara Dress Sew Along, you can find it here, http://www.sewnews.com/blogs/sewing/2014/05/29/clara-dress-sew-along-final-week-finishing-details/. You will see pictures of all 3 dresses I made.
You can also take a look at the video here,


Now for the next sew along! The upcoming sew along will begin the week of June 23rd with the Summer Breeze Top from Hot Patterns.

This is a lovely top for summer. The design offers lots of possibilities that I will share with you, like color blocking and even making it into a dress with some fun and frilly details.
So how better to announce a new sew along than to have a little give away?!!!

If you would like to win a copy of the June/July issue of Sew News, just leave a message on this post. I'll announce the winner on Monday, June 2, 2014.

Here's a sneak peek at the top I made and the article.
I think you will really enjoy making this top. If you would like to get a jump on things, you can order your pattern here, http://www.hotpatterns.com/hp-1137-riviera-summer-breeze-sleeveless-tops/