weekend links

Hello friends!

Are you participating in Me Made May? I really look forward to this month every year because it gives me a chance to see how you’re wearing our patterns and incorporating them into your wardrobe, which I don’t get to see otherwise! I’m participating as well, and you can follow me on my personal Instagram account if you want. But it’s more fun to look at #mmmay17 to see what everyone is wearing. I just think it’s wonderful and so inspiring to see the number of people sewing for themselves these days. It’s definitely something to celebrate.

Speaking of sewing your own clothes, don’t forget that our Classic Shirt sew-along starts next Monday. Rachel has been working hard to pull everything together for it, and I hope we’ll teach you some new techniques and give you lots of tips to make a professional-looking shirt along the way. I hope you’ll join us! You can pick up the pattern for the shirt in paper or in digital format.

Instagram Picks

Speaking of Me Made May, here is our friend Rita in her floral SoHo Shorts. Rita will be back soon with more about these shorts, so stay tuned. Also, it’s always fun to see our Everyday Skirt used for sewing classes. Well done, everyone!

Pinterest Picks

I’m still hoping to sew the white linen Cinema Dress with heirloom details I started last summer, with lots of pintucks and entredeux in the front yoke. I got excited about it again when I saw these images.

Oh, and the girls’ version of the Cinema Dress is, of course, the Hide-and-Seek Dress. I love both of these inspirational images, which reminded me of some of the other fun ways you can embellish it.

What Pantone color do you like your coffee? Also, can we give a big cheer that ice cream season is nearly upon us?

Speaking of coffee colors, I really love this cafe au lait heather T-shirt with printed shorts. You could make something similar with our Bento Tee and SoHo Shorts, which would also be adorable made in lace. (For a while now, New York Elegant Fabrics has had the most beautiful natural-colored cotton crocheted lace in the front of the store. If it’s still there it would be perfect for this!)

This tile mosaic reminded me of a quilt. I wonder what it would look like to dye your own indigo fabric so you could get the tonal differentiation in the fabric and make the quilt from that fabric. Maybe with hand-dyed thread as well!

Weekend Reading

• Elizabeth sent me a link to this fashion auction, and I finally had a chance to take a look. Wow, what stunning examples! You’ll certainly find some inspiration here, or at least some details to drool over.
• A few of these Wikipedia hacks made me laugh out loud.
• Is that an evening gown or a cake that looks like an evening gown?
• Here’s another very nice description of a capsule wardrobe (which I call a core wardrobe) and how it’s assembled. If you try this service let me know, will you?
• Here’s a perfectly rational explanation of why we tend to buy or accumulate more clothing than we need.
• Mesmerizing.
• The Rei Kawakubo exhibit at the Met opened this week. It’s not typical fashion by any stretch of the imagination, but even if it’s not your thing the work is quite fascinating and worth a close look.

OK, have a wonderful weekend! I’ll see you here next week for the sew-along, I’ll also show you a dress I made a while ago, and if I have enough time I might even show you around Madrid a bit. Shelley will be here next Friday in my stead, too. It’s always great to get a visit from Lightning McStitch.