Category Archives: PATTERN REVIEWS

At the ripe ole’ age of 32 and after an almost-ten-year career in teaching, I have recently (and shockingly) found myself in corporate America. While many of you have been walking these fluorescent-lit hallways since graduating from whatever business or engineering program you attended, this is my first foray. I had masterfully dodged these stodgy…

With some warm-weather travel upcoming, I’ve been thinking about sets that can mix and match easily. Sets offer versatility while keeping packing light. A monochromatic outfit will also look effortlessly put together and elegant. The Fabric Store Sol pattern is beautiful, including pants, a “cardigan,” and a tunic. I was immediately drawn to the sophisticated…

There’s something really lovely about working with scraps, especially when they’re soft linen scraps. I love improv-sewing shapes together and whenever I do these kinds of projects, I tell myself to keep going and make more (curtains, pillowcases, shirts, dresses, skirts), but then I clean up my giant mess of thread and fabric pieces and…

Slowly I’ve started to spill out bits and pieces of my wedding and dress sewing journey on my social media – things like location (San Francisco!) and potential fabric choice (glittery sparkling tulle!). Our wedding takes place this coming May so I’ve been obsessing over all planning details and it seems like the to-do list…

There are only a few days left until the end of winter, which means you can already officially prepare your wardrobe for spring. As a mom, I care about what my children will wear. I don’t like retail shopping, it’s hard to find something that I might really like, instead, I prefer to buy online,…

Whenever I pick a pattern, I always look for a unique, defining feature in its construction. Whether it’s beautifully sloping princess seams, a gentle v-shaped yoke, or one shoulder and arm piece for a button-down shirt, I love recreating little details for a high quality garment. The Capucine shirt is no exception. I opted to…

I am a huge fan of a white linen dress, so this FS pattern instantly caught my eye. The cut and silhouette was a perfect mix of class and simplicity. As someone who adores a minimalist wardrobe with classic linen pieces, I was immediately drawn to it. What intrigued me the most was the structure…

I loved the style and ease of the Abbey Pattern collection so much that I had to do a part 2. This time around, I sewed up the capris in midweight linen and they have become such a welcomed addition to my trans-seasonal wardrobe. As with the Abbey cardigan that I previously reviewed, I chose…

In the short span of time it took me to make this project, the weather has gone from 20ºC and sunny, to -1ºC and blizzarding, then back up to 10ºC with clear blue skies. The weather on the shores of Lake Huron can be very unpredictable, to say the least! Haha! As the forecast here…

Adding a classic fitted trouser to your wardrobe is always a good decision. These pants definitely have all the details of a classic garment worth adding to your collection. I did not have any white pants and I’m so pleased to have added the Riva Pants to my fashion options. I hope you enjoy the…

A couple weeks ago, my family and I took a quick trip to San Francisco to visit friends and pre-plan our wedding, which will take place inside the awe-inspiring San Francisco City Hall. My fiance and I both lived there during college over a decade and half ago, so we figured it would be meaningful…

The Capucine robe is so lovely! I’m excited to share why. Let’s start with the fabric choice that made this super fun! The pattern suggests woven medium weight linen 55” width and all the photos in the instructions are made with traditional texture linen but you MUST consider the linen/cotton waffle fabric as an option…

The Riva Dress. Wait!? The Riva Pattern doesn’t come with a dress option. No, it doesn’t, but it CAN. I like my FS Zina Shirt dress so much that I thought, why not try making a Riva Dress option as well. I saw the potential that seemed like a pretty simple alteration so I took…

I’m back today with a fun, juicy hack for you. I recently made a Nico bias cut dress and admitted to you… I’m not good with making basics. I used the Nico dress pattern to make the camisole and couldn’t resist adding a little of my own flare with a layered tulip-style back hack. This…

Matching button-down shirt and shorts sets have been dominating my inspo files since early spring, but I had yet to make one because I just couldn’t pin down the perfect patterns to create the *exact* look I was dreaming of.  Cue the Riva Pattern Collection. It’s comprised of a button-down shirt with either long sleeve…