Author: ~LOLA~

Please don’t come for me yall; I know my blog post writing is as erratic as it can get….I’m working on it I promise!…but this post is about my GoodFellas trench coat again that I am obviously so in love with. This is my 3rd time blogging about it too (may be the fourth time)…I mean it’s one of my most perfect makes and if you sew then you know if I say it’s perfect then it very well is…

I’m running errands today, and probably going to run a few extra ones because they have been working on my apartments for literal days and I am flat TIRED of themmmmm….We haven’t had hot water or heat (in the middle of Winter) since the end of November. I still sleep with my window open and the ceiling fan no matter the cold temperatures so the heater isn’t a huge deal for me. However when I have to pretend I’m in the “olden days” and boil water for a bath I tend to wanna draw the line right there…Luckily I am old school and my baths have been quite relaxing so I won’t complain too much; they just need to hurry tf up because its just been too doggone long…

Now enough of all that complaining and onto showing off my coat AGAIN. This post also features one of my favorite old school brands; Puma. I’ve been wearing Puma for as long as I can remember and shell toes will always hold a special place in my heart…*Peter Piper is playing loudly in the background as I write this* (DJIP Jam Master Jay)….Showcasing a Puma sweatsuit I got online at least a couple years ago along with my shoes. I have many pairs of Puma sneaks but I wore these to break up the color scheme and add some color….Hey Puma if you need a new face for your gear I’m available! *not at all kidding lol*….A little info about my coat again for the newbies: I originally sewed it up in November of 2019. I used Simplicity 8554 View B but I sewed it up to look like View A. I used a tweed/suiting fabric that I had in my stash; which I probably found on one of my many thrift store trips. Looking at my notes from when I was sewing it I added and I quote: “Came out utterly perfect”. That means everything went well; no unpicking, unnecessary anger and/or cursing, and all the pieces made sense. I love, love, love when that happens.

Yall know I’ll ramble ’til I can’t no mo’ so I’ll stop and show some pictures. As always if you have questions or comments (keep your concerns to yourself) just let me know. I love to see other people’s makes as well so if you’ve sewn this pattern, another coat pattern you’d like to share, or have something you want me to sew up just comment here or send a message.

Always,

LOLA

How are you good people doing? I hope all is well; I’m alright over here if anybody was wondering. Every single time I get dressed I’m in one of my creations but I still (after all this time) cannot bring myself to take that many pictures of myself nor write that many blog posts. I need more discipline and if anyone has any tips for that I wanna hear ’em! I’ve tried over and over again to “force” myself to take pictures but the only pictures I ever like of myself are the impromptu ones; never the ones I actually plan on taking. I took some “for no reason” pictures the other night in the bathroom mirror and go figure I liked them! LOL…I decided I would use a couple of them for this blog post. I may have to come to the conclusion that I may never be that person that follows a strict blogging/picture taking regiment; I just prefer spontaneous things I suppose. Now let me share the details of my dress….

The pattern of the hour is McCall’s M7406 View B (I’ll include a picture of the pattern). I cut the size 16 and it had five pattern pieces. I whipped this dress up in February of 2020; goes to show you I blog whenever I feel like it right? Right! However in my defense this was only my second time wearing it though…The first time I wore it I was in no mood at all to take pictures….I’ll tell y’all about that another time *yikes*….Now back to the dress…I used a printed cotton that I had in my stash; there was three yards…Wrap dresses take a lot of fabric so the yardage I had was perfect. There are also quite a few pretty colors that may be hard to see and are too awesome not to mention: Grape, Aqua, primary brown, cocoa brown, tan, and blue-violet stripes to be exact. This fabric has always been one of my favorites because it’s super soft and buttery…..I have no clue why it’s so soft but I love it a whole lot….I can’t remember where I got it from but I want to say I snagged it on one of my many trips to my favorite thrift stores. According to the notes I took while sewing this dress I installed the bias tape on backwards and had to unpick it ugghhhh….This dress was actually a milestone in my sewing life because it’s the first wrap dress I’ve ever made….I remember the feeling when I was done sewing it of wanting to make ten more….Yeahhhh I still only have the one…(don’t judge me lol)…..In conclusion, it turned out super cute and I love it!

I didn’t want this post to be super long but I did want to share the information I wrote down about this make and of course open the avenues for any questions or comments about it. If you’ve made this pattern or any other wrap dress share it with me! I’d love to see other wrap dresses in action. Okay I’ll add a few photos now and talk to you guys later when the blogging bug bites me again!

~LOLA~

Bathroom shots always have the perfect lighting…

Okay hey y’all hey I’m back…I keep telling myself over and over that I’ll stick to a blogging schedule but I just fall off every single time…Maybe if I don’t hold myself to a schedule that I’ll actually be consistent….Who knows?….Anyway I have a new dress to show off to you good people today and its fresh off my machine…

Last night I laid down super early so I woke up in the middle of the night….and I thought about reading a book, watching Anime, or sewing and of course sewing won unanimously….I bought a Love Sewing magazine a few weeks ago and it included two patterns….One of em was a turtleneck bodycon dress; McCall’s M7999….It has three views but I made View C with View A’s length….I didn’t want a long dress because I knew I wanted to show off my boots….I had a look in mind way before I started the dress which I usually always do when I’m making stuff….It turned out perfectly….I used a stretch knit per usual which I already had in my stash…I had about three yards so I had plenty and didn’t have to Tim Gunn any parts of it….I’m still a print lover and this dress displays that with lotus flowers and other blooms all over the navy Blue background….I promise you when I started this sewing thing I missed every single memo; especially the ones that scared everybody away from stretch knits (they’re my absolute favorite to sew with from the very beginning) and sewing with prints….Hopefully one of these days my makes will be online and in stores *fingers crossed*……I cut the size 12-14 *medium* because the size 16-18 *Large* measurements were just too big and wouldn’t have fit the way I wanted it to….Bodycon dresses are supposed to fit “tight” but comfortably….the larger size would have been baggy and sloppy looking and my purty boots wouldn’t have been able to save it…..

I also pinned the sleeves on in an attempt to sew them on with a technique I learned from one of my old school patterns but it didn’t work out….I ended up setting them in the “normal” way….they ended up being perfect though and so did the dress….I like when that happens….

I wanna share a tip with my beginner sewing folks about sewing with stretch knits….Always, always use a stretch stitch when sewing with stretchy fabrics…If you don’t know which stitch is the “stretch stitch” refer to your machine’s manual for guidance….By using that stitch you’ll have no more popped stitches that make embarrassing holes in your garments….If you have any questions about sewing with stretch knits just let me know!…Now I’ll stop my rambling for now and show some pictures of the pattern of the hour, the magazine it came with, and a pair of my favorite boots…Talk to you good people soon as I can 🙂

#LaneyMcCalls #McCalls7999

LOLA

I’m back again and this time I here to show yall my new robe. Now I’ve been calling myself making this robe since APRIL; April 22 to be exact. The pattern and fabrics were sitting in my UFO basket ever since then. Although I’ve been sewing other stuff my sewing laziness for the robe kicked in every month since then; and most recently sent me to the internet to find one to buy….I don’t know if I missed something but the robes that I liked were over $100 dollars! Now wthell man?! Those that know me know I don’t mind splurging (especially on thigh high boots) but paying that much for a robe just didn’t sit well with my spirit…. So I decided to go my lazy tail back in my sewing room and sew up the one I already had going. I remember taking it out of my UFO basket and putting it right back in there several times and I wondered why I kept doing that….Keep reading to learn why……

Well when I pulled it out I was horrified to learn that I hadn’t even pinned the pieces to the fabric. I thought I had at least done that…then I noticed that the pattern had 17 pattern pieces; yeah….I knew then that was the exact reason why it had been abandoned since April….PInning and cutting are my least favorite aspects of sewing but it must be done and done precisely…ugghhhh smh….but I was determined to have a robe by that night last week because its winter time brisk and I needed a “housecoat”…..the pattern I used is McCall’s Quick Wrap–Up Robe #0011 and it debuted in 1985….I love old school so much and of course this pattern did not disappoint….When I got to the collar something wasn’t right….There was a pattern piece missing; that sometimes happens with old school patterns over the years. I drew out the pattern piece and kept going….I ended up with the prettiest robe I’ve ever seen and its wayyyy better than any of the ones I was looking at online….Mainly because I made it and all the LOVE I put into it….I even put a sequin heart of one of the pockets!….The robe is all mine I promise you….Now this robe isn’t one you wear right out of the shower because its a mash-up of pieces of fleece I had in my stash that wouldn’t make much of anything but ended up being absolutely perfect for my robe….I see a terry cloth one in my near future though; I’ve already been looking at some online…..

Now yall know I have some photos to share that tie into my robe making process and I’ll stop rambling and show em now…Per usual if you have any questions or comments share em with me! Has anyone else made a robe lately to protect themselves from the winter air? Show ’em to me! Pictures down below….(yall don’t pay no attention to the weird dates on the photos; I fixed the time and date on my camera this evening okay…the problem is now fixed up but yall gone get these pictures with the stupid date on this post LOL)

XOXOXO

LOLA

Well hey yall hey! It’s me again, and this go ’round I’ll be showcasing a make from a favorite Vogue pattern of mine. I’m sitting here eating Oops! All Berries and trying not to throw a complete fit because I cannot for the life of me find the information I wrote down about sewing the pattern. Whenever I sew anything I write down the pattern number and date I whipped it up; along with any other details I need just in case I need them if/when I sew the pattern again. That information is definitely floating somewhere in the matrix….Luckily I remember sewing it and the dilemmas I had when I did…So lemme get to sharing those with you good people….

I don’t have many Vogue patterns and to be honest I just assumed the company’s patterns ran small; I have my reasons. Now while the “runs small” thing may be true for some Vogue patterns; it was so NOT for this one. This post is for V9104 “Very Easy Vogue” Misses Dress View A….Ever since I’ve been sewing every single pattern that used the word “easy” was NOT easy; not at all….now while this one wasn’t too difficult to sew up it had a smorgasbord of issues; but I had everything to do with each one LOL…..I usually cut a size 16 with all patterns and make any needed alterations but this pattern was thrifted and only went up to a 14. I definitely could’ve cut the smallest size (Size 6) and still been able to fit into it; this pattern runs HUGE ASF….It’s a very loose fitting dress; I call it my designer moo moo/mumu and with good reason…its super comfortable, has pockets and is absolutely perfect for lounging around the house looking super pretty eating hella snacks. Even if you have too many snacks the dress will never tell your business! I have no fabric information although I’m pretty sure the fabric came from Fabric Mart. I remember I ran out of the printed knit fabric and finished the dress with a piece of Black ponte from my stash. It worked perfectly….(I got a funny feeling that when I post this blog I’ll find the information I needed to write it smh; Murphy’s Law at its finest…If I do I’ll share any other cool information that I haven’t today)….The pattern debuted in 2015….

I whipped this dress up at least a few years ago and it was a complete mess but I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it; the fabric is so pretty….So I did what all good sewing folks do and put it in the UFO pile for a later date….the later date was a week or so ago and I’m so glad I saved it….Now when I originally sewed this dress the neckline was thrashed, the hem was atrocious, and the pockets had their issues too….I was in the mood to fix it up and I did just that….the dress called for quite a bit of yardage too (4 yards) so I was a bit extra to work with….Needless to say I’m glad its done….I LOVE IT….I always did; even with the huge mistakes I made the first time around)….on the pattern cover the ladies are wearing heels and you can see the dress is off the floor…I’m not sure if the ladies are super tall or if I’m short buuuuutttt~~Mine made me look like the queen I am because the dress was so long that it made a trail behind me….the pictures will show more than I can explain…..Overall I love this pattern and I want to make at least two more for the same lounging reasons….I’ll more than likely cut the same size because although it’s super long and somewhat on the larger side I love it so much because of that….

I’ve rambled on long enough so I’ll share the pictures now….Per usual if yall have any questions or comments please share them with me because talking sewing is one of my favorite things to do….

XOXOXOXO

LOLA

Oh don’t mind me I’m just pretending that I haven’t been missing since February of 2019! *covers face in shame* Yall its been so much good shit, bad shit, and just shit in general but I survived it all and the sewing bug did too!….I decided to come back to my blog with one of my latest creations. Of course I still love the fashions of yesteryear simply because they never, ever disappoint. Check out how this pattern that debuted in the 70s killing the game well into 2021! (I didn’t get a picture of the pattern this go ’round but I’ll list the number so yall can Google it if you wanna track it down)

This two-piece matching charmer is one I’ve made once before (if I can track down photos of the first time I whipped it up I’ll be sure to share I promise) and I used Simplicity 8682; Top and Skirt pair. There also a wide legged pant pattern included and I’ve made those too! I cut the size 16 in hopes that the twins would have enough fabric and not look too voluptuous; but the 70’s was one sexy era and the top did what it came to do with that regard….I went right on along with it *shrugs shoulders*…..The skirt is one of my favorite cuts ever ~ the super feminine A-Line and it has pockets! Yall knowwww how us ladies feel about dresses and skirts with pockets okay? To create these two pieces I used a “Heathered Kelly Green Wool/Bamboo/Lycra Jersey Knit” from Fabric Mart. I had five yards of the fabric and the way the pattern pieces had to be cut out the extra yards were very necessary to make it happen…..There’s also some cool stitching detail on the skirt’s hem but it may or may not be too visible in these photos….

I wont talk yall ears off but I will say I’m so happy to be back in my sewing element and ready to share my pieces. My apologies again for staying away so long….If you have any good stuff to say, questions about the fabric, pattern, or sewing in general, or just wanna say HI feel free to do that! Oh and there’s pictures under this tangent….Be back soon!

XOXOXOXO

LOLA

Howdy everyone and I hope all is well today!….I’m watching one of my favorite movies; the Bird Cage and staring at my fabric; just letting my mind wander….Things going on today have gone on before and reflections on those times are inevitable I suppose….Sewing keeps me from being so angry about the things I’ve learned and the things I currently see and for that I am eternally grateful….this post is about honoring Ms. Coretta Scott-King and my ancestors as well….Let the rambling begin yeah?

If you’ve been following my modest blog and social media accounts then you know all about my absolute love for anything vintage…if you’re new here you’ll catch on pretty quick….I also aimed to feature Black women this month; something to say THANK YOU for them risking everything and just giving a damn in general when so many just “look the other way”…..Now let’s get some facts going here as reminders of how Black women pave the way for well damn near everything!…Shall we? Why yes, yes we shall….

Ms. Coretta Scott-King ‘s birthday is April 27, 1927….She was considered a peace advocate and the 1st Lady of the Civil Rights Movement….You could always find her right by her husband’s side (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) fighting for justice for US, ALL OF US….I learned that she was musical as a child; taking voice lessons and learning to play the violin….Ms. Coretta Scott-King was very passionate about social injustice and fought for an equal nation here AND overseas….she wanted peace and love everywhere, not just in the United States….She knew social injustices didn’t just happen here…..Even after her husband was murdered she kept fighting…..She campaigned to make her husband’s birthday a national holiday with the first observance in 1983…..I don’t know about yall but I’m forever in this woman’s debt and this post is the least I can do….Thank you Ms. Coretta Scott-King for being fearless in the face and hate and evil….something I don’t know if I could’ve done….THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU…..

The outfit featured is from her era of fashion so when the idea of featuring Ms. Scott-King I wanted to whip these two pieces up….I made Simplicity 8250 which is a skirt and bolero combo…..when I was researching her I noticed she wore a lot of longer skirts and boleros….I love that combo too!….

Now on to the fabrics and patterns….I used two Simplicity patterns; Simplicity 8250 and Simplicity 9069….the bolero and skirt are a reprint from the 1950s pattern which is right up my alley….the t-shirt pattern is from the 70s….the 1950’s pattern kinda irked me because of the instructions again being unnecessarily difficult; and with it being a remake I’m thinking the instructions were changed which resulted in them being quite annoying to say the least…..the 70s pattern came together in about 45 minutes yesterday for today’s photos after I discovered I had no top to wear!….the skirt was whipped up using a boucle’ I had in my stash and the bolero from an off-White denim; also from my stash….the t-shirt was whipped up using a laser cut White knit fabric; I had a little piece left and it worked perfectly…..the pattern called for an invisible zipper but I wanted an exposed zipper and it kicked the skirt up from “that’s nice!” to “HELL YEAHHHHHH”! soon as I added it…..I’m trying to force Spring with this outfit I’m telling yall!

This post is quite long so I’ll hush; the others this month may appear that way too because I wanna do little history lessons along with my sewing shenanigans so bare with me….Now pictures and yall have a good weekend!

Good evening yall!…I’m at home chillin’; doing laundry and other house stuff…Of course I’m in my sewing space staring at fabric and trying to figure out what to sew up next….This post was going to feature another dress I made a while ago but the pictures I took yesterday (every last one of them) was UGLY as hell….I didn’t like any of them; some of them had some weird highlight over ’em and the others were just thrashed in general…needless to say that dress will have to be featured another time….

Now this post is sort of a first for me….I say sort of because the dress is from a Burda pattern and I hadn’t ever sewn with one before….most of the Burda patterns I have are in my magazines which means mind numbing tracing….I stray away from them more often than not because I HATE tracing because its hella time consuming…I just wanna get to the sewing you know?…..Burda patterns are like some impossible maze I swear….One day I got it in my mind that I wanted to make a dress from one of my Burda magazines and actually had enough energy to trace it….by the end of my tracing session I ended up with friggin’ bustier pattern pieces instead of the dress!…I’ll feature the bustier on another date too; its soooo cute but unfinished….its in the corner of shame but I’m not at all ashamed of it…I just thought I was going to have a dress; I never wanted a bustier like ever but my sewing fairies must’ve felt I needed one! LOLOL…so yeah, Burda mazes, I mean patterns are a bit much if they don’t come in an envelope to say the least!

I made this dress back in November of 2018, the 20th to be exact…..I made View C with View B’s full length sleeves….the fabric is a scuba knit described as “Black/Tan/White Poly/Lycra Polka Dot Border Print”…..I had a couple yards and it turned out to be perfect for this dress….its super warm and wears well too….this is my second time wearing it; the fabric did pill a bit in the wash but not enough to look bad….the neckline was jacked up when I first wore it; I basted it in the bathroom at a party with my emergency sewing kit I keep in my purse at all times! LOLOLOL…..When I got ready to show it off today I refinished the neckline and finally removed the basting stitches….I wanted to use one of my twin needles but the fabric was kinda too thick so I just did double line hems on all edges…..I also fudged the gathers because I didn’t read the directions well enough and ended up having to redo ’em a couple times…..when I finished I had learned a couple things about necklines when using scuba knit and a new way to make gathers…..I liked this dress so much I made it again in a Black knit which I’ll feature another time….I must admit it though, the Black one is much, much better than this one but they are both pretty cool!….Oh, I have the pattern information this time around too!…its Burda Style Super Easy 6910 View C….the only thing I changed were the length of the sleeves as mentioned earlier….

Now lemme show yall the pictures….I don’t like these all that much either but they are beyond better than the trash I took yesterday….Talk to you good people soon I promise!

XOXOXOXOX MsKRS

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Hi yalllll! How is your Friday going so far?…I hope alright and that you’re feeling alright too!….I’m trying to keep my promise by sharing more with my peeps and showing more of my makes….Well, here we go now with this one…..

The outfit of the hour is basically a Tim Gunn ensemble that came from an adventurous idea…..First off lemme share that I made this outfit in November of 2017….yep, 2017….I’ve made so many things AND worn ’em but I never take pictures…I’m always so ready to go have fun that pictures just always took a backseat even though I have full intentions on taking ’em…..I’m not doing that hiding my makes thing anymore….I kinda revamped my social media sites to accommodate my new plans for sharing stuff…. well anyway, at that time I saw a cowl neck, A-line, jersey knit maxi dress **pretty awesome description amiright?** floating around the internet and I had it in my mind that I was going to duplicate it….ummmm yeah no; my version ended up looking a hot mess!…..I took to my pattern stash and found a cowl neck top pattern and I was going to self-draft the maxi dress part….by the time I was “done” with the dress it looked like a cowl neck blanket! Oh HELL no….so I sat staring at the big blob of a dress (this fabric is quite thick) for a few minutes and decided to hack it in half and turn the bottom part of the dress into a pencil skirt….it worked like a charm and I ended up liking it; a lot….I created two awesome seam lines in the front to make the pencil skirt kinda fancy you know?….

I cant remember where I got the fabric from but I’m almost certain that it was a thrifted piece…it’s a super thick printed knit fabric that is soooo warm and comfy…it would’ve made a great blanket if I did want to turn the “dress” into a Snuggly rendition but I digress….its kinda brisk outside today but I was nice and toasty in my makes….the cowl neck pattern is a Simplicity pattern from yesteryear; the pattern number of course escapes me but if yall want or need the info just let me know and I’ll track it down for ya’, ya’ know I will!….Now let me share the pictures….I’ll talk to you good people soon I promise!

XOXOXO , MsKRS

Howdy good people; I hope all is well witcha’!  I’m all right, just sitting here watching Frasier (of course) and getting ready to go to the grocery store….I need some veggies and a few other things so I have to go sometime today.  I’ll try to avoid the cookie aisle but I promise yall I’m already thinking about Oreos, Lorna Doones, and Nutter Butters!

Now this post is comes from back in the day per say because I sewed these garments years ago….First up is my cape; well one of em….Faux fur seems to be all the rage right now and I agree it is the bomb….the fabric stores have quite a selection to choose from.  Trendy I am not (in my Yoda voice) so my faux fur fondness **say that 10 times fast** started a long time ago….On one of my many trips to my beloved Hancock’s Fabrics I spotted this beautiful faux fur (they had thee best selection of faux furs) but it was quite expensive….I kept my eye on it and as soon as it went on sale (used a couple coupons too) I snagged a few yards….I forget the description of the fur and I can’t really tell which animal its replicating (maybe chinchilla?) but it was my favorite one at the time….the fur’s final destination was a cape; another “trend” nowadays…..the pattern name and number escapes me though; even went through my old blog posts and pictures trying to get more pattern information for yall but to no avail….I apologize but I am going to continue to look for you good people just in case….my cape was made back in December of 2015!…One thing I do remember is that my allergies were acting up so bad and fur was EVERYWHERE that day! LOL!  It was a labor of messy love I tell you what!

The jumpsuit I’m wearing is another oldie but goodie!  I whipped it up back in February of 2014!  Now I have much more pattern information on my jumpsuits because I’ve made McCall’s 6083 View C at least four times!  I really love this pattern and even bought a new one when my old one just fell apart because I used it so much….I learned a few things by the second time I made the pattern; light alterations and stuff….the first time I made it I didn’t really like the length of the torso but I didn’t know if I could pull off fixing it to my liking….but by the time I had sewn the 4th one the fit was actually good…my rulers were put to good use!…

Okay yall now let me share the pictures and show off my goods….This post is also to remind folks to do whatchu’ like, wear whatchu’ like, and just BE YOU….trends come and go (try not to follow them) and some are a complete mess…..if you like something do it, wear it, make it, whatever, whenever….if it becomes a “trend” then so be it…..I’ll talk to you good people soon I promise!

MsKRS

Royal Citizen of Zamuunda or nahhhhh LOL