My favorite self drafted skirt with flounce

I love pencil skirts, particularly when they hit mid calf.  I think this style flatters women in all shapes and sizes. There is something about a modest skirt fitting closely to the shape of the body.  And when worn with heels...watch out.  I just know that whenever I need a feel good, no brainer, outfit I go for a straight pencil skirt.

In the last 2 years, I have made several dozen of said skirts.  I've made most of them in scuba or knit type fabric because they are so easy to make and comfortable to wear.  Scuba (like bathing suit material) travels well and is surprisingly not hot in the summer.  It wicks moisture, never wrinkles, and looks great.  Also, if you have a steady hand, you don't have to hem this fabric.  I've used my rotary blade to make an even cut.

I added a flounce to this skirt just above the knee.  It also has a very comfortable yoga waist. Another alternative is that it can be simply sewn with elastic at the waist.  There are many tutorials out there but here are several that are easy to follow:

Crafterhours

Me Sew Crazy 

Made Every Day

Note the hem is unfinished.

Sources:

Nasty Woman t-shirt

Calvin Klein jean shirt

Necklace and bracelet by lcdmodern - coming to site soon

Marion Parke Mitchell shoes

Note the yoga waist band - easy and comfy.  

The flounce begins just above my knees - 

good for walking, running, jumping for joy.

Rebranding and kicking off the New Year - 2018

I won't lie to you.  2017 was a tough year on many levels.  The good news is that we made it to the end.  More good news is that 2018 has to be better, yes?!

One thing that helped me through the tougher days this year was sitting in my studio sewing, making jewelry and accessories while listening to music, podcasts, and audio books.   It almost frightens me how much I enjoyed my space and time.  Getting back into jewelry making naturally got me thinking about my business.  For me, I can't seem to think about one without the other.  So, with very little forethought, I decided to rebrand à la mode and start fresh.  In part, I wanted to create a website where I can not only feature my own creations but also other artists and wonderful things I find along my travels.

As 2017 comes to an end, I softly opened lcdmodern.  I did it quietly for many reasons but feel that I should mention it here at least once.  I'll include a link in the side bar but don't really plan on promoting it here much more than that.  The constant marketing (especially on social media) really got to me in the past.

I'm still making my hardware jewelry.  I hope to introduce some clothing I've designed, perhaps reintroduce some handbags, and have already found (and am working on purchasing) some great items from my travels.

So, if you liked my "wares" you can still find them and I wouldn't discourage you from spreading the word if you'd like to.  I will continue to personally blog here as well.  Here's to a new year!
To everyone...

Happy 2018!  

Day 14 of #sewvember - Tricky

This was my first foray into sewing sequin material.  It really wasn't that difficult.

I came across this fuchsia reversible sequin fabric several weeks ago.  I originally talked myself out of it but couldn't stop thinking about it, returned to the store, and bought more than I'll ever use.

I decided to play it safe and sew a simple pencil skirt.  I used a favorite skirt as a pattern and added 3" elastic at the waist.  The tricky part was removing sequins along my seam lines before stitching.  It took me some time to get used to how and where to remove the little buggers.  And it made a bit of a mess.  Another option is to sew right over the sequins.  I tried that with one seam and it came out bumpy, so I decided to stick with removal.  I used my serger.

I'm hoping to wear it to our upcoming office holiday party with this stretch velvet top (also self drafted and sewn).  I've finally found an outfit to wear with my velvet Tory Burch pilgrim shoes.  Their chunkiness takes the prissy out of the sparkly skirt, in my opinion.  I can't wait to wear this outfit.