One of the rare occasions when I stand in front of my me-made wardrobe and complain that I have ‘nothing to wear’ is when I’m getting ready to spend the day on an airplane. I have some upcoming trips this fall so I decided to make an outfit for airplane travel with part of my Cali & Co. fabric allowance. I’ll be flying economy, since I spend too much money ...
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I should begin my post about sewing up this olive floral stretch sateen by letting you know that I don’t like florals. I mean, I appreciate them from an aesthetic standpoint, like when Cali Fabrics gets a beautiful group of designer stretch sateen in stock, but I know I won’t like the way I look and feel wearing florals. So I say “ooh that’s pretty” and move on. And yet, ...
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There are a few types of fabric that I am obsessed with since I’ve been sewing, but never would have bought off the rack. Faux fur is one, and sequins are the other! (You can take the girl out of New Jersey but….) Maybe some of you have a similar relationship with certain fabrics? I had wanted to make a sequined jacket for the holidays, but those came and went and it ...
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I was beyond excited when I saw that Ron had listed Carhartt canvas in some 20 (20!!) colors on the Cali Fabrics site. If you aren’t familiar with the brand, Carhartt is known for high-quality, premium-yet-affordable workwear in sturdy fabrics like denim and duck (aka, canvas). You may have seen their recent feature in Threads magazine, with a tutorial for the Detroit cuff. I knew this would be fantastic quality ...
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For this round of projects for the Cali & Co. blog, I wanted to do some fall separates, easy pieces I knew I could add to my daily rotation and that would get a lot of practical wear. I decided on a top and a skirt, both Megan Nielsen patterns. The Axel skirt pattern I’d bought as soon as it was released but hadn’t sewn yet – I love a ...
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My sewing plans for fall can be summed up in a word - denim. Califabrics has so many awesome denim fabrics and I bought them all!! (Evil laugh) In keeping with this theme, I decided to make a denim coat for my next Cali&Co project – but not a traditional short ‘jean jacket’. I wanted to use the Claremont Coat pattern by Decades of Style. If you aren't familiar with ...
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For my first Cali & Co. Blog Sewing Project, I was challenged to find fabric that I didn’t already have in my stash! Seriously. I eventually chose this white cotton netting. It’s available in a few different colors – yellow, burgundy, purple, dark green, but I tend to buy green and purple often (my style icon is apparently the Riddler), so I went with white for a change. I decided ...
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I recently pulled this pattern out of my stash with the intention of finally sewing it. It was purchased last year on Etsy, when I was going thru a backless-or-interesting-back-detail dress phase. This See and Sew 5636 is from 1987, and while I like the back, the front was going to be a surprise, since there was only the line drawing to go off of! This pattern is a fabric hog, ...
Read MoreI live in the Bay Area with my partner Tim and our cats Ringo and Pierre. I've lived, worked and studied all over the country but I grew up in South Jersey, where I learned to sew from my Mom, who is a very talented quilter. About 5 years ago I started sewing again, and now my wardrobe is almost entirely me-made. The kitchen table in our small apartment is where my ...
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