Final Make Nine 2019 Review and 2020 Reveal

Sunday, December 29, 2019

This year I made the most progress on my #MakeNine2019 list to date, making 7 out of 9 makes! I'd made quite a bit of progress during my Mid-Year Review, so rather than repeat myself, I'll just talk about my end of year progress.

Makes Updates

  • The Fulton Sweater- I was super in love with the Fulton Sweater in 2018, but I never ran across the right fabric for it and fell out of love with the pattern.
  • An Andi Satterlund Pattern- Not only did I re-knit my Waters sweater for the Outfit Along, but I knit up the Julgren Sweater to wear for the holidays. 
  • A Joji Pattern- I knit up the dreamy Spector sweater in my collection of Wichita Woolery yarn and also knit the Hipster Shawl for my work's Secret Santa gift exchange. 
  • A Stephen West Pattern- I feel like I kind of cheated with this make. Initially, I thought I'd make a Vertices Unite shawl this year but, as 2019 came to an end, I decided to knit up the Windschief hat as a Christmas gift instead. 
  • A Poison Girls Pattern- I participated in the #HoneyBopKal using yarn my husband gifted me from Maryland. It still doesn't have buttons, but I'm calling it finished.
  • High Waisted Pants- I found that I need a lot more motivation to tackle a sewing project than I do a knitting project and I chickened out! I have fabric to make pants and some patterns, so I'm hoping to be braver in 2020.
Things I Learned
  • Social Media Challenges and Make-a-longs are sometimes motivating.
  • Setting broader goals seemed more achievable because it left room for me to change my mind or try out shiny new designer patterns.
  • I have a lot of yarn/ fabric in my stash that I need to work from/ de-stash.
  • I feel more confident in my knitting abilities than my sewing abilities right now.

And with that in mind, I present my #MakeNine2020 selection:

1: Arachne by Andi Satterlund- I purchased yarn to make a sweater and cardigan version of this pattern but didn't get to it before Halloween, so I intend to make at least one of them this year.
2: A Poison Girls Pattern- Sometimes I like to imagine myself as an Old Hollywood starlet and these patterns will get me one step closing in achieving it.
3: A Dragon Hoard Yarn Pattern- If you haven't checked out Dragon Hoard Yarn's patterns, you need to! I have 3 of her patterns in my Ravelry queue and am hoping to participate in her SpellmanKAL in 2020.
4. Zweig by Caitlin Hunter- I may be the only knitter who hasn't knit this sweater. I have yarn to make 2 versions of it in my stash.
5. Willamette Top by Hey June Handmade- This top looks like the type of blouse I would live in all Summer long.
6. Deer & Doe Myosotis Dress- I was reluctant to sew this dress when it was first released and became super popular, but now that everyone has made it and looks awesome in it, I want one too.
7. High Waist Pants (M 7726)- Since I didn't make high waisted pants in 2019, I'm hoping to make these in 2020.
8. Sipila by Caitlin Hunter- I purchased yarn to make this pattern when it was first released and need to make it up.
9. A Christmas Sweater- I really enjoyed making and wearing my Julgren in 2019 and am hoping to add to my festive wardrobe in 2020.

Are you participating in the Make Nine 2020 challenge? Let me know in the comments below.
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Last Minute Christmas Makes of 2019

Friday, December 27, 2019
When December comes around each year, I feel as if I'm magically transformed into a Christmas elf and can't stop crafting until December 25th. Sure, the crafting pressure can be stressful at times, but let's be honest, I don't really need an excuse to craft but I'll take it when I can!

Now that all of the gifts have been given, I can show what festive makes I made:

1. West Yorkshire Spinners Holly Berry Socks
First I'll start off with a gift that I made for myself. I knit up the West Yorkshire Spinners 2018 colorway, Holly Berry, using the OMG Heel Socks pattern by Megan Williams to add to my Christmas box of socks collection and finished weaving in the tails and blocking them on Christmas Eve. You can't get more festive than that! I love the fit of these socks and they were so comfy and warm to wear on Christmas Day!

2. The Hipster Shawl 
I wanted to give a handmade gift for my work's "Secret Santa" gift exchange and learned that my swap partner liked to wear scarves and the color black, so I searched Ravelry for a pattern that would meet the brief in the time allotted and landed on the Hipster Shawl Pattern by Joji Locatelli. I was able to pick up the yarn, Swan Island Sterling Collection Worsted, during a mini-road trip to The Knotty Lamb yarn shop. This was a fun, quick knit! I hope to make one for myself in the future.

3. Windscheif by Stephen West
I was requested to knit a stylish hat for my brother-in-law for the cold winter months and located some black Malabrigo Arroyo yarn in my stash. I decided to knit up the Windscheif by Stephen West so that I could also check another box on my #MakeNine2019 . My only problem now is that I'm not sure my husband wants to give up the hat. 

4. Simplicity 8613
Earlier this fall my husband accompanied me to Joann's during a sewing pattern sale (I know, I'm a lucky girl 😉) and he picked out Simplicity 8613 (A MimiGStyle featuring Norris raglan tee) for me to sew. With Christmas approaching, I finally motivated myself to sew this up. I used one of the husband's well-worn tee's as a reference and stitched up a size Medium with a View C body and View A sleeves. He loves it!

5. Tilly and the Buttons Margot Pajamas
That's right kids. I sewed up a Tilly and the Buttons pattern FOR MY HUSBAND! On Christmas Eve Eve, my husband commented that he wished he could open a present early, so I scurried up to my craft room and stitched up a pair of Margot Pajama's from the Love at First Stitch book that he could wear on Christmas Eve. The fabric I used is a Dear Stella cotton lawn print from their Winter Is Here collection called Dance of Dragons. They're the perfect pants to wear during his online Dungeons & Dragons games.

There you have it! Those are all of my festive makes of December 2019!
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The York Pinafore

Friday, October 11, 2019

I feel like I'm a bit late to the Pinafore party, but I finally managed to sew up a pinafore at the end of Summer. This is the York Pinafore by Helen's Closet. I was drawn to the pattern because it has a bit of an art-school chic kind of vibe and I thought it had the potential to become an unofficial work uniform staple.

The fabric I used is a Burgundy colored Rayon linen from Joann's which is beautiful and super easy to sew.

I chose to stitch up View B of the pattern with the longer length in a size 10 based on my measurements. Before cutting out the pattern, I lengthened the straps by 1.5 inches per the pattern instructions to accommodate my bust measurement, and I shortened the body of the pattern by 1 inch per the pattern instructions to accommodate my shorter height. The pattern went together easily and I used purchased bias binding for the arms and neck. The hardest part to sew was the curved pockets and trying to sew them on evenly. I think it took 5 attempts before I got them at an even height!

The final product is very comfortable and I love the deep pockets! If you are considering this pattern and are a beginner to intermediate sewist, I highly recommend it!
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The Soldotna Crop

Friday, October 4, 2019

The Soldotna Crop by Caitlin Hunter (aka Boyland Knitworks) seemed to be the pattern for Spring/ Summer 2019. Yet when it was initially released, I was having none of it! While I was a fan of Caitlin Hunter's patterns overall and the colorwork patterning intrigued me, I simply felt that I was too old and too curvy to pull off this cropped top... until I saw the Soldotna yarn kits curated by Primrose Yarn Co. and fell in love with the color combination. The kit contained 1 skein of Marquess MCN DK in the Dusty Pink colorway, a skein of Vintage DK Tweed in the From London with Love, Marrakesh and the Dreams colorways. 


I'd initially set out to knit up a size Small like I'd done with a few of my previous Caitlin Hunter knits but at the last minute I decided to knit up the size Medium to get the recommended amount of positive ease. As a result, my arm ribbing is a little smaller than the pattern calls for.


I'm not super confident enough to wear this crop top on its own without a layer underneath but I'm happy with the final result. Did you make a Soldotna Crop this year? Do you have any styling tips?

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The Tecumseh Sweater

Friday, August 2, 2019

Do you remember the Fall of 2018, when everyone seemed to be knitting up the Tecumseh Sweater by Boyland Knitworks aka Caitlin Hunter? At the height of its popularity, I saw that fellow Oregonian, House of al la Mode, was offering up yarn kits to knit this beautiful sweater and I nabbed one up and then put it on the shelf until February of this year.

After reading other's reviews, I decided to knit a size large neckband with a medium-sized body, but I'm not sure if that was necessary. You'll notice that I also started the sleeves earlier than called for to make this look more like a sweater and less like a swancho.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my finished sweater and wear it often during the cooler months.
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Sewing Ginger's with Lladybird

Friday, July 26, 2019
Guess what!? I sewed a pair of jeans!

These things were a year in the making! I purchased my denim fabric, Closet Case Patterns Ginger jeans pattern and hardware kit from Josephine's Drygoods for my birthday last year intending to make them on my own, but I kept chickening out 🐔. So at the start of the year, when I heard that Josephine's Drygoods was going to hold a Ginger Jeans workshop lead by Lladybird aka. Lauren Taylor, I signed myself up.

I was pretty nervous about attending this class because I didn't know anyone else attending, sewing jeans seemed really daunting, and I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of one of my sewing blogger heros, Lladybird. But as soon as I arrived I noticed that everyone was equally as nervous, which put me at ease, and Lladybird was really down-to-earth.

The workshop took place in a professional photography studio, so there were bound to be lots of Instagram worthy photos taking throughout the workshop.

We spent the first day preparing our sewing. We tried on pre-made sample jeans to determine which size would work best. I ended up choosing a size 12 based on my measurements and fit. Then we cut out our pattern pieces and fabric so that we would be ready to go.

On the second day, we began sewing our fabrics so that we ended up with a garment ready to try on at the end of the day. I felt pretty confident in my sewing on this day. However, when I got to the point where I could finally try on my jeans I discovered that my denim wasn't as stretchy as the sample denim and I couldn't get my pants up over my hips and thighs! 😧 My homework for the evening was to find a way to make it work.

via GIPHY

Luckily I had plenty of extra denim fabric and some extra cotton comic strip fabric for my pocket lining. I ended up cutting out two strips of fabric that were 3 inches wide and as long as I am tall, then serged them together and added them to my side seems the next day. 



The third day was all about finishing, and although I fell behind since I added an extra step, I got them done and they were a hit! So the moral of this story is when life hands you some amazing but not very stretchy denim and a curvy figure, make epic comic book jeans.






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2019 Make Nine Mid-year Progress Report

Monday, July 1, 2019
It's hard to believe that we're halfway through the year 2019! At the beginning of the year, I presented a list of 9 items that I hoped to make during the year and today I'd thought I'd share how my progress has been going.


1) Fulton Sweater- Not Made
    I was super in love with this cardigan when it was first released and ordered some yards of bright coral fabric to correspond with Pantone's 2019 color of the year and I still haven't made it yet. I think I might have been put off by the color of the fabric. I'm not going to take this sweater off my makes list just yet.

2) An Andi Satterlund Pattern- Work in Progress
   Each year I look forward to participating in the Outfit Along put on by Andi Satterlund/ Untangling Knots and Lauren Taylor/ Lladybird and this year is no exception. This year I've taken apart my Waters Sweater from last year's Outfit Along and am re-knitting it on smaller needles for a better fit.

3) An Andrea Mowry Pattern- Done, done and done
   I kicked off 2019 by knitting up the Tincture Hat by Andrea Mowry and COULDN'T STOP KNITTING HER PATTERNS! I had so much fun doing mosaic knitting that I knit up a Shift Cowl, the Weekender Sweater, and the Shiftalong hat.









4) A Caitlin Hunter Pattern- Done and done
   After knitting up so many Andrea Mowry Patterns, I decided to mix it up and add a few more Caitlin Hunter aka. Boyland Knitworks sweaters to my collection. I knit up the Tecumseh Sweater in House of a la Mode Tweed Yarn, starting my armholes a little earlier than the pattern called for, and I knit the Soldotna Crop in Primrose Yarn.





5) A Joji Pattern- Not Made
   I still have the Spektor Sweater by Joji Locatelli in my queue with yarn set aside for it.

6) Jeans- Done (possibly more on the way)
   Earlier this month I attended a Closet Case Patterns Ginger Jeans making workshop hosted by Lauren Taylor aka Lladybird and Josephine's Drygoods, so these are done.



7) A Stephen West Pattern- Not Made
   I have several patterns in my queue but haven't decided which to make.

8) A Poison Girls Pattern- Not Made
   I also have several Poison Girls patterns in my queue but can't decide which to make first. I know that there is a Honeybop cardi KAL coming soon.

9) High Waisted Pants- Not Made
   This was a project that I was really excited about at the start of the year, but lately, I've been questioning if some of the high-waisted wide-leg pants that I liked before are flattering to my figure.

Are you participating in the #2019makenine challenge? If so, how is your progress going?


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TATB Agnes Top

Monday, June 17, 2019

I mentioned in my Me Made May 2019 review that I was interested in sewing more basic, everyday wear pieces that I can wear along with my other makes. To begin my quest to find the perfect basic tee pattern, I decided to sew up a Tilly and the Buttons Agnes.


Let's talk about the fabric. I fell in love with this cotton knit jersey at first sight in the Joann's child prints section and imagined that I could stitch up a Kate Spade inspired outfit of dreams, but I didn't let myself purchase it until I was ready to sew up this pattern. It looked amazing on the bold, but as the fabric cutting person rolled out the bolt onto the table to cut we both noticed that the stripes were skewed on the fabric and not perfectly straight. So I spent the next 2 days spreading out my fabric, laying down my pattern pieces, and carefully re-adjusting the fabric and pattern to try to get the stripes cut out as straight as possible. This part sucked!

I ended up sewing a size 5 at the shoulders and blended out to a size 6 at the hips to match my measurements. I followed the pattern instructions step by step and remembered to use a stretch needle. I was able to put this all together in half-a-day.

After wearing it out, I think I might add some ribbon and snap bra-keepers in the shoulders to keep my bra straps from poking out. I am super happy with this top! The puffy sleeves make me feel like a princess (or a 1980's Prom Queen). I am definitely planning to stitch up the other versions of this pattern in the near future, but I'm a little more hesitant about purchasing fabric from the Big Box stores.
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What's Making Me Laugh: Fashion Coward- SNL

Saturday, June 15, 2019
When I was a teen I used to love clothes shopping at the mall. But I've found that the older (and curvier) I get, the more I dread it. So when I saw the SNL (Saturday Night Live) skit "Fashion Coward" starring Emma Stone, I could totally relate! If you haven't seen it (or even if you have), check out the clip above.
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Me Made May 2019 Review

Monday, June 3, 2019

And just like that, Me Made May 2019 has gone in a flash! This year I promised to wear at least one Me-Made item per day and was able to do so 30 out of 31 days and document it!

I must confess that I don't wear my me-made garments as much as I'd like to in my day to day, so Me Made May has helped give me a push to show off what I make. As I was doing this, it also motivated me to look at the garments I have in my 'repair pile' and actually fix or thrift those items.

I learned quite a bit from this round of Me Made May. I noticed that I am definitely a separates girl as I didn't reach for my dresses at all and only twice reached for a skirt. The temperatures fluctuated quite a bit this month, as it was chilly at the start of the month and warmer at the end, and I found it challenging to find as many handmade items to wear in the warmer weather.

Here are my top 3 Most Viewed Posts:

1)
Tecumseh Sweater- Pattern by Caitlin Hunter

2)
Sunset Highway Sweater- pattern by Caitlin Hunter

3)

Frankie Tee- pattern from the Tilly & The Buttons Stretch Book

My followers seem to be huge fans of the Caitlin Hunter aka. Boyland Knitworks pattern garments! I also enjoyed wearing the Caitlin Hunter Sweaters, but my favorite make to wear was probably my Leopard Print Blackwood Cardigan by Helen's Closet because I'm in love with the print, the colors and it's practicality.


In June I'd like to focus on having a few more basic's in my wardrobe. I've got plans to attend a Ginger Jeans making workshop, I'd like to stitch up a few Ogden Camis, and I'm eagerly seeking out the perfect basic tee pattern. 
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Those Summer Knits

Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Summer 2019 definitely seems like it's going to be the year of the crop top! 


We briefly had a few days of warm weather which got me thinking about all of the garments I want to knit up for the summer. Here are a few patterns that I've got my eye on.

Left to Right: My Boy Lolipop by Nancy Ricci; Ripple Crop Top by Jessie Mae Martinson; From Another Place Crop Top by Leah Coccari-Swift; Zinone by Andi Satterlund; Deschain by Leila Raabe; Marettimo by Caitlin Hunter;  Frenchy by Amy Appel; Frilly Jumper by Susan Crawford.

You'll notice that I didn't put the Soldotna by Caitlin Hunter on this list because I've already knit one. Pictures are coming soon.
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Me Made May: Days 10-18

Monday, May 27, 2019
I've been pretty steady in my commitment to wearing at least one me-made garment for each day of Me Made May. If you missed my first group of Me Mades, you can find them here. Let's take a look at my garments from Days 10-18.



Top to Bottom: 10) Tecumseh Sweater, pattern by Boyland Knitworks 11) Lander shorts by True Bias  12) Vanilla socks knit up in Arne & Carlos for Regia yarn 13) Forsythe Trousers by Blank Slate Patterns 14) Como Cardigan by Style Arc 15) Whitehorse Sweater, pattern by Boyland Knitworks 16) Estelle Cardigan by Style Arc 17) Simplicity 8606 skirt 18) Mabel Skirt by Colette Patterns.


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My First Cocos

Friday, May 17, 2019
I have had the Tilly and the Buttons Coco Pattern in my stash for ages and it's often one of the first patterns people recommend for beginner sewists, but it's only recently that I decided to stitch it up.




I know that I've chosen the right fabric/ pattern combination when I show my husband my finished pieces and he says "Those are classic Sarah makes!"

I used Ponte de Roma fabric from Fabric.com and stitched up a size 5 according to my measurements for both the shirt and dress versions. The only alteration that I did was that I stitched the side seams of my dress at 3/8" instead of 5/8" to give myself a little bit more wiggle room.

Both the dress and the shirt are comfortable and fit really well, but I feel like the dress makes me look a bit wider than I really am when worn on its own, so it'll mostly get worn under cardigans and coats.

Overall, I love this pattern and can see myself sewing many more of these in the future.
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Me Made May 2019: Days 1-9

Monday, May 13, 2019
It's official! I decided to sign-up to participate in the Me Made May challenge! The Me Made May challenge was started by So, Zo...What Do You Know? 10 years ago to encourage makers to wear more of their handmade items. I participated last year and was able to follow through for most of the month, and this year I have more items to choose from so I pledged to wear at least one me-made item each day and to create or repair at least 3 items this month.


Top to Bottom: 1) Lou Box Top 2) B6563 3) Featherweight Cardi by Hannah Fettig 4) M6996 5) Firefighter Felici socks 6) TATB Frankie Tee 7) TATB Marigold Trousers 8) Sew House 7 Toaster Sweater 9) TATB Coco


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What I'm Listening To: The Alpaca's Band

Saturday, April 20, 2019
Hello readers! If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you'll know that I am a fan of eclectic music, knitting, and all things cute! Recently I discovered The Alpaca's band on YouTube which features an adorable band of knitted alpacas. The group is created by Mario Torres, a Peruvian living and making music in Japan, and the music features an interesting blend of rock, pop, and pan-flutes, which I love! Enjoy!



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Styling the Weekender

Friday, April 19, 2019
If you have an Instagram account you may have seen that Caitlin Hunter (aka Boyland Knitworks) and Andrea Mowry (aka dreareneeknits) started the hatch tags #TODAYSKNITOUTFIT and #TODAYSKNITOUTFITSPREAD to help inspire knitters with styling ideas on how to wear their knits and encourage knitters to wear their knitwear more often. 

I'm currently knitting on Andrea Mowry's Weekender Sweater Pattern in a blue and gray marled yarn. As have been knitting it, I've been thinking about the different ways that I hope to style the sweater when it's finished, which has helped motivate me to keep on knitting even while on Sleeve Island, and I thought I would share my ideas with you.


-----
Get the Look

Work: Theory High-Waisted Pants
Casual: Banana Republic Mid-Rise Straight Leg Jean
Weekend:  Zella Live-in Leggings
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Sew Your Kibbe

Monday, March 18, 2019
Spring is nearly here which means spring cleaning season is upon us! Lately, I've been sewing and knitting a lot more, but I still find that I still feel like I have nothing to wear and I've been trying to figure out a way to create clothing that feels more 'me'. Then, I recently found the hashtag #sewyourkibbe on Instagram and thought this might help me with my makes.

The Sew Your Kibbe Challenge is a self-analysis wardrobe challenge created by Doctor T Designs. The concept of the challenge is to analyze yourself by taking the Kibbe quiz, which is based on David Kibbe's 13 Body Types Theory from his book "Metamorphosis", in order to create a wardrobe that's best suited to you. This theory takes into consideration the shape and size of your body, hands, and face to suggest what style of dress will best suit you. If you've ever analyzed yourself into the standardized body shapes (hourglass, pear, apple, rectangle, inverted triangle), then this will appear very similar, but taken up a notch.

#sewyourkibbe
In past figure analysis I've identified as a pear shape verging on an hourglass shape, but according to the Kibbe quiz, I fall into the Soft Gamine/ Theatrical Romantic categories. To put it another way, I'm somewhere between cute and bombshell.

According to the Kibbe quiz, I fall somewhere between Soft Gamine (represented by Jenna Coleman) and Theatrical Romantic (represented by Salma Hayek)
Kibbe's clothing recommendations for both Soft Gamines & Theatrical Romantics recommend curved, rounded shaped clothing with waist emphasis using soft drapey fabrics, and avoiding symmetrical/ geometric shapes and stiff fabrics. Soft Gamines are recommended to add bold color or quirky patterns to their clothes, whereas Theatrical Romantics are recommended to add small details such as ruffles to their clothes for added softness. 


After reading about the recommended clothing suggestions, I realized that I already have a few clothing items in my wardrobe that follow these recommendations. I had always thought of my personal style as kind of bold, edgy, and quirky with a little bit of a retro vibe and I am drawn to all kinds of prints. I felt hesitant to start adding a lot of ruffles to my wardrobe, and I'm not sure if I'm sold on the idea of wearing tulip shaped skirts.

Next, I decided to take a look at my pattern stash and wish list, to see if I could find some patterns that meet the Kibbe recommendations:

Coats & Jackets
According to Kibbe, jackets that are short, shapely and nipped in at the waist are best suited to my body type.

BE-2014-2-1


Ninot Jacket by Pauline Alice- cropped

Dresses
Dresses should be shaped at the waist with added gathers, shirring, sparkles, applique, etc. Look for sharp shoulder definition and asymmetrical hemlines. Short skirts should be tapered and long skirts should be flared.
By Hand London Elizalex dress
Skirts
Look for short skirts tapered at the knee and asymmetrical hemlines.



Pants
Pants should be soft, shaped, and drapey. Cropped styles are excellent.
Winslow Culotte's by Helen's Closet
Hudson Pants by True Bias

Blouses
Blouses should be soft, drapey and silky but fitted at the neck and cuff with bodice detail.

cover



Pattern
Simplicity Sewing Pattern S8882 Misses' Top by Patterns by Gertie
770x967_bs_2017_12_111_heft_large
Burda Style Ruffled Pullover 12/2017 #111


Sweaters
Should be fitted at the waist or cuff, have a soft neckline and/or be made of fluffy materials with intricate details (like beads)
McCall's 6844- Peplum style
Sewaholic Fraser shirt

Have you analysed your style with the Kibbe quiz? Do you have any pattern recommendations that you think might suit my style? Let me know in the comments below.
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