Heyy Boo,

Hope your are enjoying this spring weekend! This post is all about Kwik-Sew pattern #4163. If you watched my fabric haul video you saw this swimwear/spandex fabric I got from NY. I have never made an activewear outfit but I do yoga all the time and I teach classes, so I wanted to try it out! I’m honestly surprised this Kwik-Sew pattern is still in print because I’ve had it FOREVER. I think its the only Kwik-Sew pattern I own. 

So the fabric is basic printed spandex, nothing fancy.  I wouldn’t say its amazing quality but it’s not bad either. lol I didn’t want to buy an expensive activewear fabric because I didn’t know how this was going to turn out. Now that I’ve tried it, next time I would probably spend a bit more and get a fabric slightly heavier in weight. 

This pattern did call for a contrasting fabric for the top so I got the black activewear mesh fabric from Jo-Anns. That fabric was great, I recommend it if you want to do some mesh inserts on your leggings or workout tops. You can also use it around the neckline and armholes like I did with this top. 

These shorts have front seams. The top is a racerback tank
top.. I like that the top had some detail and just wasn’t a plain racer back tank top. The mesh inserts on the shoulders and sides gives this top some interest. The only modification I made to this pattern was lengthening the shorts to a “biker short” length. Overall, I like this pattern and outfit. I even think its cute paired with the cropped hoodie I made a while back. Next time I want to try to do a sports bra! 

I’m not saying sewing activewear is gonna be my thing now… but I like the end result and it was cheaper and a Nike set. lol

Here are a couple pics of me in the outfit leading a yoga class on the rooftop of a building in D.C!

Heyy Booo,

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I had some fabric left over from my jacket and I decided to hack this pattern and turn it into shorts. I love how these shorts came out and want to give you the details on how I created them!

Here is a pic of the pants on Mimi G.

Instead of doing the faux flaps on the side, I did real side pockets. I did a fly front zipper instead of buttons, no flap on the lower side pockets, and of course making them shorts length. I didn’t alter the size, fit, or shape of the pant in any way, I just shortened the pant legs. If you take this route of turning the pant into a short, measure where you want your shorts to stop. Then add about 4 inches to that, in order to create the cuff at the bottom!

This fabric is cotton canvas from Mood Fabrics and it is honestly a great choice for a cargo short. It feels like a medium weight denim, but it’s a bit more breathable than denim. At least to me it feels that way. lol The only thing I have to say about cotton canvas is it does not like to be seam ripped. If you do have to seam rip, it probably would not be noticeable on your garment, but it does leave small holes in the fabric. Similar to trying to seam rip leather but the holes aren’t as noticeable.

Overall verdict, I love how these shorts came out. I will be posting the other looks tomorrow so come back! lol

I mentioned this was my first pair of “cargo” shorts and I think I only like these because I made them. lol

How do you feel about the cargo short? Is it your style or nah??

Hey Boo!! Today I’m gonna do something a little bit different and greet you with an affirmation on this here Good Friday.. Here we go.. Feel free to read this out loud or repeat it a couple of times…

“Today I complete this week with love. I acknowledge my mistakes and let them go. I will keep the pearls of wisdom and leave the rest in the past. I carry no burdens into the future. Only freedom, joy, and love.”

I love affirmations, quotes, and mantras. I have my favorite ones saved and posted everywhere. I figured I would start sharing them! You never know when someone is having a bad day and a small word of hope or affirmation may change their mood. So onto the pattern review.

This is a “Very Easy Vogue” pattern that was fun to sew and even more fun to wear. This dress has back darts, kimono style sleeves, an 18 inch zipper going down the center back, asymmetric hemline, pleats at the front and on the belt/tie, and the neckline is finished with bias tape. lol Sounds like a lot, I know, but this is a great pattern to introduce you to some new and easy techniques.

I love the fact that this dress can be worn with tennis shoes or heels. I also love that its appropriate for work as well!

As always if you are doing this dress in a print be careful to match those up when cutting because this dress does have a center front and center back seam. This dress calls for about 4 yards of fabric. Since the bottom part of the dress is so big I wouldn’t do it in anything thicker than a cotton or lightweight linen type of fabric.

This dress is perfect for a daytime lunch, spring date, or work. This pattern also comes with a view to make the dress a shirt/tunic and a skinny pant. Overall I love the pattern, really fun, easy and perfect for spring!

Do you have this pattern in your stash? Have you made it before?

Heyy Boo! Ok I’m here with a pattern review! This pattern is a Simplicity/ Mimi G Spring 2019 pattern. I got lucky because the day I went to Joanns an employee had just put out all the new patterns, they were on sale, and the store was pretty empty! The Sewing Gods were lookin out that day! LOL Ok so the pattern.. The short response is, I love it!

When I saw Mimi G. post this pattern on her IG page I knew I had to have it! Y’all know I love a good button up! I didn’t alter anything on this pattern. When I saw it I was wondering how that hem was going to work out. It is a facing. It’s 3 pieces you sew together to make one long piece then you sew it all along the bottom of the shirt. Pretty simple.

This shirt has a hidden placket. I love those, I think they make the garment look really neat and professional. Normally I have to take in patterns a bit even the size 6 but I didn’t have to do that with this pattern. The size 6 fit me perfectly.

As I mentioned on IG, I did match the prints up in the front but I forgot to take into consideration the folding I would have to do to create the placket, (especially on the right side) which is the side that hides the buttons. Instead of matching the prints at the center front I did it at the edge of my fabric so after folding the prints no longer matched in the front. I honestly sewed this entire shirt and didn’t notice that until I attached the the collar and laid the shirt out. The first thing I said was I knew I should have just did white. LMAO

Not gonna lie I was a bit irritated by the prints not matching up. LOL I did kind of throw it to the side in disgust and walk away. I was just being dramatic lol Mistakes happen in sewing. Its important to learn and grow from your sewing mistakes! So I’m still going to wear it this shirt but I do plan to make another one in white! lol

I don’t want you all to think I sew everything perfectly the first time or I don’t make mistakes. I do, but I learn from them and keep it moving. You’re either going to fix it or start over in sewing. The sooner you decide how to fix your sewing mistake the faster you can be done and onto the next project is the way I look at it.

All in all this is a great pattern and besides the pattern I love how this shirt came out! I do think because of the facing and the hidden placket this pattern is suitable for intermediate sewers.

Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate you!

So I wasn’t going to do a review for this pattern only because I feel it is super simple and I don’t make any adjustments when making these pants. If you are a super beginner the trickiest part may be the zipper. Other than that I highly recommend this pattern if you want a simple wide leg trouser pant. A wide leg is forgiving if you are worried about fit and I love the side pockets.

The only small adjustment I do when making these pants is I don’t make them fit perfectly snug, I leave a tiny bit of space at the waist so I can wear thin leggings under my wide leg pants. I’m one of those people who hates being cold and is always cold. Wide leg pants can be cold in the winter with nothing underneath! Sometimes lining a pair of wide leg pants is great if you need opacity, but not for warmth because it isn’t close to your skin, and in the summer you want to take the lining out. I find this to be a great medium to provide coverage, warmth, and the option to wear with ease in the summer!

Do you always line your pants? Does lining bother you in the hotter months? Let me know.

Also this is an African or Ankara print cotton fabric!

Scroll down for more pics! Thanks for stopping by and a huge thank to McCall Pattern company for featuring my pic on their page!

Stay tuned, up next is a tutorial for a beautiful bag!

Heyy Loves,

Thanks for stopping by! Im so behind on my blog posts! Happy Blessed New Year! I spent the New Year in New York with my cousin. We went to a club and although it was fun to get dressed up; walking in the rain, in heels, trying not to get my hair wet, while semi- freezing is not my ideal way to bring in the New Year. LOL! It was something to do instead of struggling to stay up until midnight, like I normally do. Next year I would probably choose my bed or a chill night in over the club scene.

Anyway moving on to the outfit! This pattern is McCalls 7653 View B. The fabric is from Joanns, it is a stretch velvet, that I instantly fell in love with when I saw it. The shiny finish really makes it stand out. I’ve only made one other dress out of velvet and I liked it but I didn’t love it. This dress I actually LOVE. lol I got compliments all night and I felt like an Icy Princess when I wore this outfit. Also, this dress is super easyyy! No elastic, no zippers, no darts! Y’all know I don’t make alot of knit garments, so I was surprised a garment could be this cute with such little construction details.

This is also the only cowl neck garment I own. I love how subtly sexy this dress is between the halter top and the cowl neckline and the slits on the side you can definitely show off a bit of skin in this dress! lol If you want a quick easy going out dress I would say add this pattern to your stash! Let me know what y’all think of this dress and fabric!

Also, more pics of this dress are on my IG @ITSNICHELLEB. These pics were taken on my phone, in the club, ugh, it was raining so I couldn’t get any pics outside! Thanks again for stopping by, and all of you who leave comments on my page and write me sweet DM’S! I appreciate YOU so very much!

XOXO

Hey Lovessss!

This post is overdue, I know. So many events go in the way of me taking pictures of this bodysuit. I’m kinda upset I haven’t made a bodysuit sooner! It was so easy and fun. I sewed the entire bodysuit on my serger and I did View D.

I don’t work alot with knits, not because I don’t like them I just feel like most of the garments and patterns I like are not knits. Anyway I had this pattern and fabric for about a year and just had this outfit vision come into my mind. Sometimes when I do that the outfit does not come out as I envisioned but this time it did! Im also a tiny bit ashamed to say I’ve had these overalls form H&M for legit about 5 years and this was my first time wearing them . SMH lol I never threw them away because I knew they would come in handy one day, and I was right. LOLOL But clearly I’m not really an overalls type of gal.

I did make a small modification to the pattern and that was not doing an invisible zipper in the back and instead adding snaps in the middle. I just felt like if it has a zipper when I go to the bathroom I will have to unzip it and take the whole bodysuit off and ughhh who wants to do that. So yes snaps in the middle like a onesie. Yass for easy bathroom access! I definitely want to make another bodysuit, I like them because of their versatility! Besides ditching the zipper I did not make any other adjustments and the fit is perfect!  What do you think of this look? Have you made this bodysuit before?

Let me know drop a comment with your cute self! Thanks for stopping by!

Hey Loves,

Welcome back to Nichelle B! Today I want to show you my latest and last summer make, this super cute slip dress. Slinky slip dresses are normally reserved for the bedroom but not anymore. Lingerie inspired pieces have made their way onto streets and runways with slinky, satin, and lace accented dresses and skirts popping up everywhere. Lace bralettes under blazers, slip dresses over t-shirts, silk robes or kimonos paired with denim, have become all the rage and I’m totally here for it. I think when done right it can be a really mysterious, sexy, chic look. However, I do think wearing lingerie out of the bedroom can be a bit tricky because you don’t want to look like you just rolled out of bed and put on some tennis shoes. You also don’t want to look like you’re just out at the mall wearing a lace bra and some jeans. lol That’s why lingerie items should be worn minimal and/or strategically layered with your basic pieces like denim, oversized sweaters, and t-shirts.

Examples below…

So onto how I made this dress… The fabric is one I had in my stash for foreverrrrr, like at least 3 years. It was such a small amount I never knew what to make with it, but it was so beautiful I couldn’t get rid of it. I knew one day it would speak to me. lol This fabric seems to be some type of polyester, it is really thin and flowy. I made the longer version at first but I think with this print it was looking too nightgown-ish. If I had done the longer version in a satin type of fabric I think it would have looked fine.

I used Simplicity 8413 to create this dress. This pattern did call for an invisible zipper but I did not use one. I just felt like its already kind of a loose fitting dress so why do I need a zipper. Without the zipper this dress still worked perfectly. However, just a note that I am slim (I wear a size 2) so for fuller figures and especially if you do the longer version, you may want to consider adding the zipper so it can fit over your hips.

I dig this pattern, it has bias binding around the neck and armhole, and darts on the side. I finished the bottom with a rolled hem. This dress is perfect to layer with other pieces and transition to fall. I definitely want to make another one in a different fabric. Layer this slip dress with jeans, a denim jacket, or a kimono to switch up the look. Some pics of my version and how I plan now wearing it are below.

How do you feel about wearing lingerie inspired pieces? Did you enjoy this post? Let’s chat! Leave a comment below!

As always thanks for stopping by! You are appreciated!

Heyyy Loves!

This is a quick post to tell you about this paperbag top. You may be familiar with the paperbag waist on pants. If not it looks like the picture below. Its just kind of a ruffled gather of fabric, a fun touch. Normally you don’t see it on tops, as its most popular for the waist of pants but to make a top out of it is SOO easy and very beginner friendly. The straps may take the longest because they are so small and you have to turn them inside out but other than that making this should be a breeze. I recommend using a light-medium weight cotton or linen type fabric.

• Measure around the top of your chest just above your boobs.
• Double that measurement and add and inch
•  Cut a piece of fabric that length. It ends up being a big square of fabric mines was 63 inches in width and 24 inches in height.
• Now cut your square in half because you want to have 2 side seams.
• Sew the fabric together right where you just cut it.
• Fold the long edge of your fabric over twice to finish the raw edge. Press and Sew.
• Repeat the step above on the other long edge.
• Then fold one of the edges down about 5 inches
• You want about 2-3 inches of ruffle at the top and enough fabric to make the casing.
• Press along the folded edge and measure down 2-3 inches (whichever you like) use a ruler and chalk and mark a straight dotted line all the way across your fabric. This will be like a stitching guide. My elastic was 3/4 inches wide and I added 1/8 inch so it would be nice and snug in the casing. So my 2 rows of stitching for the casing were an inch apart. So determine how big your casing needs to be. Whatever size your elastic is just add 1/8 of an inch to it. Below that line make another stitching guide with your ruler and chalk.
• Sew the two rows for the casing.
• Then make your straps. Just use 4 strips of fabric that are 4 inches wide . Determine how long you need them to be. Sew them with the right sides together then flip them right side out. Repeat on all 4 straps and press them flat.
• Attach the straps to the inside of the top.
• And You have yourself a new top!

Hey Loves!

I hope you all are having a blessed week so far! I just wanted to quickly give my thoughts on M7752 and share the rest of the pics with you all. First let me say, I love the pattern. It is super cute and easy to work with. This is the first pattern I’ve used where there are no views, you can just mix and match the pieces to create whatever you want, so that was cool.

I actually wanted to make the off shoulder version with the bow in the front, but I realized linen would be too heavy for that.  I only had 1 1/2 of fabric, (which is why it was originally going to be a top and not a dress) and most of that is on the bottom because it was kind of a circle skirt. Luckily, everything worked out with the fabric because I realized linen wouldn’t work for that top AFTER I already cut out the pieces for it. The pattern has an invisible zipper in the center back, boning, and a partial lining.

This pattern was also the June Sewalong for @prettygirlssew on IG. So let me know your thoughts if you’ve made this! I’ve seen so many cute versions already. All in all I love how it came out and with these mix and match pieces I see ENDLESS garment options!