Sorry it took me a few days to post this. I’ve honestly been kind of stressed, frustrated, discouraged, annoyed, and emotional lately. Even though those feelings are unpleasant, I keep telling myself I can choose to be happy instead, everything is gonna be ok, the best is yet to come, I still have a lot to be thankful for, etc.. I know that is the truth and I just try to keep that in the forefront of my mind so I don’t fall into a “stay in bed, don’t answer phone calls, disappear from social media” type of depression… That’s what I really really want to do.. Everyday… But I don’t.. I often feel confused, lost, uncertain, and at war with myself about a lot of different things and situations and it is really draining and exhausting.

Mental Health takes a lot of courage to talk about and I don’t really like to share my mental health struggles with people because I feel they either judge, start to give advice on how to fix yourself, downplay your feelings (its not that bad, I went through worse, just get over it and move on. etc), or they tell other people as soon as you hang up the phone. So at this point I don’t really ever talk to anyone about it… Except here on my blog is the first time I’m even writing about it. Since I’ve been dealing with mini/personal “metal breakdowns” for a while now, I have an arsenal of different techniques I use to help pull myself out of a bad mood or a negative thought process, but its never easy… Especially doing it alone….

If you are struggling mentally, I hope you know you aren’t alone and people want you here… You can reach out to me here or on social if you want to share or chat… You can also reach out to a therapist, a trusted friend or family member, or hotline if you are feeling especially vulnerable. Remember to check in with your friends and family. You may not even recognize if someone close to you is struggling, that’s why it is important to ask, check in, have compassionate, and be listening ear when we think someone needs it.

I just wanted to share that because its my truth at the moment… I love my blog and my readers and I just want to be transparent about my feelings and my journey because I know there is someone else out there who has felt the same way before and it helps to know, you aren’t alone.

So I haven’t really had the creative energy or passion to sew anything major lately and that has been hard… Sewing is like the only thing that makes me happy I really hope I can get back into it soon. I reallyyyy think I just need to take a trip to NY touch some fabrics and reignite my passion… Anyway, just because I haven’t been able to sew doesn’t mean I can’t make other things! So I started to look into crochet. I went down the rabbit hole and got hooked… Literally lol…. So far I made a top, a swimsuit bottom, and a swimsuit coverup. I would say the coverup took the longest to make partly because it was kind of confusing even with a tutorial and also because it was maxi length. Right now Im making a swimsuit for a friend and so far everything is going good. Im done the bottoms and one of the cups. I will just make the other cup, add strings, a border, then Im done. If you want to get into crochet I highly suggest you start on Craftsy or Youtube. Both of those websites helped me a lot, however Craftsy does have a membership fee so just something to keep in mind.

Click here to follow the same tutorial I did. I did not change or alter anything I pretty much followed her instructions as best as I could. The only part I messed up on is the back. I had a lot of trouble trying to figure out how to get a nice even line down the middle. The coverup came out great and crochet has helped me get out of my head and take my mind off things a bit.. It works because I can be still but keep my hands busy and at the end of binge watching a show I have cute garment to wear. lol

I used Lily Cream n Sugar Yarn. I don’t have the name of the color on hand but it is a coral/pink shade. I used a size 6mm hook. ! Thank you for reading and visiting my blog!

Heyyyy looves!!

I cant believe its already been 4 months since I started my journey! Time flies! Im happy with the size and this time I am not combing them out. LOL I have about 85 locs, opposed to the 52 I had last time. My hair is in a weird stage right now. I was just getting over this stage with my last set of locs when I combed them out. Its like a love hate type of relationship with my hair right now.. The stage of trying to embrace the frizz. Its so weird, but I kinda like it. Im not in a rush for them to fully form and be full locs yet lol so I kinda like the frizzy stage, I just dont like it for when I want to wear slicker styles like buns.

I do have a few baby locs. Nobody believes me when I say my hairline is weird because I have hair there but it is! Its always been these 2 areas around my hairline on the left and the right where the hair is shorter  and more fragile. I have no idea why but it just is, so right inthose 2 spots is where my baby locs are! They are very short compared to the rest of my locs but you probably cant tell because they still blend in with my hair. Im just curious to see if those locs will actually grow.

Another thing I learned about myself with locs is I’m just a tender headed person now and I’ve NEVER been tender headed in my life. But now omggg every little style after 1 day, Im like, “its tight, it hurt, I have a headache, I wanna take the bobbi pins out!” LMAO

So Im also curious to see if I will grow out of the tenderness because its annoying to me to be so tender headed. Especially because I used to be a stylist and adults that were tender headed didn’t annoy me but I just felt like “omg grow up” lls now Im one of those tender headed people. smh So Im Soorrryyyy If I ever told you “it does not hurt that bad.” Becasue apparently it can… LMAO

Anyways other than that Im loving my locs, I cant wait for them to growww!

Check my insta story today I will be posting pictures of my journey!

Switching lanes from hair to sewing Im working on a printed ankara button up I cant wait to share with you! I used 2 different prints and kind of did a mismatched type of thing. Its so cute! Stay tuned babes.

Hey Loves!! I hope you all are having an amazing week!

I dont even know where to start with this skirt. lol I just feel like its a whole story.. Ok so lets start with the fabric. It is actually one fabric here is a picture of it before I cut it. I also bought one more fabric which I didn’t take a picture of (sorry) so I could have 7 layers. I bought juust enough fabric so I was glad about that.

Now onto the inspiration… I’ve had this picture saved in my phone for a while. It took me so long to make it because Im soo indecisive! How was I going to choose 7 different fabrics to go in one skirt??? LOL I know the skirt is like mismatched fabrics but I at least wanted it to be in the same color family. So when I saw this fabric I was like yes perfect all different fabrics in one. It looks like this skirt may have been pleated and not gathered but I knew pleats would take a little more time and fabric so I just went with the gathers. The designer of this skirt is Stella Jean. Now onto the construction.

Now my original plan was to do an invisible zipper in the back. So I  made a basic pencil skirt to go underneath it out of plain black cotton. It had 2 darts in the front and the opening was in the back.

So I measured (or thought I measured) it out perfectly where the ruffles would end right at the top and I could just attach the waistband and be done. However things didnt go as planned and when I was done attaching all the ruffles I had alot of skirt left at the top. I needed that skirt portion that was at the top because thats where the darts were and thats what gave the skirt some shape. The base skirt fit like a glove by the way. So I ended up having to cut alot of the top of the skirt off and at that point the skirt was a little too big. In order for me to really really fix it I would have had to take apart all the ruffles and start over attaching them from the top and I just didnt want to do that. So I ended up cutting some off of the top, taking it in a little at bottom, and just doing an elastic waist.

Soo if you make this skirt and want to do a zipper instead of elastic, start with a basic skirt as the base. Measure and mark where you want the ruffles to go and start attaching ruffles from the top not the bottom That way if there is skirt leftover it will be at the bottom and you can just hem it.

After I was done with this skirt I was so mad I just stuffed it in the back of my closet. I had to let my frustrations wear off before I could look at this again! lol

I paired this skirt with a DIY shirt I made. I felt it was already alot of prints going on so why not add more!

Hey Loves!

Welcome back and thanks for stopping by! This post is one I’ve wanted to do for a while. If you follow me on IG you know I’m participating in the #sewphotohop sewing challenge. The theme for today is Knowledge Hub and for it I wanted to put all the resources I use as it pertains to sewing in one post. So I’m sharing with you my favorite websites, books, blogs, magazines, patterns, podcasts, people I follow on IG, and my favorite sewing youtubers! LOL It’s a lot I know, so to keep things simple I tried to only list 5 in each category. So 5 blogs, 5 websites, etc. If you’ve never sewn before there are some great resources on this list and you may want to print it out or pass it along to a friend. As self-taught sewist I want you to know there is A LOT OF FREE CONTENT OUT THERE! I also want to thank the people who put out these videos and teach us online for free. People, bloggers, and teachers, making videos and putting out free content has been a major part of my sewing and learning journey.

Unfortunately I didn’t link to every resource because there are so many but like I said feel free to print this or write some of the resources down!

So lets get started!

PATTERNS: Were all familiar with commercial patterns but what about indie patterns? Indie pattern is short for an independently produced pattern. Although indie patterns have been around for ages, I think they really have gained popularity in the last few years and are changing the sewing pattern game. Commercial patterns like McCalls and Vogue are AMAZING don’t get me wrong, but I think us home sewers forget they aren’t the only ones making sewing patterns.

Pros of buying indie patterns: You can log onto the internet and see exactly who created your pattern, even shoot them a dm or email.  You know exactly where your money is going. I think independent pattern designers are also gaining popularity because they can design whatever they want! Often times they design the items or garments we normally can’t find with commercial patterns, like stylish men’s patterns, plus size patterns, or cute patterns for boys. The fit is much better and directions are easier to understand than on commercial patterns also. If you sew you know the measurements on a commercial pattern are trash. lol If fit is something you struggle with using commercial patterns, try an indie pattern! Mybluprint.com compiled a great list of indie pattern designers, click here to check it out!

A few other indie patterns to check out are:

http://ckcpatterns.com/– sewing patterns for kids

https://www.colettepatterns.com/

https://closetcasepatterns.com/

Stylesewmepatterns.com – indie pattern designer, and blogger @stylesewme on IG

WEBSITES– Threads.com Crafsty.com Pinterest.com

Seamwork.com  (paid membership site but still great)

Mybluprint.com (the new Craftsy Unlimited, paid membership site where you can stream online classes)

BLOGS- Now this was the hardest category for sure. Because there are soo many sewing blogs I love and frequently visit. They are all so different too! Just know there are tons of other blogs you can check out and I’m happy you stopped past this one!

Sewcanshe.com Free beginner friendly patterns and projects.

Colette is a group of creative people who want to share their love for sewing. They have different brands under them, like Seamwork and Colette patterns. The blog is no longer active but you can still browse their 9 year archive. Seamwork also had a podcast you can check out.

Malepatternboldness.blogspot.com– The worlds most popular men’s sewing blog. This blog is ran by Peter Lappin who is the Threads Magazine Digital Ambassador. Check this blog out for some sewing inspo if you are a man or woman. Peter makes some beautiful clothing.

Thelaststitch.com – ran by Johanna Lou (@itchtostitch on ig) she is a sewing vlogger, she’s currently working on a book, and she makes a lot of activewear if you’re into that.

Weallsew.com– Bernina’s official blog

BeauteJadore.com-The Art of D.I.Y

Moodfabrics.com/blog– Mood Fabrics Official Blog

blog.mccalls.com– McCalls pattern company official blog

PODCASTS- Sewing with Threads, Mimi G- Business Shet, Love To Sew Podcast,  Modern Sewciety, podcast, The Suuchi Podcast, and The Accidental Creative (has nothing to do with sewing but it great if you are a creative). I’ve listened to all of these podcasts and it was soo hard not to go into detail about each of them.

MAGAZINES– I haven’t bought any sewing magazines in a while but don’t sleep on them! I have a stash I’ll prob never get rid of. The tips, tricks, and patterns in those magazines are so helpful. Sew News Magazine, Threads, Burdastyle, and Sewn Magazine ran by @thatblackchic are all great.

BOOKS– Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Schaeffer, Complete Guide to Perfect Fitting by Sarah Veblen, The Sewing Book by Allison Smith, If you want to start a blog the book Blog Inc. by Joy Cho was good, any book by Jan Minnot, Sewing Shirts with a Perfect Fit by David Page Coffin. I could go on and on in this category, books have been instrumental.

ON YOUTUBE– My first and fave two sewing teachers on Youtube will always be Mimi G. and Professor Pincushion. The amount of free, quality content these ladies have put out is unbelievable. They are a must subscribe.  Some other great channels to subscribe on youtube are

Coolirpa– D.I.Y and thrifted transformations

Madetosew– Sewing tutorials, plenty of beginner tutorials this channel

Stylesewme– D.I.Y sewing and fashion tutorials, pattern drafting and sewalongs

Tabitha Sewer– D.I.Y sewing tutorials

Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness– If you’re into bag making, she is great.

ON INSTAGRAM– A lot of the people/blogs/companies I’ve mentioned above I also follow on social media and I like searching hashtags. But @sewing_and_design_school is a must follow on the gram and so is @fashionbombdailymag. I also follow alot of other fashionistas like @missenocha, @scoutthecity, @rihanna, @freddieharrel @aureta and @khalanabarfield. 

CLASSES! And finally if you’re local (in the DMV area) and you want to take a sewing class, I teach classes at Stitched With Style and we have several classes coming up this fall! I’ve added a classes tab here on the blog so you can see the flyers for upcoming classes. Upcoming events and classes include sewing for charity, mommy and me workshops, sip and sews, and kids classes.

Sooo there you have it!!

If I missed anything or you have a resource you would like to share please tell us about it in the comment section! I hope this post was helpful.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Hey loves,

Welcome back! This post is so exciting to me! I love pattern hacking, but the easy kind, that doesn’t involve too much crazy math or pattern drafting. If you are unfamiliar with the term, pattern hacking is when you take a basic commercially or independently made sewing pattern and use it as template to make your own customizations and inspired designs. I like hacking versus drafting patterns because with hacking the hard work is already done, you’re just making your pattern work a little harder. So today I’m showing 4 ways you can hack a basic A- line dress pattern that involve NO pattern drafting! YAAASSSS! LOL

This is the basic dress pattern I use. I’ve had it for years and its allowed me to make tons of garments. A basic A-line dress is essential to your pattern stash because it is a great foundation and you can do so much with it! Small adjustments make a world of difference. It definitely does not have to be this exact pattern, choose any basic A-line dress pattern that you like the fit of. This pattern has a view with darts and one without them.

So getting to it, the first way you can hack a basic dress pattern is to add a ruffle to the very bottom of it. This hack could also work for a skirt too. For the dress below I used view C and just made it a little shorter and added a ruffle. Easy, Peasy. This dress is made out of linen and I said I wanted to start making more laid back pieces so this was one of them. I loove this dress. It is perfect for summer and I dig the yellow and navy blue combo.

The second way you can hack this pattern is to do hidden pockets. As you can see the pattern does come with an option for patch pockets, but patch pockets don’t work all the time. I rarely do patch pockets. This dress is a prime example. I didn’t think patch pockets would look good for this so I needed hidden pockets. A very easy hack, pockets are always a good idea.

The third way is to do a winter version. I made this top like 2 years ago and I’ve worn it lots of ways. You can check that post here if you missed it. All I did to hack the pattern was add a turtleneck, a slit on the side, and I made the sleeves long.

The last way to hack your pattern is to add slits! Be creative with those slits girl! For this hack I just made it a shorter tunic, made the sleeves 3/4 and I added slits on both sides. An Ankara fabric choice could turn your pattern into a dashiki.

*BONUS the 5th way is to play with your hem! Who says a hem has to be straight across? Play with diagonal and uneven hems to switch it up and give it a pop of ohh la la. I’ve worn this top with jeans, as a dress with thigh high boots, and over leggings. It is one of my favorite makes.

So there you have it adding hidden or patch pockets, slits, a ruffle, changing the length, and doing an uneven hem are 5 easyyy beginner level ways you can hack a basic dress pattern to make it your own. Did you all like this post? Let me know in the comments! Hope you’ve been inspired to switch up your next A-Line dress pattern!

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you.

Hey Loves,

This post is dedicated to my WCW @KYRAZADA! She is a lifestyle blogger, entrepreneur, mom, and inspiration to me and many other people in the fashion/ blogging world. I have a few Instagram style crushes but @Kyrazada is one of my favorites.

If you follow her on IG you know she was diagnosed with stomach cancer a while ago.. When I found out, I was immediately filled with empathy. I was especially touched because I recently lost my grandma to stomach cancer so I truly understand what her and her family is probably going through right now.

I thought wow I know she’s going through a lot, she’s prob gonna take a break for a few months, stop posting, etc. But, as time went on you didn’t hide, or complain, you spoke your TRUTH and told your story which is BEYOND courageous and inspiring. To see you juggling your doctor appointments, posting pics, sharing how you feel, dressing up, having photo shoots gives me sooo much motivation to just KEEP GOING. You are one brave, amazing, generous, creative spirit. I wanted to do this post to let you know (as your friend said) “No One Fights Alone.”

I’ve had this picture screenshotted in my phone for months and just decided to go with it. So this outfit and this post, is for you boo.! You are so beautiful and even at what may be a difficult time in your life you are STILL SLAYING, and inspiring us. Keep shining. Keep fighting. Keep healing.

*Details on how I made this top are mentioned in the post on IG. The fabric and buttons are from Joanns fabric and I did not use a pattern to create this. I followed the silhouette of a double breasted vest I had, and made changes as I went along.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hi Loves,

If you saw my IG post I know you are here to find out what I’m doing with my hair. And if you REALLY know me then you aren’t really too surprised. Hehe. People with locs please don’t be mad at me and say I betrayed y’all. lol The truth is I love my hair, and I loved my locs, but I decided to comb out my locs of 10 months because I felt I was not properly cultivating them, and was unhappy with a few things. At the time I started my locs last year I was completely frustrated with my hair and I feel like I jumped into the world of locs without properly preparing myself and doing the proper research. There were a few factors that contributed to my comb-out. Here they are…

Size– I wanted my locs to be like a medium thick size. Which they were, however the longer I had them in and the more they started to form, I was realizing they may be a little too big. My hair is super thick and I prob could have had 2-3 locs in every 1 of mines. I felt like I really couldn’t style them in many ways because they were soo thick. Keep in mind the average locd person has about 100-180 locs. I had 52. So I felt very limited in the type of styles I could do without the help of a professional and that was probably my biggest issue.

Starting Method– I started with 2 strand twist as you may know. Which seemed like a great idea in the beginning. This method for me personally was a frizzy twisted mess. I felt like my hair was sooo frizzy and I constantly had strands of hair sticking out of my locs. I think starting with coils over time gives you a smoother more even consistency if that makes sense. My locs were definitely forming but even after 10 months they were not looking or starting to look even and uniformed, like locs. Half of it looked like locs (the part closest to my roots) and the other half of it looked like a raggedy 2 strand twist. Lol It just wasn’t a good look and I was over it.

Overall Maintenance– Again I feel like I jumped into this loc thing without doing the proper research on how to care for them. Like most people, I assumed I didn’t really have to do anything. Just oil my scalp make sure its not dry and I’m good. Lol But that is not the case. I think locs need just as much attention as loose hair. There were several products and tools I bought for my hair over this 10 month period another factor to consider if you plan on caring for your own locs sometimes. Shampoos, oils, leave in conditioners, clips, scarves for bad hair days, and styling products are all things to consider having on hand before you start this journey. Of course I had all these things but the same products for loose natural hair are not always the same as products recommended for locs.

The comb out process was actually not that bad (as long as you have a good show to watch) but I do not plan on going through that again. Lol the next time I loc my hair it will be permanent. Although combing out my locs was extremely tedious, it made me soo grateful I only had 52 locs and they were so thick because that made it a lot easier to comb out. It took me about 5 days to do it because I originally was going to wait until 1 year to decide what I would do but I looked in the mirror one day and I just started combing… After all my locs were out I planned on just putting 2 strand twist back in my hair, but after shampooing and conditioning my hair, I was soo tired. My hands were literally aching from all the combing out and detangling. So I blew it out trimmed my ends (only a tiny bit, they need way more off) and I have been rocking 2 cornrows every since. I plan to leave my hair out for a bit. I do plan to loc it again, I’m not sure when exactly but in the meantime I will most likely do 2 strand twists at some point. Having my hair back just reminds me why I got locs in the first place! lol I just don’t wanna deal..

I feel like that set of locs was kind of like trial and error for me, so this time when I loc my hair again I am fully prepared for the journey!!

So there you have it. I combed out my locs because…. I wasn’t readyyyy. *Kevin Hart voice* lol

And now you know if you are thinking about starting locs; size, starting method, and overall maintenance are 3 major things to consider.

Thanks for stopping by!

It’s finally here! Happy New Year boos and baes! Honestly, going into this New Year I felt way out of balance. I felt drained and weighed down with all the responsibilities I had to fufill. As a Libra I can definitely say the scales describe me perfectly. I can feel when my imaginary scales are off balance and it shows in my attitude and my energy. The main reason I think I have been feeling so off is because I have not been taking time to practice yoga.  Yoga is what keeps me sane and I shouldn’t neglect it because I have work early or I have to make lunch or whatever other activity pops up demanding all my attention and time. No! This year I’ve learned it is essential to set aside time for ME, MYSELF, AND I. I feel I spend so much time helping, providing services, giving advice, and just being there for other people, I forget that I come first and I have to pour into myself. No one cares about me like I do. So therefore its imperative that I take care of myself, and YOU should too.

Anyway moving on to my 2018 mantra. You ever read a sentence, paragraph, quote, poem, post on ig, etc. and it just resonates with your spirit. Like you feel exactly what the author felt when they wrote those words. I love when that happens. lol That is how I came to my 2018 mantra.

For those of you who dont know what a mantra is, it is a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation. So you may have been in in a yoga class or just in general heard the sound “oooommmmm” That is a mantra. It is a sound, meaning universal oneness, and it can be used/repeated in meditation. So a mantra can be a sound, or a word, or in my case a few sentences. lol

Helloo and Welcome Back to Nichelle B. Blog! Today I’m sharing this easy wrap skirt I made about a week ago. Its really fun and did I mention its SUPER EASY. Honestly I don’t know when the last time I made something this easy was. Wrap skirts are usually a great beginner project, I don’t know why I’ve never made one. This particular wrap skirt is flattering on many body shapes and can be made out of almost any fabric. Lightweight denim, cotton, twill, rayon, would all be suitable for this skirt.  I chose a fabric (stretch twill) that is a little heavier, I actually planned on using this fabric for something totally different but I was so pressed to make the skirt and dint want to go to the fabric store. Lol I decided to do pleats in my skirt instead of ruffles but if you use a lighter weight fabric like a rayon you can definitely do ruffles. I didn’t do any precise measuring for the pleats I just tried to make them even and sewed it… I think the pleats look better not so precise, it gives the skirt some character.. lol

If you’ve sewn even a little before on the sewing machine you could probably whip this up in an hour or two.

Is this a beginner project you would try? Let me know in the comments! Happy Tuesday.