Kaoru Marie

ok, so after my hellish time making up my own construction order on the last Emery Dress I decided to make another one following the instructions to a T. I've had this quilting cotton fabric in my stash for months and always intended on turning it into an Emery Dress . I bought the fabric (Comma Nigella by Zen Chic) at Sew Modern and I remember the lady asking me what I was going to make because I bought 3 yards. When I told her I planned on making a dress she made a comment about how she figured I was doing something big with it since I got so much yardage; I'm guessing most people who shop there don't usually buy that much yardage of one fabric since the store mainly caters to quilters. Now that I had the pattern tweaked to fit my bodice, I knew it would be an easy project. I kept the zipper in the center back and add the shorter sleeves. Actually I modified the sleeves to make them more of a cap sleeve. I know the pattern isn't perfectly drafted, but I like ...

Oh man, that Emery Dress pattern by Christine Haynes .....it has become a TNT pattern! I finished two dresses recently; I'm sharing one today and I'll share another one later this week. I've had my eye on making another Emery Dress soon after I tested the pattern ...way back in August 2013. However, I was a bit lost on how to reduce the slight gaping along the back neckline. It wasn't *that* noticeable, but the neckline would not sit flat when I wore it and I could not for the life of me figure out why. As much as I really, really, really wanted to make another Emery Dress, I did not want to make one until I could figure out how to make sure the neckline would lay flat.Would I have to do some crazy pattern hack to reduce the length of the back neckline? Did I need to lengthen the neckline darts or add new darts somewhere else? Well, I finally figured out what I had to do! I tried on my muslin (which I made back in October or November when I planned to make another...

Is 'Professional Pattern Tester' a real job out there where I could seriously make a living? Because I want to apply for the job and do it forever. Pattern testing combines part of my real job (QA/QC checking for design errors) and my hobby (sewing). It's a match made in heaven for me! When I saw Christine's blog post about needing pattern testers, I immediately filled out the form. I have been dying to be a pattern tester for at least the past year. I always get a twang of jealousy when I read other bloggers tell their tales of pattern testing. Oh how cool and fun it always looks! Of course, some of my biggest concerns in my ability to be a good pattern tester were whether I could meet the deadline and have a wearable garment. What if the pattern didn't fit my body shape and I couldn't figure out how to fix it? That would be pretty disastrous. I was doubly concerned about the deadline because I was sorta in the middle of packing to move. My sewing corner ha...