WordPress.com supports a wide range of features for building your online presence: blogs, online stores, newsletter signup forms, and more. These tools are invaluable for many customers, but they can seem excessive for folks who are just looking to create a straightforward single-page website. If that’s you, read on for examples of how you can also create one-page websites here on WordPress.com.
Both examples use WordPress.com’s freshly-launched Blank Canvas theme, which is optimized for single-page websites. It comes with no header, navigation menus, or widgets, so the page you design in the WordPress editor is the same page you’ll see on the front end. The theme also comes with a handful of ready-made Block Patterns to help kick start your site.
About Me
By using the “About Me” block pattern, your website can be a special,... [read more]
Hello fellow Sewcialists! Welcome to the last post of In-Seam Insights. I hope that this series has given us all a little more insight on how we each have been dealing with the pandemic and everything else that has been going on individually with our lives. I could write more, but I feel like these interviews convey more than I can ever say. A big thank you to Maggie, Emily, and Justin! Without further delay, let’s get this last interview started!
Justin’s short sleeve buttoned shirt is the Men’s Tropical Shirt by Wardrobe by Me.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you’re from, and how you got started sewing.
My name is Justin (or @justinmakesmyown on Instagram), and I live in New York City. Even though I have owned a sewing machine for over 15 years, I did not have an active sewing practice until April or May of this year. The reason... [read more]
I made another LB Pullover on the day I started the Teddy Pants! I had some left-over black wool from a pair of trousers made years ago, not enough for another pair, sadly. I had thought to cut the top part of the Assembly Line A-Line dress and make a top, but there wasn’t enough space for all the pieces, when I thought of the LB. Sure enough, it fitted and I cut it out! It makes up so quickly! I thought it might be a little scratchy on the neck, but so far so good, a perfect extra layer for those cold days. Now I know, I have a few of these now, but you know, it’s a darn good pattern, so comfy to wear. I have no problem making numerous versions of the same pattern – hence the 5 pairs of Teddy Pants!
I have made myself an unofficial pledge to use up my stash, not that it’s huge, it’s just there. It’s time for me to start with the fabric and find a pattern,... [read more]
I'm delighted to be sharing this book this week -- it's a new book on the mending trend, one that I really enjoyed! It's so colourful and funky to look at, and is a solid read both on the history and meaning of mending, and on some how-tos as well.
The author is one of those women I envy, who seem to have limitless energy and gumption, and end up doing tons of different things. Kate Sekules is/has been a journalist and writer, a professional boxer, online clothing shop owner, PhD candidate in material culture, mending educator and more. She is cool, thoughtful and thorough in this book.
The first half of the book is a look at mending over the ages. As we all know, fast fashion is a recent invention. Before that, textiles and clothing were valuable and sometimes scarce. Mending was just what you did.... [read more]
Those legs are off grain. And I thought I fixed that. Needs fixing more.
These are the one piece pants, the ones previous to the red ones, which I am giving up on. Look at those lower legs; the inside seam comes back towards the center. And these are better than previous ones. That inseam is curving in.
Pencil is the old grain line. Was I on drugs? No, but when I turned the one piece pants back into two piece pants for the red pants, I didn't correct the grain lines. And here I am, correcting.
I pinned the pieces to the folded over board to keep them lined up when I redid them.
I love love love my folding cutting board. It's not entirely accurate in measuring length (the fold sucks up some distance) but I can pin pieces to it with pushpins, I can use clothespins to secure the fabric to the edges to grain stuff up....and when one dies, it becomes very... [read more]
I sewed up a very unseasonable project this week, but I saw this fabric from my stash alongside this 80s pattern from my stash (McCalls 8960 c.1984) and they came together like peanut butter and chocolate. I was obsessed and had to make it immediately!
I had pulled out this fabric because I was looking for anything in my stash that resembled this year's Pantone colours. I've had it for a long time -- picked it up on the ends table as "unknown fibres". But it feels like a rayon twill to me. It's a little too lightweight and cool to wear at this time of year, despite the subdued colours. But the fabric is so soft and smooth and feels great to wear. It also reminds me of lit-up windows in a high-rise as viewed at evening...so it's now known as the High Rise dress.
This was a pretty easy project, aside from the shiftiness of the fabric. It's a... [read more]
My terracotta journey continues! The guys at Rainbow Fabrics must have thought I was going mad last year when my order consisted of terracotta coloured everything: linen, brushed cotton twill, viscose woven and viscose jersey! They’re all slightly different shades, but essentially will fulfill my desire for a neutral with pop. On ordering the viscose jersey, I already knew exactly what I would be making – and that’s the only piece of fabric that had a definite plan!
Self-drafted cowl tee
A few years ago, probably more than I’d like to think, I made a pattern for a cowl drape tee, from my own tee block. Unfortunately I have none of the original notes or experiment pattern pieces, but I did find that the instructions that yeilded the best pattern actually came from a menswear pattern drafting book! Now, I’ve never seen a guy wearing a cowl drape tee, and I’m... [read more]
A hate-wear is when you put on clothing even though — because? — it makes you feel bad. Neither stylish nor particularly comfortable, yet constantly in rotation.
“Pandemic Dressing Takes a Dark Turn”, NYTimes, Jan 6, 2021
In early January 2021 the US’ New York Times ran an article about pandemic dressing in clothes you neither love nor hate, yet you keep reaching for them during this time of uncertainty. For some of us confined to our homes and not going into a workplace, we’ve turned to wearing things we wouldn’t normally. For me, that’s been a Christmas bright red and green tie-dye dashiki styled caftan, over my husband’s olive green plaid pajama pants, topped with an orange/tan sweater someone gave me ten years ago. None of it coordinates, it doesn’t look good, and I *really* wouldn’t want anyone to see me in it. Yet, it’s become my warm, cozy,... [read more]
Oh my gosh. I planned on making the Closet Core Patterns Carolyn pyjamas for the December Sew My Style project. And when I say the “December project”, I mean the Christmas 2019 December project. Yes, this is officially a mixture of very old project and that golden unicorn – the finally-finished UFO project. I had the bright last-minute idea of making sleepwear for everyone in my household as a well-meant gift on an impossible timescale. A pair of men’s pyjama bottoms for my husband and a pair of Carolyn pyjamas for my mother-in-law. And while I was at it, why not another pair for myself? I mean, they’re just pyjamas, right? Why not indeed?
Anyone who has already made the Carolyn pyjamas will be chuckling at this point knowing, as I too now know, that the Carolyn pyjamas are not a simple cut and sew project.... [read more]
My blog posting habits seem to definitely fall under the category of "feast or famine" don't they. I all but abandon ship for weeks on end and then I'm here every second day. I've often envied those bloggers that could put out a post on a regular schedule. Alas, that is definitely not me. I'm sure if I were to impose some sort of schedule on myself it would most likely end up with me staring at the blank screen feeling as though I had nothing to say. So, it is, as they say, what it is.
I realized I posted about my new coat over on the Minerva site (by the way, have you seen the new site yet? I absolutely love it!!!!), but I don't think I so much as mentioned it here. I'm so pleased with how it turned out, so I wanted to take a quick moment to show it off to all of you here as well! It was my last project of 2020, and I finished it the... [read more]
2020 was quite the unusual year, I think everyone can agree to that. It was memorable, albeit for all the wrong reason. But while many of my plans were cancelled (travelling, Green Day, Trevor Noah, just seeing friends and family), I can’t say that my year was bad. It certainly wasn’t good or fun, but I would say more boring than bad.
The colourblocked raglan
There was one good thing to come out of 2020 though, which was my discovering and falling in love with Schitt’s Creek! I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS!
I had heard of the show, but I couldn’t access it anywhere, until like September, when my local carrier started streaming it. It took a while, but I fell in love! And keep on falling with every episode passing. It has humor, both subtle and not so subtle, and a lot of heart. I’m at the point where I’m jealous of those that haven’t seen it since they... [read more]
Zero waste is a term which has slowly percolated through the sewing community in the last few years, but it’s been around for as long as clothes themselves, with bog coats and authentic Japanese Kimonos possibly being the most common examples. Fabric was once a precious commodity and both utilitarian and luxurious garments were made with minimal waste, using squares and rectangles. Many of the modern zero waste patterns for home sewists utilise this same technique and it works well. However, once people desire more shape and therefore curves, zero waste becomes problematic and requires more creativity and lateral thinking.
I am going to focus on the home sewist rather than commercial garment design as that is the target audience for this post, and examine the concept of creating clothing that is both useful and environmentally sustainable.
I found my sewing mojo! Woop! It was hidden at the bottom of a massive to do pile and needed coaxing out with a small purchase of pretty new fabric, some inspiring sewing texts from a lovley cousin of mine who has just started to sew her own amazing garments, and a decision to treat myself to a super simple new pattern that I knew wouldnt take too long and would be equally pleasing.
Pattern: I've stayed completly within my comfort zone and gone for this simple Lotta dress from TATB. I havent bought a printed pattern for absolutley ages, so this felt like the best treat ever! Not a peice of sticky tape in sight :)
Zips and fastenings? Nope. Elasticated waist? Yup. Integrated sleeves? Yup. Will this stress me out and I'll never finish it? Nope. Shoudl I have a new dress in a couple of hours? YUP!
Fabric: Took a chance of a piece of fabric I liked the look of but... [read more]
New year, new mantra....I've realised that keeping my sewing rhythm going depends on basically keeping things pretty damn simple and also doing a lot of what I've already done. Basically I like what I like and I'm most likely to churn out the same old patterns rather than making anything particularly new and challenging. I don't have enough spare time to give to the love of sewing as I used to, I want to be able to pick out a pattern and not have to go through the whole toile and alteration process, I want to cut it out and whip it up within a couple of sittings at the most! On that note, I've started the year with a selfless make, something else I'd like to do a lot more of this year too.
Shes back again?So looking back at my pictures I found that I was actually a bit more productive than I thought? These are a pair of work trousers I made during the first lockdown. I knew at some point I was going to have to go back to work but I also knew that after weeks of wearing pyjamas and sweat pants that my waist would not be able to handle a "traditional waistband".Instead I found
Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.
In 1853, trail guide Virginia Reeve is offered an extraordinary opportunity - to lead an all-woman expedition to the Arctic in search of the missing Franklin expedition. Each woman on the team has been chosen for her specific skills, but that doesn't mean that they'll all survive.
Moving back and forth between the expedition and Virginia's trial in Boston when she returns without some of the women, the book looks at what happens in extreme circumstances when women are tested to their utmost.
This cover is lovely, though hardly Arctic weather appropriate -- no gloves? No hat, no scarf, no face covering? A blouse under a pretty cape? Not going to... [read more]
Hello again! It’s been awhile. I’m popping in today to tell you about the newest pattern I tested for Itch to Stitch*
It’s the Lamma Hoodie and Sweatshirt, which is a raglan sleeved, princess seam top with the option of either a hood or cowl neck as well as either thumb hole or regular cuffs. The Lamma also has in seam pockets. I can understand if you’re thinking it sounds like at least a dozen other patterns already out there already, but the difference with this one is that it has the perfect potential for colour blocking which is perfect for using up those pieces of fabric in your stash that are a decent size, but not quite big enough that you know what to use them for. It also comes in regular and full bust sizing from 00-40.
For mine I chose to use a heavier cotton lycra paired with a sweater knit that was actually left over from the... [read more]
Seamwork Natalie is a button-up shirt with a relaxed fit and notched collar. Before the Waikerie shirt came out, this was high on my list of shirts to sew. If I hadn’t already downloaded and printed the pattern, I probably would have returned it (something you can do with Seamwork – very useful for me since I get patterns and change my mind later). I figured why not try it out?
I went for my usual pattern size: 24. I made no adjustments to the pattern. For a boxy shirt, the fit is okay. The darts are a mess, though. They sit so far back from the apex and very low, speaking as someone who often lowers darts and these are low for me. I’m confused why the pattern even has darts since they add nothing at all to the shaping. Other than that, it’s a bit wide in the back for me, but that’s the boxiness of it.
The fabric I used is a textured cotton from a... [read more]
I’m a fairly safe person when it comes to my use of colour in my wardrobe. For years I’ve stuck to blues, grey, black and white, and beige. With variations, but all fairly neutral and all matching. However, in the last 2 years, another colour has been creeping in – rusty, cinnamon, paprika, terracotta. It’s a colour that I’ve always liked, but never considered wearing. It would clash with my hair and freckly face! But it doesn’t, and it really makes the blues and the black and white in my wardrobe sing! It’s my neutral with POP!
I bought this fabulous terracotta brushed cotton twill in October, intending to make a pair of cargo-inspired pants, not unlike the pattern in the Burda of September 2020, but when I finally traced and toiled the pattern, I realised it wasn’t for me. On the whole, I like wide legged pants, but when they’re... [read more]
Finally, this crazy pandemic-ridden year is over and it’s time to greet 2021. But what this new year holds, nobody knows. One thing that … More importance of a bucket list »
