Tag Archives: Renfrew

Striped Parisian Dress (Sewaholic Renfrew)

Posted in 2014 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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Well, I’ll just start by saying that I really love this fabric, and the top half of the dress came out as I had planned. The bottom half, however, proved to be a bit of a headache! Chalk it up to poor decisions on my part. More on that in a bit…

For this creation, I took the Sewaholic Renfrew pattern and extended it to make a dress. Pretty straightforward. The fabric is a favorite purchase from when I was in Paris in October 2013, and it’s just occurred to me that I bought it exactly two years ago today!

And then I made this dress about a year ago today.

And then I finally wore it out of my apartment a couple of weeks ago. For this photo shoot. The only time I’ve ever worn it. Oy.
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Sewaholic Minoru: Blue Skies & Starry Nights

Posted in 2013 Sewing, Finished Projects by

minoru-side

Yay, I have a brand new jacket! I can’t tell you how much this color makes me happy. Who says all New Yorkers wear black? The second I saw this pretty blue stretch cotton on the shelf at Mood this summer I knew it was meant to be a Minoru Jacket by Sewaholic Patterns.

At 60″ wide, I bought 2 yards of it and had some left over after cutting out all the pieces. I also used about 2 yards of 45″ wide navy and white polka-dot stretch cotton from my stash for the lining (with navy Bemberg rayon for the sleeve lining – helps with sliding the jacket on and off!). The metal Riri brand zippers are from Pacific Trimming in the Garment District.

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The “Taking Initiative” Renfrew Top

Posted in 2013 Sewing, Finished Projects by

samba-renfrew

renfrew-patternThe Facts

Fabric: 1 1/2 yards of red cotton jersey from Mood NYC
Pattern: Sewaholic Renfrew
Notions: none
Pantone Challenge color: Samba
Year: contemporary
Time to complete: 4 to 5 hours
First worn: for these photos
Wear again? Yes!

Total Cost: $20


 It’s here! My contribution to the Sew Weekly Reunion. A really simple effort, but it’s definitely going to come in handy once the cooler months come our way. Dressing and sewing for summer is no problem, but the winter has always left me stumped. I just don’t like the cold! I often wear a short-sleeved shirt or dress with a cardigan over it so this is the year where I’m really trying to focus on long sleeves and thicker fabrics.

I’m calling this the “Taking Initiative” top because I really didn’t think I was going to be able to contribute to this challenge after committing to it. I felt like I was running out of time and then I realized one day I was making a bunch of excuses! It was then that I took the fabric back out of the cabinet and cut out the pieces. It took me two evenings: one to cut and the other to sew it all together.

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Sewaholic Renfrew: In Search of Musical Notes

Posted in 2012 Sewing, Finished Projects by

Happy weekend! Here’s my scoop-neck Renfrew shirt from Sewaholic Patterns. I actually finished this a couple of weeks ago while waiting out the hurricane (I was fortunate enough not to lose power, or worse).

Similar to my first version, I’ve already worn this shirt a bunch of times. It’s so practical and comfy! I can wear it to work, to dinner with friends, around the house or for outdoorsy work (all of which has happened between this version and my first). That’s what I call a good deal right there.

In this photo I’m also wearing my new dangly red shell earrings that I bought from Jenn’s Handmade Jewelry on Etsy. Yay, I love red!

I picked up this knit a year ago when I was pattern testing this top for Tasia, but I ended up using other fabrics. The black stripes on a white background remind me of sheet music, which makes me think I’m missing some musical notes to go with it! I think I’m starting to figure out the amount of stretch a knit should have for a top like this. It can be tricky at first, but through practice and wear it all starts to come together. Continue reading →

De-peared: Sewaholic Renfrew Tops Galore

Posted in 2011 Sewing, Finished Projects by

I’m battling a cold right now, but I wanted to take the time to share 3 tops I made in December; they were all made using the brand new Renfrew pattern from Sewaholic Patterns! I was lucky enough to be selected as a pattern tester for this top and I wanted to end 2011 with a bang by sewing up all 3 versions.

Even though this pattern company caters to pear-shaped women, note that this pattern is very easy to alter for non-pear shapes, like me. As with other Sewaholic patterns, the instructions and diagrams are great. And the pattern pieces were stellar as well, it’s so nice when markings match up!

Okay, so let’s have a look, shall we?

This one’s too tight

First up, view A: the v-neck top with short sleeves. I made a size 4 at the bust/waist and size 0 at the hip. I’m actually one size smaller than the chart’s size 0, but found that the fit was just fine because the hem band fits snuggly around the hip. The bust portion of this top felt a little snug though, so instead of looking into an FBA or other alteration I went up to a size 6 for the next two tops and found the fit comfortable. Not sure if that was the alteration to make, but it works :)

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