Craft Book Month :: Sew Serendipity

Welcome to the second week of Craft Book month, organized by Craft Buds!  While I own a lot of craft books, I've only made two projects from them so far {embarrassing, I know!}.  Today I'm sharing about my second, from the book Sew Serendipity by Kay Whitt.

I actually received this book for Christmas in 2010, but a pregnancy and baby delayed my making anything from it until now.   It is an excellent, well written book with plenty of illustrations and photographs!  There is also a detailed chapter on adjusting garments so they actually fit, which was very helpful too.

Even though I have sewed a bit of clothes in the past, I think the directions were straight forward enough for even beginner garment makers.

I made the tunic, plain and simple, but there are several options to modify it and create different looks, it can also be made dress length.  I made the size small, which seemed true to size for regular store bought clothes.

The book contains full-size, tissue paper patterns.  I will confess that I actually hate cutting out patterns and took full advantage when my mom offered to do it for me.  I used Sandi Henderson's Henna Garden for my blouse, and the quilting weight cotton is perfect for spring and fall.

Since I'm petite, I modified the top by scooping the front and back neckline lower, so that when I put in the gathers and elastic, the top was pulled up higher.  I think when I make it again {which I will!}, I'll scoop the neckline a little lower so the shoulders are a little less gathered.  The construction of this blouse makes it incredibly easy to adjust for petites, which was exciting to me because I have a difficult time finding blouses that fit properly.

Next time I will also leave out the invisible zipper.  While the detailed directions and photographs made it super easy to install, I didn't make the blouse so snug that I need to unzip it to get it off.  Were I making the dress or a more fitted blouse, then I might want it.

I am excited to make another blouse or two from this book, and maybe tackle a skirt or jacket too.  If you're contemplating making clothes, this is a great book to get started with!

This post is part of the Craft Book Month blog hop at Craft Buds.

Blog Hop

Week One
Sunday 9/2: Hopeful Threads / The Jolly Jabber
Monday 9/3: Stitchery Dickory Dock / Me Sew Crazy
Tuesday 9/4: Olive & Ollie / Sew Sweetness
Wednesday 9/5: Fabric Seeds / The Busy Bean
Thursday 9/6: CraftFoxes / Stitched In Color
Friday 9/7: Katie's Korner / A Prairie Sunrise

Week Two
Sunday 9/9: Sweet Diesel Designs / missknitta's studio
Monday 9/10: Sew Tara / Clover and Violet <--That's me!
Tuesday 9/11: Sew Fantastic / amylouwho
Wednesday 9/12: Projektownia Jednoiglec / Two More Seconds
Thursday 9/13: Ellison Lane Quilts / Don't Call Me Betsy
Friday 9/14: Live a Colorful Life / LRstitched

Week Three
Sunday 9/16: Fairy Face Designs / Canoe Ridge Creations
Monday 9/17: Inspire Me Grey / Freshly Pieced
Tuesday 9/18: Lindsay Sews / The Cute Life
Wednesday 9/19: The Littlest Thistle / Sew Crafty Jess
Thursday 9/20: Urban Stitches / imagine gnats
Friday 9/21: Sew Bittersweet Designs / The Plaid Scottie

Week Four

Link up your craft book project at Craft Buds from Sept 23-30 from your blog or Flickr account, and enter to win prizes. Winners will be announced on Monday, October, 1!




To participate in the month-long contest, just link up any project you've made from a pattern in a craft book. That easy! One entry per person, and all craft book projects must have been completed in 2012. Just create a new blog post or Flickr photo (dated September 1, 2012 or later) and link back to Craft Buds in your post or photo description.

No time to create a project? This month, just follow Craft Buds and comment to win some new craft books and lots of giveaways!