Personal Style -A Little Bit Bohemian

Boho Chic, or Bohemian Style!

 I've always been drawn to elements of this style. But other parts of my personal style are Classic, and Sporty.  Can these styles work together? Definitely because personal style is just that, what personally feels comfortable and is an expression of You.

My outfit shown here has a 'little bit Bohemian' touch that I just love!

The outfit makes me feel Feminine, Upbeat, and Relaxed.

 What makes it just 'a little bit Bohemian?

According to wikihow.com  How to Have Bohemian Style? key elements are:

1. "Layer your clothing. You are trying to create a sort of relaxed gypsy look. This means that you will want to layer clothes over each other to get a truly bohemian look."

2. "Choose oversized, flowing pieces. The whole idea of bohemian style is free and flowing. Long maxi skirts or peasant skirts are good ideas, as well as tunics and light tops. Anything that makes you feel light and comfortable is a good choice."

3.   "Emphasize your flowing pieces with one or two fitted pieces. Though you can certainly wear everything loosely fitted, if you want to, you can also throw in a few fitted pieces"
 
My Outfit has Layers,  a Flowing, Fluid Skirt and a Fitted Sweater.

I didn't follow this 'checklist' when putting the Outfit together.  Rather, I went with what worked for me.  Curious about why it came out a bit Bohemian I went online to do research and and these are the results.  Interesting isn't?

Even my choice of Jewellry was spot on "Add a few pieces of jewelry. If your outfit is pretty subtle, you can add a few bold pieces of jewellery". Once again from wikihow.com.

So, the moral of the story is....go with what feels good to you when it comes to style.  And Experiment with various ways of combining pieces in your existing wardrobe.

The jump off point for my Outfit was the Skirt.  I needed another skirt since I've lost some weight recently.  So I Stitched up my favorite, the Seville Skirt in a gorgeous floral print fabric I had.  The Fabric goes so well with the berry colored turtleneck sweater.  Then for fun I tried on the Cardigan with it and Wow did I love that. After that, I knew my Boots were the footwear of choice.  And the  Berry Colored tights were such a fun accent to add.  The necklace was the final piece added.

I had Great Fun putting this together.  And wearing it out and about was oh so Wonderful.

I'd love to know what various styles you combine for your Personal Style.....

Happy Sewing and Styling!

Use Those Decorative Stitches For Visual Interest!

Decorative Accent on Yoke of Arenal Top

Part of the enjoyment of Sewing your own Clothes is being able to add interesting touches to your Garments.

An easy way to add Visual Interest is using the Decorative and Other Stitches on your Sewing Machine!

I love the Visual Interest this added to the Arenal Top I recently made!

Even the most basic machine will have a few options.  Zig Zag Stitch alone could be really interesting just by varying the width and length of the Stitch, along with different thread colors.

Here are the various stitches my Janome machine has.  Some are purely Decorative. Others serve a specific purpose yet also look attractive enough to use in a Decorative way.

Stitch Options on My Janome

When sewing with Stretch Fabrics, use Stretch Stitches!  This will ensure the fabric will keep it's stretch factor.   If unsure which ones are, sew a sample on the fabric and give it a Stretch!

Have Fun by trying out different stitch lengths/widths and various threads on scraps of your fabric.  Soon one combination will catch your fancy!

Yokes with Decorative Stitches Sewn to the Front Piece

The Arenal Top by Itch to Stitch, has Yokes, which are the Perfect Place to add Visual Interest.

Once I had decided on a Stitch and Thread Combination, I added the Decorative sewing to a piece of fabric large enough to cut the yokes out of.  This way each side would match and it was easy to place the stitches exactly where I wanted them on the Yoke Piece.

It's amazing how a little of Visual Interest will take a garment from just OK to Terrific!

Using Decorative Stitches in this way also helps you save money!  Instead of buying a coordinating fabric to add visual interest You Make Your Own!!  And it helps use up leftover fabric too, since just by using various Thread Colors with a Decorative Stitch, one fabric can look great with many other fabrics!

So, start playing with the various Stitches on Your Machine! Be imaginative in where to add them! And Have fun adding Visual Interest to Your next Sew!

My Completed Arenal Top

Happy Sewing...

Making a Quilt Come Alive - The Citrus Spice Quilt!

Quilt Squares awaiting a Great Layout

I've had these Quilt Squares, from this Free Pattern put together for over a year or more now.  I really love the colors together but didn't like them put together as in the pattern.  I  never could find a Layout for them that Grabbed me and got me Excited.

Has that ever happened to you?

While searching through my fabrics looking for inspiration for a Baby Quilt, I came across these Quilt Squares again.  They were Gender Neutral colors like I wanted so I started playing with them.

A Diagonal Layout looked good but something else was needed to make this Quilt Pop!

I auditioned various sashing fabrics...ho hum ...and various cornerstones with the sashing...again ho hum results.

Just before giving up on using these Quilt Squares I reminded myself to try anything I remotely thought might work..... experience has taught me this!

And....Wow did I find a Winner!

 Some leftover Striped fabric Squares I had saved from a previous project as the cornerstones made everything come together in a exciting way!  While they had none of the focus colors in them they coordinated beautifully.  And That Stripe!  It added a needed Graphic Element!  Once I settled on these cornerstones the choice of sashing was easy!  Not pure white, nor cream but an off white like in the cornerstones!

Striped Cornerstones make it Pop!

Once again inspired and excited to put this vision together I quickly went to work.

The result pleases me endlessly!

This is why I Love making Quilts...the creative process is challenging ..yet with persistence, ingenuity and determination..such a beautiful, exciting creation results.

Two things were extremely helpful to me with this Quilt.

First was having a Design Wall to try out layout etc on.  Mine is just a white flannel sheet tacked to a wall in my Sewing Room.  Fabric sticks to it well most times.  When joined pieces get heavy and want to fall off, I just hold them in place with pins into the flannel, ( but not into the wall behind! though I'm sure some have managed to make their mark).

My Design Wall

The Second thing to help was taking pictures of the various layouts etc with my cell phone.  Things show up in pictures that you can miss just by gazing at the design wall.  And I can refer to the photos at anytime to compare things.

I had just enough of the stripe fabric left to add a flange or flap.

Stripe Fabric Flange Added

Attaching Binding over the Flange

 It adds the final element needed to bring this quilt to Glorious, Vibrant Life!



Here's the finished Quilt.  I call it the Citrus Spice Baby Quilt! Isn't it Great? I just Adore It!!

Citrus Spice Baby Quilt

 So, crafting a Quilt has once again brought me immense satisfaction and delight!

What is your Quilt Design Process like?  What things help you with the Process? I'd love to hear them.

Happy Sewing..

Quilting the Citrus Spice Baby Quilt