The new interesting jacquard knits like this one were obvious candidates for my all-time most used pattern Jalie 3903, the Nicole dress.

Here is why I love this pattern and fabric combination.

I think there are two kinds of sewists.

There are those who start with a specific garment or a pattern in mind and those who start from fabric.

I am a fabric sewist. I love to touch fabric, appreciate its distinct characteristics, and listen to it when it tells me what it  wants to be.

I am always particularly excited when a classic fabric makes its reappearance on the fashion scene. Last fall it was corduroy. This spring and summer, continuing a trend we saw last year, it is linen.

Early last spring, when I was in San Francisco, I saw some pants on the streets, and in the stores, that were new to me. They all had wide legs, elastic waists, and were made out of wide wale corduroy.

Linen my favourite fabric to sew. It stitches beautifully and presses so well. And speaking of pressing now the Empire is gone no one irons linen much any more and most linens I work with now I pre-wash and line dry before cutting, press the first time I wear them and don’t worry about touch ups after that.

There’s a story here.

At the beginning of every new season blog post I am pretty sure I begin with saying the same thing.

Always, always I choose a fabric then decide what I want to make. Essentially I think the fabric itself knows what it wants to be, and it is just my job to listen.

This last year, strange year that it has been, I have fallen in love with bamboo fabrics. Maybe hard times increase the need for feeling something soft. Maybe it was time for me to focus on a new fiber and learn about it. I don’t know.

Some sewists start with an idea, some with a pattern, but I start with the fabric. 

I browse and feel the fabric (these days in my mask, trying hard to keep my glasses from fogging up) and I decide what my hands want to work with.

Every spring Jalie releases a new batch of patterns, and every year I see more and more of what I would describe as wearable basics/classics in the line. I generally pick a few patterns to try and after I see other sewists

My mother used to talk about car coats, loose thigh length half coat/ half jackets suitable for dashing out of the house on errands, which in my life most often means driving down to the Fabricville at the bottom of my street for supplies.

Of all the new Jalies I made this spring I think I had most fun making the Michelle summer dress.

I made the new Jalie Simone wide-legged pants and the Gisele round neck top as a set for comfortable travelling.

 This fall I decided to get practical. I travel a lot with family all spread out and I decided I really needed something I could wear en route and still wear around when I arrive.

This spring I decided to try something new, totally inspired by a fabric.

Like most women one of my aims with my sewing is to make sure I always have something to wear for whatever I do.

On my recent trip to San Francisco I knew exactly the jacket/coat I needed, both there in the misty mornings and at home in the windy and wet days here in Halifax.

I have to say I was thrilled when Jalie patterns appeared at my local Fabricville. I have long been a huge Jalie fan and it was so nice to know that I can now just go down to the bottom of my street to buy them – no more taping printed letter sized sheets together, no more waiting for the patterns to come in the mail.

I usually start a project with a pattern in mind, but this time started with the news cycle and a fabric.

Lately I have had the bright idea of actually sewing clothes that I would wear everyday