Recreating Store Bought Items with Jasmine of Sewing With CWay

June 09, 2022

Recreating Store-Bought Items

Hey y’all, Jasmine again! 😉

Do you ever get bored with your sewing? How do you find inspiration to keep you going? Personally, I go window shopping in department or online stores! 

Here are a few reasons why I do this:

1. It helps inspire my creativity. There’s been times when I’ve lost my “sewjo”, or that feeling of being in a sewing rut, and sewing felt like a chore. It felt like I was sewing the same things over and over again (there is nothing worse than sewing that feels forced, in my opinion >_<).

1. It helps me design a cohesive wardrobe instead of specialized items. I, much like many of you, really enjoy those “unique” pieces or sets that I sew. However, I’ve found that these unique pieces are typically worn alone or, in the set it was specifically designed for. Going into stores or looking online helps me visualize the “staple” pieces that my kids need.

1. *The most IMPORTANT reason* It builds up my confidence that I am a quality sewist! Window shopping allows you to observe manufacturer design techniques and incorporate them into your sewing. There is no better feeling than when my kids tell me something I’ve made looks like it came from the store *queue the proud mommy tears*.

Okay, so, I have a 9-year-old. Anyone who has dealt with kids this age, know they have…uh…well…opinions (and a lot of them ~_~). To prevent my feelings from being hurt because she doesn’t like what I’ve made (learning from past experience LOL); we sat down together and browsed through clothing websites. While we were browsing, she picked out items that the really liked and things we both liked. I then copy, pasted and BOOM; you now have a fashion mood board.

Here is one item we want to recreate: 

It’s a simple bodice dress with a gathered skirt and button placket. Since I didn’t have a pattern similar enough, I googled gathered dress with buttons and was directed to Little Lizard King’s Sarasota Dress/Top (link). The Sarasota has a very similar silhouette with some extra design options and it goes up to a size 14!!

Now onto the fabric!
I love the richness of the dress color, and with the summer heat I wanted to ensure it was light and breathable. Raspberry Creek Fabrics Organic Cotton Double Gauze in the colorway Deep Rust (link) is a close comparison with is reddish/orange color I was looking for. Plus, double gauze is known for its light, airy feel (because of its loose weave) and because it’s cotton gauze, it helps to keep the body cool during the summer months. We opted for snaps instead of buttons (we’ve had some button mishaps ha-ha). I think it’s safe to say she loves it 😊.

I’d love to see your remakes and have you tried double gauze before? If not, you should!

Until next time!

Jas

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sewingwithcway/

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