All posts by Shraddha

McCall’s Men’s Shirt with Contrast Lining

Here is my second attempt at a men’s shirt, this time more successful. This is a McCall’s M6044 men’s shirt pattern, very popular for this kind of garment. I tried the variation with contrast lining for the collar and sleeve. The fabric is from the “Cotton+Steel”‘s Rotary Club collection and is called “Ring Ring Red Navy”.  The look for this one was geometric overload, and I picked a contrast lining that was primarily blue to complement the infrequent navy in the main pattern. Continue reading McCall’s Men’s Shirt with Contrast Lining

Arjun, the Owie Doll

This is the first toy I have made exclusively with my son in mind. Kids have it rough; their days are filled with bumps, cuts, bruises, and other kids coughing in their faces (not that they are any the wiser). It seemed to us that our 4-year old and the ice pack had become best friends. So when I saw IkatBag’s “Owie Doll” pattern, I thought that would a perfect doll to commiserate with the forever-bruised.  Continue reading Arjun, the Owie Doll

Game Design with real-world controllers: Scratch and MakeyMakey

Scratch and Makey Makey are projects from MIT, which allow kids as young as 6 to create games, and use electronic circuits for real-world controllers. I attended the “GameMaking with Scratch and Makey Makey” workshop with my 8yo daughter this weekend and I was excited enough to write a bit more about it in a blog post, rather than Continue reading Game Design with real-world controllers: Scratch and MakeyMakey

Stylish Dress Book F: Diwali Silk Kurta

img_6370

Here is my first attempt at an Indian kurta for Diwali, using raw silk. I find the traditional clothes sold in Little India or other Indian stores in the GTA either too bead-covered, too synthetic, or just too floweryfor my taste. A couple years ago, I first saw the decent Indian fabric collection at Asiyans in Scarborough. So this year I actually got my act together and

Continue reading Stylish Dress Book F: Diwali Silk Kurta

The Summer of Skirts

Every year, July hits and I realize I don’t have any skirts! The thing about living in a four-season city like Toronto is that, in the dead of winter, you don’t think you’re ever going to reach for anything other than thick corduroys, and wooly socks. Then comes spring, and you begin to remember what the sun feels like on your arms. Finally, when summer gets here, you really want to bust out those skirts and go wheeling around on your bike in the city. But …graaah! No skirts; now what?

So this year, I bit the bullet and just made a bunch – okay, three – skirts. Done, done, and done. I used the Butterick Simplicity 2226 pattern (“Learn to Sew”). Continue reading The Summer of Skirts