Fennel Goods

08/29/2026

This gorgeous crinkle linen fabric is from Fiber Snob .

I'v been sitting on this fabric for a few weeks now, with the intention of sewing a minimal waste garment to utilize as much of this beautiful fabric as possible. So today, an hour before leaving to teach my Sewing Studio class, I quickly sewed up a box top!

Granted, the fabric was already washed and dried. But all the cutting and sewing happened within an hour.

Follow along to create your own version! This design would also be beautiful in a double gauze, or any other loosely woven or drapey fabric. Customize your blouse width and length to meet your needs.

And please let me know if the instructions make sense :)

08/27/2026

Replace your uncomfortable jeans with.... The Chanterelle Pant!

Join us at Fiber Snob for 2 Saturdays, 9/12 & 9/19, 10am-12 for the class.

Bring a little ease and a whole lot of fun to your wardrobe. These versatile pants featuring a comfortable, secure, and easy-to-fit 2" elastic waist. They have a barrel leg silhouette achieved with attractive cuff pleats front and back.

The Chanterelle Pants are a stylish bottom that can be dressed up in bright colors and fancy fabrics or casual in lightweight denims. These pants will fit nicely in your wardrobe and be an all-season piece for years to come. Also a great basic to sew over and over again with lots of custom modifications available.

In this photo: pant fabric
Merchant & Mills linen from Fiber Snob

08/20/2026

This summer I got to go visit Capital Fabric Supply in Kingston NY. I absolutely love fabric stores and this one was a dreamy experience! It is particularly nice because of their curated choices of natural fabrics chosen specifically for garment making. I bought several fabrics which I'm slowly starting to sew with.

This medium weight blue striped linen pictured above was an excellent choice for the pattern by DAUGHTER JUDY . I had already sewn the tank once before, so this time I did a few alterations to the pattern to change it up:

1) moved the darts from side seam at hem to bust level.
2) did a full bust adjustment, adding 1/4" to the dart intake at side seam.
3) changed the bottom hem from curved to straight.
4) adjusted the neckline from u-shaped to v-neck.

07/28/2026

This pattern was designed by me, Hilary Heaviside. It is a basic box top. But when drafting the pattern I took special care to build in an excellent fit and smooth sewing experience. The shoulder seam slightly rolls forward so that it hugs your shoulders. The cap sleeve is a bit long to cover more arm. The hem height is 1" to weight the cropped bottom, which can easily be lengthened if desired.

In this class you will learn sewing techniques to create a very professional looking garment. You will also learn tips for sewing bias binding.

The foxy top has a loose fit and is designed to be sewn from woven fabric. Fiber Snob has medium & 5x sample sizes. Please feel free to visit the store & try on a sample before deciding on your size!

The pattern is available in sizes xxS-5x and can be purchased at Fiber Snob as an AO file.

Hope to see you in the class!

07/17/2026

This is the sewing pattern by DAUGHTER JUDY
The fabric was purchased Capital Fabric Supply in Kingston NY while visiting my sister.
It was a super fun make, because my muse was none other than Lucia Alcalá Magee , my og muse & creative inspiration :)

Fabric:
1) the fabric was beautiful to sew with! A hand woven linen with a looser open weave and lots of character.

Make:
2) when sewing the darts, because they are long French darts on the bias, I suggest giving the seam a little stretch so that the dart seam is not too tight once sewn.
3) for the hem, which has a very drastic 'S' curve, I didn't baste as the directions suggested. But instead ironed the first 1/4" turn, then ironed the second 1/4" turn using constant steam for both. This helped get a nice even hem role even on the tight side curves.
4) for the neck & armhole bias, I settled on a 1/2" finished width, which worked well since my fabric was a little bulky.
5) when attaching bial to the neck & armhole, I did not stay stitch the openings first per the directions. My home sewing machine did not agree with this combo and was shredding the edge of my fabric. Instead I slightly stretched the bias binding while sewing it to the openings. This worked well to prevent the low neck and armholes from stretching out too much.

Future alterations:
6) I will definitely be making the again! But next time I'll increase the dart intake to fit a larger bust size.
7) also I'll change the dart location at side seam to be a few inches higher so that the dart seam is more of a 45 degree angle. This may help create less twisting on the dart seam fabric.
8) then too I plan to pair the tank with a pair of matching shorts. So I'll convert the bottom edge to be straight across with a 1" hem. I hope this will work nicely as a short-set :)

The sewing was a bit fussy, so I would rank this pattern higher than an advanced beginner. But overall, with a lot of patience, this was a great pattern to sew! It's an elevated tank with nice elegance :)

Pants: Sew Liberated - sewing, thrifting + styling with fabric from Merchant & Mills

05/26/2026

Meet 2 new adult styles I'll be using to teach garment sewing classes.

These 2 patterns, the Wilde Jacket & the Foxy Top are done with fitting...

I hand drafted these patterns in a size small ( 2/4). Then I sewed and fit tested 4 different samples per style. After getting the desired fit details and sewing construction, I graded both patterns to a size medium to confirm the grade and fit again.

Now it's time to carefully digitize the patterns on the computer so I can grade out to a whole size range and create PDF printable patterns :)

05/14/2026

05/12/2026

Make your own fabric weights!
I used slivers of brick, but pieces of tile also work. Then wrap them neatly with magazine covers.

04/08/2026

I sewed something pretty today - needed some joy.

This is a 1st sample of sewn from upcycled fabric. The scrap of silk I placed behind the label is dyed using oxalus or sour grass.

I used all clean finishes except for the bottom hymn which is left raw with a raw with 1/4" top stitching.

I need to sew a simpler second sample for an upcoming class . Thinking of using a lightweight linen as suggested in the pattern instructions ;)