Polka Dot Overload | Sewing, knitting & vintage projects, tips, tutorials and cartoons!

DO YOU HATE TAKING GARMENT PHOTOS AS MUCH AS I DO? It took me 30 minutes to get this underexposed pixilated shot, all the while dreading the awkwardness of having to explain to our new neighbor...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2017/01/a-perfect-wrap-dress-not-so-perfect.html

Have you ever tried to knit or sew nice things for someone you love to find that they just don't ever... actually wear them? Yeah, me too. I gave up knitting for my husband after two consec...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2016/12/harry-potter-family-cosplay-or-how-i.html

I don't know about you, but when I drag myself out of bed in the morning, torn from sweet sleep by the phone alarm or a child screaming "Mama!", I am far too groggy to make complicated garmen...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2016/05/how-to-build-happy-personal-style.html

I always laugh when friends exclaim "you should sell those on Etsy!" over my projects because I'm pretty sure there is no sustainable business model for selling socks that take three months t...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2016/02/slow-knitting-starry-starry-night-socks.html

Like nothing you've ever seen... because I forgot to blog them. Brought to you by in vivid low-res Instagram-selfie-o-vision because I can't manage to take real photos since we moved (where i...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2016/01/sweaters-and-hats-like-nothing-youve.html

Me, painting our new three-bedroom apartment bright orange and turquoise, as one does Yeah, so, we bought a three-bedroom prewar apartment in Manhattan through an affordable housing organi...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/11/how-we-bought-affordable-3-bedroom.html

So a few months ago I made this dress and went back to work before I could blog it. I wear it all the time and pretty much love it BUT I have to say my memory of its construction is rather ha...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/08/finished-fuschia-floral-maxi-dress.html

This orange dress (shown in 2011) survived multiple closet purges over the years because I loved the color and shape. But I hated the length and never wore it—and now it's finally gone. ...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/07/a-10-item-wardobe-or-its-ok-to-wear.html

Don't be too impressed now — I sewed the above maxi dress back during Me Made May and I STILL haven't found time to blog about it. Give me a few more weeks! Just popping in quickly to sh...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/06/fabric-and-other-shopping-discount.html

In the interests of blogging the unblogged, I'll keep this brief. After all, why take longer to blog about something... Than it took to sew it? THE DETAILS: > PATTERN: Bu...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/quick-blue-ponte-pencil-skirt.html

Baby D in his way-too-big-but-he'll-grow-into-it Lego bodyshirt Our Small Human Being Sew-Along has come to an end (OK, technically it ended two weeks ago, but since your hosts all have sma...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/shb-sew-along-baby-clothes-roundup_17.html

Just a quick note to let you know we'll be announcing the winners of the five giveaways for the Small Human Being Sew-Along soon. We were so impressed by all of the awesome projects that you ...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/shb-giveaway-winners-coming-soon.html

I still miss my colorblocked wool jersey skirt (eaten by evil moths in 2013) Baby D isn't feeling like going to sleep tonight so Mommy can sew something new for a Mother's Day outing tomorro...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/the-me-made-garment-graveyard.html

So: I made a plain solid-colored skirt in a neutral color with no embellishment. Somewhat out of character for me but I really needed this wardrobe staple to balance out all the wild print to...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/a-simple-stretch-denim-trumpet-skirt.html

What with all the Small Human Being-focused sewing going on, I think my daughter was feeling a little left out. So I pulled out one of the unfinished (unstarted?) objects I felt most guilty a...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/a-polka-dot-lego-dress-onesie-and.html

This top ticks all my sewing form and function happiness boxes. It's loud, colorful and super close-fitting. It's also soft, stretchy, comfortable and stain-camouflaging: I DARE you to find a...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/05/an-eye-searing-top-my-me-made-may-2015.html

So I startled awake in a sleep-deprived haze this morning to realize "Oh, hey! Today is the last official day of the SHB Sew-Along!" (see here if you don't know what I'm talking about) . The ...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/04/shb-sew-along-giveaways-wrap-up-comment.html

Becoming a sewing blogger is contradictory: blogging can inspire you to sew and can be creative in itself, but it can also be a time suck that takes you away from your sewing machine. Suddenl...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/04/finished-quick-cheap-diy-tablecloth.html

"Rip!" Is not the sound you want to hear when you have a project that is actually turning out awesome, and you are managing to sew in ten-minute baby catnap-sized chunks, and it is just SO ...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/04/shb-sew-along-jalie-2921-scarf-collar.html

Somehow, despite having a 10-week-old and a four-year-old I actually SEWED something. Three somethings in fact! So I am very glad that Cindy , Clio and I decided to do a little Small Human...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/04/shb-sew-along-bicycle-print-hoodie.html

"They remind me of rubber dishwashing gloves." Said my husband, innocently enough, as he photographed me doing the dance of knitting victory with my FINALLY complete spring-green merino woo...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/04/finally-cabled-chartreuse-knotty-gloves.html

"Congratulations! When are you due?" "Mommy, how come your belly looks so OLD and WRINKLY and PREGNANT?" The first comment is from a nurse when I went for a doctor's visit several weeks a...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/03/what-to-wear-and-sew-when-nothing-fits.html

The most important thing to remember if you're joining us for the Small Human Being Sew-Along in April is: take it easy on yourself. We have deliberately set the bar low, low, low so even ne...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/03/baby-girl-clothes-inspiration-small.html

As I gear up for the Small Human Being Sew-Alo ng in April (join us? on Flickr! and Instagram !) and pin pattern and design ideas on the #SHBSewalong Pinterest board , I've been doing a bit...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/03/double-giveaway-little-girls-dress.html

It can be hard enough to find the inspiration and carve out the time to sew in daily life in between work, family, stuff, whatever... never mind when you haven't slept more than two hours at ...

http://www.polkadotoverload.com/2015/03/small-human-being-sew-along.html