I have to date made close to 400 masks or various kinds to mostly donate to the front lines and those most in need during this unprecedented global pandemic. I started with the Olson Mask, but ended up finding it time consuming and that it ended up getting pulled into my mouth when I started breathing. Then I found the Aplat mask pattern which is based on origami to give it a 3D shape that is much more comfortable, easy to talk in, and best, makes a true seal all around the mouth a nose when combined with a nose wire. The best part is that it is much easier to make and wastes less fabric.

I lived in New Zealand for a year during university and have been watching with a glowing heart at how they have handled this pandemic as a country. No one is out of the woods however and my friend Maree was looking to start making reusable cloth masks. I had been thinking about sharing all I’ve learned, and this was the perfect reason to put a little tutorial together.

This is my first time ever making a how-to video, so I appologize for the quality. We are also in the midst of a massive heat wave so things are a mess because its too hot to do anything properly. Hope you enjoy my technical malfuncions!

First, here are the three sizes of patterns I use. Large is for adults and anyone over 10, Medium is for children 6-10 and Small is for children 2-5. Seam allowance is not icluded in the pattern, but only needs to be added to the two longer sides. If you want to make multiple masks of the same size from the same fabric, you can sew a long tube, turn it right side out and cut them to size.

FINAL NOTES AND TIPS:

– If you are making these to donate/sell/give away, make sure to run them through the dryer for an hour on high heat to decontaminate and then place them in sealed bags while wearing a mask and either gloves or freshly washed hands.

– If you don’t have access to elastic cut up an old T-shirt into thin strips and tie behind the head.

– If you don’t have access to the aluminum nose strips I used in the video, good alternatives are pipe cleaners, metal grocery ties, gardening wire etc. just make sure to use either wire pliers or tweezers to curl the ends so that they don’t poke you in the face. 

– If you want to add a filter, you can add a third layer in the pocket before sewing, or simply place a paper towel/coffee filter/shop mat/hepa filter between your mouth and the mask.

– WASH YOUR MASKS FREQUENTLY! They get dirty every time you wear them.

Stay safe ❤

Another one of my boyfriends good friends got married and we got to go to another amazing wedding. This meant I needed to make myself a new dress of course! I found this beautiful print I like to think of as bubbles on an oil slick. There are so many different colors and layers that I could stare at it all day.

I got a lot of this fabric wanting to try something new with the skirt. Instead of wearing a petticoat, I pleated almost 5 yards of fabric in big layered box-pleats and went with a high/low hemline. I mimicked this with a high neckline in the front and wore a strapless bra so that I could make the back a big open scoop. The amount of fabric in the skirt made it full and wonderful to twirl in even without a petticoat.

The wedding was at a beautiful mansion on a private vineyard just south of San Jose, CA. It had been raining all morning, but the skies parted for a beautiful late afternoon ceremony overlooking a dramatic green landscape. There is a huge rusty sculpture of the word LOVE to the right of the ceremony space that was ideal for photos (though I could’ve done without the direct sunlight in my face!)

I forgot to take a twirling video at the wedding so I set up my tripod a few days later and created this little ditty so you can really see how the skirt moves.

I paired my dress with brown T-strap heels, a brown Pashmina and some new earrings I made with some brown glass beads. I also found some amazing press on nails at Target that gave me the fingers of my dreams. I tried to curl my hair but it was a total failure so I just threw it into a low bun and was done with it. I don’t wear make-up often anymore and was really digging this look.

Selfie with my new lipstain that stayed put all night!

These are a brand called imPRESS that I found at Target. They stayed on a few days!

Pleating and pattern details.

I found these for $20 here!

Thanks love!

Looking forward to wearing this one again.

This has been one hell of a year and it felt great to have something to celebrate and have an excuse to kick my creative juices into gear again.

My boyfriend Luc used to live in London, and one of his good friends from that time in his life, got married to Leang last weekend. If you’ve looked at my designs on this site, then you can guess that if I’m invited to a wedding, the chances are quite high that I will wear a petticoat. There is no better place and they are one of my favorite things to wear (especially if I’m dancing). I already own two, but this wedding called for a third.

I found the fabric for this dress long before I knew of the wedding and was beyond thrilled to find it still in stock at Stonemountain and Daughter in Berkeley when the time came to actually make something to wear to the wedding. I love Batik fabrics and when I originally  found this pink marbled fabric I knew I wanted to make something fabulous out of it. Pink is not really my color, but this fabric just called to me. I knew I would go with my classic silhouette of a flared skirt with a fitted top but I decided to go a little longer than I have in the past.

It is classic Katy to leave the actual sewing of my designs to the last minute, and this was no exception. I had one of the worst weeks of my life right before the wedding and ended up sewing the actual pieces of my dress together after work the night before we flew to LA. It somehow always works out and I was packed and ready to go at 1am.

Finding the right shoes was not easy and I couldn’t wear them zipped all the way up, but I’m really happy with what I found. I also decided to make my own earrings. I found these perfect rose quartz drop beads and went with my favorite design. To cap off the look I did my spiral braid and had a light pink Pashmina to keep me warm during cocktail hour outside.

This wedding was the most amazing, extravagant and fun night I’ve ever experienced. In the end there were around 680 guests! It was an honor to be there and I wish Leang and Warren a lifetime of happiness!

And thank you Luc for taking all these photos and for a once in a lifetime weekend!

My wonderful boyfriend and I were invited to a wedding reception for family friends of his at their absolutely stunning house in the Berkeley hills last weekend. They had been engaged for 12 years and finally went to the courthouse to make it official at the end of last year. This was a celebration with their family and friends and I was honored to be included. 

Of course, I took this as an opportunity to make myself a new skirt. We were definitely the most dressed up people there, but that’s not a bad thing! It was a really beautiful celebration of an amazing union in one of the coolest and most unique houses I’ve ever seen. 

I ended up making a pleated circle skirt (extra full) with a wide waist band and inseam side pockets made from a cotton ginkgo leaf batik fabric. 

I didn’t end up getting any photos of the skirt the day of the party, so here are my quick attempts at work while the baby was napping!

I made my niece Alice an apron for Xmas this year. Her initial reaction was captured below 😂

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I made it from the scraps I had remaining from an apron I made her mom, my amazing sister in law a few years ago. Seen below on the left. I posted about the similar one I made my mom (seen below on the right) here. 

Of course after warming up to it, she now loves it. My brother sent me the adorable photos below. 

Ready for some cooking!

Back view

SO excited!

I look forward to many baking adventures with this little spitfire!

Though there often doesn’t seem to be much to be thankful for these days, today I choose to be thankful for my family and friends, my cats and good food and the privileges my life affords me. 

I wish you all love, happiness and acceptance, today and every day ❤️

Just a quick photo of me in the backyard before I head off to make the rest of Thanksgiving dinner with my ‘little brother’. Before I changed back into sweatpants obviously 😉 

I love that Stone Mountain and daughters half price cotton section has Batiks. This was another amazing find there. 

Sorry for the terrible lighting on my white top, I don’t have time today to fix it!

I have no idea where the inspiration came from anymore, but I got a very clear image in my head of what I wanted my niece to wear for Halloween this year a little while back and just got it finished. It’s all made of fleece to keep her cozy and warm. The openings all have elastic so it just slips on and all the little details were hand sewn. I had a LOT of fun making this!

I’ll post more photos of her actually in it after Halloween!

Hope you like it my love! 

I’m a full time nanny and I love making these little hats for my little people. I just started with a new family, so of course had to make my new charge a hat of his own. He has a doggie sister so I made him a dog hat to match her. 

I have also been meaning to make myself a hat for ages and finally got around to doing it. I had meant to put a big monarch butterfly patch on it, but it just wasn’t looking right. Thankfully I have a bunch of other appliqués and found this great one. 

Let me know if you’d like a hat of your own, or one for a little person, and I’d be glad to make you one!

Enjoy

My new hat: