Little White Dress Contest

Back in January I entered a Little White Dress Contest on Patternreview. I've always wanted to enter one of their contests but always got sidetracked. This time I clicked on the "enter contest" button determined to follow through. I got a late start (a week before the end of the contest) but that's okay. I need a deadline to motivate me.

I decided to make a white pique dress for my daughter since she wears more dresses than I do. It's difficult to find patterns in size 4 but we agreed on Simplicity 1650. We looked beyond the peplum to the basic lines of the pattern. I made a muslin to check the fit and it's a good thing I did. One adjustment that definitely needs to be made before cutting is the width across the front neckline area. I had to take out about 3/4 inch from the front width by moving the pattern over at the fold about 3/8 inch at the top only. Otherwise, I would have been adding darts to the front neckline!

The front princess seams needed to be taken up a bit but I decided to adjust that after cutting out the bodice so that I could pin the adjustments on her body. I compared the skirt to a favorite skirt pattern and it was very close so adjustments were easy for the skirt.

We liked the cap sleeve but not the gathers at the top especially for the weight of the pique. I spent more time on the sleeves than any other part of the process. I don't know a lot about sleeve drafting so I laid the cap sleeve pattern (with the extra fullness folded out) on top of tracing paper on top of the basic short sleeve and drafted a new sleeve with the parts that I liked from each.

 

I added self-fabric piping to the neckline and to the bottom of the sleeves. I love piping! I used a Bernina #3 buttonhole foot which has grooves in the bottom and I was able to get a lot closer to the cord than with a zipper foot. I also used the #3 foot for the invisible zipper and it worked just as well, if not better, than my invisible zipper foot. 

This is the sleeve piping before understitching with the lining opened out from the sleeve. The piping is tapered at the underarm seam to reduce bulk.

 

I made thread loops at the side seams with a method I learned from a Children's Corner pattern many years ago when I smocked for my daughters. I think I might be a nerdy seamstress because I counted the number of loops so that the thread chains on each side would match! 

 

 

Here she is all accessorized for an evening out.

 

Evening out without the belt.

This is the casual daytime version with brown leather belt and strappy wedges, brown wood beads, and a denim jacket.

This is the blank canvas. My daughter loves the dress. I think she will be able to wear this very classic style for many years, dressed up or down, or somewhere in between. 

I lined the dress with a poly/cotton batiste and inserted an invisible zipper in the back. Total cost of the dress is $16 for pique, lining, and zipper with coupons and my "over 55" senior discount at Hancock Fabrics!

Link here to my review of this dress on Patternreview.

A Cape for the Cold

Lucky for me Daughter wore Stashbuster #5 to church this morning and I was able to get a picture before she changed clothes. We have noticed lots of capes and ruanas in the stores in recent months and liked the idea of throwing on a quick wrap on a cold day. I picked up Simplicity 1521 (a Sew Simple 97 cent pattern) on a WalMart shopping trip and made a quick, lined cape with a button closure at the neckline.

The fabric is a very inexpensive gray wool blend from Hancock Fabrics lined with a black polyester lining. We decided not to make the buttonholes in the underarm area for a belt. At least, not right now. She likes to just throw it on without having to bother with a belt. Sometimes, simple is best.

2014 Stashbuster Totals
Yarn - 295 yards
Fabric - 7 yards

Christmas PJ's

Finally, a few minutes to blog after a few busy weeks. I had several sewing projects started which I finished up two days before Christmas. That is cutting it a little too close for me. Every year, since my daughters were very small, I have made them a new pair of pajamas to open and wear on Christmas Eve. I always have trouble finding just the right fabric but this year I think I got it right!

Patternreview link

I went to Hancock's on Black Friday only to discover that all the flannel had juvenile designs on it. Now, I'm not opposed to a cute kitty print but it just can't look like a three year old. I was just about to give up when I spotted a bolt of solid red flannel. I have never made plain, solid PJ's for them before. I got it for about $2 a yard and bought the bolt. I also bought white piping because I had this image in my mind of tailored, monogrammed pajamas. I have used this discontinued Simplicity 5338 many times before so I stuck with what works. I was running out of time and running out of steam so I thought I would just leave off the monograms. Then, one of my daughters said, "Oh, I'm pretty sure they will be monogrammed". So, yep, they were monogrammed.

I purchased the interlocking monogram embroidery font from Herrington Design on Etsy for only $1.50!  I took a risk and embroidered the pockets without testing the design and it came out great.

Now, I know I should be on the lookout for fabric so I can start early on next year's PJ's but I'm sure I'll be writing the same story next year, and the year after, and the year after....

Hannah's First Dress!!

I always knew hoped this day would come! My 21 year old daughter asked me to teach her to sew! Of course, I stopped what I was doing and and told her to pick out a pattern and fabric. I had to get her started before she changed her mind.

Hannah wears a size 4 and I don't find very many patterns which come in size 4 but I did have Simplicity 2584 in my stash. She wanted to use my nice Anna Maria Horner cotton print but I convinced her to choose a less expensive fabric for her first dress. After digging through my goodwill bag, she came up with a cotton floral print that worked great for her first dress.

 

We kept it pretty simple. I helped her shorten the deep slit in the front but other than that one adjustment, she sewed up the size 4 and it fit perfectly.

She even traced the pattern so that I could use it again for myself. She doesn't care much for basting or hand sewing. She likes to just pin and stitch. I can work with that for now.

 

She wore her new dress out tonight for dinner with friends. She was quite proud when she left all dressed up in a dress that she made herself. I was quite proud too!

Goodwill Project #2 Simplicity 2125

Remember that 38 yards of fabric that I bought at Goodwill a few weeks ago? Well, I finally got around to photographing my second project from that find. I only had about 1 yard of this black/cream poly/cotton print fabric. I had Simplicity 2125 in my pattern stash because I liked the knit cardigan. I've never made the knit cardigan but the simple skirt is a pretty great pattern. I was able to easily modify it get a nice fit for my daughter.

Patternreview link

I sewed the front lining to the front at the waistline seam and back lining to back at waistline seam. Then I sewed the side seams in one continuous seam. This method makes it easy to make small adjustments in the waist and hips without picking out the waistline seam.

This is the inside view of the little pleat in the back.

 

Inside view of the invisible zipper. I love invisible zippers!

Okay, she's all done now. No more pictures.

This little skirt cost about 15 cents for the print fabric and less than $5 for the zipper and lining which was on sale at Hancock Fabrics. So far I've made 3 pillowcase dresses for charity and this skirt with over 30 yards left to sew out of my $5.75 purchase. I do love a bargain!

Another Simplicity 2599

I think I could make this top in my sleep now. My daughters love it! I had a couple yards of this floral polyester woven fabric, enough to make a top for each daughter.  It kinda reminds me of a Lily Pulitzer floral. I bought this cute, inexpensive fabric from Hancock Fabrics for about $4 per top.

Patternreview link

I did my favorite little buttonhole stitch thread loop in the back.

And here she is all dressed up and ready to go!

Simplicity 2599 was voted one of the top ten patterns of 2010 on Patternreview. I should probably buy another one in case I wear this one out!

Simplicity 2004

It's good to be back to sewing and blogging after a little time off to deal with an appendicitis attack. I'm so glad that's all over with and I can get back into my routine, especially the sewing part of my routine!

Simplicity 2004 is one their Sew Simple line of patterns. The price is around 99 cents at WalMart. The picture on the pattern envelope doesn't show the lines of the pattern very well but it is actually a great basic pattern which could also be used as a top. I had pinned a dress from Anthropologie on Pinterest several months ago to use as inspiration for this dress which can be seen here.

The fabric is a medium weight cotton blend and the yoke is linen. I graded the yoke down to an XXS and it is still just a tiny bit wide across the shoulders so I'll cut it down a bit more next time.

I need to start sewing for fall now even though the temps are still in the 80's and 90's. What are your favorite trends for fall?

Simplicity 2599

Here we go again! I've lost count of how many times I've made this Simplicity pattern. My daughter loves it as a quick, versatile top that she can dress up with slacks or dress down with jeans. I finally got around to tweaking the fit a bit and used this Burda tutorial to move the dart up since she is very petite.

I closed the short opening in the back with one of my favorite closures -  a button and thread loop.

I have been sewing a lot for my daughter lately. It thrills me that she wants to wear clothes that I make for her so, when she asks, I jump right on it. I do, however, have a couple of projects lined up for me next. Who do you enjoy sewing for?

Simplicity 2599

I found this pretty fabric at Hancock's a few weeks ago and decided that it would make the perfect spring top. I don't usually like 100% polyester fabrics but this one is a little different. It has a slight crinkled texture making it more comfortable to wear because it has a little "give". I have used Simplicity 2599 several times for my daughters in the sleeveless versions. This is the first time I have tried it for myself. It's a great basic wardrobe builder pattern which I plan to use many more times in the future. It was voted one of the top 10 patterns of 2010 on Patternreview.

 
 I decided not to add the elastic because I thought it would be harder to put on and take off. I added a skinny belt instead.

I found these cute buttons in my button box for the back. I made thread loops for the closure. I love these thread loops and love making them! You can see the crinkled texture better in this picture.

I like the cut of the sleeves which are a little shorter than normal with a curved hemline.

These are the other versions of Simplicity 2599. Have you tried it out yet?

Simplicity 2125 Wool Lined Skirt

I picked up this Simplicity pattern a few weeks ago because I really like the cardigan which is designed for knit fabrics.

I decided to make a skirt last week when it was cold and snowy but I didn't want to go to the store. I had a nice striped wool fabric which I've had for years, lining, zipper, etc. but couldn't decide which pattern to use. Since the fabric has stripes, I decided to keep it simple. I took a closer look at the the skirt which was included in 2125 and it had nice basic lines - 2 darts in front and back, back seam, back pleat. I wanted to try the construction technique described in Threads a few months ago in which the front lining is attached to the front FF at the waist, back lining is attached to the back FF at waist and then the side seams are sewn in one continuous seam from lining hem to FF hem. I sewed the darts separately in FF and lining but you can also sew those in one continuous seam after attaching lining to FF at waist. This type of construction allows for easy fitting and future alterations. I moved the zipper from the side seam to the CB seam.

The pattern did not include lining instructions but rather a twill tape band at the waist. I eliminated that and added a bias section of hair canvas to the waist for a little body and firmness at the waistline. I included this in the seam, knowing that there would be a foldover of the hair canvas which would add a little bulk but it turned out to be just exactly what I needed for a stable waistline.

This picture shows the front lining attached to the skirt front, the seam pressed

toward the lining and understitched.

Pinned and ready to stitch 1 inch side seams in one long continuous seam.

I love making these cute little thread chains to hold the skirt lining in place at the hem.

The lining hand stitched in place to the back pleat.

Front view

Back view

After a few fitting adjustments to the side seams, I trimmed them to 5/8. I hope to be able to take this skirt up in the future but I don't plan to let it out!