Dressed for Derby

What a fun project this turned out to be! My daughters went to the Kentucky Derby this year and, of course, needed new dresses. The Oaks is the day before Derby and is partnered with Bright Pink, an organization which focuses on risk reduction and early detection of breast cancer. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink and they do!

Remember the Little White Dress Contest sponsored by Patternreview.com? Well, Hannah wore her little white dress with a beautiful pink hat which she bought on ebay. The hat has a stargazer lily which is the official flower for The Oaks.

 

Just for fun, Hannah entered the Longines Kentucky Oaks Fashion Contest. Simon Baker from The Mentalist was one of the judges and told her that she looked "beautifully understated". Made her day!

The next day was the 140th running of The Kentucky Derby. Sarah wore Vogue 1236 in red/white striped seersucker. I made the same adjustments that I made for "The Underwear Dress" and it turned out great! I lined it with a cotton batiste and added a zipper to the back to make it easier to put on and take off.

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She wanted a monogrammed bow for her hat because it's all about the hats at The Derby.

Hannah's dress is Vogue 8648. I've had this pattern in my stash for a Susan Khalje class on Craftsy but haven't had the time to start. The pattern was designed to be cut on the bias. Instead, I marked the straight grain and cut the medium weight linen straight. There are lots of seams for taking up and letting out so it was extremely easy to get a good fit.

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My daughters loved their classic Made by Mommy dresses. While Hannah was standing in line for the Longines Fashion Contest, one of the contestants asked her if her dress was Lily Pulitzer. She told her no, it's a JanMade! That makes it all worthwhile.

Sorbetto Top #5

Guess what I made! I just can't help myself. Every time I run across a "blousy" type fabric, I think, "Oh, that would make a nice Sorbetto". I'll be able to wear this woven poly top through the fall and winter with a sweater over it. I found the fabric at Hancock Fabrics and got a great deal on the end of the bolt. Hancock's has a policy that if you buy the remainder of the bolt (less than a yard, I think) you get it at 1/2 price. I ended up with a generous 1 5/8 yards for $6.50, enough to make a Sorbetto for myself and my daughter if I cut carefully.

My first three Sorbettos were cotton and linen fabrics with darts added to the back and button fronts. For the polyester type fabrics, I really like the front tuck. The top is actually pretty easy to slip over the head even without a front opening or back slit.

Sorbetto #1 - Poly/cotton remnant from an underwear company
Sorbetto #2 - Linen with Venetian hemstitch
Sorbetto #3 - Double cloth reversible fabric from Wal-Mart
Sorbetto #4 - Poly woven fabric
Sorbetto #5 - Poly woven fabric

I never put this favorite pattern away.  It's pinned to the bulletin board behind my sewing machine waiting for Sorbetto #6!

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?

Sorbetto Top #2

I can't get this Sorbetto top off of my mind. I have worn my first one several times in the last week or so. It's a great top pattern to use when you only have about a yard of fabric. I've had this linen remnant for several years. I didn't store it properly and there was a little fading on the fold. No problem since I planned to cut open the front and make a button band instead of the front tuck.

I used the Venetian hemstitch on my Bernina to stitch along each side of the button band. I added 1/2 inch shell buttons from my stash. I love this look on linen! I didn't use a wing needle because I didn't want the holes large enough to see through.

 

I made the same adjustments to the back as I did to my first Sorbetto top. I cut off 1/2 inch from the back side seams and added vertical darts to make the back a more flattering fit.

I'm already digging through my stash to find another yard of fabric for another Sorbetto. I love this top!

Treasure Hunt

I made a trip to Grandma's Attic in search of fabric or pillowcases to use for the Dresses for Haiti project we are working on at church. I found lots of pretty old textiles including linen calendars, pillowcases, and fabric.

I can't decide what to make with this old (1991) linen calendar towel that I purchased for $1.50. I love the little rectangles with the herbs on them. I think perhaps they would be cute appliqued on pot holders. Any suggestions?

 
I found this vintage looking pillowcase for 50 cents that will make an adorable little dress for our project. We are up to about 60 dresses now and still sewing!

I couldn't leave without this pretty printed cotton fabric. $1.00 for 1 1/2 yards! What a deal! I think I need to go treasure hunting again soon!

Sewing Machine Cover and Accessories

I've been looking for an idea for a tasteful sewing machine cover for quite awhile now. I was so excited to find this set on Bloom's website that I bought the pattern right away. I'm on the search for just the right fabrics so I can get started! It has all the things I love.....linen, cotton, embroidery, mother-of-pearl buttons, piping, patchwork all wrapped up in one project!

 

 Pop over to Bloom to see more pics of this and other great projects!