So Far, So Good

I started sewing the Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 2497 dress late this afternoon. I got the bodice and the skirt sewn up. The zipper is on the left side and I think it will probably be sort of complicated to sew in because of the side seam pockets. I must have read the directions a dozen times, but they are a little unclear and the pictures don't seem to match what they're saying. Oh well, I can troubleshoot it later. I really like the blouson effect of the bodice.

Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2472 Dress

Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2472 Dress
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I stayed up a little later than I should have last night to finish this dress. It was a relatively quick project, taking about three hours total, including cutting out the pattern and fabric. This is a super simple pattern and only has three pieces since I used seam binding for the contrasting trim: front, back, and bottom band. The dress has Dolman-style sleeves that are cut as part of the front and back. See the technical drawing here. The fabric gets wrinkled very easily, but I love the color. My favorite thing about this dress? No fasteners, it just pulls on over your head! See more detailed photos here and here.

PS Thanks to Mariko for the cute seam binding!

Labor Day Sewing

Schoolgirl Dress
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I started this project during the long weekend and finished it this morning. The pattern is from a Japanese craft book. I really like the contrast between the soft pinstriped cotton and the crisp black linen. The only mod I made was to make the cuffs a lot shorter. In the pattern, they are extremely long and look weird to me. The only other problem is that the cotton reminds me of a dish towel and the dress sort of looks like pajamas to me. Maybe because it's so wrinkly. You can also see a close up here.

Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 2587

Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 2587
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I finished this dress last night. It was a really quick project and it turned out a lot better than I expected. I had made a muslin of this pattern and I was worried because there was too much ease. I thought I would have to make a dress that was two sizes smaller than I normally would make, but I ended up only going down one size and it was a perfect fit! Aside from the size issue, I didn't make any modifications to the pattern.

Parfait is Done

Parfait is Done
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I finished this dress over the weekend! Sewing the buttons on took longer than expected since there were six. I followed the pattern as it was written and made no modifications. I did have to resew one of the straps because the chevron stripes on one strap were going in the opposite direction of the other. Luckily I caught that before I was too far along. The fit has enough ease that I could wear a t-shirt underneath if I wanted, which is perfect since the sun seems to have disappeared and layering looks to be necessary!

Parfait Progress

I started working on this dress last night. I put it off because I didn't want to sew that curved midriff waist on the front. It wasn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating, so I was able to make lots of progress with this project. All that I have left to do is sew in the facings, sew on the pockets, and add buttons and buttonholes. I should have a new dress to wear by next weekend!

Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2584

Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity 2584
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I finished this dress tonight. I really like how it turned out. The only modifications I made were to sew in an invisible zipper rather than what the directions called for: a contrasting zipper that is sewn on the outside. I also did not sew the tuck the is supposed to be at the bottom of the dress. I thought it was unnecessary. It's pretty low cut, but with a cami underneath, it should be fine.

Yoke's On Me

Just finished sewing the facing to the yoke and the front of the dress. Once they pieces were sewn together I had to slash it down the center, which I'm always paranoid about because I think I'm going to end up cutting the dress too. As you can see, I used some brown binding that I had in my stash to finish the facing edges. The fabric is thick enough that it doesn't really show through to the right side. I just didn't want to have to go and buy a bunch of facing when I could just use what I had on hand.

Simplicity 2584 Dress

I started working on this project Sunday morning. So far, so good. I had scanned the directions briefly a couple of weeks ago, but for some reason, I thought the project would be more complicated than it is. I wanted to experiment with some different seam finishes and decided to sew some binding on all the exposed seams for a neat professional look. It's definitely taking more time, but I think it will be worth it. I'm using the binding that I have in my stash, so it doesn't all match. I'm still trying to decide if I want to add the sleeves or go for a sleeveless look.

Colette Patterns: Parfait, No. 1003

Colette Patterns: Parfait, No. 1003
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I got my Colette pattern in the mail today. I love that the the pattern and instructions come in a booklet format. It's a very clever and handy presentation. At first glance, the instructions look easy-to-follow and clear. This project is next on my list to sew after the Cynthia Rowley shift. See the rest of the pattern booklet photos here.

Over the Top Tunic/Dress

I finally got around to making this dress this afternoon. I love how it turned out! The pattern directions are very simple and easy to follow and there were only seven pieces to cut out. I did not add the pockets. The dress is sleeveless, but when it is on, you get a sort of cap sleeve effect. I also like the addition of the belt, so that you can have a more fitted silhouette. I may have to make the tunic version of this top too. I definitely recommend this pattern.

Technical Drawing

I've been slowly working on trying to finish up the Aprés Surf Hoodie, but it's taking longer than expected. I'm almost done with knitting on the hood, then I'll have to sew in the sleeves. No new photos to show of that project.

Here is one of the technical drawings that I did in my Illustrator class last night. I lost the original file when the computer froze, but luckily, I printed a hard copy, so I was able to scan it. I really love drawing in Illustrator. Everything looks so sharp and clean when it's printed out. This was one of the dresses that I had drawn for my final project in fashion sketching class. You can see the hand drawn version here. Here's a drawing of the bohemian mod dress that I made back in April too.

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

I finished my Liberty print halter dress last night aside from the hook and eye I sewed on this morning. The pattern, McCall's 5315, is starting to grow on me. I wasn't completely sold on it before I started, but I liked the halter and thought it would showcase the fabric nicely. There are four pleats on the front and the back and they create this slight tulip shape on the skirt, which is fun. I was hesitant to start the project for fear of working with such expensive fabric, but I decided I needed to suck it up and just go for it. I thought the Liberty cotton would be very delicate and unforgiving, but I was wrong. Even after ripping out the zipper once, as well as a couple of other minor seam mistakes, the fabric was no worse for wear and held up nicely. It was really great to work with and sew.

Click to see close ups of the dress bodice and the pleats.

Dress Drape #2

I had time to sew up another muslin of the dress that I redraped several weeks ago. This version has a better fit with the changes that I made, including moving the shoulder seams back and adding darts to the back of the bodice. I think I like this full gathered skirt more too. It just seems more summery to me. Hopefully, I'll be able to sew it up in my fashion fabric later this week.

Done!

I've spent the last several days working on the finishing for the plaid dress. I decided to only put the bias trim on the neckline and hand sew all the hems at the sleeves and the bottom edge. I think this dress out pretty true to the original pattern, though I did make some modifications: shortened the length by four and a half inches and took in almost an inch on the side seams. It fits me pretty well, though in retrospect, I think I should have added two back darts instead of taking in the extra width at the side seams. I thought the addition of darts would have made the dress more fitted than I wanted. Oh well, I still like it anyway!

Weekend Update

After finishing the fez on Friday night, I finally starting working on the wool dress. I think I was procrastinating because I didn't want to deal with both the lining and the dress, but once I got started it all went quickly. I sewed the lining together first and then proceeded with the dress. The thing that took the most time was the inseam pockets. The original pattern does not have a lining, so I had to figure out how to situate the pockets with it and the dress. I had the pockets sewn into the lining, but was not happy with how they looked after topstitching the edges of the pockets to the dress. It was a little messy and the edges weren't too clean. So, I scrapped the pockets and ripped them out. I'm still thinking about maybe adding some patch pockets to the front, but I'm not sure. I've still got to sew in the bias trim on the neckline and hem the sleeves and the bottom edge. I was thinking about adding bias trim to those edges as well.

Dizzy

I knit up this hat on Saturday from a free Berroco pattern. I used the leftover Elsebeth Lavold ClassicAL that I had from the Rebecca striped sweater. I lightly steam blocked the hat to even out the stitches and it was good to go. I've already worn it several times.

I also finally managed to get my fabric cut out for the Machiko plaid wool dress. I think I was hesitant to actually do this because of matching the plaid on the side seams and the back, but it didn't take too terribly long. I'll start sewing tonight!

Baked

Aside from sewing up the muslin of the Machiko Kayaki dress pattern, I haven't had much time for crafting this past week. I have been busy baking holiday cookies that I took to Mariko's for a cookie party. I used two recipes from the December 2007 issue of Gourmet magazine: Double-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies and Cinnamon Palmiers. I baked the palmiers on Monday and they were delicious. However, I think I should have recrisped them in the oven last night before the party. Oh well. The sandwich cookies were yummy. The filling was white chocolate ganache. It was basically a fancy Oreo. These are on their way to becoming a holiday favorite.

Before I sew up another muslin of the dress tonight using the revised pattern, I need to include another revision: drop the side bust dart since it's a bit high. Once that's done, I'll do a final fitting and then cut out my fabric and lining.

Mad About Plaid

I stopped by Fabric Depot this weekend to search for some plaid wool. I found this grey plaid and chose an olive green lining. I knew I wanted to make a dress, but wasn't sure of the pattern. I found Simplicity pattern 3620, but they were out of my size. I really liked the cute V-neck jumper with the belt and pockets. After looking through some more patterns at home, I decided on this Machiko Kayaki short-sleeved dress from Sewing Talk. It's a simple four-piece pattern and the dress has inset seam pockets and raglan sleeves. I've had some fit issues with these Machiko patterns in the past, so I made the dress out of muslin to check the fit. It fit great but I took in about three-eighths of an inch on both sides of the back and shortened it about four and a half inches. I just altered my paper pattern and will cut out fabric tomorrow.

Draped Dress is Done!

Last night, I finished my dress! It turned out much better than I thought it would. It's a little wrinkly in the photos, but I'll iron it again before class. It also looks a bit loose because I draped it using the dress form at school, which is a size 8, and slightly bigger than my dress form at home.

I had finished all the machine sewing yesterday afternoon, but had to hand sew the bodice lining edges. All during class, I had been sewing samples in muslin, so it was nice to work with a fashion fabric. I was experimenting with the addition of that piping on the top of the waist midriff and I really like how that detail turned out. I should have added it to the bottom of the waist too, but I just plain spaced it. Oh well, I suppose I can add it later if I want.

Draping a Dress

My final project for draping class is a dress with a fitted bodice and gathered skirt. I'm using this great Alexander Henry fabric called Pavo with some brown Kona cotton. Here's the pattern for the bodice that I've drafted after draping it on the dress form. I'm using the patterned fabric for the majority of the dress with the brown cotton providing some contrast at the waist midriff.

Ruffled

I finished the ruffled sundress this past weekend, but had to make quite a few alterations to it, so I didn't post a picture of it right away. I'm not sure if it's because of the dress' shapelessness or the fact that I spent a day or so doing alterations, but whatever the case, I don't know how I feel about this garment. First of all, this dress was way big. I had to take in several inches on all the front and back pieces. Then I also shortened the ruffle. I really like the fabric, but I don't know if that's enough to make me keep the dress. Hmmm...

It's a Jumper!

I stayed up way too late last night to finish this dress. But it was so easy that I couldn't stop. I thought it might be too tenty, but it's actually not because of the cut of the pattern with the two side panels and the gathered front and back panels. I also made the belt just in case I needed to rein in the rest of the dress. I would have made it from the same contrasting polka dot fabric, but I didn't have enough. I think it looks fine with the floral fabric. I hate wearing things on my actual waist, which is why the belt is sitting way down on my hips. The only change I made was to put the buttons on the straps and the button holes on the front band instead of the other way around since I wanted to keep the ends of the straps hidden inside the dress. I highly recommend this pattern!

Weekend Progress

I've been steadily working on the blouson and actually finished the sleeves last night. I'll steam block the pieces before I start adding the pleats.

This weekend was also spent looking for a new sewing project to start. I thought I would use this Built by Wendy dress pattern or a Machiko Kayaki pattern, but I wanted something more summery and strappy. I ended up buying four different jumper dress patterns and settled on the Simplicity 3738 to start first. I actually bought the Amy Butler fabrics the day before I bought the patterns and I thought they worked best with this particular dress. The pattern is cut out, so I'll cut fabric tonight.

What's Next?

These two patterns are from the spring/summer issue of Vogue Knitting. The cardigan looks like a fun and easy lacy spring number. I'm really drawn to the dress for some reason too. I think it's because of the buttons. I'll probably start with the cardi first. The pattern calls for Lion Brand Organic Cotton, but I couldn't find that, so I may have to substitute something else.