Vogue 1352

This is another one that had been cut out for a year and is now finally finished. I really love this knit fabric, but I can't remember where I found it. The sleeves are made from an old skirt from Casual Corner that I just could not part with. It is a silk with sequins. I should have lined this sleeves, but I just did not think of it at the time, oh well.

I'm very thankful that I read Amanda's Adventures in Sewing, where she blogged about this pattern. She had said that she has shortened the band by four inches and that's exactly how much I ended up cutting off too. I constructed and gathered the top, put it on and pinned the band to see if that was about right and it was, happy! I did leave the band wider (instead of folding it over and hemming). And that was about it as far as any changes.

Vogue 8904

 

Here is the famous "Shingle Dress".  I had this cut out for a year and for some reason was afraid to sew it. When I finally got to it, it was easy and fun to sew. The hard part was cutting it out.

I had this on but it was just too tight in the back hip area. The shingles hide some problem areas, but not all. On a cooler day I could wear Spanx and it would be fine. The fabric was from JoAnne Fabrics last year. I cut my normal size on top (16) and graded up to the largest size in the hips.

Vogue 8899 and McCall's 6958 Mash-up

 I wanted kind of an Anna Dress look, so I chose McCall's 6958 for the top and Vogue 8899 for the skirt. I had made the McCall's pattern before and I liked the fit, so I changed the neckline and cut it off at the waist.

 The fabric I found online, sorry I can't remember the name of the company. But if you find a spandex site that's really hard to navigate, that's the one. I searched for a cat print fabric and came up with nothing, but then while looking around there was cat fabric. You could only order whole yards. Strange, but I did get the fabric quickly.

This is what I put on this morning and proceeded to weed the garden and do some cleaning. No wrinkles or dirt and the skirt is long enough so I can bend over. I would always wonder on shows like "What not to Wear", when the woman would always say they couldn't dress up because it wasn't comfortable or easy. This dress is both, slip it on and you are good to go in public. Get dirt on it, throw it in the washer, simple.

McCall's 5974

I tried to get some better photos after the last ones, and they are a little better. Maybe I just need a haircut!

This is one of my favorite patterns, made three times to date. The top is a knit and the bottom is a woven, both from SR Harris, and from this year. Got a lot of compliments, but I think it's because the fabric is so cute.

The pattern is all one piece in the back, just cut the pattern and added the seam allowance. I did put in the zipper since I was working with a woven fabric.

My two most favorite patterns so far.

I've found the most fabulous site for buying shoes. These are studded suede for about $17.00 (shipping in that cost). It's Apparel Save on Ebay, you could go nuts. Had to add that since most sewing people love shoes (and animals).

Butterick 5920

I gave my husband some grief...didn't he notice my slip was hanging out by about three inches? Went to work that way too. Any way I really like this pattern. It was easy to do and fits nicely. I've had this fabric for many, many, many years. I added an embroidered piece for one of the pockets and that's about it.