McCall's 8721

As you can see these pictures were taken this fall. This jumper was fun to make. I used the pattern in my normal size and it fits nicely.

 It's made from faux leather and moleskin.

Butterick 6519

 I tried taking pictures inside to no avail, that's why I'm wearing sandals in winter. I saw this pattern on Etsy and had to have it even though it is for maternity wear. From the front it looks good, but from the side it kind of poufs out.

 Guess what? I'm wearing shoulder pads, but the dress fits so much better with them. I made the placket longer so I wouldn't have to insert it into the front contrast panel. It still was a bear because the stretch denim was so thick. Also, decided to use a pin instead of buttons, since I have some cute pins that I never seem to wear.

There is a zipper in the side seam, but I forgot and it's not a problem getting into it. The fabric is light purple on on side and dark on the other. It has been aging for quite some time now.

Butterick 6425

Sorry about the bad pictures, but it has been so cold that I don't even want to step foot outside the door. Another new pattern. You could easily modify a pattern by cutting the cap of the sleeve off, but then how would we have the fun of buying new patterns?

I also added a back facing, the instructions said to use bias tape and make a slit in the back, no reason to do this on this view. The fabric is a double knit from Vogue Fabrics.

Butterick 6409

Finally a current pattern. This is Butterick 6409. Super easy to sew, but warning, I added at least two inches to the length and it's still too short (I'm 5'8"). The facing goes to the front so I would recommend doing a row of stitching as a guide then folding the facing under then top stitch.

The pattern is new but the fabric is old, a lightweight corduroy from Mill End Textiles when they were still in business.

I love shoes and boots, but would always prefer to go barefoot, but when that's not possible, I recommend these faux suede over the knee boots, no need for tights!

Simplicity 2054

 Dig the groovy pose, ha ha. Another easy to make dress. This fit true to my normal size. The fabric is a heavy double knit from JoAnne's. I used just the single layer of material for the scarf because the fabric is metallic on the other side and because it is so thick.

 I also did not split the sleeve at the elbow, don't need to cool down that area of my body.

Yes, we have put away the tree!

Simplicity 7639

 We are up and running with a new computer, hence the backlog of blogging. This was one of my original vintage patterns from 1997 and I finally used it in 2017, that's only twenty years! I'm sure many (older) sewing bloggers can relate.

I've been trying to use simpler patterns lately, just because of all the bad sewing karma last summer. This was very simple, I just added a zipper in the side because I did not want a tie in the back to take out the fullness.The fabric is from the stash, an embroidered moleskin from JoAnne's.

Vintage Vogue 8294

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and is working on a good New Year!

I made a few new year's resolutions, one to do with sewing. If it does not fit, or if I don't like it, I will either donate it or cut it up for another project, and I will do it in a timely fashion. I'm also going to donate two things a day (too much stuff, and I always want new stuff).

This is another vintage pattern, Vogue 8294. I had been putting off sewing vintage patterns because of the fit. I got over that by using similar patterns that fit as a guide, and it seems to be working. This has the zipper in the front, set in with the centered method. I really wanted an exposed zipper, but did not have an appropriate zipper on hand, and also have not really mastered that technique, probably should do a practice run...

 

The fabric is from the stash, velvet on top and embroidered moleskin on the bottom. I don't know why more people don't wear dresses, it's like wearing a robe all day!

Burda 6731

I have been sewing a lot, but not blogging. Here is one from this fall. It is made from an embroidered knit from Vogue Fabrics, a velvet (top) and gold moleskin from the stash.

 My husband helped me coordinate the fabrics, because I had some others in the running.

I didn't do any alterations to the pattern, just sewed it up. If you like this style dress, go for it!

Favorite Skirt

 

 This is New Look 6346. It was super simple to sew and it just fits.

The only tough thing was sewing on snaps and then sewing the buttons over that, hate hand sewing, although the weather was still nice enough so I could sit outside and sew. And when I bent down to get something the top snap unsnapped, Yikes! I have been doing a lot of sewing, but just too lazy to post.

Hot Patterns 1151

I only have one picture of this and with these shoes I kind of look like a gnome, ha, ha. Anyway, I do like the skirt very much, it is a denim with little ballerina's embroidered all over, from JoAnne's many moons ago.  The pattern is Hot Patterns 1151 Lantern Skirt. Hot Patterns is one of my favorite pattern brands, for two reasons; you go by your measurements to choose the size (and it fits) and that they have some different designs.

As you can see it wasn't December when this was taken. Dreaming of warm weather.

Simplicity 1099

 So, it's all about the print. Who doesn't love a chicken print? This was a flawed fabric purchase from Mill End Textiles about a million years ago. The skirt has one seam and elastic casing, that's all I had room for.

 I love the cropped top. Although, if you make this, check the arm hole depth. On me it's really tight and I usually don't have that problem in that area.

I didn't use any of the facings, just bias tape. I used a glittery braid on the bottom.

Another Simplicity 1104

 This is one of my favorite patterns, it is Cynthia Rowley, Simplicity 1104. I made it from Scuba found at JoAnne this year in the $7.99 section.

 It would have fit better if I had taken in the tucks a bit more in the front, but I'm going to leave it as is. I also added sleeves so it would be more fall appropriate.

Not much to add...

Vogue 9186

 Thought I'd better post this before the snow flies. Vogue 9186 is kind of an unusual pattern, but that's one of the reason's we sew. Where could you find a dress like this in ready to wear?

The graduated fabric was from JoAnne a few years ago. Since there wasn't enough fabric I did the front on the straight grain and the back on the cross grain.

I just added about two inches in length and that was about it as far as alterations go. It might be desirable to just extend the elastic a little more to the back if you like things more fitted. Happy sewing!

Vogue 1410

 Yes, I made another Vogue 1410. It's easy to fit, easy to sew and doesn't break up the print.

 Unfortunately the weather just turned cold , so no more wearing of this dress.

Butterick 6169

 This dress was finished at the tail end of winter last year and wasn't even tried on till now. I like this pattern and was kind of surprised by that, since I usually don't like straight dresses. This dress would even be better without the tie and worn with a waterfall jacket . The tie ended up being bulky even though it is silk and cotton on the backside.

 The front is silk from Ebay (don't know the seller) and the sides are a knit from the stash. I also got the coin print cotton from Ebay because I ran out of fabric. In hindsight it would have been better to just do a narrow hem on the sash. The coin trim was from SR Harris.