Butterick 6226

This is Butterick 6226, a maternity pattern, but I loved the sleeves and had to have it. I made it out of a woven fabric, so I used the back bodice for the pants that allow for a zipper. I also hemmed the sleeves, so strange that the pattern did not call for that. I also made the tie long enough to tie in the front. I have a fashion rule for myself that bans all back ties.

This is another fantastic pattern, the construction and fit of the underarm gussets are really great. If I do make this again, I would reduce the amount of fabric in the front, but still love it as is.

Did you notice that I can only sew navy blue fabric lately? I love not changing the thread...lazy.

Vogue 1410

I wanted an easy dress to sew and this is it. I used seam binding on the neck and arm holes instead of turning under, because I didn't want the denim fabric to get too thick. I also cut off the selvage of the fabric and threaded it through the button holes on the front. The fabric is denim with velvet tiger spots, so I can wear it in the winter as a jumper. Really great pattern!

Making a Dress from a Top

I'm going to keep the picture small on this post, just because taking pictures in the noon day sun is not the most bright (ha, ha) idea. This is made from a top that I had bought cheaply because the bottom band was coming off. I just hacked it off and went deep into the stash and came up with this fabric for the skirt. Cut the skirt, gathered it and sewed it together and added clear elastic to the waist. Looking at the picture a belt would have made the outfit better.

Simplicity 1104

Sometimes you just need something simple to sew and this fit the bill. It is a Simplicity Cynthia Rowley pattern. It took four hours to sew, no seam finishing, minor pressing, no fitting. I got this fabric at Fabric Mart on sale. I have made up the same fabric in pinks and purples, but that was expensive at the local fabric store.

The dress was easy to wear on a hot day and it matched the art too!

Same fabric, different dress.

McCall's 7160 Dress

The last few patterns I've cut I've used every bit of fabric, that is nice. This pattern was made for knits, but I have a warning: on the top do not use the knits going down on one piece and one going across. Notice the weird affect it has on the top...one smaller, one bigger. Oh, well, I'm still going to wear it. I also used view B for the skirt and who would know the fabric was pieced.

The fabric is from JoAnne's and from this year believe it or not.

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.

More fabric from Hawaii

Another batik from Walmart in Oahu. This is Butterick 6168 a Lisette pattern. I like the keyhole neckline in the pattern and that the front wrap does not gap. The waist seems really high and the sleeves were too tight so I had to go sleeveless on this. I added ric rac that matched the fabric perfectly. I had just enough for the neckline, sleeves and hem. Don't you love it when you find something in the stash that works perfectly?

Grabbing some lunch in Edina Minnesota.

Fabric from Hawaii

When we were in Hawaii, I made a point (of course) of going to the fabric stores. My husband waited and waited while I was hunting. I could not find anything. We went to the local Walmart to get some groceries and that's where I got all my fabric, I even made him go back so I could get some more. They were all four or five dollars a yard. This is a hot pink batik. I used my Grandma's table cloth for the top front and back.

Here is the pattern that had been in my stash forever! Super easy to sew. I just made the skirt longer because I wanted to use up the fabric.

Excuse the dorky shoes, but we were taking in The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Vintage Simplicity 1856

My stylist (husband) did not do a very good job at the photo shoot, oh well. I really like this vintage pattern although with a print fabric it is hard to see the design lines, but the fabric shows off nicely. In vintage patterns they tend to have more seams instead of placing the pieces on the fold, probably because the fabric was not as wide and to conserve fabric. I placed all the center front pieces on the fold, and changed the back pieces to have a seam and also put the zipper in the back. The back skirt was made up of three pattern pieces originally and I changed that to two, just pinned the two pieces together on the fabric and cut.

This patten will work out for some fabric that I've been waiting to sew. Stay tuned for a yellow dress.

Another green dress

This is a Franken Pattern (love that term). This is Simplicity 6406, a pattern that I've had in my stash since I was a young whipper-snapper. Don't throw those patterns away...you may need them 20 years down the line, ha, ha. The top is Simplicity 2590. Don't know why I didn't use just one pattern.

 Had a small storm last night.

The top of the fabric: JoAnne's. The skirt: Thrifted bed sheet with embroidered critters (I had to stalk a lady that was carrying the sheets around, when she put them down, I was right around the corner and pounced.

McCall's 6742

This is a dress that I didn't think I'd like as much as I do. I wore it three days in a row! It's strange how the pattern envelope shows a lime green dress and voila, I have a lime green dress. I didn't make too many changes, just omitted the cuffs on the sleeves, gathered the skirt instead of the darts and put the zipper in the side not the back.

The fabric for the top was from JoAnne about ten years ago and the bugs in a jar fabric is a Micheal Miller purchased online.