Vogue 1567

Most everyone who has this pattern has sewn the top first (and they have loved it),
but I went with the skirt.

 

It did confuse me when it came to the wingy-things and the pocket, but just play around with it and look at the drawings and it will come together, don't ask how!

The fabric is from the cheap table this season at S.R. Harris in Burnsville if you want to snap
some up!

Simplicity 2544

Here is a dress I went ahead and cut out even though it was supposed to be spring. As you can see I got to wear it.

 Pictures not so good, but the top has an under blouse and a wrap front. This pattern fits well and is very comfortable.

 I don't know why they had a zipper in the back, you certainly don't need it. Snow update...it's all gone yeah!

Butterick 6411

 I do like this pattern, It was fun to sew because it was different from most others, and the fit is good

 There is another pattern in my stash that is almost identical, except it wraps in the back as well as the front. I plan to use this as a summer dress pattern without the sleeves.

I was planning on putting all my cut out winter items away, but we just got a blizzard yesterday so I decided to keep on sewing and hold off on sewing the summer dresses, bummer! It was also my birthday and I got a few phone calls asking what fun things I was going to do, not much fun to be had when a blizzard is raging. Did I say I hate snow and cold?

Vogue 9268

Another dress that is just okay. I used a knit as the pattern specifies, but I think it would be better in a woven fabric with more body, and a zipper added.

I did not want a seam down the front, so I cut a facing and that worked out quite well.

Butterick 6190

This one went bye-bye. Just couldn't make it work, hope someone else can wear it.

Butterick 8861

Just one picture of this. This is a franken-pattern of Butterick 8861 and a plain skirt pattern. This was the wrong fabric for the top of the pattern because it had bust pleats and they just sagged in this fabric...sagging and bust, not good together! I sewed the pleats together and at least it is wearable.
I also had to add elastic to the waist and add a self-fabric belt. Not my best endeavor.

Simplicity 3831

This time I used a pattern from 2007. I do like this pattern, especially the sleeves but I would have liked the under bust to be about one inch longer.

 This fabric was a dream to sew with, it seems to be a wool knit, but it didn't really act like wool when I threw it in the washer. Of course it has glitter in it. My mom and I had a discussion the other night about how much we like glitter and we were so glad you could wear it in the day. Yeah!

Made it longer too! This pattern would make a cute summer dress, it has a version with flutter sleeves.

Butterick 6127

Just one picture of this and notice I'm not modeling. It does fit, but it looks like a German Dirndl.
The fabric color is not that flattering and the skirt has too much gathering. I do like that the bodice is different. If I make this again I would use a six gore skirt and much thinner fabric. Guess I'll have to wait for Oktoberfest!

McCall's 8230

Sorry about the pictures, it was a cold, cloudy day and the jumper is dark. This is made from  a pattern from 1996. I wanted to use the skirt pattern that came with it, but not enough fabric. The pattern fits nicely in the top with no gaping in the front arm area which is usually a problem with me.

I knew what this fabric would end up being, but at that time jumpers were not in style...but then I ended up using a old pattern anyway. It's a brown and black hounds-tooth with a little glitter thrown in for a good measure.

Sewing Workshop Memphis Dress

 I guess those fashion shows work at the Sewing Expos. I thought I didn't need this pattern because Vogue has some that are similar. After the show I had to make a bee-line to the booth and buy it.

 Once again easy to sew and it fit nicely. Got to use fabric from the stash another plus!

 I could see this with shorter or no sleeves on a future version and also maybe a V-neck.

McCall's 6177

 Super easy to sew, love the end result. On the shoulders I cheated and just gathered and stitched over the gathering instead of trying to make a fabric tie and inserting that into a casing...too much work.

 The velvet was from Hobby Lobby, it has some strange banding, but it's not that evident when I'm moving around.

Here is the pattern.

Vogue 8944

This is fabric from JoAnn Fabrics purchased last year, it is a sumptuous faux suede with fringe. This was to be a skirt only but I had enough fabric for a dress, yeah! The sleeves were done in Ponte.

 Black does not photograph well. I really love the bodice seams and normally I would go for color-blocking...maybe next time. I used one of my skirt patterns because I needed something that was straighter.

This was cut to my normal size and everything was good.

McCall's 7445

The top is McCall's 7445. The top is cropped, but it is cropped waaaaay too short. Luckily, I had a thin shirt that matched to wear underneath.

The skirt is cut from my favorite dress pattern Butterick 5985. The bottom lace is from fabric I've had for about a million years. I was intending to just sew up the seams and add elastic, but it worked out better to add it to this skirt. The main fabric was from JoAnn's from last year. The million year old fabric was from Minnesota Fabrics. How can I remember that, and not peoples names?

Vogue 2164

 This was made from my own Issey Miyake pattern purchased many years ago, but never made.
I think the collar and the long sleeves put me off a little. Just omitted those bits and also deleted the zipper. Used a Super Sharpe needle and didn't have any issues stitching it up.

Since I love all things glittery this is perfect!

Super easy to sew, this will probably be made again. Made and photographed before the winter blast.

Two Franken-Patterns

These are the two patterns used for this dress: Simplicity 8425 and Burda 6937.
BurdaStyle magazine had a version of this dress last year, long and with a tie collar. I was going to use this pattern and make the changes, but last time I did that the dress did not turn out very well and it's in the donation bag.

Here I am in Red Wing Minnesota, standing by the worlds largest work boot (Red Wing brand).
At one of the first ad agencies that I worked for, Red Wing Shoes was our client, so it was fun to check out their museum. And since they started production on the vintage line for women it was also very tempting.

Easy to make, not much to tell about this. Had the fabric for a long time, it is kind  of a polar fleece, but not as heavy.

This is the other franken pattern, New Look 6468 and for the sleeves Vogue 8510. Because of a fabric shortage I cut the sleeves in half, added a seam allowance and added the trim that matches the ties.

Another flannel and I also bought some more at Jo Ann's at the $2.50 sale, so more to come.
It is really the perfect fabric for a cold climate. Flannel also washes and wears nicely and it's so soft.

The only caution is if you have wider hips, add more ease in the skirt.