My First Spring Sew - TNT Pattern McCall's 6744

We've been hit by a heat wave here and the weather quickly turned my focus from winter sewing to spring sewing even though I have a couple of projects left for winter.  I saw this fabric and couldn't resist.

I used McCall's 6744 View C, a TNT pattern that goes together quickly and is really comfortable.  I feel like it's dressy without being fussy and it works in the heat.  Whew!

Last time I made it I made a skirt with no slit but this time I made it just like the pattern.  This ITY knit from Fabricland (the store I teach at) is black, white and coral.  The fabric flows nicely without clinging but all that flowing can make the slit come open a little more than I like.  I'll sew down the opening about 5" to remedy this...I don't want to surprise anyone.  Uh-hem.

I used a twin needle to finish all the hems and the neckline, and added 5/8" wide fusible knit interfacing to stabilize the front opening.  It keeps it's shape without stretching as I'm wearing it.

It looks like the weather will stay warm for at least another week so I'll be able to enjoy it.

Have you started spring sewing?

Diane

Made by a Fabricista - Fall Icebreaker Shirtdress

I'm happy to be back on the Fabricmart Fabrics blog with my fall sewing icebreaker.  I'm finished with my summer sewing and looking to make some pieces for fall even though it's 104 degrees today.  Sewing a plaid wool skirt doesn't sound fun at the moment so I wanted something that would work on those all too frequent 90 degree October days when I don't want to wear a sunny yellow halter dress but a skirt and sweater will just make me cranky.  A transitional dress is exactly what I need.

Shirtdresses are all the rage right now and this JCrew dress inspired my first project for fall.  I've had this Vogue pattern in my stash since the early nineties (seriously....someone needs to give me some tough love about my pattern stash!) and it's perfect.  No need to buy a pattern and even better I'm justifying my stash.

For my shirtdress knockoff I chose a JCrew stretch cotton stripe shirting from Fabricmart Fabrics even though the inspiration dress is made of wool.  In my climate I can comfortably wear a wool dress exactly 3 times a year so cotton not only makes sense but is easy care, practical and comfortable.

The fabric was very easy to sew but like so many striped fabrics, I found the stripes would play tricks on my eyes when I was sewing.  I added a piece of painter's tape (it doesn't leave residue) on my machine at the 5/8" seam line making it easier to sew an accurate seam.

For the curved seams, I made an arrow across from the needle to mark where my fabric needs to land.  It's only important to line up the raw edge on the 5/8" line across from the needle not the entire way down the tape.  Thinking about it this way makes it much easier to sew a curved seam.

I had planned on keeping this project simple like the JCrew dress but as I was sewing I wanted to add some red.  Red buttons were too much so I decided on red corded buttonholes.  I took red pearl cotton from my stash and here's how I did it:

I flipped the buttonhole foot over and wrapped a length of pearl cotton over the back hook.

From the top of the foot I ran the tails of the thread through the bottom prongs to hold the thread in place then stitched the buttonholes just as I normally would.

After taking the work out from under the machine, I pulled the right tail thread through to eliminate the loop.

Lastly, I loaded the tail threads through a large hand sewing needle, pulled them through to the back and clipped them.  It's that easy!  It's these little details that make sewing fun!

I broke the ice for my fall sewing so what does your fall sewing plan look like?

Happy sewing....Diane at Gatorbunnysews.

Pattern Hack Dress - Part 2

My pattern dress hack is done!  Well, actually it's been done for quite a while it just took me a bit to shoot some pics.  I'm  happy with how it turned out and it's really comfortable too which is always a plus.  All the details about how I put it together are here.

I was able to take some interesting photos when we went to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) yesterday.  It's a can't miss if you find yourself in LA.

I'm sad to share that we lost our sweet Jack on Saturday.  He was the dearest, most loving and loyal family member we could ever have hoped for.  I'll miss him smiling while riding shotgun, sitting at my feet when I sew and the way he looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.  We are so grateful we had 12 years with him we just selfishly wanted more.

Our Precious Jack

Pattern Hack Halter Dress - Part 1

I want to share with you an in-progress "pattern hack" dress project I have working in my sewing room.  Halter dresses seem to be all the rage this summer and I figured this cotton crepe that's been sitting in my stash for quite a while would be perfect.

I started by using this Simplicity pattern for the armhole shape.  After cutting off 1" at the top of the bodice, I pinned in six pleats on my dress form, marked them and sewed them down.  The smoother look of the pleats was better with the cotton than a drawstring.

After the pleats were in, I marked and cut a facing for the strap to run through.

I'm using some black seam binding to determine the length of the strap but I will be making the strap out of the fabric.

The skirt is up next!  I'll post the finished dress soon!

Happy Sewing!

My New Yellow Dress

I don't think I've had a yellow dress since I was probably five.  It was yellow and red calico, had a smocked top and, get this, it had a matching swimsuit.  Yes folks, I was rockin' the seventies.  Well here is my new yellow dress without the swimsuit.  You can thank me later....

I've been wanting to make this pattern out of a lightweight chambray I found on a recent shopping to LA but this pattern got some iffy reviews and I decided it would be prudent to make a muslin first.  This linen has been lying around my sewing room for a while and although I love the color I never made anything out of it so I decided it was good for a muslin.

I love the pockets on Simplicity 6182 and been hoping to try the pattern for quite some time.  In pattern reviews, it gets poor marks for instructions primarily because it has you baste together the bodice first, fit it, then sew it back together.  I skipped that and made the bodice and fit it at the same time.  A few reviewers did remark there was "gaping" at the neckline (which is a problem I often have anyway) so I made the neckline smaller by slashing and folding in a "dart" on the bodice front pattern piece.  This change worked out very well, no gaping.

All in all the dress went together smoothly, I like the style and I LOVE the pockets.  They are so much fun.

Fabricista Border Print Dress

Once again I'm so happy to be a contributor on the FabricMart blog.  Here's my project for April:

When I was little, I loved when my mom took me to the fabric store in the pink building (by the way, my kids have never "loved" going to the fabric store).  I would go up and down the aisles with my hands outstretched so I could feel the fabrics.  My love for fabrics started when I was very young and I admit, I can get nostalgic about fabrics.

My mom was a sewer and I remember many of the things she made, but one blouse in particular really impressed me.  She took a design class at a local college when I was 7 or 8 years old and made a two color tunic with an ogee print at the neckline and on the cuffs.  I thought she looked beautiful in it! When I saw this cotton print on the Fabricmart website, it took me back to that blouse and I knew I had to have this fabric.

Border prints can be scary for sewers because we never know what to make with them aside from the typical dirndl skirt with the border at the hem.  When I saw this black and magenta ogee print with hot pink floral border I knew I wouldn't use it as a border on a skirt, but I would put it on the neckline....just like my mom did.

I used new McCall’s pattern 7119, view C, a maxi wrap dress with short sleeves.  I chose it in part because it has a neckband with a shape that would fit within the width of the border but also because a wrap dress is really comfortable.

It can be difficult to determine how much fabric is needed on a border print so a little extra is always a good idea.  I ordered 4 yards and used all of the border print (down to 2”!) primarily because the waist ties are very long.  However, I have plenty of black fabric left over to make another small project.

The dress went together quickly and the instructions were well written.  I chopped the maxi length to a midi length because making the dress go all the way to the floor would've looked heavy.  This pattern is a great choice for a beginning/intermediate sewist and certainly something I will make again.  

This is my first dress of the season and I'm looking forward to making it again.  Next time I'll make the sleeveless version because I know some hot weather is on the way.  

Do you have any summer dress patterns on your cutting table?  I'd love to know what you're making.

Happy Sewing!  

Diane - Gatorbunnysews

Fabricmart Fabricista - Frankenpattern Dress

Although the mention of Frankenstein conjures up scary images of Igor and bad posture, Franken-patterns are quite different.  Sewists have coined the term to describe combining more than one sewing pattern until a new look materializes.  Ahhh, the joy of creating something new and unique. “It’s Alive!”

It’s time for a winter dress and I’ve been drooling over this fabric for quite some time, both because I love the print and because a double crepe can be difficult to find.  It has a pebble like texture, beautiful drape and “mechanical” stretch, meaning that although it is a woven fabric without lycra, it still has a slight crosswise give.  The stretch makes this fabric easy to sew and even more comfortable to wear.

The print is sophisticated but still really fun and lends itself to a simple style. The skater dress silhouette is quite popular right now and I thought a modified version would be perfect.  There are plenty of skater dress patterns out there but I couldn’t find one suitable for a woven fabric, therefore, I decided a Franken-pattern was in order.  

For the bodice, I used New Look 6144 View B.  I’ve used this pattern before and love the fit.  I cut the pattern 1" above the waistline so the skirt would sit just above the waist and made pleats at the neckline instead of the darts the pattern called for.  

For the skirt, I wanted to dirndl style skirt, not too full, not many seams, so I could make the best use of the print.  I used Simplicity 1354 for the skirt, omitted the pockets and left everything else the same.

What’s a cute dress without a bag to go with it?  Simplicity pattern 1387 was the basis for the shape of the bag, but I changed the handles, closure, hardware and lining to get the bag that I wanted.

The top of the bag is lightbeige twill and black wool suiting makes up the bottom and handle.  To round out the menswear feel of the twill and wool, I lined it in a classic striped shirting and trimmed it with “pleather”.  The pattern doesn’t have any pockets in the lining, so I added a zip pocket on one side and sectioned pockets with bias trim on the other.

 

I’m so happy with my Franken-pattern dress and my coordinating bag makes me feel like I really have it together.  Thanks Dr. Frankenstein.  And thank you Fabricmart!