Japanese Summer Sun Dress

My dress sewing continues as I dig deep in my sewing room and pull out stash fabric and a self drafted pattern from a bit back.  I love this lightweight Japanese cotton crepe print (I think I bought from Kokka) because it's lightweight but crisp and has a pebble texture.

This pullover dress pattern has a wrap around tie and a square neckline (which I find is flattering on most people).  I've made it up many times using all different colors of linen but it's perfect for rayon and all those cute cottons we sewers love. 

I just finished two more dresses that I'll share soon, a Frankenpattern Vogue 8993/Simplicity 1354 and a second McCall's 6744 (like this one but shorter).  Have a great day!

I'm Getting Ready For a Party With My Cameo

I gave a graduation party for my daughter last weekend and my Silhouette Cameo helped make it really special.  The only thing she said about party planning was "No school colors....I'm so sick of red."  That left me with plenty of options so I picked some pretty girl colors and threw her a country party on our patio.  

Using the 3D Lori Whitlock design from the Silhouette Cameo Online Store, I made lots and lots of petals in different papers, layered and glued them together and finished with a vintage button.  I used them to decorate centerpieces, a photo collage, the drink table, lemonade and iced tea jars and the invites. 

I used the Rectangle Petal Card Invitation Set and made invite holders out of craft paper and sealed them with flowers and the tags for the drink jars were made from the Whimsical Layered Scallop Tag design.

The country party theme was a great way to keep everything relaxed and fun.  The kids had a great time refilling the Ball Jars with lemonade and mondo-sized straws.  It was a fun day and a great way to celebrate her big accomplishment.

I'm continuing to sew more dresses for summer.  Photos soon!

Dressed to Chill - Dress #1 McCall's 6744

Last summer I made lots of skirts and this summer I think it's going to be dresses.  I've been inspired by the new dress patterns, fabrics I have in my stash and a couple of new ones that have made their way into my sewing room.  Dresses are perfect in the summer because I don't have to match a top and bottom and can just throw it on without thinking....something I'm really good at.

This is McCall's 6744 View C.  It's easy to make and even easier to wear.  I made it out of a cotton challis I bought a few years ago at Mood in New York.  I'd never seen a cotton challis and it's been almost too precious to cut into (you fabricaholics know what I mean) but I'm so glad I did. 

I made 2 changes to the pattern:  I added pleats to the shoulder instead of the elastic it calls for and I made a full skirt instead of the split skirt.  I highly recommend this pattern and I can't wait to make it again.

Here's my review on Patternreview.com.

I've got another dress in the works!  I'll share it soon.

Selfish Sewing Break - A Top for Mom

I broke my selfish sewing streak this week by making something for my mom.  She told me a couple of weeks ago she bought an orange pair of sandals and was pretty excited.  As I was browsing the FabricMart Fabrics website, I found this beautiful lightweight, crinkle ikat voile (it's no longer available in orange but you can find the purple colorway here).  It's pretty for summer with orange, coral, cream and purple.

My mom has very narrow shoulders and loves loose tops so I made her a short sleeved peasant top with a flutter sleeve.  I took a raglan t-shirt pattern, added width to the neckline in the front, back and sleeves and added a keyhole front. I made a fold over neckline casing with a drawstring and elastic so she can adjust the neckline however she needs to.  I can't wait to see it on her.....she's so cute.

Dressed to Chill

The weather forecast says we're in for hot weather this week.  102 degrees on Wednesday!  Whoo!  So all I can think about are summer dresses (especially since I have a couple of cotton prints coming via Fed Ex very soon). And here are some styles that look really good....some are brand new patterns and some have been among the ranks for a while:

Simplicity 1354

The sleeveless version is so pretty.

Simplicity 1355

View D takes me back to the 80's....

Simplicity 1356

This dress wouldn't look good on me but I would LOVE to make it!

Simplicity 1418

Ahhh, to have the yellow dress.

Simplicity 1796

View C would be my go to dress on the hottest days.

Vogue 5781

I'd feel like a ballerina in this dress (don't worry I won't dance).

McCall's 6959

I have a cotton voile on the way that would be great.  I'll need to line it.

McCall's 6744

This is currently on my cutting table.

MCall's 6920

Ponte knit?   Yep!

Vogue 8993

In cream cotton lace this would be a Princess Kate dress.

I'm so inspired....I'm off to sew!

On The Run

I love to sew and I love to run.  In my newest project I combined both.  When heading out on a long run the question always is....where do I put my stuff?  My key, license and money (in case I run by a donut shop) have to go somewhere so it might as well be pretty....right?

I used 30's inspired quilting prints, fully lined each pouch and made a contrasting strap with velcro all the way around so my key doesn't fall out.  Plus....it makes me giggle to look down at my shoe while I'm running and see this happy holder.

I figured someone else must be having the same problem finding a cute and safe pouch so I loaded a few on Etsy.  You can check them out here.  

Sweatshirt With No Sweat

I'm looking over my projects for the year so far and see that I've made quite a few tops!  I must be living in jeans because the new tops keep coming.  And here's yet another.  When I go in my closet I always want something cozy like a sweatshirt but don't want to wear a hoodie.  I decided it was time to make a sweatshirt pattern of my own.

This is round one of a new pattern I drafted and I like it because it's soft like a sweatshirt but doesn't look sloppy (or have to be dry cleaned like a sweater).  It has a scoop neck, dolman sleeve, and bands at the neck, sleeve and waist.  I used a reversible knit from Joann using the dot side for the body and stripe side for the bands.  I've since made it in hot pink ponte knit and did twin needle top stitching in white and made the neckline a little smaller.  I'm working on a purple jersey knit now and maybe that will be the final draft (but certainly not the final one....I want to do some color blocking).

These pictures were taken on my son's 14th birthday when we went down to the Beachcomber restaurant (you need to go if you're ever in So Cal) for beignets on the beach.  He was a very happy boy young man!