long time, no post...

You know, sometimes grad school gets in the way of my hobbies! I have been finding time to sew recently - here are a couple of projects I finished recently...the apron is Advance 718, a one size apron with a detachable bib. I don't know why it took me as long as it did to make the buttonholes, my machine does a great job. But I did that this weekend and I love how full the apron is. I have to agree with the corny copy on the pattern envelope - "Here's the ideal apron pattern -- so practical, yet so versatile, you'll want to make it in several fabrics for yourself!" The fabric is a tattoo art print from JoAnn's. I loves me some tattoo art.

The second finished piece is from a vintage dress pattern - Butterick 2472. I had a blast making this! The directions were easy to follow, though the paper was falling apart. I think I will scan the sheet at some point. I did most of the sewing while visiting my mom a few weeks ago. She was recovering from bronchitis so she didn't have much energy to do anything, which was okay with me, I wanted to sew. Turns out though that she had given away her sewing machine a few weeks before! I went to K-Mart and picked up a little Kenmore 11803. I have to tell you that I was very impressed with the stitch quality of that machine! Perfect, straight stitches right out of the box. I left it at Mom's place because I already have more than enough machines - collecting sewing machines is strangely addicting. The fabric is a Heidi Grace Christmas design from 2009. It does not look at all Christmas-y to me, but being classified as a Christmas print meant I got big discount on it after the holiday when I snapped it up!

A couple of changes I made from the original: one was to shorten the skirt length, I like my skirts to be about knee length. another was to add one more button on the front than the pattern called for, because I'm a bit busty. I did button covers for the first time and was happy with how they looked, you can see from the photo that I used one of the motifs for all the buttons. This pattern fit perfectly, I didn't have to make any alterations. Since I'm left-handed though, I think I'll start putting the zippers in on the right side. But that's for next time. I think I'll be making another one of these at some point.

Today I pinned a wall hanging quilt and cut out a vintage wrap apron. I'm also working on a tunic dress using Amy Butler's Liverpool pattern and some really neat fabric from Ikea. Stay tuned!

the yoke's on me

I'm working on my next attempt to find the perfect shirt-dress: McCall's 5378 (out of print, sadly). The fabric I'm using is a larger scale but regular pattern, Dahlia from the Nancy's Blues collection. This was a design that I fell for but didn't buy right away, hoping I would get over it - I didn't, thankfully Fabric.com has wonderful sales and coupons a'plenty. I should have thought things through a bit better. The pattern has a front and back yoke, so I had to fussy-cut the yoke pieces. Time consuming and annoying. I think it will look alright though - I should have waited and used another pattern for this fabric, but you know how it goes when you are itching to cut into a certain piece of cloth. Other than the fussy-cutting, the pattern is coming along nicely, I am stopping for the night before starting the collar though, so I may change my tune!

I've noticed that the 1960s shirt-dress patterns all seem to have side zippers. A part of me wants to skip that, even though zips aren't a big hassle for me - well, they aren't when I make skirts, anyway. I am trying to decide between McCalls 6649 and Simplicity 5848.

latest pattern in the quest for the perfect shirtdress

My next attempt to find the perfect shirtdress pattern will be McCall's 3481, a vintage number from 1973. Love that pleat underlay on view C! I'm contemplating making that view minus the pockets and with B's short sleeves. I also might update the collar. Now to select the fabric; surely something in my stash will do.

A couple of finished projects - and a new project is hatched

I'm on a quest for the perfect shirtdress pattern. I just finished my first attempt, made with McCall's 4769. The fabric is a cotton print from good old Jo-Ann's. I decided to add the black middy braid trim along the facings - the fabric is pretty busy, and the black lines along the seams helps disguise that the pattern doesn't line up. I think I would like a fuller skirt. This dress is nice though, comfortable and the lines of the dress have a 1940s quality to them. I had the buttons and the braid on hand already, so sometimes having a stash can pay off.




I finished the cloak my friend asked me to make her (shown modeling the finished product). She does Ren Faires and the occasional LARP. She selected the material, a heavy printed velvet in old gold; I picked out the lining to match her skirt. It was kind of fun working with fabric that I wouldn't usually pick out if left to my own devices. That velvet is HEAVY! I do like the full hood with its pointy end! She was happy with it, so yay.




So - you know how I've been whining that the costume urge has left me? I think it's starting to come back. I need to return to my costuming roots: Italian Renaissance. I've been thinking about something based on Lodovica Tornabuoni's gown in Domenico Ghirlandaio's Birth of the Virgin (as seen here on the lovely and talented Jen Thompson's website). I love that overgown with the funky heraldic animals - and I have fabric in my stash that would do quite nicely. I'll just work on this at my own pace, documented here, of course. That way when I finally do make it to an SCA event I'll have something to wear. I have to make a new pattern though, my old one is missing. I'd need to redo it anyway, but my bodice back pattern has served me well for YEARS so I'm sad to have to redo it.