New Look 6136

I made a birthday dress for my niece. She'll be 2 in August, but I wanted to get this entered into the fair (drop off is tomorrow). This was so fun to make!

I fell in love with New Look 6136 when looking through the pattern books. I used an old Amy Butler print from the Ginger Bliss line, and found this great orange print at Joann Fabrics. The bow is removable for washing.

I constructed it a bit differently than the directions. The bodice is lined, per the pattern, but I completely enclosed all the seams, instead of having a raw edge at the waist. I also trimmed the back lining so that I could sew it to the back piece and then have the back flat (I don't think I'm making sense). Per the pattern, they wanted you to cut the fabric and lining using the exact same pattern pieces, stitch them RST at the neckline and back, then fold over the back section for the buttonholes. I didn't like that, so I did it differently.

The pattern calls for the bottom band to be interfaced, but I felt that would be too stiff, so I omitted it. To put the band on, I first did half the miters, like this. Then, once I knew those were stitched well, I did the rest of the band, with the other miters. If I tried to do the band all at once, I'm sure I would have messed up the miters that I would not be able to see.

(I don't know why this picture keeps uploading sideways.) Since the side seams are the only exposed seams, I just did a clean finish, instead of using my serger.

Three little buttons close up the back, and the cuteness just kills me!

Judging is on Thursday, so we'll see how I do. For children 4 and under there are 2 categories: Play Outfit, and Any Other Garment not Listed. This particular dress is going in the latter, or what I call the "everything but the kitchen sink" category.

HP Wong-Singh-Jones Kimono Wrap Dress

Dudes, I have a new dress, and I LOVE it:
I made this a few days ago. It didn't take long at all, and went together beautifully. This is a straight size 10, although I made some minor changes, such as lengthening the skirt 4 inches, and making full patterns of the contrast bands (instead of cutting them on folds as per the pattern).

The ties are VERY long, and I ended up shortening them 18 inches (they are already wrapped around my waist twice). My original plan was to make the dress green and the contrast bands in the print, but I did not have enough of the green. HP suggests about 2 yards of 60" knit for the dress for sizes 6-8-10, but I ended up using 2.625 yards of the print. HP also suggests about .75 yards for the contrast bands, and again, I don't think that is possible. I used about 1.75-2 yds and had to piece the ties.

To apply the bands, I trimmed 1/8" off of one side (seam allowances are 3/8"), so that the edge would overhang the seamline by 1/4". Basically the same way I finish off a waistband. This keeps the bands nice and flat.

It's a great dress, I definitely need more of these in my closet. :)

Full review is here.

Graduation Dress

I've been working on an eighth grade graduation dress for the daughter of a friend. They asked me back in February if I would be able to make one, and how much. I said 'of course!' (I mean, come on! I have all boys. I leapt at the chance to make a girly dress!), and said I do like the barter system. :) It's win-win -- her daughter gets a lovely, one-of-a-kind dress, I get some babysitting, or meals, or housework....I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, here's the dress. She brought me a magazine photo of a dress they liked, and we started with Vogue 2481. I flared the skirt and added straps. C is pretty much a perfect pattern size 8, so I did virtually no adjustments to the muslin I made. She has that perfect 14 year old figure, with the willowy waist. Ms. Belinda does not have the perfect 14 year old figure (and definitely no willowy waist), so I pinned the dress onto her as best I could.

The dress has an inner foundation, which I think is going to be great for C. The foundation keeps the dress secure and held in place, so she shouldn't feel the need to hike up on it all the time. Calvin and I had his gymnastics banquet the weekend before last, and a lot of the girls were wearing strapless dresses and constantly pulling on them. Not a good look! For the foundation, I used muslin, and cut each piece twice. Then I layered the pieces, stitched the channels for the boning (I used rigilene), and constructed the foundation.

I took care to match the pleats on the left side seam. The fabric was purchased at Joanns. They fell in love with it, and bought the whole bolt (only 2.5 yards), and thankfully it was enough. It's a polyester, but it feels really nice and is a very good imitation silk. I prewashed everything, and underlined the dress with white lining.

We lined the dress in pink, because isn't it fun to have a pretty lining? Besides, white is so sheer, you'd see all the seams through it. I prickstitch my linings (instead of slipstitching)down to the zipper to prevent them from rolling and getting caught in the slide.

To finish the bottom for the hem, I did a hong kong finish. 'Cause it's pretty. :) Graduation is tomorrow, I hope C loves it as much as I enjoyed making it.

(btw -- the boys wear suit jackets. I think Caleb might need a cool stylish suit jacket next year, no?)

HotPatterns Cosmopolitan Dress

Dudes. I am so making this dress again.

My 20 year high school reunion was last night, and I needed a new dress. I chose to finally make HotPatterns Deco Vibe Cosmopolitan Dress, after having this pattern for ages. I traced off a size 10, but then started thinking that it might be a bit small, so I serged the whole thing together using 1/4" seams. I needn't have worried, as it's a wee big. The only other adjustment I did was to add the constrast bands, like Jalie 2449. I used the long version of the skirt, shortening it 4" before I cut it out, and then shortening it another 1" before I put in a 1" hem.

This is a quick dress to make. I think I took more time deciding which fabric to use and cutting it than actually sewing it. The fabric was from my 'collection', bought locally, and the black contrast is powerdry, since that's what I had and I started this Friday night after supper. I was finished by Saturday afternoon, and I had taken some breaks to feed people, do the housework thing, and paint my toenails (important stuff, you know!). I wore it last night to my reunion, with a black cami (since it's a bit big, it's also a bit low) and my black patent boots. It'll make a nice holiday dress too.

FYI -- HotPatterns is doing a buy one/get one free sale right now, but only through midnight Monday. I've got my eye on the Kimono Wrap dress.

Vogue 8379

I wore my Vogue 8379 wrap dress to church yesterday, and got quite a few compliments! I'm quite happy with how it looks, and don't feel as bumblbee-ish as I thought I might. I'm going to love it with my black boots.

You can read my full review here. Pretty much the only change I made to the pattern was to do a FBA. This dress was quite easy to make, and everything matched up well. The neckline lays nice and flat, and doesn't gap a bit (I tried getting a photo). I will definitely be making at least one more of these. You should too!

Entries Finished!

I finished the wrap dress. Hopefully it'll place. All my entries are done, clean, and pressed, and I'm about to leave to drop them off. Judging is Friday, and I hope to go watch after my dentist appointment.

I think this dress looks a bit bumblebee-ish. We'll see how I like it once I actually wear it a bit. I love the pattern, and will write a review and more details once I get it back. (fabric is from Canvasbacks)