Kwik Sew 3561 Revisited

I made this dress a couple years ago for a party with some gorgeous fabric from EOS. It sat in my closet because I thought it was too dressy for work. Well, I loved it so much I pulled it out last winter and ended up wearing it quite a bit.

Kwik Sew 3561

I decided I really wanted to try and make myself some more basics this year. I tend to make wild things but I really needed some simple things that I could dress up or down and mix and match. I decided to pull this pattern out. It's a great simple dress pattern with all of 4 pieces. The original has facings...yuck...facings on a knit! So I had planned on trying to bind the neckline but decided to go with a fun cowly neck like this Donna Karan dress which was kind of my inspiration. I lenghthened it obviously too. This pattern is pretty short.



My dress is sort of similar but it was the gist I was going for not a total knockoff. I bought the fabric on ebay from High End Fabrics and I love it. It's probably considered a slub knit or a burnout, not sure which. But the base of it is grey with purple bits.




I'm already planning on a couple more of these for layering in the winter. I'm a lot busier in the morning these days with my added workout so I need some quick, easy, stylish things to throw on for work.

Butterick 5677

Back from the dead...or at least from vacation, a tooth abscess and a crazy job!!! I've been so busy since I got back I haven't had much time to sew but a few minutes here and there. I cut this out before I left.

This took quite awhile. It's easy, but a bit time consuming with all the piecing. I had really wanted to do it contrasting and I might give it another whirl. I like the shape of the dress a lot. I hate the fabric I chose! It's a ponte and we all know all pontes are not created equal. This one is very polyester and the puckering at the seams is driving me crazy!!! I've pressed and pressed but they won't go away.

If I do make it again, I will use something with less poly in it. I didn't line it so I kind of cheated but I wanted to see if I liked it first. If I make it again, I will do the whole thing.

This is a 16, with about an inch taken off the shoulders for my short waist. There is too much stuff going on to do a short waist adjustment I think. And I took in the hips. It kind of had a tulip look to it which I didn't think was right. Easy fix though.

It's a great dress. Lots of bang for the buck and the shaping is very nice. I think I would like to try it in some low contrast fabrics, like a black and a dark blue, or blue and gray.

Scheduled Maintenance (aka Vacation)

Yeah, a vacation! DS and I are headed off to Gettysburg, PA to tour some battlefields. He's kind of a history fan, but then 9 year old boy, army stuff, not surprising. We are joining some friends for a Flyball tournament in Gettysburg on the weekend but we decided to head out early.

There may be some fabric shopping included, if I can convince the kiddo. There may be some bribery involved. I'm hoping for maybe a trip to FabricMart and the PA Fabric Outlet. I'm hoping to meet up with fellow PR friend and Blogger Melody.

It's actually a perfect time to take a break from sewing. I have a lot of plans for Fall sewing but I just can't quite get my arms around sewing the leather skirt I want or the long sleeved maxi dress with the temps still in the 80's. I do have a dress laid out from the new Butterick patterns. But once again, it's a ponte which isn't really summer friendly.

So, it's a perfect time to pack up my sewing machines and drop them off for some much needed service. Hopefully, they will be done when I get back and then I'll be ready to start the Fall sewing!

Vogue 1224 Again (and some misc)

I was really on the fence with making the dress again. I made it here. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it on me either. I have worn it and do get some compliments on it though. I found this fabric at Haberman's here in Royal Oak. I stopped on my way to a Girls Weekend, it was on the way ;-). And as luck would have it, they were having their summer sale. This is a Betsey Johnson print. It's a poly knit with some sheen to it but not a ton of stretch. It kind of reminds me of silk jersey. Usually Betsey Johnson is too frilly for me but I loved the print on this and immediately thought of this pattern.

I decided I would not do the bodice lengthening I did on the first one since I think the extra drapiness (or droopiness) bothered me. I did cut an 18 because I didn't want it too snug and with my bizarre weight fluctuations I wanted to be safe. I did add 2 inches to the length. Twenty years ago I would have worn it the length the pattern calls for, but not now. It's still pretty short and I'm only 5'3".

I left off the ties and just completely enclosed the elastic on the top. I don't like the ties on the other one. They kind of annoy me and I hate putting button holes in knits!

I did line the skirt on this one like the pattern calls for and used the casing provided.

Well, I'm really glad I decided to make this again. But, I'm glad I didn't force it. It needed this fabric. I really love this dress and I can still get some wear out of it for late summer, early fall.








Now for the misc. part. I was home with my son last week and while I can get some sewing done, it's gotta be quick, easy stuff. So, in part because I really lack easy seperates and all the "Hey, Mom's" I was bound to get. I decided to sew up some shirts. I had planned on 5, but got up to 3. I did also get 2 skirts out of the deal too though.

All the shirts are McCalls 6078.


I have one View A, which is the criss cross back and two View B which is the sleeveless cowl front. I did have plans for View C but got sidetracked when I decided I wanted a skirt. I was feeling fat and wanted something cute but comfy. I never wear elastic waist skirts, never! They usually look horrible on me but I really like this one. It's drafted well and it flows away from the body nicely. I ended up making two of them.

The skirt is New Look 6816. I bought it for the top a long time ago. I made the top but really didn't know much about sewing knits 2 or 3 years ago and it didn't turn out well. I'm sure it would be better now and may make one up.

Vivenne Westwood Inspiration

I've wanted a dress like this ever since I saw a Vivienne Westwood dress awhile back. I tried to make the Twister Dress and failed.




I pulled out the LJ Designs pattern called the Seaside T for a shirt a couple weeks ago, I realized I could use that pattern and just lengthen it. It's much more large bust friendly. I found a link for the pattern and it looks like it's still available.

Seaside T





For the shirt version I made, I cut out a Size 3 which is smaller than my measurments but I wanted it to stay up on my hips. For the dress, I cut out a Size 4 because I didn't want it snug and to feel like a sausage casing on my hips. The first picture is the full length, maybe not quite because it still had some droop to go...lol! I cut it long because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. I realized it wouldn't stay up on it's own but I didn't want to do elastic so I made a tie which holds it up perfectly.

Also this pattern calls for the shoulder to have a slit but for this one I didn't do it. On my last version I did the slit.

Previous Version

I absolutely love this dress. I wore it last weekend and got a ton of compliments on it from total strangers.












This week I'm off work. I don't call it vacation because it includes lot's of "Hey Mom, I'm bored!" I have managed to get some sewing done. I'm calling it my Week of Shirts! I've made a top every day since Monday. Albeit simple ones from the same pattern but man I really need shirts. I make too many dresses. Hopefully, I'll get another one done today and one tomorrow and then will post them all at once.

I'm not sure what the issue with formatting is!!! I didn't do anything different but I can't seem to get it right plus I've had about 18 "Whatcha doin's?" during the process of trying to post.

Simplicity 2192

I bought this pattern way back. Recently though, I saw online a version of a skirt/shorts similar to these from I think Philip Lim or some other high end designer. Of course I can't find the link I found before but oh well. The version I found were probably out of a silk dupioni and super cute. I'd love to have a pair in dupioni but I don't know where I'd wear them or with what. Maybe I'll get some next time Joann's has a coupon. I think they carry it.

So my version is in a lightweight pinstripe twill. It's been aging in the stash awhile. I bought it as a remnant from my local indie. I had originally planned on a jean type skirt with it but I pulled it and really like it in this fabric.

I love the overlay, love it! I thought it might give too much oomph but I really like the line it gives. I probably should have cut out an 18, this is a 16, and the side seams are a bit too far back IMO. I ended up taking out the darts in the back to give me a bit more room and took really small seams in the overlay so that it would fit.

My shape is currently in flux with all this running I've been doing. I've actually put on 7 pounds in the last 8 - 9 weeks. Everyone keeps telling me it's muscle and I will drop the pounds here quickly. But, I went to the doctor for something else and we discussed the possiblity of me having thyroid issues. My weight, despite my attempts to maintain or lose, has been gradually going up over the last year or two. I just figured it was age and/or metabolism but we'll see. It would actually be a relief to know it's the thyroid. I really don't want to starve myself. Shoot, I've been running the last month alone 3 -4 times a week for 3 miles each time and watching my diet, I should be losing weight.

Oh well, I digress, but I think I'm going to switch back to sewing knitwear for awhile til I get this sorted out. But, I do love this skirt. It's basically 3 pieces that remind you of petals where they overlap. It's kind of short but not too bad, I'm short.

Colette Patterns Rooibos Sew-a-long

I thought this might be coming up since there was a poll about this pattern on their Facebook page. This is another Colette pattern that I've been wanting to make for a long time. I'll definitely be sewing it. I doubt I'll be able to stretch it out for the full 3 weeks but it will get sewn up during the sew-a-long.

Maybe I'll make two ;-)