New Look 6429 - Little Red Dress

The Little Red Dress experiment. I rarely ever wear red but after a thread on PR discussing wearing red, I thought I'd give it a try. I bought some very pretty Stretch Matte Jersey from Fabric.com http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=964dfb68-d619-4f5e-9c3a-4d6873b7ac91

The dress went together fairly well except when they say it runs big, it runs big! I cut out a 14 but ended up taking it in a good inch on both sides. I really needed to take it up in the shoulders but had already put the facings on based on the construction order so it was too late. I was NOT picking apart facings! I'll just wear a camisole underneath or else it'll be borderline obscene. I'm finishing it tonight to wear to a holiday party. I'll post pictures soon.

Lesson learned...even if difficult to do so I should pin the dress together on me prior to putting on the facings. I should know better being so short waisted that it's likely I'll need to take up the shoulders...doh!

Knitting Bag

Here's the knitting bag I made for my Mom for Christmas. It's beautiful cotton fabrics from The Fabric Gallery...I hope she likes it.

Vogue 8379 Twice

I finally had a chance to have the hubby take some pictures for me. This pattern is so far my favorite pattern. I make a straight 14 with no alterations in size. I did however do something to the sleeves which I now cannot remember...oops. I'll post more of my measurements on PR in the review.

The first one is my summer dress that I wore the heck out of. It's a great poly jersey from my local, most awesome, fabric store http://www.fabricgallery.net/. I saw the fabric and immediately thought it would be great for this pattern.

The next one I just finished last night. I'm embarrassed of the picture and am reluctant to post it because it makes me look so frumpy. Really, it doesn't look this bad in person. Maybe I was slouching or it blended...no clue. I have another picture from my cell phone that actually shows the shape better but the color is horribly off.

The fabric is a wonderful jersey poly from http://www.gorgeousfabrics.com/ that I'm assuming is sold out. I actually bought it while it was still in the "What's New" section and I never do that. I just fell in love with it. This one I did the 3/4 sleeves and the collar version.

I'm behind before I start...

I did this to help me organize my sewing but so far I'm already behind. I did finish the BWOF skirt but have yet to take a picture. I need my own camera and a way to get pictures of myself. I have a dress form but it's sometimes hard to get things on it. Anyhoo, the skirt is done and I love it. It turned out very cute but I had some glitches with the waistband which I know how to fix if I make it again. I think it will be a nice TNT skirt for me...straight 42 out of the box.

I haven't done any sewing for about 2 weeks with painting my bedroom and redecorating. I have a ton of fabric to make some roman shades, a new coverlet, and recover a $6 ottoman I scored at Goodwill. I'll also make some pillow covers for the couch we moved into the bedroom. But, I think my next project will be something to wear. I'm going through withdrawal.

I'm hoping my next entry has some pictures of the skirt and a plan for sewing for this fall...

BWOF 2008-07-113

I bought this impulse remnant at Fabric Gallery during their sale in July. It was only a yard but I thought I'd make a pair of shorts or a skirt out of it. Well I decided on the BWOF 2008-07-114, but then realized it was too short so it's the 113 now. After a post on PR, I got help figuring out what the "band" was for, and opted not to cut it out since I didn't have enough fabric. Then realized that I didn't like the little pleats in front, but tried some other things and decided they worked ok.

I put in my first invisible zipper. I looked up some tutorials and videos which helped tremendously. I don't have a special zipper foot so took it slow and I'm actually pretty happy with it. Next step is the facings for the waistband, which doesn't call for interfacing which makes me wonder...The material is a stretch twill so it might work without it. It sure would be comfy. I'm hoping to have it done tonight.

My Reunion Dress - Vogue 8489

I decided to tackle a dress for my 20th High School reunion. I thought it would be fun and reminscient of my mom making all my formal dresses in High School. I'll have to dig up a picture of my favorite prom dress.

I was originally going to make this out of a "Wild Woman" print from Gorgeous Fabrics but decided on "Pythagorean Pleaides Jersey - Black/White/Shimmer." I loved Ann's description of this with regard to being a Math person which is what I am.

I started by making a wearable muslin out of a heavier blue knit and a black contrast to wear to work. It's still hanging there needing altered and the sleeves added but it helped me figure out what I needed to do. I ended up shortening the bodice along with doing a bit of an FBA for the girls. I also took out all the gathers in the skirt on the front. I don't have a tummy problem and didn't want to look like I did.

I'm actually very happy with it despite a few things that I learned along the way. I think I made it a bit too short in the bodice, I should have lined up the back bodice pieces, and I have to check how I cut out my interfacing (with grain/without). It stayed together for the night, the girls didn't escape, and I got a lot of compliments on it. Here are some pictures for now...I'd like to get some better ones. The wind was blowing, so the skirt actually lays a lot better. I'm also considering entering into the One Fabric Knit contest on PR but we'll see.

My First Post

I'm not quite sure what to say. I figured I would give this blog thing a try. I love reading other blogs about sewing, dogs, and gardening so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm hoping it will help me organize my sewing projects and keep me on task, which I'm really in need of help with.

So here goes nothing...