50s Polka Dot Jumper

My sincerest apologies.  As anonymous ever so astutely pointed out, this has been the longest 2 weeks ever. :-)  Life moves on.  I am still terribly busy, but I will endeavor to catch you all up on my latest sewing projects. First off... My polka dot 50s dress!

I used Simplicity 3673 view C

Fabric: Blue Leno Shirting from Fabric.com for $1.95/yd

Underlined in a white sheet.

I have been planning to make this dress for quite some time now, almost 4 years i think.  A couple of months ago I got this light blue and white polka shirting on sale and could immediately see it as a fun 1950s dress.  It was pretty sheer though, so It became obvious that it would need lining.  I delayed for a while because I wasn't sure how a separate skirt lining would look with the 12 darts.  I decided to risk using it as underlining and treat both fabrics as one.

  I spent a lot of time making the darts perfect and hand-basting every one of them to make sure it would lay right.

The Back

The Side

 I also served and hand slip-stitched the hem.  It was SO worth it. :-)  This is one of my FAVORITE dresses now.  I will definitely be making this pattern again.  I can't wait to make a 50s petticoat and see it poofed out!

Vacation

Hey guys!  I am working on a couple dresses and other sewing projects, but I won't be able to post for 2 weeks!  Get ready for a bunch of posts in June!

Purple Anniversary Dress

Pattern: McCalls 5752, view C

Fabric: Very stretchy purple floral knit

It has been downstairs for years and I've been trying to get my Mom to make herself a dress out of it for  a while, but being a busy Mom of five and homeschooling and teaching pilates.

The Front.

Well, my Mom and Dad are going on a Mediterranean cruise for their 20th anniversary, so I bugged my Mom until she decided to let me do it. :-)

The pattern was really easy and our serger made it go pretty fast.  I modified the sleeve to match what  my Mom wanted.  I basically cropped the sleeves and added tiny circle skirts to them. :-)

 Because of the crossoverness of the dress, my mom wanted a coordinating top to wear under it.

 The different areas of gathering are so interesting.

 Sleeves...

 She gave me a cami and I figured out a way to cover it without making it look awkward.

I covered the entire front, but there wasn't enough for the back.  Oh well. :-)

The Back.

Definitely cruise wear, but my Mom likes it, and that is cool.  The more I sew, the more creative I feel and the more willing I am to try new things.  Perhaps we'll see a pair of pants on here in the future?  I don't know.  What are you guys working on?

Teal Cowl Top - the "teal knit saga" part 1

My darling Grandma Judy and I went shopping at Joann Fabrics a couple weeks ago during one of their big sales.  I picked up some button the the CPJ and 11 McCalls patterns.  If you're familiar with Joann's I'm sure you know what the red tag section is?  Well it is a sale section and it was 50% extra off at that time.  My friend and I are both really into teal/aqua at the moment, so I immediately thought of her when I saw this fabric.  Turns out that since it was only $1 a yard (!) my Grandma just bought the whole bolt for me!  Like 9 yards I think. :-)  Loveliness. :-)

So I gave some of it to Shannen and she is going to come over sometime and sew up a shirt.  I made one up yesterday afternoon to test the pattern and was  a little worried about the finished product, but I think it is growing on me.  Anyway, I wore this outfit to my awards ceremony last night and one of my new friends loved it and I told her she should make one. :-) So Kristiana will also be making one.

(Finally got to wear that pendant!  Been looking for something to match it. :-)

Here it is.

Pattern: McCalls 6034, view b

 The side...

Hemming knits is not the loveliest task in the work, so thankfully this pattern only requires the back of the neck to be hemmed.

 The back.

I realize I am wearing it a little short here, but with this skirt it did not sit well very low.  I tried it on with jeans today and it works though. :-)

Pictures thanks to the tripod and self-timer.  Now...to get a remote. ;-)