McCall's 6507



Finished the dress!

I added a review on PR as well...

McCall's 6507

Pattern Description:
Dress has fitted, bias front bodice with cowl neckline, single layer overlay (wrong side of fabric shows) with tucks, invisible back zipper and baby narrow hems. Designed for soft lightweight wovens.

Pattern Sizing:
6-22, I made 16

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes & no.

The pattern was well drafted, but my print had a couple of errors. The "back" bodice was labeled as "front", and there were no sizes marked for the tucks on the overlay (there were two sets of tucks, I had to figure out which set to use)

At that point, I decided not to use the instructions, especially since they told you to sew the tucks down on the overlay before you attach the bodice. I think that would have caused the tucks to get caught up in the waist seam. I made the skirt and bodice separately but I did not stitch down the tucks until I sewed the top and bottom together. (hope that made sense)

I also believe the bias finish at the waist could potentially be bulky (or messy if you used a slippery fabric). My fabric was stable enough to serge clean, but had I used a lighter fabric I would have installed a waist-stay instead.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
It's a beautiful dress. I made it to wear to a bridal shower. For a semi-different look, I think the external tucks could be turned into internal pleats and the dress would still have a pretty drape for the overlay. Using a sheer fabric for the overlay would be cute too!

I also like the draping at the neckline and back out and it's not too low cut on either side. The way the sleeves fall is nice too. Sexy, but demure!

Fabric Used:
Polyester Simply Silky Print from Joann's

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
none

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I thought I wouldn't make it again, but a solid color would be a great wardobe addition. I don't see this dress as trendy, but a classic look that you could wear for a good while.

The problem area was fixed after some steam was applied. Washing it didn't make the pleats fall, I guess they were pressed in good!

side view... I will have to steam these wrinkles out before I wear it.

The back I was worried about, I have a broad back/shoulders, but the cut of the sleeves is really flattering, and the flare of the skirt balances everything out. 

Why do we try

 I'm a copy cat inspired again, this time by:

FROM THE REZ TO THE CITY!!

Source: fromthereztothecity.blogspot.com via Nikia on Pinterest

I really LURVE (stole that word from Adrienne :) Kiah's blog overall and I get "style" and "life" inspiration from her regularly. Plus, we almost have the same first name, what's not to love? Check out her site!

So, I'm blogging my look from today (first day of spring!) because I reviewed New Look 6802 eons ago and I don't think I've ever posted it so here goes. (Old pics on flickr)

Dress: New Look 6802 (the long sleeve is tapered)
Fabric: Joann's Fashion knits

I made this dress almost two years ago and I still love it!

PS: Confession: I have made a lot of things over the years and not blogged/reviewed them so you have and will be seeing some things not recently made.

PPS: My sister says I can show what I've done so far on the wedding dress!! Yahooo!!! I finished the skirt so I will get that up very soon.

And:

...this song is making my life complete right now...

peace.

Inspiration

hey, how ya doin peeps!?!

http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8631-products-10773.php?page_id=857&search_control=display&list=search



Lots of reviews on PR, (including moi.)

I think this dress looks AWESOME on everyone who made it.

Still not convinced?

Well.....






Gotcha!!



Feeling Bluesy

Butterick 5211

Front

Back

Review here

ready

Finally done w/ those last baby projects! Check my reviews on PatternReview

Now that I am back to pre-preggy size I went clothes shopping the other day. My closet sucks right now. To my dismay I only came home with one skirt and some undies! What I really wanted were a pair of NORMAL jeans and a couple of cute tops.

I tried on a knit maxidress in THE BEST kelly green, but the bust was cut so small. I mean like for an AAAAAA cup, I even tried on the X-large first because the bust looked tiny on the hanger. I'm glad I can make my own. Gotta find that green though. It is TIME to get back into sewing.

I will try one more place for jeans otherwise...

McCall5142

Vogue 8330-OOP

Those are the jeans style patterns I have in the stash. I tried on some skinny leg jeans and if I may brag I look pretty darn cute in them. If I could just find some affordable ones without the silly pocket designs and the weird washes. I never would have thought to try skinny jeans before. I have a new appreciation for my bod since being pregnant/giving birth for the second time. Life is too short, but I still ain't buying $100 jeans!!!

Others have had great luck with sewing jeans, (OMG EricaB!) so I could use their lessons and trial & error and give it a go.

OOH have you seen the new Vogues?!? (sure you have, lol) I just ordered 6! Even though I had double that on my wish list..

My ab fave is #1122

Alice + Olivia holy moly!!! no same old pants!!! Hooooorayyyyy!!! I wanna see more!!!

The McCall & Simplicity Fall previews left something to be desired but for me Vogue came through. The main Fall pattern I have my eye on:

Vests!!

M5887

S2556

in the stash...V8334-oop

On TV I saw Stacy London in a sleek, fitted, black vest with white piping along the seams and pockets and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since.

vest inspiration
(click pic for larger view)

...Parting Shot...

6 week old Jr looking up in my face at 4:00.........a.m.

My goal this weekend is to finish my last UFO and start getting some back-to-work projects ready. I go back in about 5 weeks so I better get hot.

Don't do it!

I now know why I lose my sewing mojo when reading some Pattern Review postings and some blogs posts.

So many of us home garment sewists are TOTAL BUMMERS sometimes!!! (I include myself) A lot of times we are so self-deprecating in judging/assessing our sewing skills, our bodies, our age. Then we blame that on the pattern companies have too much of this and too little of that to meet our needs.

We constantly point out the "negative" aspects of our bodies, the bad pattern drafting and bad design. We need a resolution.

We talk all this $#!t whenever new patterns come out, but we still patronize the pattern companies, giving them our good hard earned money - most of us, anyway (ok mostly me). But I think this kind of talk also discourages new sewers, which in turn discourages the industry - all those great fabric shops closing.

NO MORE NEGATIVITY LADIES!!!

The young, thin, even-proportioned "standard" does not apply to the majority of the population so that should actually EMPOWER us.
We sewists actually have an advantage because we have the tools to alter and customize our garments. and if we are unsatisfied with our bodies we can alter and customize those too!

**We have the ability to look good no matter what our bodies look like**

1. Let's use the patterns as a template to get the look we want. Yes, their instructions suck, the drafting is different from our figures, but we have a bunch of books, Internet resources and measuring tapes to help get us where we want to be.
   
2. Let's use the fashion trends of the moment as inspiration to get the look we want. Even the weird ones.
3. Let's use the knowledge that has been put out there to learn how to make things that fit & flatter your shape.
4. Let's keep the encouragement & compliments flowing!
   

TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THIS:

1. RTW uses most of the same techniques as home sewers, so most RTW looks the same as "home sewn."
   
2. You do NOT look pregnant. I know the difference now.
3. Being plus size is NOT a disadvantage to style. Carolyn should write a book, or have her own TV show, forget Tim Gunn & Lloyd Boston, I have NEVER seen a real plus size person on their shows. She KNOWS her body and KNOWS what she likes and KNOWS how to combine those two to create an awesome wardrobe. She inspires all sizes and that's what matters.
   
4. Broad shoulders are beautiful (Adrienne you crack me up), and so are narrow shoulders, and big bootays and noassatalls....OK. I could go on... You get it. Don't discredit those features. When something doesn't fit right. Just focus on finding a way to make it work and then celebrate! (& show us how you did it)
   
5. Nobody is paying attention to every little wrinkle in you garment, EVEN WHEN YOU POINT IT OUT, WE STILL CAN'T TELL!! Of course if something doesn't "feel" right or if a body part is on the verge of busting out of the fabric by all means fix it, but you are really being a downer pointing out every wrinkle & crease when most of the people who are checking you out think your garment is beautifully made.

Saturday Love

I don't feel like a sell out anymore for getting a new machine. I love my new Singer and I will get much use out of it!

I am currently working on another button down, simplicity 4112 and my buttonholes are *near perfect* without any adjustments on the machine. I even got the courage to machine sew the buttons on.

(click to enlarge)

oh.my.gosh.

I was totally wowed. I went on and on (and on) to hubby about it and he just looked at me like I was a nut. He says, "You never talked to me about this kind of stuff before." I took the hint and hushed.

Today though, I am going to the PR meetup at A Fabric Place in Baltimore. I'm sew excited (hardy har-har). I get to talk sewing without getting the blank stare.

I'm wearing another piece I made with the new machine (ok, this was mostly serged) Simplicity 2883. Here is the review


Click to enjoy Cherelle's "Saturday Love"

Review: Simplicity 4577

A while back I posted some inspirational knit dresses. Well I finished my first one!

Simplicity 4577





Size: 14

Pattern Critique: The pattern looks pretty easy to follow from my scan. I only used the bodice construction part tho. I wouldn't recommend to someone w/ little experience. There is a lot of skipping around as usual w/ Simplicity instructions and some intermediate sewing terms used.

Fabric: tan rayon/lycra jersey from Hancock, it was about $7-8/yd

Modifications: I only used the front & back skirt pieces, the front and back bodice pieces and the neck tie to get a look similar to this dress from Newport News:


The bodice is self lined. I added some width to the front skirt so I could gather, and I cut the back pieces on the fold, and encased elastic across the top of the back bodice. The back looks fine, but it would look better w/ a center back seam. ( I have a pic but my pantyline is showing, so no-go)

If I had used the bodice overlay piece for shirring it would have looked more exact, but i ended up liking it before I got to that piece so I skipped it.

Results: This is so far from what I usually wear. But I like it! It can be worn in different ways - casual or dressy, loose or tight.

It's ok for a first draft hopefully I can fix those pointy bust darts, before I wear this in public. then I'll make another one in black. I'm off to do some research on Patternreview.

..and the winner is...

hee-hee, I've always wanted to say that for some reason...



Now I'll focus finding on my notions (buttons, buckles..). I would have done a tortoise button if I'd have gone with a brown print, but I think now I'll go for red or silvertone, or even something pearly/marbly. They have to be just right. I'm NOT settling for any run of the mill JoAnn stuff this time.

I gotta give a HUGE !!THANKS!! to Patternreview and Nappturality members for voting in my little poll! I truly value your opinions/input/comments! And another plus is that I learned a few things about fabric selection. Awesome!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I've had to add a new item to the cutting table Vogue 8191. My littlest sis has her final formal in May so she commissioned me (w/o pay) to make her dress. Last year's dress was a semi-success, because it was my very first formal project, but I learned NOT to use the cheapest fabric I could find (some drunk buzzard stepped on her trail and ripped it!) I made Vogue 7521. Dont have a pic right now, but I'll post it when I get a hold of it.

She comes over for a fitting this weekend so I'll get some pics of the new dress then.

ciao for now!

Reviews: McCall 5137 & Simplicity 4020

McCall 5137



Size: 14
Pattern critique: Semi - Easy. Mostly time consuming because there are a quite a few pieces plus a lot of ironing/facing/interfacing involved (for a beginner) The instructions were good so it was worth tackling. Plus this was my first time making a v-neck garment so it was a new experience.

Fabric: 1 cotton broadcloth & two cotton prints from Jo-eazy's

Modifications: none needed

Results: I like. very roomy. I should have went dark at the waist because I'm kinda wide there. I made this dress last summer and I've worn it only once. I promise to wear it more this summer tho, I got a ton of compliments when I did wear it, and it was a confidence booster.


Simplicity 4020



Size: 14

Pattern critique: Easy, quick sew. On patternreview a lot of folks switch #9 & #11 in the instructions, so I tried it. It felt awkward to me that way so I will follow directions exactly next time - Cause I'm making this again.

Fabric: Cotton interlock from Jo-eazy's

Modifications: none, but next time I will lengthen the bodice.

Results: Cute simple yet stylish top. This can be easily changed into a dress or look really cute with the right color combo of fabrics - like contrasting the neckband or something... I also want to play with the design of the sleeve next time I feel like making this.

Also, when I first wore this I didn't have it hemmed because I had no clue how to finish off nicely for this type of stretchy fabric since I have no serger. But the gracious owner of Valique fabrics ( I gotta get her name!!!) gave me a great tip: sew or press a narrow hem, then fold & press another hem - I did about 3/8ths - and stitch two rows across the hem to finish it off.Perfect and extremely helpful for me - sorta because I am now totally obsessed with all fabrics stretchy :)