My Sewing Space

It's been a few years since I made myself a new "Christmas" dress. This one qualifies with even a couple of hours to spare. This is Butterick 6244. Most of the people that have used/reviewed this pattern have made the coat. I really liked the dress even though it is hard to see any details in the pattern photo. (I wish there was a way to just scroll through tech drawings on pattern sites). I liked the high neck, princess seams, and gentle A-line of the skirt. The fabric is a black/ivory ponte knit that I bought online more than a year ago. I was a little disappointed that the ivory part wasn't brighter, but thought I could make it work for winter rather than summer. The print is a bit bolder than I usually wear (okay, any print at all is more print than I usually wear). The pattern calls for woven fabrics, so I sized down for the muslin and then took it in a bit more all around before cutting the real thing. I also raised the bottom of the armholes. They ...

Sewing for my kids has been pretty minimal the last few months. I told my girls I would make them each a sundress and seeing as how July is just about done, I thought I should get on it. I had these two cuts of striped knit and told them they needed to decide together who was getting each one. They settled that quickly and then I gave them two options for patterns/design. They each picked a different one. My younger daughter picked the narrow stripe and wanted "a loooong dress." I used a tank top pattern (Ottobre 4/2015#26) and extended it to maxi dress length. Then I followed the same stripe placement scheme as McCall's 6559 . I recently purchased a binder attachment for my Baby Lock serger and thought these would be good dresses for trying it out. I got the basics down, but I have a lot more learning/playing to do. I can get it to work great for wovens, but knits were pretty awful. So, these bindings are done on my regular sewing machine with a double n...

My older daughter is 10 years old now. That puts her in the "tween" age category. When trying to come up with sewing plans for her, I felt a bit stumped. This is new territory. Combining her preferences, my "guidelines" (leggings are not pants!), and this new age category in a successful way is a challenge. We talked through some options together and looked at fabrics together and we have a bit of a plan. This dress was the first part of the plan. We had an idea of what the dress should look like and then combined a couple different Ottobre patterns to get what we wanted. There was a fair bit of basting and fitting as we went and in the end, we both think it was successful. She picked out the fabric - a purple pique knit. It's pretty stretchy with very good recovery, so it wasn't too difficult to handle. The black trim is a cotton/lycra jersey. I added the keyhole at the front neckline for interest. The binding was done on my sewing machine with a ...

This dress was a very quick project, made shortly after my new sewing room was unpacked. I had this project in my mind for awhile, but the need for kids' clothes and then the moving project meant that it got pushed to the bottom of the list. This was a wardrobe-driven project, meaning neither the fabric nor the pattern are new or compelling, but I knew I would appreciate having it in my closet. This is the third time I've used this pattern, Simplicity 2406 (first here , second here ). For this version, I used a drapey knit. I modified the sleeves to be longer and have slightly more of a slit sleeve than a cut out shape. The pattern instructions would have you line the sleeves, which makes for a very nice finish, but I wanted to maintain the drape of the fabric and not add bulk, so I just hemmed the edges of the slit and finished the neckline edge of the sleeve piece with bias tape. I included lingerie guards as described here . Such helpful little things those are. ...

Last year, I took on a big coordinate-the-family-for-Christmas project . Nothing at all like that happened this year. We were well into December before it even occurred to me that I'm often sewing new Christmas clothes. After a quick closet assessment, I decided that my older daughter was really the only one who needed anything new right now. And what she needed was more of just a winter dress rather than a holiday dress. I did a bit of thinking and came up with a plan before going to Fabricland. The "let's just see what we find" sort of trips always leave me overwhelmed and disappointed. Also, I had a limited amount of time and had to be quick and focused with a list. Thankfully, they had what we needed and my plan worked! The fabric is a teal ponte knit so it is both comfortable and washable. The pattern is a heavily modified Ottobre T-shirt pattern and a 3/4 circle skirt. I used Kadiddlehopper's tutorial for drafting the skirt part. I put a zipper...

I really wouldn't describe my style as trendy. It takes some time for my eyes to get used to something new and different. If it sticks around for awhile, then I might adopt it. Case in point: the maxi dress. I really didn't like them at first ("first" being what - three or four years ago?) and I still don't like many of them that I see. But, there have been some that I admire - enough to make me consider trying it out. I actually chose to make a maxi dress because of the fabric I was interested in moving from the fabric closet to my clothes closet. I really wanted a dress out of this breton stripe knit that I purchased last year on a trip to New York. Initially, I was planning to make something similar to this or this but then I found a dress so much like what I was planning to make on a clearance rack at Old Navy for less than $3.00. Hard to beat that! So, then I needed to find a different idea for this fabric. Then I started seeing several sewing blogge...

I've been wanting to get this pattern and fabric together for awhile now. The fabric is from my last trip to New York. I used the pattern ( New Look 6071 ) one other time and knew that I'd like to try it again. This is a very comfortable, easy-to-wear dress. It will be very cool on hot days. The cross-over detail on the front is interesting, but really isn't complicated to do. I was surprised how quickly I was able to finish this dress. The neckline is quite low, so I added the modesty panel. A fabric close-up: This is a poly ITY jersey. It was wonderfully agreeable to work with. The neckline didn't stretch out of shape even though I didn't stabilize it with clear elastic. I think I'll be wearing this dress a lot this summer!

Now that I'm done with the Christmas clothing sewing, I'm turning my attention back to my Dress Warm project. For my third dress this season, I made a lightweight sleeveless knit dress. Sounds perfect for winter in Ontario, right? Actually, it has been unseasonably warm less cold but still a long way from summer-like. On it's own, this dress is not at all seasonally appropriate. But, I made it with the intention of wearing it with a long black cardigan that I picked up at a thrift store awhile back. I liked New Look 6071 when I first saw it and have been wanting to try it out. I give the fabric pretty mixed reviews. I used a rayon jersey - very soft and drapey and nice to touch. However, it was difficult to sew and I think it will keep growing. This dress probably won't last beyond this season, but I'm okay with that. This is the last piece of this type of knit I had in my stash and I likely won't buy any more. My local Fabricland always has a lot of it ...

This past summer I really increased my summer dress selection. My fall/winter dress choices are pretty minimal, but I think I'd like to change that this year. I associate fall/winter dresses with being cold, so I'm hoping to find dress options that have long sleeves, work well for layering, or can be made in warm fabrics. I started this add-more-dresses project with a dress to wear to a wedding I attended last weekend. While out snoop shopping a few weeks ago, I tried on a ponte knit sheath dress with tucks radiating from the side seam. It cost $250. Even though everything about the dress was too short (bodice length, skirt length, sleeve length), it was a flattering style and was easy to wear. It was very similar to Butterick 5559 . I picked up the pattern and some navy ponte knit fabric and got to work on my own version. This was a very interesting pattern to sew. There are separate top and bottom pieces for the front and back - the seam is hidden under the tuck at the...

I like tops and dresses with a racer back, but I don't have any. Recently I picked up both Simplicity 2443 and Kwik Sew 3703 to change that. The Kwik Sew looked about as complicated as a T-shirt, so I started with that one. I'm pretty sure that this is a good pattern and the fact that it turned out badly is all my doing. The main problem is all the puckering and puffiness around the neck and armholes. I may have not quartered the holes and bands properly (which is embarrassing - how hard is that, really?) resulting in needing to stretch the bands too much in some spots. And I think I probably sewed the neckband and armhole bands on in opposite directions, giving the shoulder straps a bit of a twist. I did press the seams after I stitched them, but they really would prefer to stay puffy. Thankfully, I set out intending for this to be a test garment. I'm considering making View B of the pattern with this navy striped fabric and a solid navy for the contrast pieces, ...

I believe that I made this dress right after this one , which I was so happy with. Knit dresses are great for summer and I don't have very many (I have plans to change that). But, not all knit dresses are created equal. This black and white one isn't nearly as nice as the brown and white one. I picked up the fabric, a rayon jersey, when it was deeply discounted awhile back. But, the quality isn't that good. I won't be surprised if it doesn't make it past the end of the summer. I stabilized the neckline and armholes with strips of interfacing in an attempt to prevent them from stretching out. To avoid a ripply hem, I fused it in place with a lightweight interfacing before twin-needle stitching it. I found the technical drawing on this pattern appealing. I thought the belt was caught in the midriff seam, but it isn't. It's just twisted a couple of times and caught in both side seams. I didn't want the dress to be tight, so the belt on my version doesn...

This is the dress I mentioned in my last post - a combination of McCall's 6070 and Simplicity 3503 . I've been wanting to make this dress since I saw Peacock Chic's version awhile back. It turns out that she was inspired by Amanda's creation  (it has been awhile since I looked back at Amanda's post - the similarity in fabric is entirely coincidental!). I must say that Amanda's idea to combine these two patterns is rather genius. The two patterns are remarkably similar, but each has some things about it that aren't quite ideal. Using the best of both gets around that problem. You can read more about the reasons why in Amanda's post. I used a dark brown and white print ITY poly knit that I bought intending to make a dress last summer. So much fabric, so little time.... I didn't make any changes to the pattern when I cut it out. After trying it on, I stitched the top of the midriff band to the bodice with a 1/4" seam because it was too high...

Another new dress for the little girl (who insists she is not little). The dress is a very basic T-shirt dress, made by modifying an out-of-print Kwik Sew pattern (2315 - actually for pajamas). Inspired by her beloved stuffy, I added an appliquéd pair of elephants. I'm terrible at drawing, so this is a rather modified form of an image I found online. The braided tails were a hit, but I think they're a little long. Also, maybe I should add eyes. I didn't think about that until looking at the picture just now. It seems I have difficulty making complete elephants . I stitched a tear-away stabilizer to the skirt piece and fused the elephant shapes on. I opted for the raw-edge appliquéd look and stitched about 1/8" away from the edge all the way around. I stitched around each shape three times to give it a slightly bolder line. The fabric for the dress and leggings came from three XL adult T-shirts purchased from the clearance table at Zeller's. There are...

Daughter (5 years old): What is that for, mom? Me: It's a new dress for me.  Do you like it? Daughter:  Well, I guess.  But, it would be better if it wasn't brown. Me:  Hmmm.  I kind of like brown. Daughter: Okay.  Why does it have all those wrinkles on your belly? Me: That's called ruching.  That's how the dress is supposed to look. Daughter: Oh.  I think that is a little silly. This fabric has been in my stash for at least three years.  I had enough of it to make a dress out of it and liked this pattern , but thought that it might turn out too boring.  Then I saw a picture of a celebrity in a magazine in a dress that was remarkably similar - chocolate brown, wrap style, A-line skirt.  And I liked it.  So, I gave the fabric and pattern marriage my blessing. In this picture I saw, the celebrity was wearing some killer shoes.  I think that helped the dress not be boring on her. ...

This was a good recovery project after the McCall's jacket. It took me just over two hours to make, there were absolutely no fitting issues and I really like the end result. When I was looking through my button stash for the white jacket, I saw this black buckle. I don't know where it came from. Then I came across this pattern at the fabric store a couple of days ago, remembered a nice black rayon jersey from NY in my stash and thought it would be nice to have a new dress to wear to a wedding this weekend. I didn't alter the pattern at all and I think it fits pretty well. I cut a size 10 from the waist up and a 12 below. The instructions would have you put in a zipper. That's silly. You don't need a zipper in a knit dress. I kept the center back seam rather than cutting it on the fold because it did have some shaping. I fused 1" strips of lightweight interfacing along the neck and shoulder edges to keep it from stretching out. I pressed all the seams open an...