McCalls
Showing posts with label McCalls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McCalls. Show all posts

Thanksgiving Dress!

Finally got around to taking a picture of my Thanksgiving dress. Don't know why I look so angry about it though...


For the about a month before Thanksgiving, I was lusting over the idea of a cream colored, drapey sort of dress to wear with fun heels for the big day. I was mostly inspired by the images below...
Not sure where this one is from...














 
I used McCalls 6200 for this dress because it had a drapey feel to it, a lot like the first dress above. The pattern is made for knits, but I didn't really know why it had to be since it's so loose, so I made it with a piece of woven, peach-skinny stuff from JoAnns. It's a super easy pattern and I had no problems using woven material, especially because I decided to use the bell sleeve version, instead of the one with cuffs. I was initially worried that it looked a little like a choir robe, but I've since been reassured that it does not. I've worn it a few times to work, meetings, dinners, etc and it's really comfy and easy to throw on. It does require a slip of some kind, right now I'm using one that came with a RTW dress I bought this summer, but down the line I might make my own. I just ordered some new tan boots, and I'm thinking this dress with a tan belt and the new boots will easily  move me into spring.
Promise I wasn't angry when I took this...
Here it is in action on Thanksgiving day...

Now I need to figure out my Christmas dress! Happy weekend darlings!
Read More

A Tale of Two Dresses: Day One

In honor of the fact that the boyfriend and I had plans to actually go out for more than a
movie 2 nights in a row this weekend, I decided some sewing was in order! I had Thursday off due to some dental work required in the morning, so I spent the afternoon sipping milkshakes and cutting out dresses.

The first dress was worn last night for dinner at Rosario's (my favorite) and a show at the charming and tiny Overtime Theater. By the way, if any of you live in the San Antonio area, you must go see DOA: A Noir Musical at the Overtime, it was sensational!

I pinned this dress a few months ago and since my Friday morning was consumed with
shopping, I decided it would be the perfect dress to whip up quickly in the afternoon before date night #1!
I used McCalls 6112 and a super soft blue cotton jersey from JoAnns. The top is view C and the skirt is view B. I'm not usually a fan of sewing with jersey but this went together so well and so quickly (about 1/2 hour all together!), plus it's super comfy! Perfect for eating a ton of enchiladas and margaritas...
Here's a picture of me in front of the Blue Star bus...
And another, not great picture from when I got home so you could actually see the top of the dress. I wore it sortof one shoulder because the neck opening is pretty large and wants to fall off your shoulders anyway.
In other news, one of my Friday shopping stops was at ATT to pick up my new IPhone. When I went to get a new case, I of course had to get one inspired by my love of fabric ;)
Now I'm off to finish up dress number 2 before dinner and drinks with some fabulous old friends! Stay tuned...
Read More

Three Skirt Night

So, last night I got on a sewing tear and decided to buzz through several quick projects. I ended up making 3 black and white skirts, which is sort of hilarious and limiting to my wardrobe... The one on the left is the striped jersey version of the peacock dress/skirt and the one on the right is the leopard print pencil skirt blogged about here...


This skirt is a refashion from Goodwill. I didn't take a before picture because it looked pretty much the same except it had a waistband and zipper. It was a little large so I cut off the waistband and put in an elastic waist. This skirt is obviously handmade by some other home seamstress, which is kind of cool, except for the fact that she didn't' finish her seam allowances! Tisk tisk...


I also was able to mend 2 other dresses to throw into the Self Stitched September ring! Sew productive! (oh how I love puns...)

Happy Tuesday!
Read More

Mad About Plaid on the First Day of SSS11!

For the first day of Self Stitched September, I decided to start out with a new dress and a Sew Weekly challenge at that! When I saw the plaid challenge I knew I had to make this dress. I found this plaid stretch cotton at Walmart a few months ago. It reminded me a little of the signature Burberry plaid and since they use it to line their trench coats, I thought it would be funny to make a trench dress. I know, I know, I'm so witty...
I had held off on making the dress until now because I thought matching the plaid was going to be a nightmare, but the other night I sat on the floor with Tasia's tutorial, a ton of pins and a House marathon and set to matching. I loved her tutorial, however, I found that because my fabric was stretchy and I think printed a little off grain, it was nearly impossible to match the plaid pre-cutting like she suggested so I just kinda winged it and it worked out ok.

I used McCalls 6279 and it went together fairly easily, although it has a LOT of pieces. I omitted the top stitching on the seams and cut the back yoke on the bias (seen below). I cut an 8 which I think would have been perfect in a fabric without stretch, but with stretch it's a tiny bit big. Also, now that I'm looking at it, I think the buttons are too small, however, neither of those problems bug me enough to fix them right now.

And because I'm super proud of my finishing on this one...

Excited to start this month with everyone! Also, I have big news for Monday so stay tuned!
Read More

Monday Musings

I feel like I'm always making excuses as to why I haven't gotten much sewing done, but this week they're legit. Promise. My car broke down and I had to spend Friday night and Saturday with my parents in another town before I could get back home. Plus I'm babysitting the boyfriends giant dog who likes to knock over my ironing board, with the hot iron on it and the sewing I have been able to do has mostly been alterations to a bridesmaids dress for a friend who is going to be a wedding this coming weekend. That being said, I did throw together this little top last night (from the Burda FREE Kimono t-shirt pattern), worn with the denim pencil skirt, both of which were part of the fabrics I was hoping to sew before the summer is over. The shirt was a little bit of a nightmare because the vintage jersey is so slippery! The hem is pretty terrible so I'm thinking about just taking it out and leaving it raw. And it's a little big so I might take it in. All in all though, it's a pretty great, simple pattern that you can throw together in a hot minute...

Also, I wore the zebra pencil skirt today so I thought I would show you an action shot (pretend you can't see through my shirt please).
What did everyone think of Project Runway on Thursday? I have to say, I loved the challenge and I thought for the most part, the contestants made some really great things! Also, Christina Ricci was weird but her outfit was cute. Loved the winning design and hated the losing one. Rarely do I agree with the judges on both counts, but this was one of those nights... I think it's sort of too early to have favorites yet, however, I do love Anthony, the color blind guy, and Bert (the winner), who has such a great design pedigree. I really think he's going to do beautiful things. Here's hoping he makes his comeback!
Here's what I loved:
(winner)









and hated:

(loser)









Hope you've had a great start to your week!
Read More

Assembly Line Skirts

First of all, thanks so much for all the sweet birthday comments! It was an excellent birthday, so thanks for being a part of it!
Secondly, After my successful denim pencil skirt, I have been on a pencil skirt making craze! I've been using McCalls 6038, which is a simple, quick pattern that I highly recommend. These skirts were made with different quilting cottons from JoAnns and lined with muslin. I used Dib's Assembly line technique for cutting the skirts and lining. I took this picture to demonstrate the layering of the fabric, plus my new favorite cutting aid, clothes pins. However, the cat had to get involved... But back to the clothespins, so useful for keeping fabric taut and on grain by attaching the fabric to the cutting mat! I first started using them for a really slippery jersey but they worked great for the layers I was cutting for the skirts too.
The denim skirt took around an hour altogether but these skirts took significantly longer due to the lining. Also, when I made the denim skirt, I cut an 8 but found it a little baggy in the hips. Also, it spun around a little as a sat, which makes me crazy! I figured I could shrink the denim in hot water but I decided to cut the cotton skirts in a 6 to avoid the problem. Now I find them a little tight... I guess it will be motivation to lose the 5 lbs I've gained this summer! Also, a couple more projects like this and I will be so ready for the next Me Made or Self Stitched!
This is my last day of my epic 5 day birthday weekend so I'm heading over to the boyfriend's empty house to watch DVR'd episodes of True Blood and cut out a mountain of projects for the next few weeks.
Have a great Tuesday!
Read More

Baby you're a firework...

Amazingly finished a pencil skirt last night! I used McCalls 6038 which was a dream to sew! I finished it in under two hours including cutting! It's made with a light weight denim from JoAnns and a vintage zipper from an estate sale. My first attempt at a lapped zipper worked out! I have NO natural light in my apartment so sorry for the crazy dark, blurry pic...

Close-up of the lapped zipper...

I'm excited about this pattern working out as I've been really wanting to make several pencil skirts lately! All in all, it was good that I decided to wear a skirt and heels, rather than the pjs I wanted to wear (Mondays aren't my fav) because I ended up on the local news tonight! (I'm at the 47 sec mark)




Happy Monday!
Read More
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)