dress
Showing posts with label dress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dress. Show all posts

Franken-dress

I'm working on a post about my wedding dress but in the meantime I'm obsessed this dress from Asos...
 
 
 
 
I'm a lover of maxi dresses and I think this could be a good option for fall. It looks a little dressy but I think with flats it could be casual enough for dinner with the husband or a not-too fancy party. I probably wouldn't wear it to Target or anything, but I could see it working for dinner out with friends.
 
 
Anyway, I'm wondering if I could Frankenstein it with the top of a pattern like Simplicity 1872,
 
and the bottom of the Anna Dress from By Hand London...
 
 

I actually have a McCalls pattern that's similar in some ways to the Asos dress but it's made for knits and sort of looks a beach cover up, so I'm thinking the structure of the Anna skirt is needed to make this look more like a dress I would wear over a real bra with underwire instead of a bikini top.

But now for the real issue. The dress from Asos is $54, which isn't cheap but also isn't a horrible price considering the amount of fabric the dress uses. I already own the Simplicity pattern but I'd have to buy the Anna pattern (about $26) and fabric (I would imagine I would need 3 to 4 yards and I don't have enough of anything appropriate in my stash). Since this is just a fun dress to wear to dinner I probably wouldn't spend tons on the fabric, but even at 4-5 dollars a yard the Asos dress is probably a better deal. I know I would have fun making it but I have a million other projects I would have fun making too so entertainment is not my top priority. Also, I know the dress I made would probably be a little better quality, but since this isn't something that I'd wear all the time (like a pair of jeans or a coat) I'm not super concerned about it lasting forever. Finally, considering the dress is not supposed to be super tight, I don't think I would have a problem with fitting if I ordered it. So all of my normal reasons for sewing (fit, quality, price) are not as relevant as they usually are.

It's funny how much of a dilemma something like this is to me now. Before I knew how to sew I would have just ordered it, no questions asked. Now I almost feel like its a moral issue! So my question is, what would you do? Do you make things when you know you could buy them cheaper and the fit and quality would probably be similar?

My buying vs. sewing rules are:
I buy things that seem boring to make and I can buy cheaply (like white v-neck tshirts) or that I couldn't replicate at home (like if they are made of some incredible fabric and I don't think I could find something similar).

What are your rules? And if someone just wants to tell me to buy and and get over my sewer's guilt, that's ok too :)

 
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Wedding Dress: The Inspiration

I spent the weekend before last beginning the work on my wedding dress and I'll continue to work on it this weekend, so I thought I start to show you what's going on. This post will be about my inspiration for my dress and the next few posts will show you "the plan" and the beginnings of the process.

From the beginning I knew I wanted a short dress for several reasons.

One, the style of the wedding will be pretty casual and the reception will be outdoors in hot Texas so I knew a ballgown wouldn't really work.

Two, I'm a pretty simple girl who doesn't wear a lot of jewelry or like a lot of embellishments or accessories, etc and because I was planning on making the dress myself, I didn't want to attempt something super elaborate with a bustle or detailed beading or anything that would be really complicated and not feel like me anyway.

PS The guiding principle of all my wedding planning thus far has been "does it feel like me?" Is this a slightly fancier, white version of a dress I would wear to a party? Is this the kind of food I would serve if I was having people over for dinner? Does this look similar to the style my house is decorated in? etc. It makes trimming down all the options a lot easier!

Three, the fiance and I love to dance and we would both be annoyed by tripping over a long dress.

Four, I love shoes and I bought fabulous ones for the wedding and I don't want to hide them under a huge skirt.

So it's a short dress for me, and a strapless one. (again because of the heat factor)

       
  
Here are the exact shoes I'm wearing, which are fabulous, and obviously the reason for a short dress.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 





 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The only thing I'm still slightly undecided about is the drape of the bodice. I'm planning on using a bodice pattern with a sweetheart neckline and draping lace over it (more on the lace in my next post), but I'm not sure how exactly I want it to look. Here are some ideas...

       

So that's the inspiration! We'll see how it works out!

All images from this pinterest board
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Cynthia Rowley Take 2

I'm finally getting around to posting the last of my summer dressmaking! Now I have 4 or 5 "fall-ish" dresses I need to photograph and post. Yikes.

This is take 2 of Simplicity's 2250, yet another Cynthia Rowley pattern! I do love my Cynthia Rowley! I've already made this dress once, but something always felt a little off about that version of the dress. I think it had to do mainly with my fabric choice and the length. I used a really light weight broadcloth for my first dress and it always felt a little too wispy and young. Plus the bodice never looked totally right to me because the fabric didn't press well. I ended up giving the dress to my sister though, so I won't talk to much trash about it ;) Hi Allie!

This time I used a heavier weight teal cotton, which pressed much better and even though it might not look like it, the hem is a little longer. Those 2 things have made all the difference, this time around I really love this dress! (PS this has a weird pleated skirt like the dress in my last post. Seriously, check out the line drawings. Not normal...)





Alright, now I'm done with bad pictures and unseasonal clothes! My lovely boytoy has moved back to Texas officially so he can become my permanent photographer! Hopefully next week I'll have some better pictures of my fall sewing!

Happy Weekend!
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Polka Dot Dilemma

I'm just going to come out and say it. I think I look like a child in this dress.

This is the dress I was originally going for(on the right), from the Spring/Summer Clarks advertisements...



And here's what happened...

I used a white with pink polka dot quilting cotton I thrifted a few months back. I also used Simplicity 1873, a Cynthia Rowley pattern. Here's the good news. It fits really well in the bust and I think I did a pretty good job making it, if I do say so myself. It's fully lined with white cotton and I think that, combined with the thickness of the outer fabric and the pleated skirt, is my one problem with the construction. The skirt feels a little heavy and I think the pleats hang a little funny because of the weight. I probably should have just gathered the skirt, instead of using the typical, weird Cynthia Rowley pleated skirt. (is this just me? I feel like every dress I make with her patterns has a weird pleated skirt, either asymmetrical pleats, or just a lot of them. It's never just a gathered or simply pleated skirt. I'm not really complaining though, I usually think they're cute, just not with this fabric)

So, when I comes to the pattern, I will most likely be using it again. In fact I think I already have some fabric in mind for a fall version. I like the shape and I think it fits well. But with this specific dress, something (maybe the polka dots?) makes me look like a little girl. It just feels sort of juvenile, so I haven't actually worn it yet. I was hoping it would be a great work dress but, I'm already pretty young for my field and my position so I usually try to dress a bit older and I feel like this has the opposite effect. I can't figure out why it looks so cute in the advertisement but I don't love it in real life...



What do you think? Mid-20's working lady or 5 year old going to a birthday party?
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Parade of Dresses Day 3: Bombshell Take 2

A million years (or 1.5 weeks) have lapsed since I showed you my gingham Hazel that I wore to the rehearsal dinner of my fiance's cousins wedding. (is that confusing?) I've been hesitating on posting the next few dresses because the pictures are so blurry but I figured I would probably never get around to re-taking them, so maybe blurry is better than nothing? Anyway, now I'm finally showing you the dress I wore to the wedding and it's take 2 (here's my first attempt) of the Bombshell dress from Gertie's Craftsy class...

The fabric is a medium weight quilting cotton I picked up from a quilting store outside of Fort Worth last year. It had Bombshell written all over, especially since I used the sarong skirt from the pattern. It's a little kitschy maybe but I love it. (PS you can see the fabric better in the close up pictures at the end of this post. damn the blurriness of these pictures!)




The only modification I made was to add about an inch to the top of the cup so it covered a little more. (that's for you mom!) To add the extra inch I traced the top cup pattern piece on a plain sheet, marked one inch from the highest point of the cup and drew a curved line to connect that point to the edges of the pattern piece that connected to the side bodice and center bodice pieces. (does that make sense?) The coverage was a lot more appropriate for a family wedding than the first bombshell I made. Also, I noticed that my hand stitching and general construction of the dress improved a lot the second time. Obviously that had to do mostly with the fact that I had made the dress before, but I also think this fabric helped...


Here are some closeups of the fabric, lining, zipper guard and waist stay.






And here's a shot of the dress in action. Obviously it holds up well to dancing like a maniac!



Now that the season's are changing, this dress will probably end up in the closet until next spring/summer. I'm sad to see it go, I'm definitely a big fan.

PS Here's another picture from the wedding (specifically the photo booth at the wedding). It doesn't show the dress at all but I felt like you needed to see it...




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Parade of Dresses: Day 2 Gingham Hazel

Confession time. I made this dress to wear to a "western" themed rehearsal dinner for the fiance's cousin in mid-July and I'm just now blogging about it! Yikes y'all.

Anyway, the invitation said western so I immediately thought of this piece of pink gingham quilting cotton that's been hanging around in my stash for a hot minute. It's medium weight and a little stretchy so I thought it would work well with the Hazel pattern. Plus I think I saw someone else make it in gingham. Maybe? Can't remember...

As always with Colette patterns, the dress went together really easily, I even was able to use my favorite french seams on the bodice pieces (although it wasn't easy, see picture below). I'm really appreciating the fact that my skills have finally caught up with my need to sew things really quickly (aka my ADD). I'm able to turn out garments that are finished really nicely in SO much less time than it used to take me! I guess practice does make perfect(ish)!

 
 



So here's my complaint. You knew I'd have one right? I can't remember what size I cut but I know it was a size smaller than my measurements said it should have been. I checked the finished measurements and thought it would fit snug-ish but with enough ease in the bust and hips for comfort. I even used less of a seam allowance at the waist to make sure I could breath easily. Turns out, I should have listened to Sarai and gone with the size she recommended. This sucker is tight! And a little shorter than I like too. I felt slightly hoochy hanging out with the future in-laws in this dress. Luckily they've known me long enough to know that I'm not too trampy...

Here are a few detail shots that are way better quality than the full body shots. I seriously have to figure out what's going on with my camera...


 
 
A few more dresses to show you, then maybe I'll be back to real time! Hope you're having a good week! I'm working from home with an eye infection. Yuck. At least the week is half over!
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Parade of Dresses Day 1: Darling Ranges

So today starts the Parade of Dresses that will be taking over my blog in the next week or so in order to catch y'all up on the sewing I've done over the past month!

The first dress up is the ever popular Darling Ranges Dress by Megan Nielsen. (Please forgive the crummy pictures)


I made my version sleeveless out of a thin, poly navy and white polka dot material (from an estate sale) that I'm pretty sure was supposed to be lining fabric but I couldn't resist the print. The material was a NIGHTMARE to worked with! It pulled and picked and the buttonholes are the worst things I've ever done in my life but I've still worn the dress probably 6 times in one month, so obviously I like it anyway.


I cut out 2 more of this dress in more appropriate, less miserable fabrics that I think we'll be perfect for fall!


All in all, as everyone knows it's a great pattern and I can't wait to make more!


In other news, did you see Gertie' new line of patterns for Butterick? I just got the email from Amazon saying my copy of Gertie's New Book For Better Sewing shipped today, and then I check Google Reader and now there's even more Gertie goodness hitting my mailbox soon! Congratulations to her, what an accomplishment!
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Vintage Sheet Project

Found this recently through icandy homemade. It's from June of last year so I'm a little behind, but I think this dress might make an appearance a few times this summer in my sewing room. The lovely lady who created the dress and is modeling it here is Kayla from Freckles in April. This is literally 2 long skinny rectangles sewn together with a space for the neck, then folded over and sewn up the sides. So easy! And I love that she uses a vintage sheet since I have a few in fabric stash... Here's the tutorial. Now go make one for yourself!
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What I Actually Wore This Weekend...

You may remember my post on Friday showing off my Lonsdale that I was planning to wear to a wedding this weekend. Many of you left super lovely comments. You are all fabulous and I love you for being such self esteem builders!

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Here's what happened and what I actually ended up wearing this weekend...

So the wedding was at 2pm on Saturday at a church in downtown San Angelo, TX. The fiancé was a groomsman, so he had to be there at 12:45 for pictures. Our hotel was a good 15-20 minutes away from the church and based on some strolling around before the rehearsal dinner the night before, the downtown seemed to have several cute shops, so I decided to get dressed with the fiancé, drop him off, park the car with my heels inside, don some flip-flops and spend an hour browsing before the wedding.

I hit up a cute dress shop and bought a fun necklace, then walked next door to a great old fashioned soda fountain, where one of the lovely ladies working there complimented my dress. Turns out she sews too so I told her all about Sewaholic patterns, so hopefully she'll become a new customer! Next, I headed to a cute antique store run by half a dozen ladies who reminded me of my grandmother. I was at the counter purchasing a great vintage tablecloth when one of the ladies complimented my dress. When I told her I made it, all the ladies came over to see it and asked me to show them the back with the cute bow.

I turned around and to my horror heard one of them say "honey that dress is really cute but its split up the back and I can see your pink underwear"! WHAT??? Oh, by the way, at this point it's 1:30, 30 minutes before the wedding. A few of the sweet women who worked there tried to help but it turned out the zipper had split open under the pull and it would not cooperate at all. I ran to the store's bathroom and tried to work with it to no avail. Luckily, the ladies had safety pins, so I pinned the dress back up and ran to my car, where I hightailed it to the hotel to change. Luckily I brought the following dress with me to wear to lunch with the fiancé’s parents on Sunday, so I didn't have to show up at the wedding in my jeans and I actually ended up only being 5 minutes late to the ceremony. In the end I think it was divine intervention. We danced the night away at the reception and the shoes I was planning to wear with the Lonsdale would have KILLED my feet. I went with a comfy pair of wedges to match this dress. Much better. 
Anyway, on to the dress!

I only wonder how many people in San Angelo saw my underwear before that lady pointed it out!

This fabric came from Etsy sometime last year. It's a 1940's pink cotton lawn with tiny white flowers with navy stems. I love love love it but had a hard time figuring out what to do with it. It was only 36" inches wide and I had about 2.5 yards, so I figured it would have to be a short, strapless dress. I ended up using Simplicity 1876, from the Leanne Marshall line. I used the top from view B and the skirt from view A. It went together really easily and I even got to use some techniques from Gertie's Bombshell course (namely, inserting boning and using twill tape to shape the cups). The only problem is I cut a size 10, hoping it would fit snugly and it's a little too big. I took in the bust seams along the top about 1/4 of an inch each, which helped a little but the waistline is still too big and makes me look wider than I am.




I was hoping I would be able to wear it sans belt, but I think it makes up for the too-big waistline. Plus, looking at the pictures, I think it's necessary to break up all the pinkness.



Here's a shot of the inside with the lining and boning.



All in all I definitely like this dress and will make it again. The skirt has a cute gathering detail on the side seams that you can't really see with this print but I really like. But next time I make it I'll cut an 8 so I can avoid the lack of waist definition.

Ok, now that I've shared my visible underwear horror story with you, has anyone else had something similarly embarrassing happen to them?
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What I'm Wearing This Weekend

I must say I'm in a full on love affair with Sewaholic patterns at the moment. Earlier this week I posted about my love for my Cambie dress, but now I'm majorly crushing on my Lonsdale. This too is a pattern that fit me perfectly without any adjustments. (I know it doesn't look like its fits well in these pictures but that's because I can't stand up straight to save my life) Huzzah for Sewaholic! Please come out with 75 more patterns so I can just make your clothes from now on.



This dress was also an excuse to use this crazy pastel 80's fabric from my favorite local thrift store that's been sitting in my stash for ages. It's a medium weight cotton, maybe orginally intended for curtains or pillows? Not sure, but it was obviously too great to pass up, especially at $4. I debated for months what pattern to use before it hit me. The Lonsdale is a perfect springy/summery pattern to match my springy/summery fabric!

That bow is SOO hard to tie by yourself! Also, again, if I would stand up straight this would look a lot better...
Anyway, in a few hours I'm headed to San Angelo, Texas to re-unite (if only for the weekend) with the fiance and celebrate the wedding of one of our high school friends. This will be the first public appearance of the dress, although, yes, I have worn it around the house a few times. Don't judge. I'm excited to twirl  my skirt and kick my heels up with my boy toy. Plus it will be nice to have someone to help me tie the bow in the back!


Hope you all have fabulous weekends!
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Yay for Girly Dresses!

I've been on a bit of an uncharacteristic productivity streak lately and this is so far my favorite finished garment of the 10 (yes 10! can you believe it?) items I've made in the last 2ish weeks. It's a Cambie!!!

I've noticed lately that I don't really make "girly" clothing. Or at least I don't feel "girly" wearing the things I make. Sexy? Maybe. Cute? Yes. Business-lady like? Definitely. But not really girly. This dress makes me feel girly in the best way. Like I should be twirling or having a tea party. I think it is entirely to do with the sweetheart neckline and cap sleeves. Girly to the max.

Also, can we talk about the brilliance of Sewaholic Patterns fit? I'm a girl who doesn't usually make a ton of fitting adjustments. Overall most patterns fit me well enough (I know that's obnoxious), and I'm definitely not patient enough to worry about small fitting issues, so they're usually ignored. However, every time I've make a Sewaholic pattern it fits perfectly. Perfectly. Like, I put on the garment and think "this is how clothes should feel!" So props to Tasia for that. I'm hoping the streak continues with her new pants/shorts pattern.


I've had this fabric from Fabricmart for ages. I think my original intent was to make a sheath dress but in reality, the fabric is a thin, soft cotton lawn, so I don't think it would look right with the structure of a sheath. I wanted to rock the full skirted version but I didn't have enough fabric, so I used the A-line view. Maybe it's better. If I added a full skirt it might be a girly overload...

It's sort of bothering me now that those flowers don't match up...
I also lined it with a super soft, thin white cotton lawn, so this dress is cool as a cucumber to wear. Which is not something I often say about lined dresses in Texas summers. PS It's supposed to be 110 degrees today. Yikes.


I'm becoming a spoiled brat when it comes to pockets. Every dress should have them!
I first made/wore this dress for my sweet future nephew Cade's baby dedication last Saturday. Then I wore it to my 2nd day of work at the new job. The first day I wore a pencil skirt and blazer. Very business-lady. Then I switched it up and had a girly day. I like to keep people guessing...

Here's the dress in action with my future sister-in-law (and the mom of baby Cade. Yes, she had a baby not that long ago and she looks awesome. I'm sure that will not be the case for me) and my future cousin-in-law with her sweet baby.

I finally got around to taking pictures of almost everything else I've made recently, so hopefully this week will be full of new clothes to show you! Or should I hold off so I have things to post about when this productivity streak inevitabley ends?

Happy Monday!
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Summer Stripes

A few weeks ago I showed you my huge stack projects that took a Game of Thrones season 2 marathon to get cut out and marked. I seem to have gotten my sewing mojo back because I've been powering through the pile of projects! I'm sewing like a maniac these days! Anyway, I have a ton of things to show you but not all of them are photographed because I'm lazy and the light hasn't been great in the apartment lately. Hopefully I'll get to have a photo shoot this week but in the meantime, here's one of the things I did manage to photograph.

I've had these two dresses on my Pinterest board for awhile and I found the perfect fabric on Fabricmart last year but never got around to getting the dress made until last week.


Source: corrico.com via Forrest on Pinterest

So this is the final product. I really like the way it turned out and because it's sort of loose-fitting it's really comfortable. I used Simplicity 2054 , one of the Cynthia Rowley patterns, and pretty much followed the directions except for the neck band. I realized as I was sewing it that I cut the band in the wrong direction, so it wouldn't stretch enough and I didn't want to cut out another, so I just turned the edge and it worked out fine.


So here's the major problem, the back is crazy baggy. I thought about putting a seam down the back to control some of the extra fabric but it fits pretty well in the hips and butt and I don't want to make it any tighter in those areas. Also, I'm not sure if taking it in on the sides would do enough without warping the shape of the dress. And again, I like the loose fit and don't really want to lose that. Anybody have any suggestions?

It's not too awful looking from the side, and I've worn it twice since I made it with no "what is wrong with the back of your dress?" comments, so I might just live with it if I can't think of a good solution.

PS this is definitely one of those projects that was so fast and easy that I couldn't understand why the heck it took me so long to make it! This is going to be a great, easy, throw on dress on days I don't really want to think about what to wear...

Anyway, hope you all have a fabulous week! I'm starting my new job today so wish me luck!
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