Spearmint

 What's that? Well yeah, I did finish Butterick 5748 mas o menos two years ago. Excuse me? Yes, I did have this blog back then but I was busy with-- well yeah, I do normally procrastinate homework as much as possible, but shouldn't it be a good thing that I didn't procrastinate further by putting this dress up? Yeah I suppose you're right, I was probably procrastinating just as much, if not more, by Netflix bingeing. Ok, no excuses for this one: it's pretty damn late to post.

 It was a test! Yeah, that's it! I've proven that I can still fit into semi-fitted dressed two years after I make them to my previous measurements! Because this thing's bust and waist are supah fitted! Although I'm pretty sure that my measurements have increased mainly in my tummy and hips. Thankgod that patterns' waists are usually the natural waist ;)

 I really like how flowy this dress is; I'm pretty sure it's a full circle skirt (that's how it seems when I hold the side seams out as far as they go) This skirt, as long as it is, nearly gave me a few Marilyn moments this afternoon when I was out and about getting shit done after church.

 Ah, I really need to either take notes as I sew or write posts while I sew/as soon as I finish. Because now I'm not 100% about what kind of fabric this is. What I DO know is that it's a beautiful spearminty blue and SHEER. This bodice was my firsthand experience about the necessity of underlinings. I sewed up all my darts and did the mandatory hold-up-to-abdomen check to see if things were going smoothly and ALL THE FRICKIN DARTS SHOWED THROUGH HOLYCRAP WHYYY??? And then I realized I needed another layer of cloth. Unpicked all the darts. Attached underlining. Resewed the darts. And then they looked wonderful :)

 Besides the underlining, the bodice is also lined. It was one of those things where I sewed everything together right sides together and had to turn everything right side out through one of the straps and for a few minutes I wasn't sure it was gonna make it. But the turmoil was worth it because NO FACINGS and look how nice the neckline looks!

 Look how beautifully the skirt flows!! Makes me happy. Another point for the sheer-ness of the fabric: the skirt is self lined and still really transparent. Thank goodness I for some reason own a half slip.

Yay for finally posting things I made forever ago!

 

Okie dokie, howbout a little list of details I actually remember?

 

Pattern: Butterick 5748

Notions: Invisible Zipper (hand picked)

Finishing: Bodice and Skirt lined, seams bound with Bias Tape

 

Wow that's a short list. I really need to take notes.

Low Tech Labels

In an effort to make a habit out of posting, I thought I'd share more than just completed makes. And because I usually don't remember to pause my sewing to take process photos, I'm going to try to update the blog with cool tools or tutorials or fabric or I come across, or sewing ideas that I'm mentally toying around with. That way I'm already in the habit of posting if/when I finish pieces more regularly.

 

For a while now I've wanted tags or labels to put in my makes. Even though I'm not selling them, I guess I just want to mark my territory in a way. Like, I spent all this time on this, I want to claim it! I've looked up ways to make my own, because most premade labels aren't really appealing to me. Lots of them say stuff like "Made with love by Grandma" lol notme. I really do like the ones that say "this took forever!" I think Sewaholic sells them? Anyway, I've read tutorials on ordering fabric from sites like Spoonflower, but that seemed intimidating--I nearly always screw stuff up the first time I print. If I can't get the margins on my resume to look right, I don't want to buy fabric, pay for shipping, and then feel stupid that I did it wrong once it comes in.

 

So I went the at-home route!

The above is my finished product and I really like it, even though I designed it using a combo of Paint and Microsoft Word. Fancy, right? I'm not a techie and I don't have a Mac. My computer's kind of a piece of crap and it gets freezy trying to run newfangled, complicated programs. She can handle Paint and Word.

 If you, to want to make labels super-duper easily, this is the stuff I used! Got it at Hancock fabric, and the pack has 4 A4 sized sheets. There's separate packs for inkjet and laser printers. It cost $7 and I had a 15% off coupon (yay coupons!!!)

The directions are very clear: get your image perfectly perfect on the computer; print it out on the fabric side; let dry 10 minutes; iron on high heat 2 minutes (no steam!) and you're good! I used pinking shears to cut each one out, as the fabric is 100% cotton. it says dry clean only but I'm not sure if I'm going to honor that condition.

Besides my cute lil labels, I bought something else sewing related: a dressform! Look at her! Isn't she great?

 I haven't used her for an actual project yet; that cloth in the picture is just the product of me messing around on her making pleats. I will have more to tell about her once I've used her more. For now all I can say is I'm so excited to have a dressform and she creeps out a majority of my family members. If they ever see this post they'll probably be more creeped out by the fact that I refer to it as she. How're they going to handle it if I name her?

Spring Colors

A week ago I skipped on over to Kollabora for a bit of garment-lust sewjo inspiration and lo and behold, I found this beauty. Ah Simplicity 2250, famous for reducing many a seamstress to tears, or at least frustrated growls. Those were the vibes I was getting when I read the Pattern Review posts at least. I myself began a foray into the depths of Simplicity 2250 in May 2013. Got the bodice done, connected it to the 'ol lining, constructed the skirt; even added pockets! Then I tried the bodice on. I really shoulda known it'd be bad because I had looked at all the reviews, but reading through the alterations gave me a headache and I was of the, 'yeah, I'm just going to make it and see if it's really that bad then deal with it' mindset. That's how I got frustrated enough to let the separate bodice and skirt sit around for almost 2 years. But Kate's dress! So gorgeous! So colorblocked! I needed my version to be that pretty!

I broke out my sad WIP and got to work. Originally the green at the top was white, but the blue-white combo reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, and as a petite babyfaced 20 year old, prepubescent girls aren't want I want to be emulating through my clothes (no offense to Alice). I think I made a good call with the green, it looks so spring-ey with the bright blue. That was what I was going for, a bright springtime dress. Not to be cocky, but pretty sure I nailed it.

Since one of the things about the WIP that bugged the crap out of me was the way the lining didn't fit well to the bodice, I took them apart...then decided to just ditch the lining. I also opted out of the kind of pleated, kind of gathered skirt and just gathered the whole shebang.

 So I totally spent ages situating the straps to cover bra straps before sewing them down. Lol that worked out.

yes, the bodice pattern piece was craycray

Overall, I FREAKING LOVE this dress. The bodice is pretty well fitted without being constraining and the skirt is roomy, which, while I don't think it's the most flattering shape for my figure, means I can run around and dance without being afraid of ripping anything or flashing anyone. Plus, pockets.

 

When I wore it to my family's Easter get-together, my grandma complimented me on it by saying that she likes how modest it is. Haha thanks grandma. I know she didn't mean for it to be a backhanded compliment, but I usually lean toward clothes that g-ma doesn't classify as "modest" so I dunno how I feel about it.

I hope everyone's had a lovely Easter full of family, relaxation, and candy. I've personally been bingeing on Jolly Rancher jellybeans--they're the best. And there's not even a gross black licorice flavor!