Ponte Knit Alyssa Dress

Pattern: Alyssa Dress - Spit Up & Stilletos (formerly Sewloft)
Fabric:  Ponte Knit Fabric - Remnant from JoAnn's

I sewed this dress in a day way back when before Easter but never got around to posting it until now. This was a really straightforward pattern - just two pieces - and I sewed my standard size 8 grading out to a 10 in the hips. I should say this was also a free pattern! Spit Up & Stilletos used to be Sewloft Patterns but they decided to make the switch from women's patterns to children's patterns and as a result all of their old women's patterns are free pdf downloads. Needless to say I downloaded just about all of them and based off of how this dress turned out I think it was a pretty good idea.

Since I used a ponte knit this is a bit tighter/slimmer fitting and it's easy, depending on what I pair with it, to dress it up or down. I think it would be interesting to make this again in a knit fabric with more stretch because I'm pretty sure the fit would be more sundress and less bodycon.

All in all it's a nice addition to my summer wardrobe, I used up some fabric I had laying around, and I felt like a sewing champ after making it in two hours. In other news I've been working on my 'muslin' ginger jeans for the last two weeks and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be finishing them up today - so excited to be able to wear them and get started cutting into my fancy raw denim.

Pattern: Alyssa Dress - Spit Up & Stilletos (formerly Sewloft)
Fabric:  Ponte Knit Fabric - Remnant from JoAnn's

I sewed this dress in a day way back when before Easter but never got around to posting it until now. This was a really straightforward pattern - just two pieces - and I sewed my standard size 8 grading out to a 10 in the hips. I should say this was also a free pattern! Spit Up & Stilletos used to be Sewloft Patterns but they decided to make the switch from women's patterns to children's patterns and as a result all of their old women's patterns are free pdf downloads. Needless to say I downloaded just about all of them and based off of how this dress turned out I think it was a pretty good idea.

Since I used a ponte knit this is a bit tighter/slimmer fitting and it's easy, depending on what I pair with it, to dress it up or down. I think it would be interesting to make this again in a knit fabric with more stretch because I'm pretty sure the fit would be more sundress and less bodycon.

All in all it's a nice addition to my summer wardrobe, I used up some fabric I had laying around, and I felt like a sewing champ after making it in two hours. In other news I've been working on my 'muslin' ginger jeans for the last two weeks and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be finishing them up today - so excited to be able to wear them and get started cutting into my fancy raw denim.

By Hand London - Textured Sabrina Dress

I was trying to catch the light so you could see dress and the fabric texture

Fabric: textured ponte like knit - Colorado Fabrics
Pattern:  Sabrina Dress - By Hand London

How's it going everyone? I feel like it's that part of the winter where I'm anxious for spring but we're really no where close - do you guys ever feel like that? That all being said I figured making a dress would perk me up even though it hasn't really been dress weather here. Oh well...This is a pattern I've made twice before to make dresses as Christmas presents for my two roommates. I never posted about those dresses because I hadn't taken any pictures but the pattern is pretty easy to follow and sew up.

Both times prior to making this version I had used a non-stretch fabric which gives the dress a much more crisp appearance. This is a pretty sturdy knit and I actually like the drape and weight of how this turned out. Not to mention that because it's a cozy knit fabric this dress is super comfortable. The pattern calls for an invisible zipper up the back. I left that out due to the ease of the knit and it was a good decision because I didn't need it at all. I actually might need to take in the dress a bit on the sides but I'm going to wait until after I wash it just in case it shrinks a little bit.

I flat-felled all of the seams in order to get a nice clean finish on the inside but I kind of wish I hadn't. The reason for that is that the texture and weight of the fabric makes the seams look a little bulky at least to me. I feel like if I had just left the seams unfinished the inside of the dress might be a little ugly but the outside would look more smooth. This dress can definitely be dressed up or down depending on what I wear it with and all in all I think it's a great addition to my wardrobe. I love the texture of the fabric - I actually think it might be the same fabric Erin from sewbon used in her magena fringe jumper. Textured fabrics really stand out to me as different and they just add that extra detail that you don't see in a lot of clothes. That being said it was super hard to photograph but I tried my best.

It felt great to make a dress and I'm already planning my next one. Hopefully I'll have some chair updates to share with you all by the end of the week...i'll just say, it's looking great!

I was trying to catch the light so you could see dress and the fabric texture

Fabric: textured ponte like knit - Colorado Fabrics
Pattern:  Sabrina Dress - By Hand London

How's it going everyone? I feel like it's that part of the winter where I'm anxious for spring but we're really no where close - do you guys ever feel like that? That all being said I figured making a dress would perk me up even though it hasn't really been dress weather here. Oh well...This is a pattern I've made twice before to make dresses as Christmas presents for my two roommates. I never posted about those dresses because I hadn't taken any pictures but the pattern is pretty easy to follow and sew up.

Both times prior to making this version I had used a non-stretch fabric which gives the dress a much more crisp appearance. This is a pretty sturdy knit and I actually like the drape and weight of how this turned out. Not to mention that because it's a cozy knit fabric this dress is super comfortable. The pattern calls for an invisible zipper up the back. I left that out due to the ease of the knit and it was a good decision because I didn't need it at all. I actually might need to take in the dress a bit on the sides but I'm going to wait until after I wash it just in case it shrinks a little bit.

I flat-felled all of the seams in order to get a nice clean finish on the inside but I kind of wish I hadn't. The reason for that is that the texture and weight of the fabric makes the seams look a little bulky at least to me. I feel like if I had just left the seams unfinished the inside of the dress might be a little ugly but the outside would look more smooth. This dress can definitely be dressed up or down depending on what I wear it with and all in all I think it's a great addition to my wardrobe. I love the texture of the fabric - I actually think it might be the same fabric Erin from sewbon used in her magena fringe jumper. Textured fabrics really stand out to me as different and they just add that extra detail that you don't see in a lot of clothes. That being said it was super hard to photograph but I tried my best.

It felt great to make a dress and I'm already planning my next one. Hopefully I'll have some chair updates to share with you all by the end of the week...i'll just say, it's looking great!

Thrift Store Hack: Frumpy Frock into Gathered Waist Sundress

Let me start by saying that this hack was both a success and a failure. Obviously, maybe this is a bit presumptuous of me, the sundress after version looks much better than the before; however, this was a bit of a hack job on my part and I made a ton of simple sewing errors. If I'm being really honest the majority of the errors were made because I was rushing, and that's when most of the mistakes I make when sewing happen. The center gather channel that the tied waist band sits in is crooked (guess who didn't draw a straight line to follow!) and all of the hems are rippled. I have all of these great (at least to me) ideas in my head and not enough time so I sew faster than I should, then get angry with the mistakes, then get more angry fixing my mistakes and the time it's taking. The end result: i'm just a mess of pins, a whirring sewing machine, and usually a piece that's ruined beyond repair or not wearable outside. This happens to me over and over again, but I've really been trying to work at taking my time when sewing. Realizing that I don't have to complete a piece from start to finish in one day even though I'd like to is a big help as well. When I push myself that hard I'm not enjoying myself or doing my best work. As my skills advance hopefully my speed will pick up as well, but I'm just not there. So I said all of that to say that from far away this dress looks nice, especially compared to what it was before, but at least to me up close it has a lot of faults. I may just sound like I'm being hard on myself, but I don't want to give the home sewers out there a bad rep. I feel like a lot of people picture home sewn clothes as dowdy, plain, lacking style. That can't be further from the truth, but a lot of people are unaware of that. I'm always afraid people will be able to tell the difference between my made items and ready to wear (RTW) items. Besides the individuality of the clothes I'm sewing from patterns to style I want my pieces to look professional.... If I wanted to I could fix these things, but in reality I'm not going to. This fits in with my wardrobe overhaul, fits my body nicely, and even though it might not last for more than a season I got this dress for about $4 from Goodwill.  At the time I didn't have any purpose for it so I threw it in my stash. The dress was hideous unless shiny purple frock dresses that fit like a sack with a necktie and shoulder pads are your thing. Make sure to click the link below to get the 'How To' and more pictures!

Let me start by saying that this hack was both a success and a failure. Obviously, maybe this is a bit presumptuous of me, the sundress after version looks much better than the before; however, this was a bit of a hack job on my part and I made a ton of simple sewing errors. If I'm being really honest the majority of the errors were made because I was rushing, and that's when most of the mistakes I make when sewing happen. The center gather channel that the tied waist band sits in is crooked (guess who didn't draw a straight line to follow!) and all of the hems are rippled. I have all of these great (at least to me) ideas in my head and not enough time so I sew faster than I should, then get angry with the mistakes, then get more angry fixing my mistakes and the time it's taking. The end result: i'm just a mess of pins, a whirring sewing machine, and usually a piece that's ruined beyond repair or not wearable outside. This happens to me over and over again, but I've really been trying to work at taking my time when sewing. Realizing that I don't have to complete a piece from start to finish in one day even though I'd like to is a big help as well. When I push myself that hard I'm not enjoying myself or doing my best work. As my skills advance hopefully my speed will pick up as well, but I'm just not there. So I said all of that to say that from far away this dress looks nice, especially compared to what it was before, but at least to me up close it has a lot of faults. I may just sound like I'm being hard on myself, but I don't want to give the home sewers out there a bad rep. I feel like a lot of people picture home sewn clothes as dowdy, plain, lacking style. That can't be further from the truth, but a lot of people are unaware of that. I'm always afraid people will be able to tell the difference between my made items and ready to wear (RTW) items. Besides the individuality of the clothes I'm sewing from patterns to style I want my pieces to look professional.... If I wanted to I could fix these things, but in reality I'm not going to. This fits in with my wardrobe overhaul, fits my body nicely, and even though it might not last for more than a season I got this dress for about $4 from Goodwill.  At the time I didn't have any purpose for it so I threw it in my stash. The dress was hideous unless shiny purple frock dresses that fit like a sack with a necktie and shoulder pads are your thing. Make sure to click the link below to get the 'How To' and more pictures!

Wardrobe Overhaul

Top Row From Left: 1, 2, 3, 4
       Bottom Row From Left: 1, 2, 3, 4 
       

I've been thinking a lot more about my wardrobe, especially since I have been trying to plan what patterns to purchase in the upcoming months. At first I was just going to buy seasonal things, but I really decide to stop and think things out more especially after following Coletterie's Wardrobe Architect Series. The series really made me put a lot of thought into my style, styles I think I like but don't really work well on me, colors, and pieces I love wearing. More than that it really made me focus on what sorts of things I want to make in order to build up my wardrobe with pieces that will be well made and last for years. I don't really want buy trendy things or cheaply made things that I rarely wear, that don't fit well, or that I end up tossing out/giving away after a year or worse a few months. The above items are silhouette's of pieces I would like to have or add to my spring/summer wardrobe. Some of the things listed above are exact pieces I want to make and others are examples of types of things I want. Click the link below to keep reading about my color palette and patterns I'm planning on using to make some of the above outfits.

Top Row From Left: 1, 2, 3, 4
       Bottom Row From Left: 1, 2, 3, 4 
       

I've been thinking a lot more about my wardrobe, especially since I have been trying to plan what patterns to purchase in the upcoming months. At first I was just going to buy seasonal things, but I really decide to stop and think things out more especially after following Coletterie's Wardrobe Architect Series. The series really made me put a lot of thought into my style, styles I think I like but don't really work well on me, colors, and pieces I love wearing. More than that it really made me focus on what sorts of things I want to make in order to build up my wardrobe with pieces that will be well made and last for years. I don't really want buy trendy things or cheaply made things that I rarely wear, that don't fit well, or that I end up tossing out/giving away after a year or worse a few months. The above items are silhouette's of pieces I would like to have or add to my spring/summer wardrobe. Some of the things listed above are exact pieces I want to make and others are examples of types of things I want. Click the link below to keep reading about my color palette and patterns I'm planning on using to make some of the above outfits.

Self-Drafted Dress Disaster

Laughing at my roommate coming in the room, realizing I was taking a picture and jumping into the closet to hide

 

I tried to semi self-draft a summery knit dress this Saturday and it was a complete failure. Maybe not a complete failure because it doesn't look that bad in the picture above...but it just didn't turn out as expected.

 

I had this red knit fabric in my stash for awhile, and I wanted to make a nice flowy comfortably dress for the summer. I used the Renfrew top pattern to sketch out the top, and then just cut out four rectangles for the bottom and gathered them together. I like the way the top portion fits and the way the skirt portion fits as well, but it's the middle portion where the top and bottom meet that I'm unhappy with. I'm not sure if the gathers of the skirt make it too heavy, but it pulls down on the top. I wanted the seam to be right at my true waist and it's lower down around my belly button which isn't flattering on my figure. It's also too loose. When I made the gathers on the skirt I gathered to the size of my true waist, but I didn't gather the top and I'm wondering if that caused it too loosen up.

I'm not sure if it's worth trying to fix or not. I could possible slash it at the waist and re-sew the skirt onto the top 5 inches higher. I think the bottom hem might then be too short. Another option would be to just ditch the top and add a tighter waistband onto the skirt. What do you guys think? Have you ever had a self-drafting disaster?

Laughing at my roommate coming in the room, realizing I was taking a picture and jumping into the closet to hide

 

I tried to semi self-draft a summery knit dress this Saturday and it was a complete failure. Maybe not a complete failure because it doesn't look that bad in the picture above...but it just didn't turn out as expected.

 

I had this red knit fabric in my stash for awhile, and I wanted to make a nice flowy comfortably dress for the summer. I used the Renfrew top pattern to sketch out the top, and then just cut out four rectangles for the bottom and gathered them together. I like the way the top portion fits and the way the skirt portion fits as well, but it's the middle portion where the top and bottom meet that I'm unhappy with. I'm not sure if the gathers of the skirt make it too heavy, but it pulls down on the top. I wanted the seam to be right at my true waist and it's lower down around my belly button which isn't flattering on my figure. It's also too loose. When I made the gathers on the skirt I gathered to the size of my true waist, but I didn't gather the top and I'm wondering if that caused it too loosen up.

I'm not sure if it's worth trying to fix or not. I could possible slash it at the waist and re-sew the skirt onto the top 5 inches higher. I think the bottom hem might then be too short. Another option would be to just ditch the top and add a tighter waistband onto the skirt. What do you guys think? Have you ever had a self-drafting disaster?

Simple Sundress or Beach Wrap

Coco seemed to think Corey was giving treats and she kept hopping around

I love summer sundresses. They're light so you never get hot and usually made of stretchy material so you never feel uncomfortable. I don't know why anyone bothers with pants or shorts, I for one will be trying to get away with wearing the dress above as many days as I can. If you're ever on Pinterest you've probably seen this gorgeous Victoria Secret Beach Wrap :

It retails for $49.99 but you can find some knock-offs for $29.99 if you sleuth around the internet long enough. Or you can do what I did and make one for $7.99! I had a leftover yard of that rayon/spandex purple fabric from one of the maxi skirts I made. I was originally just planning on this being a bathing suit cover up but it's really sturdy and can function as a sundress as well. You'll only need a yard of 60" fabric more if your fabric isn't that wide or if you make a longer dress version. I have all my steps listed after the link.

Coco seemed to think Corey was giving treats and she kept hopping around

I love summer sundresses. They're light so you never get hot and usually made of stretchy material so you never feel uncomfortable. I don't know why anyone bothers with pants or shorts, I for one will be trying to get away with wearing the dress above as many days as I can. If you're ever on Pinterest you've probably seen this gorgeous Victoria Secret Beach Wrap :

It retails for $49.99 but you can find some knock-offs for $29.99 if you sleuth around the internet long enough. Or you can do what I did and make one for $7.99! I had a leftover yard of that rayon/spandex purple fabric from one of the maxi skirts I made. I was originally just planning on this being a bathing suit cover up but it's really sturdy and can function as a sundress as well. You'll only need a yard of 60" fabric more if your fabric isn't that wide or if you make a longer dress version. I have all my steps listed after the link.