True Confessions
It's been a long time since I posted because I let myself get stymied by a lack of photographs. For a nice-ish outdoor shot, I need someone else to take the photo. And even though I live with 8 other people on a regular basis, five of them are under the age of nine (and I don't trust them with our camera) and the other three are often busy either earning money or wrangling the aforementioned youngsters. Anyway, I let a lack of photos keep me from blogging and it's been bugging me. Tonight there was still enough light left, so I dragged David out for a quick photo shoot.
I only finished two of the three dresses I had hoped to make last month. June is a crazy month for us - it's the last month of the school year, which means parties and celebrations and special events galore, and we had two (TWO!) group camping retreats planned. When we were home we were mostly just working on organizing the space from our mess - not creating anything.
But, without further ado, I present you with the two dresses that I did finish:
How cute is this? And so blessed easy to wear! I even took it to the pool a couple of weekends ago and it made changing into dry clothes so much quicker. The skirt is A-line enough to give me some shape, but not so wide that I flash everyone around if I wear it to ride my bike. And I get compliments on it.
This is a basic princess seamed dress. Last year my mother-in-law gave it to me (along with others from her collection) while we were visiting. I changed the neckline, added piping to the neck and armholes, and added a lining. I made a muslin and the dress went together super fast. I did add in-seam pockets, but they gaped funny, so I stitched them shut and cut out the pocket bags. Problem solved. The fabric is a batiked thick cotton from the clearance section at Fabricland. The lining is black Bemberg rayon. This does make the dress warmer in the warm weather, but since it is black it will get a fair amount of spring and fall use. I could definitely do with a couple more dresses like this one for the summer.
BurdaStyle 05-2010-105 is a complete departure from my norm. I've known that I wanted to make this dress out of this fabric for quite a while now. It has a bit of a rock-n-roll vibe, I think. It's good for a hot day when you would like a fair bit of breeze on your arms and upper body. And, since the cut of the dress is rectangular, it suits my rectangular shape. I get compliments every time I wear it. It is as comfortable as wearing pajamas. I just need to find the perfect belt. And a bracelet/cuff thing.
I did get the center back seam of my nearly finished dress pinned, chalked and thread basted, but I didn't have the time to consider my zipper options. I have a lovely metal-toothed zipper that I would like to insert with just the teeth exposed, but the teeth are quite scratchy, so it would need a little flap of fabric to protect my back. I might end up just dropping by Dressew and picking up a nylon zip.
My last dress never made it out of either the fabric or the pattern bins. I want to remake this dress in black eyelet with yellow batiste underneath and yellow piping. This time I will know to interface the top edge of the bodice so it doesn't stretch out.
This week I have been cranking out a handmade wedding present. Our friend is getting married tomorrow. He is a woodworker/furniture maker and they asked specifically for handmade gifts. Here is their gift from me/us.
I still need to finish the card with the explanatory drawing and wrap the gift, but it is essentially done!
Phew! Now maybe I can try to return to more regular sewing and blogging.
I only finished two of the three dresses I had hoped to make last month. June is a crazy month for us - it's the last month of the school year, which means parties and celebrations and special events galore, and we had two (TWO!) group camping retreats planned. When we were home we were mostly just working on organizing the space from our mess - not creating anything.
But, without further ado, I present you with the two dresses that I did finish:
How cute is this? And so blessed easy to wear! I even took it to the pool a couple of weekends ago and it made changing into dry clothes so much quicker. The skirt is A-line enough to give me some shape, but not so wide that I flash everyone around if I wear it to ride my bike. And I get compliments on it.
This is a basic princess seamed dress. Last year my mother-in-law gave it to me (along with others from her collection) while we were visiting. I changed the neckline, added piping to the neck and armholes, and added a lining. I made a muslin and the dress went together super fast. I did add in-seam pockets, but they gaped funny, so I stitched them shut and cut out the pocket bags. Problem solved. The fabric is a batiked thick cotton from the clearance section at Fabricland. The lining is black Bemberg rayon. This does make the dress warmer in the warm weather, but since it is black it will get a fair amount of spring and fall use. I could definitely do with a couple more dresses like this one for the summer.
BurdaStyle 05-2010-105 is a complete departure from my norm. I've known that I wanted to make this dress out of this fabric for quite a while now. It has a bit of a rock-n-roll vibe, I think. It's good for a hot day when you would like a fair bit of breeze on your arms and upper body. And, since the cut of the dress is rectangular, it suits my rectangular shape. I get compliments every time I wear it. It is as comfortable as wearing pajamas. I just need to find the perfect belt. And a bracelet/cuff thing.
I did get the center back seam of my nearly finished dress pinned, chalked and thread basted, but I didn't have the time to consider my zipper options. I have a lovely metal-toothed zipper that I would like to insert with just the teeth exposed, but the teeth are quite scratchy, so it would need a little flap of fabric to protect my back. I might end up just dropping by Dressew and picking up a nylon zip.
My last dress never made it out of either the fabric or the pattern bins. I want to remake this dress in black eyelet with yellow batiste underneath and yellow piping. This time I will know to interface the top edge of the bodice so it doesn't stretch out.
This week I have been cranking out a handmade wedding present. Our friend is getting married tomorrow. He is a woodworker/furniture maker and they asked specifically for handmade gifts. Here is their gift from me/us.
I still need to finish the card with the explanatory drawing and wrap the gift, but it is essentially done!
Phew! Now maybe I can try to return to more regular sewing and blogging.
Comments
I am hoping to get sewing soon Sarah. Can you recommend a starting point for fabric and all the extra bits? Do you have a favourite store in Van? I am making a teddy bear (in the shape of a black bear - for a new niece/nephew soon to be born)(perhaps a little adventurous as a new project but it can't hurt to try) so am thinking I will need some furry brown/black fabric, stuffing etc. I would LOVE to use organic or as natural as possible fabrics if such things existed and I could afford them. Any suggestions of where to start looking?
Thanks!