Miss Modern

Well, not completely modern. 

The skirt is a vintage dress pattern that I love.  I actually wore the dress today and have decided I need to make a Fall or Winter appropriate version.  

One more project to add to the list, which gets longer every day!

I am not exactly sure what made me pair these two designs together, but I am very pleased with the result.

The Cynthia Rowley design is wonderful . . . and those pants look pretty cute, too.  If only I was six feet tall like the model.

There have been quite a few questions about the bra cups I used for this top.  They are Dritz Soft Molded Bra Cups I found at JoAnn Fabrics – nothing special.  I will say that I have used their Molded Bra Cups before and they are like armor.  I prefer something that can actually bend – both for wearing and during construction of the garment!  The Soft Molded version can be trimmed down, which is also handy.

Because the design has under-bust and princess seams, there are plenty of seam allowances to tack them into place.

It just hit me – both of these patterns are Simplicity.  Perhaps the pairing is not so strange after all, even if they are separated by sixty plus years!

Top:  Made by me, Simplicity 1371

Skirt:  Made by me, Simplicity 3224

Shoes:  Hinge

Summer Dress Redux

In an attempt to get a bit more wear out of this summer frock, a couple of weeks ago I turned it into a jumper for the day and paired it with one of my favorite blouses.

This week it turned really COLD and rainy.  Now, if you live in a truly frigid climate, today was probably bikini weather, but here in the Bay Area, we are cold weather wimps.

Which means it is time to pull out the tights, and wear (and knit!) lots of sweaters.

I managed to burn the top of my hand baking dinner this evening – what a dummy.  Only last week I caught my arm on the edge of the iron.  I really have no idea what I was doing flailing my arms about, which is the only thing that explains how I got the top of my forearm with the iron edge.  When did I become such a klutz?

I think I will relax with a cup of tea, some knitting needles, and yummy wool yarn!

Dress:  Made by me, Simplicity 3224

Blouse:  Made by me, McCall 8358

Belt:  Made by me

Shoes:  Chelsea Crew

Summer Eyelet

Remember this eyelet project? 

Well, I finally finished it!

I am slowly working my way through all of those unfinished bits that are cluttering up my sewing room so I can begin my gala project in earnest!

I have a bad habit of getting excited about a new project and jumping right in without finishing what I currently have on the sewing table.  This particular dress was put aside when I was distracted by my Fall for Cotton top.  All it needed was a hem and a belt. 

Since I will be focusing on just one outfit for the next month or so, everything distracting needs to be out of sight.  Not to mention the change of seasons will make anything summer related much less exciting, which is a great motivation to finish something made of lightweight eyelet.

There was not quite enough fabric for a belt, and all that pink needed a bit of contrast anyway.  

Years ago, JoAnn Fabrics had a deep burgundy velvet, and I was really hoping they might still have some in stock since my remnants from this hat would not accommodate a belt shape.  And, miraculously, they did!  

I ended up doing something a little different for the "buckle."  Using the top from a plastic container, I cut an oval form, which I then covered with cotton batting, followed by the velvet fabric.

Now it is time to clean up that sewing room!

Dress & Bolero:  Made by me, Simplicity 3224

Belt:  Made by me

Shoes:  Banana Republic

Necklace:  Judith Jack

Brooch:  Vintage

Earrings:  Macys

Lacey Eyelet

There is still a bit of work to be done on Simplicity 3224, but I am getting there!  Kris generously emailed me a copy of the instructions (thank you!), but I am going to hold off looking at them until I finish, and then compare what I did to the original construction.

To complicate matters, I am working with eyelet, which requires a bit of extra finishing work.  Silk organza came to my rescue, once again.  I found three yards that I completely forgot about – love when that happens!

This is not going to work . . . 

Unfortunately, I did not think my pocket construction all the way through.  Sometimes auto pilot gets in the way.

I will just call the mistake my practice run.  The opening is what needs to be finished, not the bottom portion - whoops!  Way to miss the obvious!

I wanted my eyelet motifs to match as much as possible, so I marked those in chalk on the pocket and pocket flap tissue.

One side of the flap is underlined in my ivory bemberg and the other in silk organza for a bit more body.

One thing that took me way too long to understand was clipping exterior curves.  Interior curves were clearly not going to lay flat without a few cuts, but I never really understood why a circle edge could be so lumpy.  But clip a few little triangles out of the curve and everything is perfectly smooth!

The bodice is underlined, but I am treating my ivory bemberg as a lining for the skirt pieces.  Because the two fabrics drape very differently, I cut the rayon lining shorter than the cotton eyelet.  The dress has been hanging for a couple of days, and parts of the lining are now even with the cotton eyelet, which is exactly what I was expecting.

At the moment, I am working on the bolero.

Look Ma, no directions!

This project is a first for me – working without instructions!

When I started garment sewing, I assumed there was only one way to construct a pattern.  I figured that the directions were there for a reason, and ignoring them would cause major problems.  What can I say, I was naïve.

Part of what makes garment construction so much fun for me these days is the infinite number of ways a dress can be put together.

So when I came upon this vintage pattern that did not include the instruction pages, I was disappointed to miss out on learning new techniques, but figured it would also be a great challenge.

The pattern is printed, and I have the cover art which gives me a good idea of what the dress should look like.

Unfortunately, the ebay seller's description failed to mention the missing and damaged pieces – which I find rather irritating.

The bolero front is torn and missing an important chunk.  Thankfully, I was able to piece together what the original looked like using the facing.  And the cuffs and another facing piece are completely missing.  I think I will be able to work around all of this, but I never would have purchased a pattern without directions AND pieces.  Which makes this a bit more challenging than expected . . .

Wish me luck!