Purple Flower Power Dress Revealed - Vogue V1858

 

It has been almost a whole month since I last posted about this dress.  I had mentioned that I wanted to do something extra.  My "extra" was to add some silk flowers and petals to the dress.  It took me a while to decide how to place the flowers and the petals on it.  I knew I wanted to make a corsage like flower, not detachable.  Also, I thought of putting one flower at the hem.  I still wasn't sold on the placement.  

After talking with Rhonda about my idea, she helped me rearrange the flowers and the petals.  So today, finally, I'm sharing how I finished the purple flower power dress.  First, I added three flowers at the top shoulder area.  The one directly on top is a detachable corsage.  I was afraid that it would get mangled if I sewed it onto the dress.  The leaves were the biggest concern.  The remaining two were placed on the back shoulder, kind of in a cluster like a bouquet.  Then I sewed on petals falling down the back of the dress with the majority of them at the hem.  To complement the beaded zipper, I added a few beads to each petal and flower. 

I changed the length of the dress as well.  Initially, I added several inches to it.  After taking a few pictures, I decided to shorten it a bit.  Above are a few photos taken prior to the floral additions and the length adjustment.  So, that's it for now.  

I haven't made anything new since March.  I've been busy with other things.  We will see what the coming warmer season brings.

BTW- This was my Easter dress.  

Happy Sewing!

C

Minerva ITY Silky Knit - McCall M7812 and Simplicity S9147 Third Time Is A Charm

This is a showing of a new top and pair of pants using patterns I've used before.  Once I work out fit issues of a good wardrobe staple pattern, it's so easy to make it again and again.  Such is the case with both M7812 and S9147.

It's been a few years since I used McCall 7812.  Here is the link to my review.  Simplicity 9147 is a new release, and I've made a modified version of the pants three times in less than four months.  Link to initial review is here.  Both patterns are now a TNT (tried and true) for me.  

For my latest version of the top, I used a lovely ITY silky knit from Minerva Fabrics.  I love the bold print and the vibrant colors.  Perfect for my little blue and red wardrobe.  My slacks are made using a beautiful stretch woven that I got from Mood Fabrics several years ago.  It was originally slated for a dress, but I changed my mind. Lol.  I have enough left  for a vest, which I'll make later.  Both fabrics were pre-washed and dried before I cut into them.  

So here is to TNT's.  Which TNT's do you most often grab?  Please share. ;-)

Happy Sewing!  More to come.

C

 

Vogue V1786 -Minerva Navy and Black Jacquard Shirt

I'm happy to share photos of my latest make: Vogue V1786,  a new pattern from the spring 2021 collection. Loved how it turned out. 

Here is a link to my Minerva profile that contains the rest of my review. The previous post included the details on the pattern adjustments. 

Happy Sewing!

C

Hoodies - McCall M8054

 

 

 

I wanted to make something other than pajamas for my daughter.  But I didn't want to spend time going through the whole fit process.  I've been physically l and mentally drained for a number of reasons, which I won't go into.  So, when I was searching for something to make for her, I came across this McCall's (M8054, CharlieMcCalls) hoodie pattern.  It was in a bag of patterns that I purchased before the Covid-19 lock down.   I thought it was easy enough not to require any major fit issues.  

 

McCall's describes it as: Close-fitting, pullover tops have princess seams and narrow hem. A: Purchased trim. A, B: Neck band. Fitted hoodie has hem band and exposed zipper. C, D: Contrast lined hood. D: Kangaroo pockets. All have cuffs and raglan sleeves, and fit for men's sizing.

I made size small for my DD, views C and D with some design changes.  In my opinion, it is not close- fitting.  It doesn't look close-fitting on the pictured model, and it is not close-fitting on my DD.  Anyway, other than that, the hoodies does look like the picture and drawings on the envelope.

 

The instructions were typical and easy to follow. Nothing confusing in them.  

I liked this pattern for a few reasons: one mentioned earlier.  Easy to make without going through a lot of fit adjustments.  It's a basic hoodie.  What's not to like?  Young and old love wearing them.

For View C - I used a striped sweatshirt fleece from Mood Fabrics.  I also purchased the ribbed knit from Mood for the cuffs.  The red contrast for the hood was a remnant from a turtleneck top that I made in November.

For View D - I used a speckled sweatshirt fleece from Vogue Fabrics.  The ribbed knit for the cuffs and band is from Mood and the trim on the sleeves is from JoAnn's Fabrics.

The only changes that I made were in the design.  

 

View C - No contrast for the side front and back.  I only contrasted the inside of the hood.  Very small change.

 

View D - I wanted to add a little somethin' to the sleeves.  So I added a trim with metallic silver dots on velvet, some interest for this basic hoodie.

 

The little lady loves them.  She wears them often.  Her happiness makes me happy.  I don't know if she'll want more of these.   But, I think I will make a few for myself. This is a basic hoodie pattern that I would recommend it others.  It is a few inches longer than the average hoodies, which is a nice design element.  

The hoodies were fun to make.  I was very pleased with how they turned out.  The construction process was smooth sewing.  No fit adjustments, no construction issues.  Happiness.

This completes my Christmas gift sewing projects for 2020.

Next pattern review will be on a color blocked outfit that I made for myself.  It was the last project of 2020.

Happy Sewing!

C

New Look N6594 in Review - Green Wardrobe Capsule PTIV

 

Finally, I posting about the fourth garment in my Green Wardrobe Capsule. It's been three weeks since the last post. My goal was to post a "Notes on a Pattern" next. But because I was "distracted" by so many other things, I never got a chance to post it. So today I decided to go ahead and post a complete pattern review of NL6594 instead. 

This dress took more time than I expected. My adjustments were a little off. Not making a muslin before hand caused a little set back. I ended up making the bodice twice. Thank God I had enough leftover fabric to do so. 

Anyway, this fourth garment completes the first segment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule. Here is the review. 

 

The pattern description is so unbelievably vague.  My description - Dresses with fitted bodice, front midriff,  and slightly flared skirt; side zipper. The dress comes with multiple length and sleeve variations.  It is available in sizes 8 to 20.  I made view C with shorten skirt and 16 with modifications. 

I used a beautiful kelly green tencel twill from Mood. The fabric is super smooth and easy to work with.   It's also very fluid and light on the body.  

My dress does look like the dress on the envelope.  But I expected it to be a little more flared.  As usual, I did make a few changes for fit and construction.  Those changes didn't change the overall silhouette of the dress.

First, I made several fit adjustments to the tissue pattern.  Those changes include:

• FBA, little tuck along the neckline for a better fit along the bust area.
  
• Swayback
• Prominent shoulder blades, which produced a little dart in the shoulder seam
• Length of skirt between view B and view C
• No darts in the back skirt
  

 

After making the changes, I really needed to make a muslin.  Because there were areas where I needed to do a little more tweaking.  These changes weren't identified until after I almost completed the bodice.  You can image I didn't want to pluck all of those seam apart.  I decided to cut a whole new bodice, which in my mind took less time to do then taking the first one apart.

Last thought on that:  Make a muslin.

 

Construction changes:  

• Instead of tacking down the facing to the dress,  I machine stitched in the ditch at the front gathered bodice and along the shoulder darts.
• For the hem, I just serged the raw edges of the sleeves and hem, turned and stitched.

Close to the end of completing this dress I was ready to be finished.  I felt like I spent too much time on a very simple dress.

 

 

The instructions provided with the pattern easy, simple and typical.  Nothing confusing in them. 

There are a few things that I like about the style of this pattern:

• The design and style of the front bodice.  This is a style that I'm fond of.  Partly, because of my body type, inverted triangle.  I think a more fitted "V" bodice looks best on me.  Sometimes I over compensate, which was the case of the initial bodice.  I think I almost got it right.
• I also like the a-line skirt.  But it doesn't exactly work for me in this dress.  I think a fuller skirt would look much better.

 

I don't think I really have any serious dislikes. There is one thing I don't like; and that is, side zippers.  I prefer back or front closures.  One of my goals with making this dress was to fit a likeable bodice that I can interchange with other skirt designs.  This one I'll make again. 

A nice little dress that I recommend to others.  It is not a difficult dress to make I'd rate it average.  My dress is good. But I will tweak the bodice just a little more.  Then I make it again with a fuller skirt.  

This completes my review of my fourth garment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule.  I wanted to make one more dress for the summer season.  But, Fall is upon us.  So, I will start a new capsule:  Blues and Reds.  More on that later.

Happy Sewing!

C