Two Red Dress - Simplicity S1314 and McCall's M7405

 McCall's M7405

Simplicity S1314

That's all for now.

Happy Sewing!

Rayon Challis Summer Dress - Hacked Dress Vogue 9260

I wore this dress to church on Sunday.  It's the forth of five projects I plan to complete for this month.

I mentioned that I would probably use Vogue 9260 again way back in June.  Lol  Isn't the summer going by super fast?  I actually thought I made the jumpsuit in July; but when I looked back in my archives, it was June 11 when I posted the review.  More on my initial review is here.

The top of the dress is made exactly like the original pattern, but the skirt of it is a easy, easy self drafted skirt.  With the remaining water colored challis, I decided to make a skirt.  So I cut it into two pieces (front and back).   Then with some black challis, I cut two more pieces  for the lower skirt.

Just a few wrinkles across the back.  Pictures taken after church on Sunday.

For the construction, I sewed the water colored challis together along the sides and gathered it to fit the bodice.  Next, I cut the black challis  the same width also sewing them together at the side to form a circle.  Next, I folded it in half with the wrong side facing.  Then I attached the lower skirt to the upper skirt.  No hem required as all edges are sewn together and serged.

A few wrinkles; pictures taken after church Sunday.

That's it.  Just a easy skirt attached to the bodice of the original pattern.

Happy Sewing!

C

New Summer Floral Maxi Dress - McCall 7775- View C

I'm pleased to post the second half of my review on McCall 7775-View C.  A few weeks ago, I shared my initial thoughts on this dress.  That post also included some fitting adjustments.  You can read about it here.  I thought I would finish my review a week earlier.  But I had a few hiccups that slowed down the completion of the final dress.  The first things was I didn't buy enough fabric. So I had to go back to the store.  After returning home, I got distracted and didn't get back to it for a few days.

I don't always make a muslin; but this project I thought it would be best to make one because of the neckline and the possibility of gapping along the upper bust and underarm areas.  Good call.  There was just a little gapping, about an inch on either side.  I pinned a little tuck in the muslin, took it off, and then measured the length from the shoulder seam to the side seam.  Finally, I marked where I wanted to ease in the access.  I also had to do a little easing on the facing; not as much though.  This adjustment gave me a snug fit.  Happiness..,

For this first dress, I purchased this floral tropical print from JoAnn's.  It is a rayon/polyester blend.  The hand is soft and it's floaty drape falls close to the body like most rayon.  It doesn't wrinkle as much a 100% rayon, and the polyester content may also help preserve it longer than 100% rayon.  Another thing I like about the fabric.

The construction of the twist can be a little tricky.  One of the illustrations is the opposite of what it should be.  The facing needs to be the reverse image of the dress.  See picture below. I decided to save sewing the side seams of the facing and dress for last.  That was easier for me.

Once I conquered the fit issues, the dress was pretty easy to sew together.  And I like it well enough to make it again.  So, you'll see another version of it soon. ;-)

Happy Sewing!
C

Summer Jumpsuit Brown, Black and White Striped Rayon Twill - Vogue 9260

Summer time sewing! 
 I was so happy when the rain stopped. Being so anxious to show you my latest sewing project, I quickly got ready to take a few pictures outdoors.  

This jumpsuit was half finished for about two weeks.  Friday evening I was determined to finish it.  This lovely brown, black, and white striped rayon twill was purchased several months ago from Mood online store.  It's still available.  It has a smooth hand and it's floaty.  Perfect for the summer time comfortable.  This new jumpsuit is perfect vacation sportswear.  Of course, it's good to wear for Saturday lunch with the girls or a nice stroll in the park with your better half.  Rayon is easy to press, but does wrinkle a bit.  No worries with this fabric.  The stripes makes them barely noticeable.

The pattern that I used to make it is Vogue's very easy 9260, copyright 2017.  I think I bought it last year, but I hadn't decided on how I would style it.

The description is very brief:  very loose-fitting pull on romper and jumpsuit have cold should and length variations.  The "cold shoulder" description shoulder be "cold arm" instead.  It comes in two size groupings:  XS-S-M and L, XL,XXL.  The second grouping was the only copy at the Orland Park JoAnn's. So I just bought it with the thought of adjusting it as needed. So I used the large and scaled it down.  I guess somewhere between a medium and large.  As the large was much too big for me.  This pattern has a lot of style ease.  The finished bust is 48.5 inches and the finished hips is 50 inches.  Both well above my measurements. I scaled it back at least 4 inches in both areas.

My finished jumpsuit looks similar to the drawing.  I don't think the "cropped" pants is quite the look for me.  So I lengthened the pants by several inches so that the hem falls around the heel of my shoes.  Outside of that it does look like the drawing.

The instructions were a piece of cake.  Nothing difficult or confusing.  (It seems like I always say that. ;-) )

I like the style of it.  The drawstring, the cold arm, and the wide pant leg.  No real dislikes.

I did make a few more changes in the construction of it.

• Instead of purchasing cording, I made my own.  Cutting the fabric on the bias about an inch wide, two pieces 12 inches long for the loops and one piece 20 inches long for the drawstring.   Plus it is a perfect match for the jumpsuit.
• I added 1.5 inches to the length of the bodice.
• The raw edges were serged.  To finish the cold arm opening I only turned the cloth once.  So you can see the serged edges.
• The instructions say to cut the elastic the measure of your waist plus an inch.  I cut it 5 inches smaller.

I will make it again.  I think I will use the bodice and make a skirt waist dress instead of a jumpsuit.  I do recommend this fabric and the pattern to others.  The fabric is perfect for those fun floaty summer projects that you might be planning.  The pattern is very easy and does not take long to sew.  

Side Note- I was a little worried about how the photos would turn out.  I had a chemical facial peel and laser hair removal less than 24 hours before the pictures were taken.  I'm glad that they were publishable as I didn't want to wait another day before posting something to the Mood Sewing Network blog and my own blog.

Happy to be back sharing my sewing adventures and hope to post again soon.  

Have a great one!

C 

Butterick 5209 - First Summer Dress of 2016

Finally posting my review of Butterick 5209, Retro '47, dress.  This is my first summer dress of the season.  I finished it several weeks ago, but can't find the perfect tomato red hat and shoes to wear with it.  So, today without further hesitation I decided to go ahead with publishing the rest of my review.

Part I was posted in April, 2016.  Of course, I had to tweak it just a little more, but nothing extreme.  I'm sure all of us go through some minor tweaking during the sewing process.


Pattern Description:
Halter or cap sleeve dress, below mid-knee length, has side zipper, gathered bust, waist yoke, fitted self-lined bodice and flared, gathered skirt.

Pattern Sizing:  6-20; I used size 16 with modifications.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, it looked like the drawing.  On the website though, Butterick has a model wearing view A, halter style, dress.  I see that the dress does not fit well at the neckline and around the front of the bodice near the arm.  While sewing the actual dress I experience the same results at the neckline.  I was a little puzzled as the muslin did not fit like that.  So, to resolve the issue, I stitched an inch higher on the neckline and curved the center front seam a little for a better fit in the neckline.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instruction were super easy.  No problems at all.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the style of both dress bodices.   No real dislikes.

Fabric Used:  I used a rayon challis from Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL.  It's been in the stash for several years.  I like the feel of rayon; it's soft and floaty, perfect for summer dresses.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:  My alterations are indicating in the Notes on a Pattern post from April 16, 2016.  The link is above in the introduction.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes and yes, but with modifications.  Definitely make a muslin for the bodice at least.  I started with size 16 and ended up taking it in a bit during the sewing process. I think all level sewists can make this dress.  Just be careful with fitting the neckline.

That's it for today.  Stay tuned, I have more on UFO's and building my summer wardrobe.  And guess what?  I've already starting to plan fall and winter garments.

Happy Sewing!
C