My latest fabric obsession turned maxi dress

Once again, while surfing the net on Joann.com, I found another fabric that I HAD to have. Keepsake  Calico Jacobean Red. It was just begging me to bring it home and make something pretty out of it.

 

See how pretty it is?

 

So, after obsessing over this fabric I went searching through my stash of patterns trying to find one that would be perfect. I found it in an out of print pattern from McCalls. I have been holding onto it for close to 10 years and never got around to making it. This was the perfect occasion to do so.

 

 

Since maxi dresses are all the rage right now I decided I would make view C. Boy was that the right decision. With 4th of July approaching I decided to set to work on my creation.

 

 

A trip to Joann's with my oldest daughter and best helper and we found the fabric and set about finding the trim to really set it off. We did succeed. The beautiful navy trim really brings out the blue in the fabric.



I washed my fabric with the trim to prepare it as I always do. This helps remove any sizing that the manufacturer has added to the fabric and also prevents puckering in your finished project, which can occur if the fabric shrinks. All washed and ironed, I was ready to go. Pattern pieces were cut out at a size 12. (In off the rack garments I wear an 8, but as you may or may not know, pattern sizing is different. It is important to go by your measurements and not your off the rack size.) After pinning the pattern pieces down and cutting out all the pieces I began assembling my dress.

 

 

 

I use my pins that hold my pattern pieces down to mark my pattern markings on both sides so I can mark the fabric. I use a singer washable fabric pencil to mark the fabric so it comes off easily. Be careful when pressing with steam though, as it can fade your markings some times. 

After getting all the pieces cut out I began with the bodice per the pattern instructions. This pattern comes together very easily. The Easy title on this pattern is not lying. After sewing pieces together, and before pressing, I use pinking shears to finish the edges. Since I don't have a serger, pinking shears are my best option. It prevents the fabric from fraying when washed. After pinking the edges I press the seams according to pattern instructions.

 

 

So, after assembling the bodice and skirt pieces, attaching sleeves, and adding the trim the time came to place the zipper. This has been a challenge for me sometimes, since I always seem to have trouble with the top and bottom portions. Weird, I know. But, I used a tutorial off of www.craftsy.com to learn some tricks for zipper installation. It worked well and my zipper went in smoothly.

 

 

After all that, I hemmed it and it was done. I love how it turned out. I had my son take pictures of me in the dress after I finished it, but it was 11:00pm, I had been sewing for awhile, and I looked like a hot mess even if the dress looked great. So, I took pictures of the dress itself. Maybe when I wear it again I will post new pictures. LOL

 

 

There it is. My beautiful 4th of July maxi dress. Not so 4th of July-ish that I can't wear it other times, but it is definitely a good red, white, and blue celebration choice. I just love it.





The "last minute, gotta have it now, make me look pretty Mommy" dress

So, like I said before, my sweet daughter needed an all white dress for he end of year concert for choir. The concert was on Thursday night. I started cutting on Monday and sewing on Wednesday night. Thankfully it was a fairly easy pattern. Gotta love those.

 

 

 

 

 

The title on it says easy, and I will say, for the most part, it was. My biggest challenge came in the form of the fabric. See, my princess wanted it to be full white eyelet. No problem. I like eyelet. It's pretty, very dainty, and girly in my opinion. Perfect for my girl . We found a very nice one on the Joanns website and sent my Mom to pick it up since she could get an additional discount on the fabric. (side note: PSA Joanns has senior discounts on Wednesday. It is applied on top of any other sales or coupons. Check with your local store for details.) Well, wonderful idea, except that since I was not there to check the fabric, it was discovered after washing and getting ready to cut, that the eyelet design does not extend to the salvage edge. So, let this be a lesson to all of you. Double check not only the width of your fabric, but the extension of the design on said fabric.

 

Thankfully, this problem was remedied easily enough by just buying more fabric. But I had not planned on that. So, I ended up buying fabric to cut out the skirt so I could start sewing. Here is the very pretty paisley eyelet from Joanns.

 

 

 

 

Like I said, very pretty fabric. Perfect for her dress. The thing to remember with an all over eyelet print, is you will need a lining fabric for it as well. This was also a small issue because my Mom thought the more opaque the better. Which means the lining fabric was a little heavier than I had planned. I asked for symphony broadcloth, but ended up with something closer to a twill. Lesson learned, discount is good. Better if you go with your "senior" to make sure you get what you need for the discount. We made it work though. And for sure, no one will see ANYTHING through that dress, and chances of a gust of wind causing an embarrassing moment are pretty close to nil. But, my daughter loved the dress. It took me about 6 hours from start to finish and I am very happy with the results. Everyone thought she looked beautiful. She felt like a princess. And everyone was happy. So, here is the picture of the "last minute, gotta have it, make me look pretty Mommy" dress on my princess. She truly felt like a soprano virtuoso ready for her spotlight performance. Mission accomplished.

 









On to the next adventure...

So, not even 24 hours after posting about my last creation/obsession, I am starting on my next creation. My daughter is singing in a choir performance on Thursday (yes 2 days away) and decided she needs a new dress for it. Since they are singing a song from "Phantom of the Opera" she decided she needed a floor length white dress. Eyelet fabric was purchased, lining fabric was purchased and we have the eyelet cut out. Hopefully the rest will go smoothly. Wish me luck.

 



My dreams are coming to fruition

There is a fabric I saw on another blog about a year ago. I have thought about it ever since. Dreamed about what I could do with it. And everytime I saw it at the store would imagine what I would do with it. What is this amazing fabric that had me so captivated for a year, you ask. Well here it is

                                               It's Multibrush Strokes Charmeuse - from Joann's

                                                    

So, I actively started looking for something to make with this. I just had to do something with this fabric. See it running through my sewing machine. I finally decided on a dress pattern I found on McCalls.com.  Here it is.

                              

Last week, I went to Joanns and bought the fabric and pattern and proceeded to bring my dream to life. I washed the charmeuse and lining in cold water on a gentle cycle to make sure it was ready to be used. This step is one I never skip. I makes sure the fabric is preshruck so you don;t get puckering after you have made the garment and wash it. Different fabrics will shrink or not shrink in their own way.

After washing my material, I folded it and hung it on a hanger to wait while I read through my pattern to make sure I knew where to start. I also needed to find time to be able to ignore, er I mean, occupy my family so I could have my sewing therapy time. This usually happens on Wednesday nights when my kids go to Mutual at church and my husband catches up on his NCIS episodes.

Finally Wednesday night came and I cut my pattern pieces out and laid out my fabric. I did make a small alteration to the design I was going to use. I wanted the neckline of View B with the sleeve length of Vuew C, so I cut the sleeves accordingly. This is the fabric laid out on my table as I placed my pattern pieces.


                                         

 

 

That night I was abe to get all the main pattern pieces cut out, but not the lining. The lining I cut out a few days later. So today, I had some extra time this afternoon and went to work on my dress again. Here are pictures of the outer portions of the dress assembled.

 

 

 

This is coming right along. I just love the flow of the fabric and the way the colors just jump out at you. It is such a fun, bright, and happy fabric. I can't wait to wear it. But, first thing is first. I need to finish the dress. So I spent every moment I had sewing and pinning and getting it all put together the way I wanted. I had some trouble with the zipper, as I decided to do an invisible zipper...then after having to rip it out a few times, decided a regular zipper would do just fine. (Hey, sometimes you just have to admit when you're beat.)

 

        I hemmed the lining about 1 1/2 shorter than the dress itself. I finished the hand work on the sleeve openings, and then I was done.

 

 

 

I just love the way this dress came out. It is so fun and colorful. My daughter said I looked like a bird. (Who cares what a 14 year old girl thinks) I told her I was a rare tropical Macaw. LOL Then I decided I felt more like a butterfly. Either way, I am so very happy with the dress and can not wait to wear it again.