Little denim dress, where have you been all my life?

7.14.2014

Little denim dress, where have you been all my life?

Update: Worn here!

Is the "Little Denim Dress" a thing? I think maybe it should be.

I bought extra of this denim when I made this dress, because I loved it so much and it was 50% off the clearance price, and boy, am I glad I did! I realized I've been needing a strappy dress that's playful and not at all dressy, to wear on hot days when I want something super easy to throw on but don't want to look dressed up in a dress.

I used my old standby strapless dress pattern, McCalls M5849, which is out of print, but is a very basic princess seam pattern. I use it a lot. I added medium-width straps, and I thought a pleated skirt sounded good. Something a little different. I also added some pleats down the center front, since I liked them so much on my first denim dress!

One big difference between this and my other dresses with my fave strapless pattern is I did this one unlined. The denim is lightweight, but still sturdy enough to keep most of its shape in the bodice.

To keep the raw edges from fraying, I pinked the edges. I used a bias binding at the top edge rather than a facing or lining to keep it in place. It worked out great! Here's an inside view.

It's like playclothes! I know we'll have much more hot weather, so many more chances to wear this new dress! The Little Denim Dress - I highly recommend it!

READ POST

14 comments

Yes/No lace party dress--yep, pretty much how it sounds.

2.21.2014

Yes/No lace party dress--yep, pretty much how it sounds.

Let's get creative and brave!
I love dresses (duh), but I get a little bored of the same types of fabric and same combinations. So I tried to get extra creative with this one, aided in part by this funky lettering lace and by an epiphany I had while cutting it out (my thought exactly: "Aha! Pink piping!" I literally wrote it on a sticky note and put it with the just-cut-out dress).

For this dress, I used an old standby pattern, McCall's M5849, which I use for most of my strapless and strappy dresses and even used for my wedding dress (scroll down to see my post about bodice construction and fit). In fact, for this dress I used the same grey fabric that I used as the base of my wedding dress and for all of my bridesmaids' dresses. Recognize it?

Of course, the really funky part about this dress is the lace. WholePort often sends me supplies to try out, and I picked out this lace from their many beautiful and interesting lace yardage choices. I love the florals, too, but I wanted something different this time!, so I got this lettering lace! YES NO YES NO YES NO, it says... and it didn't need a hem because of the edge print! Convenient.

And like I said, the pink piping just popped into my head right after I finished cutting it out, and I think it was a good choice. I already had a belt that goes, too!

Because the grey fabric is so substantial and because neither it nor the lace frays, I was able to use only the lace layer and the grey as a base/lining. (See popular Sewing Circle questions for more on lace and linings.) So only two layers here, despite the sheer lace layer on top. I used the pink bias tape for piping and as a bias binding around the top edge, although you can't really see it. I thought it might peek out and I hand stitched it very carefully, but it hides. Oh, well.

Super fun, right?! How soon can I wear it, considering it's still winter and I don't have any spring weddings coming up?!

READ POST

21 comments

A resort wear dress - wishful thinking and Florida trip!

1.29.2014

A resort wear dress - wishful thinking and Florida trip!

If it's as cold where you are as it is here, I apologize for this post.

But I'm going to a warm place next week!!, and had to get prepared. Thank you all for your helpful suggestions and notes last week about packing for Florida!! Sounds like Florida's weather this time of year is pretty good but not necessarily as warm as I'd like, so I realize this dress may be a little too optimistic... but that's how I am sometimes.

Luckily temps are looking up for next week--high 70's in Tampa, low 80's in Orlando--and I think it'll feel HOT to me after this Oregon fall and half of winter. So I'm packing some versatile layers and jeans, but planning to get a little Vitamin D in some warm weather clothes as well.

With the trip coming up, I looked at my fabric stash for some fun tropical/resort-ey prints or brights, and didn't find the perfect bright floral, but did unearth this blue and white lightweight cotton that I had cut out into a shapeless experimental dress last summer and never made.

I used the world's most basic strapless dress pattern, McCall's M5849 (discontinued, princess seam strapless dress, the same as several basic Simplicity formalwear patterns), but I cut it on the bias for a little more casual look. Has a little more movement to it, plus with the stripes it gave me a sort of zigzag across the bodice. I also cut the straps on the bias, and lemme tell you, bias cut straps are a little annoying to sew, but SO much cuter than straight grain ones! The skirt is a simple angled rectangle (left over from the dress I originally cut out). Gathered and hemmed! The dress zips up the back with an invisible zipper.

Here it is!

Should be great over a swimsuit, or on a hot day for some walking around. Will be great paired with a jean jacket! Or... other ideas?

(Am I crazy, or will this work for February in Florida?!) - Wishful Thinker =)

READ POST

9 comments

Sewing Circle: How to cut out your size from a pattern and leave it intact

11.01.2013

Sewing Circle: How to cut out your size from a pattern and leave it intact

Got a great Sewing Circle question from a reader the other day! There are so many things I wonder myself, but never ask, so it's great that she wrote me with this question:

Q: Hi Suzannah, 
When you are using a pattern, do you cut out your size or do you try to "preserve" the pattern by leaving all sizes in tact and trying to cut under/around/ in order to cut your size? I am obsessive about leaving the pattern in tact "just in case..." but I am finding it more difficult as I get in to more detailed patterns. I was hoping to get some perspective from another dressmaker! Thanks!

A: Hi Michelle,
Funny question, I love it! 

I leave the pieces intact and fold back the edges along the size I'm cutting. It's worked well for me, since I've changed sizes a couple times since I started using my fave patterns a (some of them quite a few years ago ;)). I don't think there's a right or wrong way, though. Folding is pretty perfect except on the curves like armscyes--there I often snip into the curve a couple places and fold in chunks. 

This question got me thinking, though, and I took some photos of my favorite patterns and demonstrating what I mean. So here goes: How to cut out your size from a sewing pattern, leaving the rest intact!

I also should note that this is different from others of my top Sewing Circle questions, like:

• How to sew with patterns
• How to choose the right pattern size
• How to get the right fit when sewing with a pattern

So check out those if you're new to using patterns. 

Like I said, this is a very specific question, that many people (like me) have never thought to ask out loud before!

So here's one of my all-time fave patterns, McCall's M5849. (It's out of print, but Simplicity 4070 is nearly identical). I've used this pattern so many times, but because of the straight lines and princess seams, it's so easy to fold over in a straight line to cut my size. In fact, I opened it up this way--I guess I've left it folded to my size!

When I get to the notches on the folded side, I usually lift the pattern piece a little and do my best snipping triangles of the approximate size and location. It works for me.

Here's another example, and a little trickier one because of the curved armscyes. This is Simplicity 1873, a relatively new fave pattern. This is the bodice back.

(I recommend that you do this more carefully than I did.) On the curve, where it's impossible to fold exactly along the black line for my size, I snip into the pattern to the line in a few places (using paper scissors, of course--not the fabric ones I may be holding at the time!)

There you have it! How to preserve a pattern and cut out your size.

Now, how about an unofficial survey--do you cut your exact size out of the pattern, or do you fold or have some other method?!?

READ POST

39 comments

Two-tone, half-vintage fabric dress with polka dots

8.23.2013

Two-tone, half-vintage fabric dress with polka dots

Polka dots, vintage fabric, pink and grey... a winning combination, right??

I've been itching to make another summer dress this season before I have to pull out the fall colors. But I haven't had a great vision for any of the fabrics in my fabric stash, and haven't had time to go to the fabric store.

So, it was a great occasion to make another two-fer dress (is that an official term? It's what ModCloth calls them. I pulled out my favorite basic summer pattern, McCall's M5849 (it's out of print but you can find something similar, see my suggestions here). A basic strapless dress pattern, princess seamed and very easy to add straps to. Nice to mix it up.

I've had this vintage pink and white polka dot fabric for ages, don't even remember where I got it. It was cut down the center so it was a couple yards long but only about 20" wide, so my options for what to do with it were limited. It's a quilting cotton, which I don't usually use for clothing, but pretty old so much heavier and nicer quality than modern quilting fabric.

I also had the grey swiss dot fabric from some mysterious source ages ago, and I love light grey, but it's so lightweight and pale I hadn't been able to design anything I really liked out of it alone. So it was a perfect skirt!

It's still hot out, but I'm afraid fall fashion may creep into my summer dreams... I love summer. I don't want it to end. Plus, I definitely don't have fabric in my stash for a fall dress!! ;)

READ POST

28 comments

Totally recycled dress time! Don't worry, it turned out well.

7.12.2012

Totally recycled dress time! Don't worry, it turned out well.

Sharing a dress today made totally of recycled materials--a true upcycle, I guess. Not in a scary way. Not wearing pop cans or anything. Nope, this is a simple dress I made out of a white blouse I've had in the "to upcycle" pile for literally years, and out of this dress, which I made and never really wore.

I felt bad about never liking the dress, so I figured, might as well reuse the parts that I can and make it something I do like. I basically just had to take out the zipper and put the skirt on a new bodice! And I did save the old bodice fabric; maybe I'll use it for linings sometime.

For the new dress, I used a pattern but cut the blouse strategically, reusing the center front and back details. I did remove the buttons and sew the placket closed before I cut--important steps. Here's the "before" on the blouse... I took this photo in 2010! Been waiting for something to do with it.

And, I used my old fave pattern McCall's M5849.

Here it is!

(Forgive the messy hair.) You can see, though, the center back pleats I salvaged.

Ohhhhh, summer dress weather. You never fail to inspire. Simple dresses like this one are perfect when it's super hot out!

(P.S. OMG--is this the third colorblock bodice/skirt dress I've posted this week?!!? It totally is! Weird! It just worked out that way. They are fun!)

READ POST

27 comments

Totally worth the time: Tracing my fave patterns onto cloth

3.19.2012

Totally worth the time: Tracing my fave patterns onto cloth

Pretty excited to share with you about this one project I did over the weekend--the project that keeps on project-ing, right?  (That doesn't make sense.  Gift that keeps on giving, except I made the gift myself.)

Anyway, I've been meaning to do this for a while, but--you may have noticed that I have favorite patterns.  I almost never make them exactly as the package shows, but I use them as jumping off points to make whatever it is I want to make--that I know will fit.  My current faves are Simplicity 2444 and McCalls M5489 (out of print--try Simplicity 1876, Simplicity 3878, or Simplicity 4070 if you want your own!).

I love those two patterns, and I love that I know my exact size and how to get the perfect fit.  But when I use them allll the time, they get a little floppy and torn and fragile.  So, the ideal solution, I think, is to copy them onto pattern tracing cloth so I can reuse them indefinitely!

It's a bit of a pain, really, to trace every line and dart and snip mark, then cut out very carefully, but is totally worth it!  I'm really happy to have these ready for me to use.

Here's Simplicity 2444:

And here's my McCall's M5849, my strapless or basic summer dress pattern.  This style is great because you can make the bodice in practically 1/4 of a yard if your fabric is wide!  I've used it with small pieces of fabric many a time.

I'm excited to use these, and I'm sure they'll be easier to cut out with, also!  Paper slips around easily, you know, and I never pin my patterns down (I just use scissors, pincushion, my water glass!, etc. as weights!), so the friction of the fabric will be helpful.

Have you ever done this?  Do you have other solutions for reusing your fave patterns??

READ POST

30 comments

Oooh!! An upcycled sequin dress

3.15.2012

Oooh!! An upcycled sequin dress

That's right, an upcycled sequin dress!  It was a top when I bought it at TJ Maxx for $7, post-holiday clearance, I think.

Anyway, I bought it for the sequins, because I've been craving them so!  Since around Christmas, when everyone was nuts for sparkles and sequins for New Year's Eve.  I never got any around then, but they're still in!  In fact, not that long ago I got an Express catalog for early spring and there were sequins all over it, too:

Express

So yay, they're still in for dress-up.  Anyway, I cut apart the top, taking off the arm, neck, and bottom binding, and then was basically left with two very short "T" shapes, almost rectangles.  You can see my "tutorial" here for taking apart a garment and turning it into something else.

Because the sequins were sewn onto basically a tan net, very lightweight and sheer, I gave the bodice and skirt a lightweight tan cotton interlining, and lined the bodice with a separate twill.  It worked really well; the bodice stands up for itself, you could say, and the skirt is drapey but obviously not sheer!  And you can't see any of the seam allowances through the outer layer, because of the interlining.

I used McCall's M5849, my good ol' standby, for the top, and miraculously was able to cut the skirt out of the rest of the fabric.

Ta-da!!

Oh, I should note.  This was THE MESSIEST project I've ever made!  Sequins flew everywhere as I cut!  And I used paper scissors, rather than my nice fabric scissors, because I didn't want to dull them on the plastic sequins, but oyyyy, this was a messy one to cut and sew.  I also used a leather needle on the machine because I broke a regular one.  It is possible to sew through sequins, but it's not easy-peasy!

But now I have something with sequins, at last!!

Oh, and the center back zipper was NO FUN to put into the sequin fabric!  I had to trim sequins off the center back before I put it in.  Again, messy project.

So, my tip for working with sequins?  Have a hand vac nearby.  Seriously, these things are still all over my house.  But, the dress is lots of fun!

READ POST

47 comments

You called me on it: a great pattern question

9.08.2011

You called me on it: a great pattern question

I talk about this pattern like, all the time.

McCall's M5849--I have the title, and almost the shape of the pattern, memorized.  The pieces I have are soft and beginning to tear here and there, having been taped and untaped and folded on all sides at one point.  I've made a LOT of dresses out of it!  I love it so much.  In fact, when you do a Google image search for it, a big chunk of what comes up first is from my blog.

The problem?  It's out of print.  I got a question from a reader the other day, asking if I had any suggestions for a similar pattern to buy instead.

Thanks for calling me on my hang-ups!  I know it's not very helpful to say what a great pattern this is when no one can buy it anymore.  So thanks, Allisson, for your email!

A very similar pattern that still is in print is Simplicity 4070.

The pattern for the strapless bodice is essentially the same thing as my McCall's standby.  If you use this Simplicity version and give it a simple gathered skirt, you get the same result.  This one has a slightly more pronounced sweetheart neckline but I'm betting that's the biggest difference, and that can be easily changed when you cut.

I love this pattern so much because it's so versatile.  I've altered it all kinds of ways and it's just a great sloper and basic jumping off point when you have a design in mind.

Here I am in some of my fave versions!

With a midriff panel and ruffle fabric skirt, at my bachelorette party... (tutorial coming!)

At my bridal shower... (loooove this dress, hope to wear it again sometime!)

In yellow seersucker with a pleated skirt...

With a shirred over layer...

Seriously one of my favorite dresses ever.  I wore this like once a week last summer.  No good pics of me in it, though... But here it is.  I often belted it.

A hot pink silk version at my cousin's wedding...

As a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding, with a pleated overlay on the bodice:

I even made my wedding dress from it.  No, seriously.  The pattern for this lovely thing was that simple--plus some shaped straps and a circle skirt.

By Studio 623 Photography

I've had a lot of fun in dresses from that pattern!  I highly recommend you check out Simplicity 4070 for a similar blank slate or cute dress on its own!

Have you been creative with a basic pattern in many ways?  I'm sure a lot of us have favorite/standby patterns!  (Plus, it's way easier to make a dress when you don't have to cut out all the pieces from a brand new pattern, bleh...)

I'd love to hear your pattern stories!

See all my uses of McCall's M5849 here!

READ POST

17 comments

Wowza! A very red dress.

7.16.2011

Wowza! A very red dress.

Remember my dilemma about designing a bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding?  She wanted all her bridesmaids in RED dresses, doesn't matter what style, and the other four chose all very different dresses.  I didn't know what to do, there were so many acceptable possibilities!  You all had SO many great ideas; it was really awesome to hear your suggestions and you really inspired me to think outside the (well, my design) box!

So many great ideas, though, that it was hard to combine them all.  Some of you said strapless might be good since it is different than the others and it is very bridesmaid-ey.  That encouragement helped me look around some more.  While sitting with my friend, the bride, we found this J.Crew dress that she thought was really cute, the Leah dress:

And I figured, if she likes it there, she'd probably like it if I wore something similar!

So I pulled out my ol' fave McCall's pattern and cut out a modified front piece to allow for the pleats.

You can kinda see here what I did.  This is the inside view.  I pressed all the pleats in place so the size of the outside matched the lining (it's all the same cotton sateen, lining and outside), sewed the pleats down, and treated it like a regular outside.

Then I assembled it as usual!  I didn't use a pattern for the skirt; I debated a full or slimmer skirt and ended up doing the tulip-ey style I like--wider at the top, pleated, and a little narrower at the knees.  I just used the width of the fabric and tapered to the bottom.

The skirt was maybe a little too full at the top, but hey--it makes me look like I have hips!

I also gave it the narrow waistband of the J.Crew original.  I never would have thought to use such a narrow piece, but it looks cute!

Back and side views....

Here is is up close.  It looks like a heart!  This dress will definitely be good some Valentine's Day.

After my friend's wedding, I'm thinking of adding straps or halter straps or something.  I have more fabric.  It might make it a little less racy.  Wowee, it is a bright color!

Thoughts for modifications after the wedding to make it more wearable?

Update: Here it is in action!

READ POST

39 comments