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!

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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?!

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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 =)

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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?!?

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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!! ;)

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The zigzag dress!

7.19.2012

The zigzag dress!

So, it's clear that the world loves zigzags and chevrons, in design and fashion. They are fabulous, I agree. I think it's the contrast of the white and black or whatever colors, plus the bold lines in the pattern, that look so fun and fresh and exciting.

So, with all the zigzag love in home dec, there's also great chevrons and zigzags to wear, and being the DIY-er that I am, I wanted to make myself something zigzag-ey rather than buy.  Inspiration: there's the basic zigzag shift dress, of drapey poly...

Source: shopsosie.com via Suzannah on Pinterest

And I've also seen a great draped zigzag print dress or two...

Source: the-northernlight.com via Suzannah on Pinterest

But of course I've never seen such a fabric at any fabric store, and I don't like sewing on drapey poly, anyway, and I tend to like more structured dresses. Here's some inspiration for a heavier fabric and more classic style, in this cute multicolored zigzag dress...

Source: spool72.com via Suzannah on Pinterest

Adorable, right!?  But again, do any fabric stores sell such fabric?!!?  Not that I know of... seriously, they would make a lot of money if they did.  We're all out here freezer paper stenciling zigzags and turning striped fabric into chevrons, but could JoAnn stock some zigzag fabric?  Would it be that hard?  Seeeeriously.

Speaking of which, there are also some cute chevron dress options if you want to make your own zaggey fabric. (Clarification: I'm pretty sure the definition of "chevron" is one V-shaped pointy line or lines, like the Chevron logo. And a "zigzag" is an unlimited series of up-down zig-zag V or M shapes and lines, like in a row. Either way, we chevron lovers are underrepresented at JoAnn). Regardless, here's another bold chevron-ey dress inspiration.

Source: omyheartkate.com via Suzannah on Pinterest

So the point of all that is, I wanted to make myself a bold chevron print dress, but didn't know what fabric and therefore what shape. Loose or tight? Straight skirt or full? Sleeves or sleeveless?

I did some Googling and found Premier Prints, Inc, who makes an intimidating number of amazing bold print cottons, mostly for home dec. I used a wide stripe of theirs to make this jacket, and I also got to use this zigzag fabric in Coral/White for this dress!!  They had loads of choices but I went with this one. You'll see.

Now that the fabric was set (7 ounce cotton, I think, sort of heavy and good for curtains, etc.) I could design the dress.  I wanted to show off the pattern with an interesting design detail, but not get too complicated with straps etc.

I used--yet again--McCall's M6350 for the bodice, thinking the pleats would be fun with the also diagonal lines of the zigzags!

I made it strapless this time. Again, thinking about the texture and weight of the fabric, I went with a straight skirt, although I guess pleated might have worked, too.See?

And, not to brag too much, but I totally matched the zigzags in the center back... there's even a little diamond at the waist where the left and right sides meet!

So I finally have a zigzag dress now! Can't wait to wear it to a backyard party or something this summer. What are your styling ideas for it??

And if you want a zigzag or other awesome, bright, bold print, Premier Prints' online store has lots of fun ones!

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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!)

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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??

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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!

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Bachelorette party, asymmetrical ruffle dress tutorial! Oooh!

10.05.2011

Bachelorette party, asymmetrical ruffle dress tutorial! Oooh!

I'm really happy to have Ruffle Fabric as a sponsor here on the blog, and I'm so excited to get to share a tutorial with some of their lovely stuff!

You'll remember I also made a super cute little ruffle-skirt dress for my niece who was in our wedding.  The already-ruffled skirt made it so quick and easy, and cute!

I also wanted something fabulous to wear to my bachelorette night.  When I saw some of the lovely colors the ruffled goodies come in, I was reminded of these dresses...

ModCloth...

How fabulous, right?!?!  There are a few others in the more wedding-ey realm, too, that I love...

J.Crew

BHLDN

Um, yeah.  I'm pretty sure if I had seen that (bottom) wedding dress and heard of Ruffle Fabric before I made mine I would have seriously considered just making a simple top and attaching it to a long ruffle skirt.  So intensely cool.

And once you start looking, you see gorgous ruffle-skirted wedding dresses everywhere...

Ivy & Aster

And while we're at it...

Oscar de la Renta, of course...

But I digress.  I had already made my wedding dress, but I wanted something fabulous, frilly, and girly to wear for my bachelorette dinner and party!  I got to work with the beautiful pale, warm pink ruffle fabric and experimented with the design to put together something really cool!

I was particularly inspired by a lot of the asymmetrical skirts on those ModCloth dresses.  So I figured out how to drape the skirt to make that swoop-ey overlap.

Here's a tutorial!

• I used ruffle fabric as well as bodice fabrics that went pretty well in color.  You could do this without the lace, but I'll show you what I did anyway.  I used a strapless dress pattern I made up based on a few others... not important.  Use whatever bodice pattern you want.

• I cut out the bodice of the under layer (pale pink twill), then cut out the lace with the same shape but with some extra to stick up off the top.  With the seam allowances, I only needed an extra half inch at the most of the lace.

• I had to overlap the bodice pieces 1" to allow for the 1/2" vertical seam allowance, so the lace would be the right size.

• This dress zips up the back--if you change where yours zips, take note at that part of the tutorial.  
• Once the bodice was cut out, I tackled the skirt.  Basically, measure yourself and decide what your skirt length should be.  I wanted the skirt to come down to just above my knees.  Cut out one panel (one width of the fabric), cutting halfway between the rows of ruffles.

• Now, to make half of a second panel to drape with (the skirt will end up being 1.5 panels around), cut another piece the same length to about the middle of the fabric.
• Now, cutting down the center of your folded fabric, along where the fold would be, cut vertically straight down to your cut edge.

• Back to the full panel, you'll cut off one corner so you can round off what becomes the top edge, which will be gathered.

• To round it off even more I cut off this tiny piece!

• Sew your side seams like you would on any skirt--no, that's not true... Sew two of your side seams, leaving the half piece open on whichever side you want to cross over it.  The half-width panel will hang flat in the front, and one side of the full-width panel will cross over it.

• Now gather your curved edge of the wide panel.

• Now you have a long curved, gathered piece.  Mark the sides so you know where they are.

• Arrange the gathers mostly concentrated at the point where the long edge touches the waist seam.  Pin lots!

• Now create a center back placket for your zipper.  An invisible zipper is best with this fabric, I think!

• Now, with all those pins still in place, gather all the way around the skirt, starting at the center back.

• Now you can attach your skirt to your bodice!  Watch where the center front swoopy part sits.

• Flip and give it a little pressing so it stays flat at the waist, not too bulky.
• Almost done--I chose to gather the bottom few inches of the underskirt (the narrow piece) so it didn't risk hanging down below the swooped up overlap.  I just did a gathering stitch with strong thread and tied off the ends.

And here it is!

And here I am in all my bachelorette glory!

For the bachelorette party, a bunch of us including my mom and aunts who were in town went to a nice place for dinner--they all wore black and I stood out in my pastel!

Then my bridesmaids that were in town and I went to a few bars around the area.

I seriously enjoyed wearing the tiara.  Love the Dollar Tree accessories and toys we got to play with as we bar-hopped!

It was sooooo much fun!  And I felt pretty fabulous all night, being the only one in a light pink fluffy thing, tiara, and super tall nude stiletto peeptoe slingbacks.  ;)  I hope everyone gets the chance to do something as fun and special sometime in their lives!

Whether you're celebrating your upcoming wedding or not, though, you can certainly have fun with that awesome ruffle fabric--super easy way to get a dramatic and awesome look!

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