McCalls 6696 Shirtdress

I finished my dress for the sew-along!  It was a big challenge for me. I wanted to use all my learning about fitting and pattern alterations to make sure it fit well.  I made a muslin of the bodice alone first, but it was much too small. I jumped up to a large size but it was much too large. After four muslins I found my sweet spot - the back yoke, back bodice and sleeves were a size 16. The front bodice (altered), the waistband, button band and skirt pieces were size 22. Strange combination.

The fabric was a $3 twin-size sheet from Deseret Industries, a local thrift store. Score!

I don't love the extra ease at the sleeve cap, but it adds a retro vibe. The center waistband pieces didn't meet at the center once I added the front button bands, which is really annoying, but the belt hides it fairly well.

When cutting the pieces, I made the mistake I ALWAYS MAKE and didn't lay out all the pieces at once. If I had done so I may have laid the pattern pieces differently to make sure I had enough for everything. In the end I didn't have enough for the collar and collar band facings, so I cut them out in white and told myself to make sure they get sewn up on the underside. Didn't happen. Then I realized I quite liked the contrast, so I added contrast white bands to the sleeves (which I also altered to make them longer) and I love the result.  I need to hunt for a white belt to complete the look, but in a pinch the brown belt worked.

I had intended to leave the skirt hem length 2" longer and even sewed it up using a bias hem facing. Loved it.  Then when I went to add the button band I realized my dress wouldn't be the right size to match, so I had to take it up the 2" anyway. Waste of my time, but oh well. Something else to plan ahead for next time.

I wore it to church and got a lot of compliments, which just tickled me when I followed up with "Thanks, I made it!"

What I've Been Doing

I know I haven't posted much, but I have been sewing lately. I've been working on my shirtdress for this sew along. I have made about 4 muslins of the bodice to get it right (this is my first time making a dress for myself that has bust and waist darts). I finally got the bodice right, then had to move on to the sleeves. I am now in the stages of making my test dress. I plan to post pictures when it's done.

Also, my husband majorly scored at a local suit shop that is closing their outlet locations. He now has about 12-14 new suits, so I've been hemming a lot of his pants. I've now perfected the blind hemmer foot on my machine.  He's also issued me a challenge to learn how to shorten the sleeves on a couple of the suit coats. I watched this YouTube video that seems like it will be a big help. I'll test it out as soon as I'm done with my shirtdress.

Khaki Skirt Complete

I've finished the skirt! It looks great and is super comfortable. However, it looks terrible on me.  I really should have made a muslin first, then I would have discovered that I should have done a swayback adjustment and a full abdomen adjustment.  Never fear - it fits my friend Jill perfectly!

 Front shot. You can see a bit of the inside back hem here - the back is lower to make room for a bum.

 Serged and pressed seams.

 Zipper and button closure, waistband.

 Side pocket lining.

 Back pockets.

See how great it looks on Jill??

Khaki Skirt Progress

The skirt is coming together exactly as I hoped it would! First I added the yoke to the back pieces, stitched the two back pieces together, topstitched the seam and added the back pockets. Then I stitched the front pockets up, sewed them onto the front pieces, stitched the front pieces together, added the zip-fly and topstitched the seam. I serged the bottom hems and then stitched the side seams. To finish I need to make the waistband and then hem.

 

Khaki Skirt

I want to make a khaki skirt, similar to THIS pattern.  I decided to draft my own pattern, using pieces from other patterns that I like.  I made the skirt shape from NL6843, the front pockets and zip fly from K3363 and the back yoke and back pockets from M6610. I'm just about to the stage for cutting fabric. If it turns out as good as the picture in my mind, I plan on submitting it to the 2016 Skirt Contest at patternreview.com.

I bought some great stretch khaki fabric at Hancock Fabrics that I'll be using.

To Do List

My sewing to-do list is growing. I wanted to post it here.

In no particular order:
1. shorten sleeves on black sweater cardigan
2. make orange or red denim shorts
3. make raglan from "peace" knit for Savannah
4. make wrap dress from black & blue knit for me
5. make peasant raglan from bright pink knit for me
6. make white knit tunic for me
7. make boyfriend cardigan
8. make khaki skirt for me - for contest at patternreview
9. make shirt dress for me - for McCalls sew-along
10. refashion orange shirt

Baby Dress

I had an upcoming baby shower for my friend Stacey and needed a gift. Why buy something and risk some one else getting the same thing, when I can make something original?

I used New Look 6316 and bought some pink polka dot fabric from Hancock Fabrics. (While I'm sad that a fabric store is going out of business, I'm thrilled for their closing sale!)

I traced the size I wanted (NB) onto tissue paper, cut the new pattern pieces, cut the pre-washed fabric and got to work. Because my youngest is only 3 months I had to pause several times, so it took longer than I hoped.

The bodice and lining came together fairly quickly. Even the gathered set-in sleeves went in smoothly.

I usually detest hand-sewing, but I chose to hand-sew the lining in place instead of using my machine. I definitely need practice but it still turned out great.

I didn't love the zipper installation. I think it should have been done before the sides were sewn together to make things easier.

I also made the matching diaper cover. I felt that the waistband elastic guide was too big for a newborn so I took it in about an inch. The finished diaper cover, while darling, seemed too long for a baby. I'll make a note of that for next time.

All in all, it turned out adorable and my friend loved it.