Homecoming '12

Here it is! The homecoming dress on a real, live person! My stylish little sis :)

Everything turned out fitting well. I added a slit to the underskirt at the last second, and I'm glad I did; I wanted the dress to be as comfy as possible.

How cute is this kid?!

Oh, look at how great she is at accessorizing.

I was also going to the dance (I know I'm a college student, but what can I say, these high school kids love me!). I wore a dress I made three years ago; I actually wore it to homecoming then, too! I'm so glad this dress still fits; it makes me feel like maybe I haven't gained tooo much college weight. Also, the fabric I used for it is so lovely; if I could go back in time, I would buy twenty more yards of this stuff for future projects.

Both of us in me-made dresses.

My date made the goofiest faces.

I definitely had the sweetest date ever; no close-ups of my corsage, but it was so pretty! And he was good at making goofy faces, which makes all the photos even better. 

Fun fact: I don't know the man in the background. Seriously... I'm kind of creeped out!

There you have it. Becky loved her dress, so this whole project was a success! Plus the dance was really fun (we had a party bus.....). So that's everything for now; onto the next project. Thanks for looking at this pic-heavy post :)

A Homecoming Dress.

As hard as I try, I just can't get away from high school dances. Last year I went to prom with my boyfriend (even though we were both in college... don't tell!), and this year I'm going to homecoming. Not only that, though, but I'm making a dress for my little sister to wear to the dance. She asked me if I'd make it for her about two weeks ago.

So let's just say it's been a crazy two weeks. I was really torn about wether or not to agree, since homecoming is next weekend. The rational part of me was saying "this is the last thing you need to add to your already-long list of responsibilities." But the side of me that really, really loves making formal dresses told me to go for it; plus, I could hardly disappoint my little sister.

Becky wanted a floor length dress, so I knew I needed to go with a simple pattern if I had any hope of getting it done on time. We chose Simplicity 2178, a Cynthia Rowley pattern, which I then made a ton of alterations to.

Unfortunately, this is the first Cynthia Rowley for Simplicity pattern I've used that hasn't worked out too well for me. I can almost never go wrong with Cynthia Rowley; I've sewn up 6 or 7 of her patterns and they've all turned out pretty great. Hey, I'm even wearing a sweatshirt I made from this pattern right now. But 2178 gave me a ton of problems; for some reason, several pieces just didn't fit together. The waistband was far too large for the bodice, even though I triple-checked that the correct sizes were cut out. And the facings also ended up being over an inch too large. I would normally attribute this to some mistake that I made during cutting, but just to double check, I pinned the actual pattern pieces together and they still didn't match. Hmmm. 

To solve the problem I just gathered the bodice into the waistband (which looks fine, it's just not what the instructions call for) and I tried my best to ease the top of the bodice into the facings. That's the part that doesn't look ideal, but I honestly didn't have a great alternative, especially with my time crunch.

The alterations I made to the pattern were to create my own braided straps, instead of using the pattern's way-too-thick ones; to draft my own skirt pieces (a shorter underskirt with a long chiffon overskirt, gathered a bunch); and to shorten the bodice a bit, making it slightly more empire-waisted. I also added decorative braided trim around the waistband, which took a ton of effort to create, but which really ties the dress together (at least in my eyes). 

Cutting the dress was my biggest challenge to overcome, since the main pieces are chiffon; but after that, construction was fairly simple. So far this semester I've been having to work on speeding up my sewing (if I wanna get my homework done on time, that is...), so knocking this dress out was a great exercise in fast-paced sewing. I sewed about 75% of this dress in one manic 6-hour stretch, fueled by copious amounts of iced coffee.

I'll post real pictures of my model in the dress after next weekend, but for now I'm really happy with how it's looking. I'm going to wear an old dress that I made to homecoming as well; maybe I can convince someone to do a sisters-in-handmade-formals photo shoot :) 

Thanks for reading this huge post! Have a great day, you guys :)

Pajama Pants: DONE!

Sometimes, a garment that should be the easiest thing to make ends up being crazy difficult for no real reason. That was kinda my experience with these pajama pants. 

I think the main reason for the unexpected difficulty was because of all the alterations I ended up making to the pattern. I used Butterick 3698, a unisex pajama pattern, because it looked like exactly what I wanted (and I liked that it had a fly). Cutting the pants out was pretty annoying, since I kind of hate matching plaids, but over all I'd say that part turned out pretty well.

I think he likes them! Also, isn't he a good model?

That's when things got interesting. In the pattern, each pant leg is just one piece with an inseam; there are no outer side seams on these guys. However, as I had planned on adding pockets, this was a problem. So I just cut a side seam in anyway, and sewed in the in-seam pockets with a very small seam allowance. 

But then I sewed the inseam as well, and looked at the legs. They were huge. Like, I had even cut out a size smaller than he normally wears, and the legs were still so baggy they looked like clown pants. I know pjs need to be baggy, but really? This was insanity. So I went back and took and extra inch off each leg, which helped quite a bit. They're still quite loose, but at least they look like normal pajama pants now.

I also didn't like how the pattern gave the fly instructions. There was a lot of excess fabric, which I trimmed back. The pattern also didn't call for any sort of closure, but the fly was gaping so dramatically that he couldn't have worn them anywhere if I didn't add something. Two buttons did the trick nicely, though.

Finally, I did the waist band a little differently; after sewing the elastic in, I did three rows of topstitching over it for a more professional look. This is really easy to do, and will make any elastic waistband look a ton better; just stretch the waistband out till the elastic is taut and sew over it. After you're done, it will probably have stretched out a bit, but that's okay. Just hold an iron over the waistband and steam the heck out of it; you can actually watch the waistband shrink back to the right size! Cooooooool.

I'm really happy with how they turned out, but more importantly, so is Andy! I don't think I'd use this pattern again, because of the few odd little things I mentioned. However, I did enjoy how quickly these pants came together. Now I'm gonna make something else for myself; I'm currently starting on a clutch that's gonna be super lacy and girly. I hope you guys had an awesome weekend! :)

Floral Applique Top: FINISHED!

It's finally done! I've been working on this top for FOREVER; it feels so good to finally be able to move onto something new. And wear the finished product, of course :)

I got the main floral fabric at a flea market; I randomly found it stashed in a huge chest of drawers, and it only cost $2, so of course I had to have it. The two back panels are made from fabric from a thrifted nightgown (I hemmed about a foot and a half off of it, which left me with this extra fabric). All in all, I spent less than $5 to make this! I also love projects where I can repurpose old materials in some way. The last few garments I've made have used old fabrics; I'd like to keep that up.

I used Vogue 1170 by Rachel Comey for this top. I only made a few alterations to the pattern; I omitted the buttons and buttonholes on the back, and instead I just sewed the plackets together. I added a snap at the top so the top can be taken on and off easily, though. I liked the look of buttons, but with the applique going on on the back, I figured it would be best to leave them off so it didn't look too busy. The pattern also calls for gathering in the armholes, which I didn't do. I thought the gathering would make the armholes slightly too tight, and I'd always rather have something more loose and comfortable. 

The most challenging part was making this knot symmetrical (which honestly, I don't think I ever quite accomplished). It's hard to get precision with that kind of thing!

This top is finished with all French seams, which was a touch I really appreciated about the pattern. I'd never sewn with a Vogue pattern before, but I could definitely tell a difference in the quality of instructions- Vogue doesn't baby you. They expect you to know your sewing terms, and be comfortable with more challenging techniques. I liked it, and I liked that I didn't have to finish any edges with a serger. 

I'm finally ready to move on to a new sewing project! Up next: pajama pants for my boyfriend. I've had the fabric for quite a while; it's only fair. I'd also like to make myself a clutch; I've been wanting one for while, and it can't be difficult to do. Here's hoping I have time to sew between homework assignments.....

Crazy Crocheted Blanket: DONE!

It's finished! My big, crazy, yarn-eating blanket. I wove in all the ends yesterday (which was a fairly large job on its own). I'm so happy with the finished product; I'm looking forward using this in my dorm next year. I ended up buying two skeins of yarn for it (the last two blue stripes on the blanket), because I actually ran out of yarn at my house. This was such a good way to use up all the skeins I'd been pointlessly hoarding! Since I already had 95% of the materials, this blanket only cost about $6. 

Here it is on my bed; I won't actually be using it there, but it doesn't look bad, right? (Also, do you think I have enough pillows? My bed is so comfy.)

It's legitimately huge; like, almost too much to carry all at once. I think it's around 6x6 feet. Because it's a square, it's big enough for 2 people... The perfect cuddling blanket. I'm satisfied; now I just need get back to sewing things.

One of my goals for the month of May is to sew 5 garments. This may seem like a lot, but since this is my only month of summer where I won't be in classes, it's pretty much now or never. Not to say that I won't sew once summer school starts: but between two classes and a job, I'll have to prioritize. My lofty sewing goal is where this shirt came in.

I have another project (it's a Vogue pattern) already halfway constructed. But what I really wanted to do was make the top you see here: the idea for it hit me randomly and I realized it was worth pushing other projects aside for. I think, after the end of a stressful school year filled with lots of sewing for grades, this was just the kind of thing I needed to work on. It was simple: I didn't use a pattern, just cut out various rectangles which I didn't really measure. I didn't try too hard, and I didn't stress if small details didn't pan out quite right. 

It definitely has flaws, but I'm still thrilled with it. It's made from a scrap of metallic cotton knit I have had for a few years, and have never had a use for; the small amount I had was perfect for this, and I used all of it up. The lace  yoke is from some yardage my mom found at a garage sale, also a few years ago. And then there's some lace trim that my great grandma gave me (I have several bags full of vintage lace trim, and so few projects that actually look good with that type of thing). Since I already had all the materials, this top was free to make- the best kind of project! 

Construction note: All French seams, so the inside is very neat. Finished with a rolled hem on the bottom (which was hell with the slinky knit, and honestly didn't turn out too well). The neckline and sleeves are finished with lace bias binding; I'm happy with how that part turned out. I added side panels, almost as an after-thought, because the top didn't have enough ease. I'm really glad I did-- it would have been far too tight otherwise.

One garment down, and it was a simple, satisfying one. Now that I've gotten this bit of compulsiveness out of my system, I think I'll finish the other project that I had started.