McCalls 5752

I finally finished "the perfect knit dress" a few days ago, but the weather got cold and I hadn't worn it to show you. I wore it this morning not paying attention to the weather, I was cold.

As I said before I had construction issues because the knit I picked was very lightweight and stretchy. I added length to the bodice which I had to remove by taking a 1 1/2 inch seam allowance where the bodice joins the waistband. I also made the same alteration Amanda did on her dress which worked very nicely to remove the sagging of the neckline(thanks!). This pattern had a lot of extra instructions for modifications which was very nice, one thing it did not mention is that different knits will need different considerations.

This print had a lot going on vertically and horizontally and I'm really happy with how the dress turned out.



I had to share a picture of how the dress looked before I added the stay recommended in the directions. I had omitted it thinking that with the ruching there was a lot of bulk already in the waist, but oh! my! Didn't it look terrible? In the next picture you can see the stay; I used a rayon knit leftover from another project. If you look closely at the ruching in the back (it is hard to notice in my busy print yay!)you can see that it is a little droopy; I think that if I had made the dress with less ease the waistband section would have stretched and removed the droopiness, but with such a thin knit I didn't dare do that.




I now have a break between interpreting assignments and I'm changing my outfit. I believe in making some sacrifices for fashion, but I can't stand being cold =)

In progress...

I just finished cutting Burda Style 116 from the April issue. The fabric is from A Fabric Place in Baltimore, a light weight twill; I'm reproducing a favorite orange dress my mom made me when I was 12.

Simplicity 2472

This was a very easy pattern just two pieces and the binding. Although the original pattern has no shaping on the side seams mine has some to accommodate for my pear shape. Even so the dress is pretty loose as you can see in the pictures with no belt. The fabric is a poly knit I bought at Metro Textiles about a year ago. Not much more to say, this pattern was easy to make and it is very easy to wear.



From some angles it really looks sack like

A gift of fabric

My mom used to sew a lot but not any more. She now knits and crochets instead. But she still has quite a stash of fabrics. Yesterday I went to see her and she gave me the fabrics you see posted here. The beautiful white silk she gave me last year for Mother's day, isn't gorgeous? This is a "good" fabric and so I'm looking for the right pattern.




From the left is a light weight cotton that will make a pretty tunic or full skirt, next is another silk damask for a blouse and the white silk; both could be made into dresses there's plenty of yardage.

The next photo from the left a stripe silk for a blouse and a rayon print that came from a Fabric Place (Michael's) ( they were selling it at $1.00 a yard a couple of years ago who could resist?)

Like many of you who are going to PR weekend in Philadelphia, I'm saving all my pennies, so this gift was received with great enthusiasm!

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I have been working on the McCalls knit dress I mentioned in my previous post. It has given me all sort of construction issues, my fabric is extremely stretchy and doesn't want to behave. I think I finally got it, more details to come.

An update

Just before I came down with the nasty cold I'm fighting off right now, I finished Simplicity 2472; the temperatures also dropped and I couldn't even think about wearing this dress. I wanted a really simple pattern for the knit print since I didn't want to worry about matching circles and I didn't want chop the print too much either. It can't get any simpler than this pattern! I know it doesn't have hanger appeal but it does look cute on. I'll take pictures of me wearing it later, when I feel better...



I also decided on McCalls 5752 for this knit print that I found at Joann's about a year ago. I think it will look good with this design.


In looking through my stash I found this beautiful twill from Michael's fabrics. I usually don't buy this color, but it came in a bundle and the quality is wonderful. I really need a neutral spring jacket so now I'm searching for a pattern.

I'm really looking forward to next week, the kids are off and I don't work thanks to working for the school system. I hope I can shake off this cold soon because I have plans!!

Look what showed up in our backyard a couple of days ago! This is the first time we see a pheasant visiting, the colors were just beautiful!


I wish to those who celebrate a good holiday!