Christmas Party Dress

Yesterday I wrote about my Rose Dress and my Christmas Party Dress is made from the same pattern. I changed the darts slightly but otherwise the pattern was perfect. I wore this dress to my husband's annual work Christmas party. It was a huge hit and is my favorite garment I've made to date. I hope to get more use out of it on holidays to come. 🎄🎅🎁

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Rose Dress

Front of the Rose Dress

The Rose Dress came about from a desire to have something with a deep sweetheart neckline. I've wanted something vintage and romantic and feminine and this dress was the result.

Bodice Pattern

I drafted the bodice pattern from my personal measurements. The skirt is a simple gathered affair and didn't require a pattern. The skirt is a rectangle that's gathered at the top and hemmed to my knees.

Mock Up

My first practice piece (aka mock up) was made in left-over fabric and not meant to be pretty. I just wanted to test the fit and make adjustments. I ended up changing the neckline slightly and I took the waist in a little. 

Lining and zipper placement

The dress has an invisible back zipper and is fully lined. The lining is under-stitched at the neckline and encases all the raw edges of the skirt.

Back of the Rose Dress

The back of the Rose dress could have had the print lined up but I was running out of fabric. However, the invisible zipper really gives it a nice finished look.

I wore this dress for the first time to a friend's wedding and didn't take a photo of myself in it. Next time!

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The Portrait Blouse

Scottie Dog Portrait Blouse- Front

The pattern for the Portrait Blouse came from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing, page 137. I have all of her books and highly recommend them!

Scottie Dog Portrait Blouse- Back

For my blouses, I decided to lower the front neckline scoop. I have a heart tattoo on my chest that I like showing off and the higher neckline cut it in half. I also needed a larger size and ended up making myself a muslin so I could get the fit right.

Close up of the Scottie dogs and the machine embroidered heart

I made both of my blouses out of cotton and especially loved the Scottie dog and yarn heart fabric I found. I also machine embroidered a heart to the center front of the Scottie dog shirt. I did this before I cut out my fabric so I could get it positioned properly. I did my best to match the stripes on the Scottie dog shirt and they meet nicely at the shoulders.

Yarn Love Portrait Blouse- Front

Both blouses have a neckline lining. I tacked it down at the shoulder seams and at several locations along the front and back to keep it from flipping out as I wear it. That's one of my pet peeves so I tack down the lining even in store bought tops.

Yarn Love Portrait Blouse- Back

One side has an invisible zipper for easy on and off. I've gotten quit good at putting in invisible zippers and prefer them over regular ones now. You can even paint the pull tab with nail polish to match your fabric better if you can't find the correct color.

Invisible zippers are awesome!

I love wearing these around. They're comfortable and stylish. In the book, Gertie uses nicer fabric, but it's not necessary or practical for me. I live in the country and work at home. For the most part just see my husband, sons, and chickens, and they don't care what I wear. ;) But I like wearing pretty things and Gertie's books have a nice mix of everything I want and need.

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Winter Wool Coat

The finished garment

Last fall I took a couple college classes, one in pattern drafting and the other in tailoring. These two classes gave me the foundations I need for creating my own clothing and I have enjoyed making several items from scratch since then. In our pattern drafting class we had our measurements taken so we could pretty much design any kind of clothing we wanted from our basic blocks. 

I found this really pretty woven fabric from Mood and knew I wanted to make a winter coat from from it. I began with an idea I had in mind and sketched it out on paper first. I wanted a wide collar, an overlapping front, and it had to be knee length. Either way, I wanted it to fit my own frame perfectly.

Drafting the pattern

Mock up created from the original pattern

Coat Lining

The coat is fully lined in matching light brown satin. It's smooth and slick putting it on and taking it off.

Catch stitching the inner garment

The inner construction was very involved and isn't seen on the finished garment. I used traditional tailoring techniques and catch stitched in hair canvas. The woven fabric is 100% wool and easy to work with. Wool is such a versatile fiber and can be molded however you want with steam and heat and the hair canvas gives it a nice foundation to sit on.

Buttonhole mock up

While I was constructing the garment I knew I wanted bound buttonholes to fit my large 2" buttons. I took the extra time needed to do them properly and made a sample first so I could get the technique correct.

Creating the bound buttonholes

The finished garment fits perfectly and turned out beautifully. It was a ton of work but I'm glad I created it.

Designing and Drafting a Shirt- The Final Product (aka the Skeleton Shirt)

I previously wrote out the mock up I made in my flat pattern class last fall. The completed project turned out even better! 

I designed the pattern after a 1940's sweetheart neckline with nearly elbow length sleeves and faux cuffs. The princess seams and under bust shaping makes the top fit me to a T.

I didn't have enough of either fabric so I mixed and matched. I made this around Halloween and the dancing skeletons fabric came from the scrap bin at the fabric store.

Designing and Drafting a Shirt- Working Mock Up (aka Thread Shirt)

Last fall I took a flat pattern class as part of my Fashion Apparel Design and Technology degree. One of our projects was to design a top then to create a draft and mock up.

We used a pattern block that we'd just finished from our personal measurements. I wanted a sweetheart neckline and a fitted waist which I was able to accomplish with the princess draft lines. I was going for a vintage look. I also contoured under the bust so the shirt would fit my larger bust to a T.

I used a fabric with little spools of thread tossed all over it for my mock up. I had to make a few changes but the overall design worked well. I also made 2 styles of sleeve cuffs. I'm really happy with the project and I'll show you the final design in a future post!

Black and White Strapless Dress

I worked on this dress in the early fall before it really started cooling down. I had hoped to be able to wear it once or twice before it got cold. Unfortunately, I made it too large and never had time to adjust it. My full-time college classes took up whatever extra time I had in the day and fixing the dress was put out of my mind. Finally my classes ended in December and I was able to get back to work on it. It's done now and stored away for Spring. I can't wait to wear it with a cute cardigan and some matching heels. Pattern: McCall's M6956

Cherry Halter Top

Some times you just gotta squeeze in a project for yourself, you know? I made this halter top last week. I've had it cut out since last fall, along with 3 other tops for myself. I figured it was time to get to work on them! With my back all tattooed up now, I really wanted some clothing to show off in. Plus, I love the vintage vibe! I added rick-rack along the bottom for them hem and hand stitched in the side lapped zipper. I'll share the other tops as soon as I can get them done too. :)

Sew-A-Long: Midget Block 7: Railroad Crossing

The Railroad Crossing block was a nice break from all the paper-piecing I did on the last 2 blocks. The central X was sewn in strips and then cut to the correct size and then everything was sewn together on the diagonal. For this block I chose a red and white stripe and a printed blue fabric that almost looks hand-dyed but isn't. I'm glad for the simple design of this one but it's not really one of my favorites. Maybe I would like it better if I'd chosen different fabrics but I'm too lazy to re-do it. ;)

Each block will be 4" completed... the first 50 block instructions can be purchased from Sentimental Stitches but instructions for blocks 51 through 196 are free. Check them out HERE!

If you're sewing along I'd love to see your completed blocks in the Flickr Group! :)

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Sew-A-Long: Midget Block 6: Palm

The palm block wasn't nearly as intense to make as the pineapple block but there were still some really small pieces. It's paper-pieced which makes it a little easier to work with though. For this block I chose a hand dyed green fabric for the palm leaves and a blue quilting cotton for the background. I think it turned out pretty good!

Each block will be 4" completed... the first 50 block instructions can be purchased from Sentimental Stitches but instructions for blocks 51 through 196 are free. Check them out HERE!

If you're sewing along I'd love to see your completed blocks in the Flickr Group! :)

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