The Winter is Coming dress

No, this dress does not have anything to do with Game of Thrones. But it is the last summery dress I'll be making this year.

 

 I usually make at least one coat every winter. Last year I got carried away with summery dresses and made nothing else (almost) all year. By the time we got through winter and summer came around again, I was kind of annoyed at myself.

So here is the last summer dress of the year.

I absolutely love the fabric I've used for the bodice. The print is just beautiful. I have a feeling it would also look amazing with a skirt in a rusty red colour. I don't completely love it with the blue skirt of this dress, but it will do.

For some reason the skirt came out really tight. It fitted really well at the waist but there was a lot of seam allowance along the zip, which I had to let out. I haven't tried sitting in it yet so I'm going to assume it will not actually split open when I do.

I have crazy cat lady hair in these photos. I started with my hair in a bun, decided it was boring, so I took it out and it just fluffed up everywhere. I still have one short side from when I shaved half my head a while ago; at the rate it's growing it should be shoulder length by the end of the year.

And just to prove I really am going to make wintery stuff for winter, here is a little sneak peek of a coat I've started on.

F*ck off summer. There is velvet and fur and silk in my future and I must wear them.

Valentine's Day dress

 Now, I certainly don't need an excuse to make a dress.

Oh, it's Wednesday! Better make a dress!

A blue car! Time to make a dress!

Etc.

However, having my first Valentine's Day date with my boyfriend is most definitely an excuse to make a new dress.

 

For this one, I used New Look 6587, view E. I've made this before, and I found it way easier and less fiddly to just insert a zip up the front, rather than time-consuming and more-difficult-to-undo (ahem) buttons.

I love the bodice style. It's almost corsety, and it's a good one for getting a really fitted, er, fit. The material has a slight stretch so it was quite comfy. 

It's not really easy to see but there are two large patch pockets on the skirt.

I think the camera or the light washed this out a bit. I had 10 different shades of red and pink on my nails. 

We went out for dinner, which was delicious, but I was just waiting for dessert... because I knew I was having salted caramel creme brulee *makes Homer Simpson drooling noise now*

I might have been spoiled a bit, too.

<3

Movie 'college' dresses

I wasn't supposed to buy any new fabric, having accumulated a lifetime's supply in my sewing room, but I couldn't let this beautiful stuff pass by. 

It was called Movie College print but I'm pretty sure they meant collage.

I thought I'd make one dress but ended up having enough for two! How terrible! Not!

First dress.

 

I used this New Look pattern for both bodices. For the first dress, I used the bodice from view D. I just used a long rectangle for the skirt and gathered it onto the bodice. It's a really easy, cheaty way to make a skirt.

 

I love how the print sits across the bust. I actually didn't plan that.

Then I used this gorgeous pattern I found in an op-shop to make a jacket to wear with it. 

 

 

The pattern of the jacket is boxy and hip-length, so I cropped it at the waist, and added a couple of wide darts at the back to make it more fitted. I also lowered the neckline by a couple of inches.

Dress number two.

For this I used the bodice from view B. I can't remember where I got the pencil skirt pattern from but it's pretty basic anyway.

I made the skirt in brown, as black was too harsh. The black in the 'college' print is actually faded to brown, so the brown skirt works better.

Oh, this? I'm just practicing my over-the-shoulder-and-over-the-glasses gaze. You know.

xx