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.

They don't make 'em like they used to...

Now, would you look at these silly pants? They are just so small, it's ridiculous. You would think, in 1969, that they knew how to design a flared pants pattern.

Clearly, I'm joking. These are ENORMOUS. I absolutely love them. The legs measure 118cm or 46 inches around the bottom.

 

Wish you could still buy patterns for 80c! The pattern is indeed from 1969. I have made these a couple of times already over the years. The blouse is nice but not really my style.

Standing flat-footed...

...and right up on my toes. Even with a 2 inch hem, these are loooong.

Like, stupid-long. They flap around when I walk and if I don't wear them with high enough heels/platforms I will trip over them.

They just have a folder-over waistband which is very simple, and a side-zip fastening. I would actually like them to be a little higher in the waist, and I want to make another pair in a very soft denim. This pair is made in a denim which is fairly stiff, so they stick out a bit.

Especially when you stand like this.

Or this (this was taken while I was attempting to pose for the first photo above. I have a lot of photos that don't usually make it to an actual blog post. I call them transitional-posing photos. I just like the weirdness of this one).

Wave your feet and your flares like you just don't care.

Not sure why I look a bit grumpy in these photos. Next time I will be all sunshine and rainbows.

Twins

Seersucker is one of my least favourite fabrics. The texture is just weird, like it's constantly in need of an ironing. The print of these fabrics won me over the weird bobbliness. 

This is the same pattern as my Christmas dress. I didn't want to make the two dresses completely identical though. The red reminds me of a vintage table cloth, so I decided not to use it for the skirt. Nothing says sexy like a dress resembling a table cloth.

The skirt is cotton drill, which is one of my favourite fabrics to sew with. No stretch, nice and firm and it holds a structured shape very well.

The blue version is my favourite of the two. I don't wear bright red a lot as I don't think it's terribly flattering on me. The cooler blue is lovely. This one is actually lined, because the skirt is very sheer.

The neckline of this pattern is cut straight across, but I altered it for this one into a slight sweetheart neckline.

I do like my new posing couch.

If you're wondering where my new tattoo went, I made these dresses a little while ago.... this is a catch-up post from my blogging break last year.

 

Favourite vintage McCalls pattern

Lately I've become a little bit obsessed with this McCalls pattern from 1958. It is a very simple, easy to make pencil dress. 

It consists of three main pieces; the front, which is cut on the fold, and the back, which is in 2 pieces. Then there are the straps and the facings (Joy! It's not lined! Or rather, the pattern seems to call for lining AND facing... complete waste of time in my mind)

Just going off track for a second, I absolutely hate lining things. It's like making two of something but ending up with only one. I don't mind lining coats; you're supposed to see it then, so you can make it pretty and part of the garment. But lining a dress? I mean, maybe a winter dress, so it's warmer. Otherwise, No.

Anyway back to this amazing dress. I've made a few now, so rather than bore the pants off anyone who still reads this blog by ranting about it over and over again, I've decided to show off everything at once.

First up: Blue florals.

This first attempt is not quite right. It looks nice and the fabric is very pretty, but I didn't get the sizing right. The pattern is a size 16, and it's not too far off a modern size 12 as far as I can tell. I took in the seams and altered the darts a little, but it's still a little loose, especially around the bust. 

I suppose I could fix it, now that I've made a few and I know what I'm doing, but, meh... I don't really want to. It's wearable.

Second attempt: School plaid.

Yes, this looks like school uniform fabric. However, it does not look like MY school uniform, so it's ok. As you can see, I got the sizing and alterations right this time.

Then I made this dress pattern version, which I have a feeling I've already posted up here before. Just in case I haven't, here it is (possibly again).

I'm not wild about this version. The fabric is nice but it feels too busy. I feel like it doesn't do the pattern justice.

Final and most recent version: Barbie pink.

I looooove this one. The fabric is stiffly stretchy (is stiffly a word? It looks weird but I'm not being asked to spell-check it) and really comfy. The top edge around the bust is really firm, so I can't take any deep breaths when I'm wearing it. There must be too much stitching up there for it to stretch properly, or maybe I just didn't allow the fabric to stretch when I was sewing it.

 

I will probably make more of these dresses. 

 

China blue

Damn and blast all washed out photos! 

 

 

This fabric - a bed sheet I picked up in an op-shop - was originally white, which looked far too stark for a dress and since when do I wear white anyway? So I took to it with a packet of China Blue dye.

The pattern is New Look 6587, view D.

Alterations: I took the bodice waaaaaay in. It looks loose on the model on the pattern envelope but fitted in the design drawings. Considering it has princess seams I don't really understand why it would be so loose-fitting. So I took mine in.

The other alteration is I used a zip instead of buttons. I really just don't enjoy the fiddlyness of buttons and matching them up with button holes, blah blah blah... and I just happened to have a zip which matched perfectly.

Brief life update: 

I have quite my job of 10 years, and my final week is next week. This is rather scary but I am looking forward to a change. 

 

Jay and I have split up. We had a wonderful time together and I am glad I can still call her a friend.

And, and! I have a new tattoo! You can see half of it here and in the third photo above. It is two swallows, one on each shoulder. I only had it done on Wednesday so it's still quite bruised and tender.

AND in a few short hours I'll be attending the debauchery that is Helgastock2014! There may or may not be photos, depending on how incriminating they are...

So yes. New dress, new tattoo, new life. Loving it.

(final gratuitous photo just because I like it)

Wide leg jeans

Jeans or trousers are something I don't make very often. I don't wear them often and/or I prefer skinny leg styles. 

Saying that, I do love high waisted, wide leg styles but I find they're not so easy to come by or terribly flattering. 

This pattern is Vogue 8751. I've been wanting to make some good quality denim trousers and this is a great simple pattern to start with. I'll get to things like studs and pockets when I'm more familiar with such a heavy fabric.

I used a mid weight denim with no stretch for these in size 12. No alterations required. I used a narrow hem at the lower leg edge so I can turn these up into nice cuffs (although they'll hover above my ankles if I do so that option probably won't be taken).

I only have two issues with these. One is my fault; I placed the lower hook and eye closure too far out and you can see it. No big deal but annoying enough for me.

The other issue is that these make my backside look really flat! I mean I'm no Coco Austin but this is not a good look! I don't like this photo much but you can see what I mean here. Possibly I could take in the seam a little around the back but I'm not going to touch these now that they're done. I'll experiment with another pair.

Also, how cute is my top!? It's a Rock Steady top from Mod Cloth but I got it a while ago so I think it will be sold out now.

Anyway, there you go. Jeans. Now I just have to wear them.

The end.