Spring races, vintage style – FINISHED

Check it out! A finished dress. This one was lovingly made to wear to the spring races. Any excuse to sew, eh?

This little baby is Butterick 5880 sewed in a lovely purpley-blue textured vintage rayon. I bought it from a one-off market-type sale in my country town where a few little old ladies cleaned out their stashes. Initially I had no idea what I would make, but B5880 seemed a perfect fit. I wanted a classy vintage pattern that would do the fabric justice. I’m happy with my choice. And I still have about a metre of fabric left, so double win!

Pattern alterations and design changes

The pattern is a size 12 with very minor alterations (for a change!)

I used the petite adjustments included in the pattern, and took about an inch off the bodice back at the centre back on the fold. I also added a half inch to the fullest part of the hips on the skirt back to give my booty a bit more breathing room.

I made a muslin and was very pleasantly surprised with the overall fit. I was ESPECIALLY pleased I didn’t have to do an FBA, but after looking at the finished garment measurements printed on the tissue, I was satisfied the 12 would do the trick.

I also had to work with a VERY flexible cutting layout as the pattern is drafted for cutting on a 115cm fabric bolt – and my beautiful rayon was only 90cm wide. I had to alter the overlay quite a bit to make it fit, and I was worried my side drapey bit of the overlay would look odd because of all my messing with the overlay pattern piece, but I think I pulled it off.

Construction notes

This dress came together very quickly, and even more so thanks to the Professor Pincushion video tutorial explaining the overlay construction. I think I would have been a bit stuck on working out the tucks from the pattern instructions without being able to see how it’s done, so the video was a godsend. Everything else is very, very basic. And it’s also easy to cut out all the pieces of this dress because almost everything is on the fold!

Leah joined me for a photo or two!

Nawww!

ANYWAY, back to the dress. So I also really wanted to make a self-covered belt, but seeing as I didn’t get around to making the belt until the night before the races, it was only then that I worked out the belt buckle I had intended to use wasn’t going to work. This is the offending notion:

Firstly, you will observe there is no bar, and I don’t have an eyelet punch gadget thingy, so that wasn’t going to work. But besides that, there is NOWHERE on the packet that explains how you cover the damn thing! And google offers no insights, either. I couldn’t be farked stuffing around with it so I instead wore a belt from my vast number of belts. Making my own belts is going to happen, though. I can just tell it’s something I’m going to love the shit out of. So stay tuned for that one when I get my mits on proper beltmaking tools!

I didn’t take any photos of the inside, but the dress is lined in off-white rayon I bought while it was on sale for $6/metre.

And that’s it! I’m SO very keen to get started on my next project, but I have a shit ton (as you can see) of gardening to do and my house is kind of a mess due to renovating/sewing/Lauren’s laziness. But hopefully I’ll have something to report soon.

Spring skirt – FINISHED

I’ve always said autumn is my favourite time of the year, but after spending just the first two weeks of spring on the farm, I have to revise my answer.

Spring on the farm is gorgeous. After you overlook the towering weeds and sinus-inducing pollen in the air, it’s goddamn frickin’ beautiful. Everything is green and lush, bright and colourful, and sunny and warm. I find myself making excuses to go outside. I even look forward to weeding!

The only real problem I forsee is more time outside means less time sewing, and I find myself conflicted in choosing between the two.

elisalex the third – FINISHED

ANOTHER Elisalex, you say? Damn straight! After two muslins I wasn’t going to just make this baby once!

My charcoal ponte Elisalex is SUCH a great wardrobe staple for winter. It is comfy, and because I shaved those princess seams down to fit me perfectly (plus the magic of stretch fabrics), it shows off my curves without being skin tight in the wrong places. It made perfect sense for me to make this in another colour, and I do love red!

IN PROGRESS: The “if only I could afford Cue dresses” dress muslin #1

Long time, no post! I’ve been working, cooking, cleaning and on holidays interstate, so unfortunately not much sewing has been happening of late. It’s a pity, because I’ve been itching to sew!

I’m mid-way through watching Susan Khalje’s very well regarded The Couture Dress on Craftsy and loving every minute of it. I started on my holiday and tore through seven lessons in a couple of days. Now I am unfortunately back in the “real world” my progress will be stunted, but it’s great just to watch and get excited about sewing something beautiful.

Speaking of which, I’m working on a muslin for V8723!

Gertie’s Shirtwaist Dress – FINISHED (ish)

I hate unfinished projects. They weigh on my mind and give me a perpetual sense of guilt for starting something and not seeing it through.

That’s why I have spent upwards of 40 hours on this damned dress. And you know what? It doesn’t even fit.

Sewing update

Things have NOT been quiet on the sewing front, despite how little I’ve been blogging about sewing. I’m actually giving myself a “sewing holiday” at the moment and working on a couple of things, including the shirtdress pattern from Gertie’s book with this rose-print cotton lawn! As you can see, it’s very sheer so I am going to underline it with an off-white lawn and use self-covered buttons. All things going well, I should have it completed by the end of the week! Eeek!