Tag Archives: pattern

Lacy Tie-Neck Dress

May 11, 2013

IMG_7153Yet another project from the Unfinished Object Pile completed. I love checking things off that list!

If you follow me on Instagram, then you caught a glimpse of this dress the other day. I’ve been posting my me-made outfits each day, and I wore this dress last Sunday.

I actually finished this dress several weeks ago. It has been in and out of my UFO pile since last year.

I made the pattern for the bodice of this dress when I was in California last summer.The pattern was actually used for another dress first (I’ll post about that in a couple days). I found the lacy knit fabric at Michael Levine Loft during the same visit to California, but I didn’t cut the material out for this dress until November of last year. Continue reading →

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More Unselfish Sewing

April 21, 2013

DSCN1429I have more unselfish sewing to share with you. I made a dress for my momma, using my self-drafted cowl top pattern. I’m getting pretty good at pattern grading, but it still took me a while to get the fit of the pattern right. It was well worth it though.

I took my “first draft” of the dress with me to California in February, had my mom try it on, and took notes on alterations I needed to make. I had to take most of the dress apart and resew it. I finally finished the alterations a couple of weeks ago and sent the dress to her with the dress I made for my youngest sister. Continue reading →

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Last Minute “Sew for Victory” Dress

March 31, 2013

IMG_6318I learned about the Sew for Victory challenge really late in the game (this past Sunday), but I decided that I really wanted to try to complete a project for it.

I’m keeping this post really brief in order to meet the deadline, but I may add a separate post in the next few days with more details about the alterations I made to the pattern.

This dress took a LONG time. The buttons and belt added a lot more time to the project, but I would say it was time well spent. Continue reading →

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Mini Mushrooms Make Me Merry Dress

March 25, 2013

IMG_6102I know, I know, the title. I just couldn’t help myself with the alliteration. Besides, it’s a totally true title. Oops! There I go again.

I realize the title of this post could give some people the wrong idea. Don’t worry, I’m not on shrooms. The mushrooms on this dress do make me pretty happy though.

I found this material last year at a thrift store. I believe I purchased it for about $0.50. It was in excellent condition, with no stains or smells. After a good washing and pressing it was reinvigorated.

It appears to have been cut away from a longer curtain of some sort. The top was clearly cut by pinking shears. It had a hem on the bottom with weights at the corners, and each edge was finished. I had to take apart the hem and sides to get some extra inches of width and length. Continue reading →

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Christmas dress & a new look for winter

December 29, 2012

IMG_5856I know I said I wouldn’t have a sewing post up again until January but I couldn’t resist sharing my Christmas dress that I finished at the last minute before we left.

I’ve had the material for several years, and I think I bought it at the thrift store in Moscow, ID. It’s a light pink and white with snowflakes and reindeer. It’s perfect for winter. It’s Christmas-y but not so much so that I can’t wear it at other times in the winter. Continue reading →

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Lace Yoke Dolman Sweatshirt Tutorial

December 19, 2012

laceyokedolmanThis tutorial is essentially a continuation of the basic dolman top tutorial. First, please see this post for instructions on making your basic dolman sleeve top pattern.

Adding the yoke is easy peasy. Continue reading →

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Wide Neck Dolman Top Tutorial

December 19, 2012

dolmantopI decided to split up the tutorial for this shirt and the one for the lace yoke dolman sleeve sweatshirt. I’ll post the lace yoke sweatshirt tutorial immediately after this one.

To make this top, you will need a basic shirt pattern. If you don’t have one, please see this post for how-to instructions. Grab some tracing paper, a pencil, a ruler and and an angle. Continue reading →

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First pair of Thurlow trousers in pinstripes

November 30, 2012

I finished this pair of Thurlows a couple of weeks ago, but I was too busy sewing and enjoying Thanksgiving to take pictures and get a post up.

This is the first pair that I’ve made and there are still adjustments to be made.

The back is not a shining example of the best possible fit, but it’s not bad, at all. With a rear like mine, it’s difficult to keep the pants from having some sort of cupping action without making the pants baggy.

The picture below explains why I have such a hard time finding pants that fit. Just take a gander at the shape of the back extension (And I’ll actually have to take the waist in just a tiny bit more on the next pair!). Look in the dictionary under the adjective “pear-shaped,” and you may just find me there waving back at you. Continue reading →

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The Louisa Coat: Pattern and Construction Process

November 15, 2012

As I said in my previous post about this coat, I modeled it after a favorite well-worn coat that I have had for several years…

The store-bought coat is an extra-small, so it has always been difficult to wear anything too bulky underneath it in the winter. Therefore, I sized up just a tad for the pattern, to make it more like a size small.

My biggest complaint with this jacket was always the sleeves and armholes. I could hardly lift my arms in the jacket, especially when it was buttoned. It was so bad, I had difficulty extending my arms out in front of me, parallel to the ground…

There were some other changes. I widened the welt pocket opening a bit because I could hardly fit my hand into the opening on the store-bought jacket (and I have small hands). I also changed the placement of the welt pocket. Continue reading →

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The Louisa Coat

November 14, 2012

Technically this was a muslin, and there are several things I will change about the pattern after making this coat, but I hope you’ll agree that this is a very wearable muslin.

The material is actually a vintage double-knit that I found at a thrift store several years ago. The pattern in the fabric is perfect for a coat. At first, I chose the material because there was plenty of it and I didn’t have plans for it otherwise. However, once I started cutting it out, I realized how perfect the material was for a coat…

The design is based on a well-worn and well-loved coat that I have had for several years.

Continue reading →

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