I'm in love...

...with a pattern - Butterick 5001, to be exact. Seriously, I think this 'tres facile' pattern will be a go-to pattern for me when I need a quick and easy dress. I picked up this pattern at a $1 sale and had been trying to find the right material to make it with. That, and to build the gumption to attempt working with knits, which I have been absolutely terrified of doing!

I found some jersey on sale for $2.99/yard at fabric.com, and decided to take the plunge, ordering enough to make a dress. Unfortunately, it sat in the delivery box for weeks while we entertained guests, I traveled for work, and  I was sucked into the never ending project at work. Last weekend, I decided to finally give it a go and cut the pattern pieces. I also decided at that time to try grading the pattern up to accommodate my very full hips, using instructions in a Singer sewing book my sister bought me years ago. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but the grading was easier than I expected (at least for this simple pattern) and the cutting (of both the pattern and the material) went pretty smoothly. (Of course, I had no idea how it was actually going to work during contruction, but that challenge was for another day!)

This weekend, I tackled the actual sewing, using my sister's borrowed Brother machine. Overall, it worked out okay, though I was having some serious bobbin thread tension issues. I'm happy to take credit for user error when I am indeed the problem, but I am not sure I was the culprit this time. In the end, though, I figured it all out, and now have a new dress for less than $10 - $7.48 for the material, and then a few dollars for some stay tape for the shoulders. As you can tell, I opted for View A since we are heading to Greece and Turkey in late August, but I will definitely make some View B and C versions for my wardrobe!

The dress fit looks a bit wonky in this picture, but it looks better in person, I swear!

Boo!

That's what I have to say about work taking over my life for two months. Can you believe that - two months! I'm clawing my way back from the abyss, and finally have started working on my sewing projects again. It was a fantastic feeling to get behind the sewing machine again. First on my list was finishing up a summer blouse I started way back in the beginning of June. It was my second clothing attempt outside of my sewing class and my first attempt at making clothing for myself. I actually got most of it done before I had to head out to Seattle for work mid-month, but didn't get to finish the hem until recently.

The pattern I used was McCalls 5640 - I did View A, the tank top. I love the material I chose - a cheap polyester from Hancock Fabric. I know it seems wrong to say I love a cheap poly material, but the pattern is so cute! I was bummed to realize that the material had an imperfection, but I kept at it since I didn't want to deal with a return and it would still be okay for a knock-around shirt. Overall, I wasn't thrilled with the pattern. It came out looking like a very voluminous muu muu. Not so great. But, I was happy to get more practice and I am pretty impressed (if I can say so myself) with the seams. So pretty looking - so much better than the seams on my husband's pajama bottoms. I also got to work with bias tape for the first time, which turned out fairly well from what I can tell. Then again, what do I know?

Seams and seam binding!

On the hanger

Yay for Yellow!

Okay, so it doesn't look very yellow in the pictures, but this weekend - in addition to canning oodles of strawberry jam and having a shopping spree at JC Penney's for basically free - I managed to finally finish my second clothing project ever: Butterick 6838! This is a huge accomplishment since I've been 'working' on this project since the fall, but I was terrified of the completing the yoke section so of course it sat and sat and sat.

We went to NJ for the weekend for my dad's 6-month memorial (coincidentally being held on Memorial Day weekend) and I was bound and determined to finish the nightgown for my mom. It's not my style, but it is definitely hers, so I knew she would appreciate it. Since I wasn't home, Bessie didn't take part in this weekend's work, though she had taken care of some of the basic early work (side seams, neck gathering). Instead, I used my sister's Brother CS-80, which she hasn't used much at all. I was spoiled! Her sewing machine was so QUIET, and clearly handled the lightweight batiste better than Bessie did. On the fun side, this sewing machine had decorative stitches, so I added some neck and sleeve embellishments. Unfortunately, white thread on light yellow fabric is hard to see in the photos below.

Overall, I was fairly frustrated with the Butterick pattern, even though I figured it out. I think I will always be frustrated by patterns though - all the ones I have looked at aren't exactly user friendly. I did have some snaffus while putting this together - at two points while working on adding the decorative stitches, the Brother machine tried to eat the material and the hubby had to help save the day for one of those times. Then, I accidentally cut the fabric while cleaning up the hem, and had to re-hem. But, it could have been so much worse.

So, without further ado, the finished product! Unfortunately, the pastel yellow doesn't show up well in most of the pictures!