Visions of Party Dresses

Oh, hi! Since I last checked in (months ago), I've been documenting some of my projects on Instagram. You may have seen: I've taken the Seamless Pledge again, sewn a Marthe blouse, a Grainline Studio Hemlock Tee, several Grainline/Fringe Supply Stowe tote bags, a pair of pillow cases using Sunni's tutorial, and a baby blanket following Suzie's method. The totes, pillow cases, and blanket were all gifts, gearing up for the upcoming holiday. Now it's time to start planning some decidedly selfish sewing, I'd say.

I've been dreaming about a feminine, shimmery, yet sophisticated, holiday dress that I can hopefully put together in time to wear to my company's fancy annual holiday party at the end of January. What's something fanciful that I don't have a true need for, yet want to spend lots of time focusing on and laboring over just for me? A pretty-princess-party dress! I've begun to scour the internet for inspiration, ordered a few swatches from Mood, and have started printing and taping together pdf pages.

one / two / three / four

The theme is gold, and the plan is to try the BHL Elisalex dress. The pleated tulip pouf is a new skirt silhouette for me, and the bodice hooked me with its sweet retro vibes. The fabrics I'm considering are dazzling and pricy, but my goal is to make something that truly feels nice and not just thrown together. This also means I'll be making a muslin (or two) first and focusing on fit and finishes for this dress. I aim to make something I'll really be proud of (even if that means some hand sewing, painstakingly stitching princess seams, and a dreaded FBA).

How's your holiday sewing shaping up? Do you have visions of sparkly party dresses dancing in your head, too?

Mad Men Dress Challenge III

Hi, friends! It's that time again. It's officially Mad Men Dress Challenge season. In case you're new around there, JuliaBobbin is the host of the challenge and this is the deal (per her site):

Challenge:      

Recreate a Mad Men dress that you love. It doesn't have to be an exact copy, you can just be inspired by the style of the 50's, 60's and early 70's.

Due By:

Email your entry over to Julia by Tuesday, April 1st.

The Big Reveal:

She'll then post up everyone’s photos and blog links on Sunday, April 6th.


 

Now, to be quite honest, I've sort of had to kick myself in the butt to get geared up for the challenge this year. It's just that winter currently seems to have me on more of a modern fashion kick. I've been wearing skinny jeans, button downs, and boots much more than anything vintage or vintage-inspired, lately.  It's really about time that winter shut up and spring got started, though. And, what's better for welcoming the new season than a new vintage dress? (Spring is coming, right? -- as I type this there's snow and ice on the ground)

The two previous years of the challenge each saw a green dress from me. This year I might just be mixing it up. Who knows, there's really so much inspiration to pour over, I don't think I have any idea what I'll end up with. I've been adding to my Mad Men Pinterest board and generally scouring the internet for outfit images to inspire me -- so far a lot of them are green and blue, it seems. Sigh. Also, if you follow me on Instagram, you'll know a 1963 Vogue pattern catalog has just made its way into my possession, so that's helping to add to the heaping pile of inspiration images, too.

Here are some of my top contenders... today. 

Megan Draper - via Tom and Lorenzo

 Paisley Fabrics: 1, 2, 3, 4.

 Peggy Olsen - via Tom and Lorenzo

Floral Fabrics: 1, 2, 3, 4.

 Peggy Olsen - via amctv

Plaid Fabrics: 1, 2, 3, 4.

 

Trudy Campbell - via Tom and Lorenzo

Blue Ponte de Roma Knit

Coco by Tilly

The Pilgrim Peony

You may recall I have a polka dotted Peony with striped & piped cuffs that I made when I first started this blog. That was my first ever version of this pattern and, with more experience under my belt now, I realize I should have cut a smaller size, among other things. I had been so excited about how I was going to sew it and what fabrics to use that I'd kind of ignored the less-than-ideal fit of the finished dress.  Well, I mentioned it, but at no point did I stop the project to try to really fix it. Unfortunately, the thing never gets worn now. Anyway -- it's time for a new round of Peonies.

At first, I had been a little over-it when it came to the Peony pattern, thinking that maybe it just wasn't for me. And it had sleeves, which I've only recently become comfortable sewing. Then, I saw this adorable version over at Sewbon. It hit me that, duh, this is a versatile dress that would really look cute and let a beautiful fabric shine. If I used a solid color of a nice bright linen or something, I might really like it!

Since fall is here, I want everything to be orange, red, or gold, haha, so I snapped up some of this pretty, Orange linen blend at Fabric.com, with plans to make it into a NICE, satisfactorily-fitting, Peony. Is this going to be a good color on me? Don't know, but I was definitely drawn to it.

Carrot colored linen blend, from Fabric.com

However, none of the above noted Peonies are what this post is actually meant to share! Instead of cutting right into my new bright fabric, or making an annoying bodice muslin out of plain, unwearable fabric, I opted for a wearable muslin, of sorts. I used a kelly green double-knit polyester heap of fabric that had been lurking in my stash. I can't quite remember how I came across it, but probably some early, misguided online fabric shopping from my earlier days of sewing. I added a while collar and thus created my latest Peony; The Pilgrim Peony.  (I know you're not supposed to use fabric that's this drastically different from your anticipated final fashion fabric when you make a muslin, but whatever!)

Please excuse the iPhone photos, I'll have better ones once the dress is totally done. That's right, I've left off the finishing touches on the sleeves, so this is still technically a WIP. I've also done a few other weird things -- since this fabric is thick polyester and is not prone to fraying, I didn't finish a single raw edge or seam! I was also able to leave out the center back zipper since the double-knit fabric is a bit stretchy. AND, to make my futuristic/Jetsons'/pilgrim/'60s collar, I literally just used the facing pieces that came with the pattern. Is that weird? It makes the corners at the shoulder seam pointed, rather than curved and I kind of like it. The inside of the neckline is finished with matching bias binding. Oh, and I also omitted the gathers at the front of the skirt and just added a pleat on each side. I didn't think this fabric would lend itself well to little gathers.

The only thing I have left to do now is come up with an idea for finishing the sleeves. I could just hem them at this slightly-shorter-than-the-pattern-calls-for length. Or, I could add a little pointy, white cuff to match the collar. Or, maybe just a white band/cuff that's plain, not pointed? I really can't decide. Any recommendations?

so excited

...for what arrived in the mail today, straight from Paris!

 

 Ohh, the possibilities... 

 

 

 

 

Short skirt and long jacket... Long skirt, short jacket? All of the above? 

 

Finished Project: Floral Pendrell

This week I completed another blouse inspired by one of Anna of Paunnet's projects. It's the Pendrell from Sewaholic Patterns, view B, with the seam ruffles left off. I'd always felt a little iffy about all the ruffles and flounces on the Pendrell pattern and as soon as I saw Anna's version, I was like Ohh, that's what you're supposed to do. What a great idea. Just because a pattern comes with certain pieces, doesn't mean you have to use them!

In sewing up this second Pendrell of mine, I went down half a size and cut like 3 inches off the hem. This blouse is frickin' long (which is definitely better than too short).  I also trimmed a little over a 1/4 of an inch around the neckline, before finishing with the bias facing. I'd thought this would solve the slight problem I had with my previous Pendrell, which was that I really had to tug it on over my head, and always messed up my hair. For some reason, on this latest version, it's almost like I added 1/4 inch to the neckline because it's almost impossible to get on! Very mysterious.

The fabric I used is a thrifted cut of polyester chiffon-y thin slipperyness. I'm sure some lady bought it in the '80s or '90s to make kitchen curtains or something. The main thing that drew me to it was the little navy dots scattered through the print and the mustard/orange colored flowers amongst the blue floral. I'd initially thought I would need to line the blouse, due to the sheerness of the fabric, but it's actually not so bad, as long as I just wear a nude colored bra.

I like the little cap sleeve ruffles, but I'm just still not 100% sure if I'm a ruffly blouse type of person, or not. My shoulders might be too broad for this look. Anyhow, I'm glad I tried this blouse. I think I'll get some good use out of it tucked into skirts, and since the fabric is so lightweight, it's easy to layer even the frilly sleeves underneath a cardigan.

I was also really inspired by Anna's pinafore that she paired her Pendrell with and used the Chardon skirt for. After seeing it on her, I clicked over to Deer & Doe and finally bought the pattern I'd drooled over since it first came out (so cute!), as well as the adorable Pavot jacket. I couldn't help myself. They haven't arrived in the mail yet, but I'm eagerly anticipating holding these lovely patterns in my hot little hands. Yay - MINE!

Peter Pan Pendrell Replacement

My original Peter Pan Pendrell

Back in January, I was inspired by a peter pan collared Pendrell blouse made by Anna of Paunnet. I ended up making my own peter pan Pendrell, in teal rayon challis and loved it. I loved it so much, in fact, that I wore it and washed it a few too many times and it started to fall apart in any little place I'd not finished the seams 100% perfectly. I just recently parted ways with it (which felt weird, donating a me-made) and decided to make a replacement. I had just enough of the teal rayon left over to whip up a Laurel version, to fill the gap the Pendrell had left in my closet (and life).

I used the same collar as what I'd drafted for my pink Laurel top and simply rounded the pointed corners in the front to get the look I wanted. I used French seams throughout, and instead of completely foregoing interfacing in the collar (as I'd done and regretted in the Pendrell version), I used muslin to interface it, which worked pretty well. I also got to make bias tape and grinned the whole time -- for some reason I love this tedious task.

 

I'm so glad to have this blouse back in my closet and ready to wear! The soft collar for this version makes it easier to layer than my pink collared Laurel (which as been restricted to warm weather wear only).

In writing this post, I've just realized my next project, currently in the works, is also inspired by pieces Anna has made. As soon as I saw her recent post about her pinafore project, I started purchasing patterns and cutting fabric. More on that soon!

The Sewjo Returns

Steph's Laurel

This week my sewing mojo (Sewjo) returned. I completed the Laurel blouse I'd been slowly sewing for a friend (it looks exactly like my Rayon Laurel), and even managed to make another Laurel for myself.



The Laurel I made for myself had also been a long time coming. The fabric and pattern were sitting on my sewing table for at least the past month. It all started when I found a cute top at Anthropologie, tried it on and loved it, but looked at the price tag & fabric content and about fainted. Then I decided to make my own version.


A slightly more accurate representation of the fabric coloring can be seen here.

Lumine Dot Blouse from Anthropologie

The inspiration blouse costs over a hundred dollars, is imported, and is made of soft cream colored rayon embroidered with neon orange and pink polka dots. It has a 1/3 zip down the back, which seems a little trendy and unnecessary to me. The sleeves have a slight puff at the cap, which I was excited about because I'm horrible at easing/setting in regular sleeves and the puff/gathering gives you a little wiggle room.

For my version, I chose a Marc Jacobs cotton silk from Mood that I'd spied when Tom and I visited the LA store and I was too overwhelmed to buy anything. Thank goodness I was able to find it online.  It's very lightweight and has a bit of a sheen to it. The spotted pattern is a dark dot with a brighter outline around it, which makes for a pinky/red look. Gertie has some in the orange color scheme in her Etsy shop.

I ended up making about 17 miles of bias binding, which sounds tedious but always ends up being something I rather enjoy making. I used the binding to finish the neckline, sleeve openings, and as a facing on the shirt hem. I also decided to add a little bias tape bow at the back of the neckline, for what I thought added a '60s vibe.

My favorite part of this project, though, is how the sleeves turned out. I'd planned to give them a little poof at the top, so I wouldn't have to struggle with setting in the sleeves, but I didn't end up needing to! For once in my life I was actually, for some reason, able to insert the sleeves normally with minimal strain or effort on my part. Well, apart from the fluke when I put the first sleeve in inside-out.

Ahh, what a glorious sleeve! I'll be sure to post more photos, including some of me wearing the finished top, soon. Thanks for sticking around while I experienced my mental vacation/sewing rut this month. I'm glad to be back now!

Oh, and if you ever find yourself in a similar rut, may I recommend the Laurel from Colette Patterns? It's not complicated, but just involved enough to make ya feel accomplished upon completing it. :)

... and the winner is

... Johanna of Making it Well -- one of my favorite bloggers! Thanks for entering my Birthday Giveaway. I'll be in touch for your mailing info. :)

As for regular business around these parts, sewing has been a little bit slow, still, but planning has not! I've got my 3 WIPs still underway, and a new project in the works, too.

I recently saw this dress on ModCoth.com and was instantly inspired.

Graceful Greenery Dress in Dog Park

I love the scoop neckline, skinny straps, and full gathered skirt.  It looks like an early 1960s frock perfect for a summer barbeque or party. However, I'm not sure if you all have picked up on this, but I'm not a dog owner presently. The apple of my eye is my bratty darling, Duke the cat. Though I did grow up with a pet dog, I couldn't just betray Duke like that -- I'm his mom, after all. I managed to find some excellent, very similar looking cat fabric, in a Grey and Pink color scheme. I think it will make a great paring with the bodice from a recently acquired vintage pattern I picked up. Add a gathered skirt, and I'm good to go.

this bodice, plus

... a gathered skirt & this adorable fabric.

I'm in love with the cute cats and the fabric colors. It's definitely more muted than the bright Red and Yellow of the Bernie Dexter inspiration dress on ModCloth, but I love it!

Floral Fabric Mission

As some of you may recall, last spring and summer I was sewing and then wearing dresses for the weddings I was attending. This spring, mid June to be more specific, I've got Tom's brother's wedding to attend and I hadn't originally planned to make or buy anything, but use a dress already in my closet - I already had two great candidates!

Then I saw this dress on Modcloth and fell in love with the fabric (and the dress was even made in the USA, yay!). I bought it right away, in two sizes - just in case! However, neither size fit, much to my dismay, and was not worth altering or adjusting myself.

Modcloth.com - Come to My Window Box Dress

Here's a close-up picture I took of the dress fabric before packing it up to send back to Modcloth. :(

Pretty floral rayon

It's 100% rayon, and is lightweight - probably rayon challis. The dressmaker brand is Everly. And... that's all of the information I've got.

Tom suggested, "why don't you just buy fabric like that and make your own?" To which I replied, "yeah, it's not that easy!"  And then promptly began searching the interwebs for similar teal/coral floral print rayon.

The closest match I came across was this cute '40s-vibe rayon from fashionfabricsclub.com. It's very cute, but not quite right...

Aqua Green Floral Challis

I even searched on Spoonflower to see if anyone else had created something at least similar, but I had no luck. So here's my question:

Where do designers get their cute fabric, and where can I get some?

It's a question I asked more frequently in my very early days of garment sewing, after trying to make what should have been a flowy blouse out of cute, but stiff, quilting cotton. After a while I was finding enough suitable fabrics I did like, and that felt clothing-worthy to me, that I kind of forgot about it. But now I'm really wondering where all of this secret, special, pretty dress and blouse fabric I see used to make so many adorable pieces of clothing for sale is hiding!

Do any of you feel this way too?

Have you happened upon any pretty, teal, flowery rayon I can buy to make the dress of my dreams?

Another Green Mad Men Dress

So, I've finalized my Mad Men Dress Challenge plans. I've decided to use my vintage Simplicity 7980 pattern to recreate the Mad Men shift dress I've been dreaming of making ever since I first saw it appear in an episode.

It's the adorable green dress with the bow accent I've been drooling over for at least a year! What? another green Mad Men dress? YES.

Source: blogs.amctv.com via Susan on Pinterest

My version will be a little bit different (shorter cap sleeves, and a bow taken from and likely attached via the same method as the blouse in Simplicity 2154), but obviously inspired by the green dress worn by the girl in the above photo, sitting next to Megan (before she was Draper).

I'm planning to steal this bow from Simplicity 2154

I've just cut out my green, thrifted (polyester, how authentic) fabric and am hoping I'll have time to start putting the dress together this weekend.

Boy, this month has really gotten away from me, what with my week-long vacation to California (that I'll be posting more about, soon), and busy season (and overtime) ramping up at work, as well as some of my and Tom's family events popping up, I've felt a bit frazzled!

What about you all? Are you finalizing or even finishing sewing your Mad Men dresses?

A Perfect Pair

I'm sure you've all heard by now that Colette Patterns has just released a new pattern, the Laurel shift dress.

As soon as I saw it, I thought, hmmm that reminds me of something...

Source: colettepatterns.com via Susan on Pinterest

Just add a little bit of bias binding & a bow to the neckline, and and you've got yourself a Mad Men-inspired dress, just like Megan's!

You might see me trying something like this soon, not necessarily for the Mad Men Dress Challenge, as I've got other plans for that already (details soon!), but just for fun. I'm also pretty excited to try taking a crack at using some of the embellishment ideas found in the Laurel Extras ebook. Colette is known for the thorough, easy to understand instructions that come with their patterns, so I have a feeling I'd be confident trying just about any of the embellishment ideas they've come up with. They're even having a sale on the Laurel, through Friday, so check it out!

Source: tomandlorenzo.com via Susan on Pinterest

This Just In!

I know it's not super exciting for you all, but it is for me - I've finally gotten a new computer! Now I can more easily edit photos and create blog posts. Yay!  Anyway, I thought I'd give you all a little update about what's going on in these parts, sewing-wise, now that I've returned from my vacation (which I'll be sharing more about soon!).

In addition to lazily starting a wearable muslin for Tilly's recently released ADORABLE Mathilde blouse, I'm also planning out what I think I'll make for the upcoming Mad Men Dress Challenge (Part II). As I mentioned before, I'm feeling rather inspired by Megan Draper's character this time around. These are my top (dress) outfits of hers.

Source: tomandlorenzo.com via Susan on Pinterest

Source: ohthatsyou.com via Susan on Pinterest

Source: wornontv.net via Susan on Pinterest

Source: tomandlorenzo.com via Susan on Pinterest

I love all of the bold, pretty colors, and let me just say, the girl can wear a shift dress. I'm also rather in love with the green dress worn by the girl (I remember this episode, but can't quite recall who her character is) sitting next to Megan in the below photo.

Source: blogs.amctv.com via Susan on Pinterest

It seems that I've dedicated myself to making a shift dress of some sort, and I've got a fresh 1960s sewing pattern from Etsy just waiting for me to break it open and start working.

 

What do you think? Have you decided on your plan for this year's Mad Men Dress Challenge?

Round TWO!

 

I'm sure you've all noticed that Julia Bobbin has announced the second Mad Men Challenge. I was so excited to participate last year and am just as thrilled for round two. Last year I compiled a Pinterest board dedicated to inspiration for the challenge and I'm planning to start adding to it again as I gear up for my second version.

As you may recall, for the first challenge I made a green dress inspired by one Joan wore.

This year I'm thinking of going for something inspired by Megan, or at least something a little bit more mod. You know I love collars, and bows are pretty nice too...

Source: blogs.amctv.com via Susan on Pinterest

If you're looking for more inspiration, take a peek at Julia's post revealing last year's participants' amazing makes.

Entries are due April 19, so you'll be seeing more inspiration and project planning updates from me as the due date approaches.

Get excited!!

Sew...much!

I feel like I've got a lot going on in my brain & sewing room right now! I'm clinging to multiple sewing ideas, while also trying to do some refashioning and complete my Pendrell blouse. I actually took some time off work to give myself a long weekend for getting things done. However, in the sewing department, instead of being productive, I've ended up spending a lot of time marveling over all of the ideas for things I could work on. There's sewing project inspiration, potential refashioning projects waiting in a pile, and my in-progress Pendrell blouse.



Inspiration:
Ever since starting to read (yes, read - not just flip through the pretty, pretty pictures!) 100 Years of Fashion, one particular style has been stuck in my head. I know I've claimed the '60s as my best style decade for its more wearable, cute fashions, but who can resist the New Look.

1947 'Bar' by Dior -  V&A

Something about the fitted jacket and or blouse belted over an a-line or full skirt, idea won't get out of my mind. For some reason I'm picturing myself wearing this type of suit, maybe in dark blue, boarding an airplane? Don't ask. I've found a pattern that I'm dying to try, but then again, I think I could turn Gertie's jacket and skirt from her book into just as nice of a suit, and I wouldn't have to purchase any new patterns. But, just look...

Source: etsy.com via Susan on Pinterest

It's even from 1960! But, then there's also this lovely '50s pattern, too.

Source: etsy.com via Susan on Pinterest

Pretty! I'm not normally into suits, but these seem so smart and fun to wear. I'm especially liking the look of the jacket being nipped in at the waist and extending down to cover the hips, but not as long as a '40s style suit jacket. This look definitely helps create that hour-glass silhouette, but isn't revealing or racy. I'd call it ladylike but cute - at least that's how I'm hoping it would look on me.

Drooling over inspiration is a lot easier than completing a sewing project, though. Which tends to leave me with too many ideas to narrow down to a starting point and no progress on my current projects.

That said, I'm also being tempted by the Polka Dot Frock Fest that's been talked up over at Scruffy Badger Time.

I already own this pattern but have yet to sew it up. I also own some blue, polka dotted fabric that's been sitting forlorn in my stash for longer than I care to recall. Sounds like a match made in heaven, if you ask me.

If I do participate in the frock fest, I'm hoping to make my version something I could wear in my casual work setting without getting "...you're dressed up today" comments. I'm liking the view that's already illustrated in a   spotted fabric on the pattern envelope. Hmm... we'll just have to see.



Refashioning:
Earlier this month, I picked up this black, wool herringbone pencil skirt at the thrift store. I think it's from the '70s or '80s? It's fully lined, has pockets, and has a little strip of elastic on each side of the waistband  This might not sound like a plus, but the elastic is not super noticeable and makes a big difference in terms of comfort! It's a great length for a vintage office-y look, but my office is pretty casual, like I mentioned, and I'll get more wear out of this piece if I shorten it to above the knee. Not really a drastic refashion, more an alteration, but yeah. That's the plan.

Thrifted wool skirt with pockets  - closeup shows elastic at side-waist

I also have 4-ish other thrifted pieces just sitting in a pile, unwearable until refashioned into something better. I've tucked them away for now because I don't want to get sick of them before I even have time to start working on 'em. I easily get carried away with all of the pieces I see with "potential," rather than keeping in mind what I'll actually have time/energy to work on and will be able to really wear when completed.



Actually Working On...
In the meantime, through all of the swirling inspiration and project plans in my head, I've come to terms with the fact that trying to work on, or even just think about, too many things at once ends up being bad news for my sewing productivity. Once I finish my current project, the Pendrell blouse, I'll move on to address any lingering sewing inspiration or refashioning ideas. That may sound dull, but I think I'll go insane if I don't focus!

In-progress, creased and droopy, teal Pendrell

Today I'm planning to draft a collar to add to my teal rayon Pendrell WIP. Gertie's tutorial from her book seems pretty easy to follow for collar drafting, so, hopefully that'll turn out nicely. I am trying to make an effort to not rush through this relatively simple project. I don't want to be tempted to cut any corners and end up with a poorly finished piece that I won't enjoy wearing. Wish me luck!