Finished Project: Rehearsal Dinner Dress

I just got back from a whirlwind weekend trip to Palo Alto, CA for my sister's wedding. It was such a fun time and I managed to finish both of the dresses I'd intended to make and wear for the weekend's events. Tom and I even did a tiny bit of thrifting and managed to find some tasty food in our small amount of down time.

The rehearsal was our first event of the weekend, and it was held at the beautiful wedding venue, Mountain Terrace. The dinner for family and friends that followed was at a delicious Italian restaurant in Redwood City, Donato Enoteca.

To the rehearsal and dinner, I wore the dark blue, cotton sateen, McCall's 5845 dress I'd previewed for you all back in December. I really love the shape of the bodice (I'm considering making it again soon with a full, gathered or circle skirt, instead. Is it springtime yet??) and only made a few minor adjustments to the dress, from what the pattern instructed. As I noted in my earlier post, I stitched the darts inside, instead of outside, and I both curved and raised the back neck opening into a scoop that just barely covers my bra (phew!).

Mistake #1: I fully lined the dress with silky bemberg rayon, but managed to make the outer and inner layers uneven. So, there is some noticeable (IRL, not so much in this photo) bunching at the edges of the skirt vent, and the lining sticks out a lot in the front when I sit down. Facts I'm willing to ignore while wearing the dress.

Mistake #2: I got a picture of the dress front before we left, while the lighting was still great, but forgot to get the back photo until we got back from dinner that night when things were much fuzzier... both the lighting and my mindset.

Looking back at the photos, I really like this dress! For the rehearsal I paired it with a pink necklace from ShopNestled and my nude Ivanka Trump pumps (so ladylike and comfortable). I'm looking forward to wearing this outfit again, for sure.

Finished Project: Simplicity 3266 (or, Another Green/White Dotted Blouse)

Simplicity 3266

View 3 (shown in blue)

...or, Sue: An Easter Egg Personified.

Welcome to my first project from a vintage pattern! I finally finished the "simple to make" Simplicity 3266. I really enjoyed sewing this blouse, but am not sure it'll actually be a wearable muslin...I'm undecided. My main issue? I feel like an Easter egg. More on that in a bit.

This pattern was fun to sew. The directions were (mostly) easy to follow, the diagrams very helpful, and best of all there were no sleeves to set in!

There was one confusing part, though, where the pattern instructions seemed to want me to make a paper football/accordion strip of bias tape and put it on the armpit seam for reinforcement. After fiddling with the bias tape a bit, I realized I didn't really care to adhere to that step and tossed it. But what do you think, have you ever seen this before? Does this kind of kimono sleeve thing really need such reinforcing?

bias tape accordion fail.

now, magically fold up this bias tape and attach it to the armpit!

Now lets get down to the fit. I made view 3 and right off the bat, it looks like my sleeves are much flappier and less fitted than intended. They feel a bit flappy, too, and I think next time (there will be a next time!) I sew this, I'll make the sleeves narrower. I'll also probably make the waist tucks a little bigger, so the waist area will be a little more fitted.

my dream collar

Next time around, I'll also definitely be doing some adjusting in the collar area. When I showed Tom the finished product he said "it's a '70s collar!" Unfortunately,  that's not quite what I was going for. I'd secretly hoped, despite how obviously large it appears in the illustration, that the collar would somehow turn out more Pan Am uniform than floppy, winged '70s thing. Sigh.

actual collar

Another bone I have to pick with the collar is more...structural? I'd run out of fusible (or any kind) interfacing and for some reason figured, "whatevs, I'll just use muslin" instead of actual, stiff, interfacing on the facing. This makes the collar super floppy and not crisp at all, so I don't really recommend doing that on a shirt like this.

So, back to the Easter egg bit. I love this fabric, I think it's just the bee's knees, but maybe it's better off in craft land than apparel sewing.

Perhaps I'm being hyper critical (who, me?) but, for me, the colors and scale of the print combined with the fabric's quilting weight/lack of drape make this feel a little bit too Springtime craft project for me.

When I saw my finished garment on my dress form, "Easter egg" just popped into my head. When I'm wearing it, I kind of feel like a big, bright, floppy, polka-dotted BLOB (maybe it'd feel less blobby if I tucked it in? ...I'll get back to you on that).

Is it weird that I think it looks better on the dress form?

Things I like about this project? As I mentioned earlier, no setting in of sleeves! Also, I actually had success with the buttonholes (all four of 'em - though the pattern called for only three and then a hidden snap for the 4th), for once. I also had a super time adding contrasting light pink bias trim to just about every raw edge I could get my hands on - or at least the facing raw edge, the sleeve facings, and the blouse hem.

pink and green!

What do you think?

I know this is a topic of contention among many sewers, but do any of you ever use quilting cotton for apparel projects, or is that always a huge no-no?

If/when you do use it, are you usually pleased with the results?

I think the main things I like about it are: it's a breeze to sew with and there are so many cute prints available...if you can pick one appropriate for your project.

Copycat

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...or something like that, right?

Well, I totally copied Zoe, of 'So, Zo...' fame, after reading her recent post about blouse patterns. I feverishly scoured the internets for this adorable little 1950's kimono sleeve blouse and managed to snatch it up on Ebay - thank goodness!

Simplicity 3266 (image via Vintage Patterns Wiki)

I selfishly waited to share until I'd won it, for fear someone else would out-bid me in the meantime - I know, slightly obsessed.

This blouse hits several marks for me. I find the pattern illustration adorable, I really love the cute collar,  and I especially love the fact that there's no setting-in of sleeves to do! After struggling with the sleeves on my Joan dress (which I'll share more on once I've emotionally recovered) I'm ready for a break from traditional(?) set-in sleeves.

Versions 2 and 3 look just perfect for spring. Yay! What am I talking about, Version 1 is 3/4 sleeves - perfect for spring, as well. Now I just need to figure out what fabric(s) to use...

What do you think? Would it be weird to have the collar in a contrasting/coordinating print or color? Maybe I could add some piping or other trim to it, too? What about contrasting cuffs on version 2? Am I just getting crazy here?