That’s what it was like taking pictures for this blog post. Let me start by saying that my fabric has enough stretch that I can move (and breathe) in this dress. It’s just that the dress is a nudge more form fitting than I am comfortable with. If I had paid closer attention to the pattern picture I would have noticed this.

My fabric has more stretch than the patterns calls for but the negative ease in this pattern makes for a dress that shows off my curves more than I like. I love the style of this dress but would have preferred it “looser”. As it is, I sewed it with 1/4″ seams once I saw where this was going.

The pattern calls for the dress to be fully lined, which I always like. If I were to sew this pattern again I would sew the lining as one piece instead of using the same pattern pieces as the dress. I don’t like that the seams for the insets show through. I sewed my usual size 8 and besides sewing 1/4″ seams, I added 1″ to the length of the skirt. The dress was not complicated to sew and came together very well.

Though I read a few reviews for this pattern before starting, I went back and read more when I realized how this was going to fit me. I found a blogpost mentioning the fact that this dress fits like a second skin. That pretty much sums it up for me. Though some people feel comfortable in “second skin” clothes, I’m not one of them.

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Another year of Me Made May has come and gone. Every day is pretty much me-made for me since I make most of my clothes. I like Me Made May because I enjoy documenting my outfit of the day on Instagram as well as seeing what other sewists are sewing/wearing. I’ve said this before; going through my wardrobe choosing something I made to wear makes me realize that I keep my clothes much longer than most people.

Many of my me-mades have stories. Some stories are fabric related i.e. bought while on vacation or the challenge of trying to fit a particular pattern on a piece of fabric. Some stories are of victory over a particular challenge or of recovery from a mistake. My closet is full of stories and I love that about sewing my own clothes.

Butterick 5950

Simplicity 8014

Vogue 8379

Presto Popover Top

Burda Style 02-2013-116

Simplicity 2614

Jalie 2794

Burda Style 02-2012-112

McCall’s 7243

Vogue 9201

McCall’s 6571

Burda 6847

Jalie 2806

Butterick 6488

Burda STyle 10-2014-111

Jalie 3352

Vogue 9243

McCall’s 6571

Sewaholic Minoru Jacket

Burda Style 12-2012-126

Vogue 8815

McCall’s 6886

Simplicity 1917

McCall’s 6650

Style Arc Issy Top

Vogue 1531

Vogue 8925

McCall’s 6886

Butterick 5672

Style Arc Top

New Look 6150

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A few months ago I made a Minoru jacket for a vacation we had planned. We were going to be visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St-Petersburg and Helsinki while on a cruise sailing from Copenhagen. I made my original jacket based on what the weather had been historically. As our vacation approached I noticed that Scandinavia was having unseasonably warm weather. Another jacket would be needed. Like all good sewists, I went through my stash and decided to make a jacket 10 days before we were scheduled to leave. My husband was not surprised and has come to expect nothing less than last minute sewing for an event. (Picture above taken in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen).

I purchased this medium weight printed cotton and the polyester charmeuse lining from Britex Fabrics in San Francisco last fall. My intention was to make a Minoru jacket at some point with these fabrics. I “rush” ordered a zipper from Wawak Sewing Supplies and was good to go.

I added 1.25″ to the length of the jacket. I also created a cuff by adding a facing to the bottom of the sleeve rather than the elastic cuff called for by the pattern. In addition, I added inseam pockets. I omitted the hood but added interfacing to the collar pieces. (Picture above taken in the King’s Garden, Copenhagen)

I always try to find a fabric store when I travel. I didn’t have to look far because Stof & Stil was right across the street from our hotel. They have a beautiful selection of fabric and the people working there are very nice. I purchased a printed cotton sateen as well as a tiny gingham check seersucker. We had early morning events both days we were in Copenhagen so we were gone before they opened. I was able to make it to the store on the second day 15 minutes before they closed. That limited my shopping considerably 😉  Fabric bought while on vacation is the BEST!

My husband and I love jazz so the chance to take a Dave Koz jazz cruise AND visit some places we had never been to was a wonderful opportunity.

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I purchased this fabric from Fabrix in San Francisco last fall with exactly this style of blouse in mind. I knew the drape of the polyester crepe would do well as a ruffle. I don’t sew blouses very often but I like having an assortment of them in my closet to mix ‘n match with skirts or pants for variety.

The pattern is described as semi-fitted. I’m very happy with the fit and I like the sleeve and neckline options offered by the pattern. Polyester crepe is not my favorite fabric to sew but this one behaved fairly well. I use more pins than I normally do to hold everything in place and a size 65 needle to sew the fabric. I sewed French seams throughout because the fabric was somewhat sheer.

It is so satisfying when a project turns out as you pictured it. I had not noticed this pattern when it was introduced. Once I had my fabric and a vision of what I wanted, the pattern jumped out at me.

Here is a picture of the blouse worn outside of my pants.

And here is a picture of the blouse tucked into my skirt. I don’t have much to say about this project besides the fact that it yielded a great blouse for my ever expanding me-made wardrobe.

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I was inspired by Vogue Patterns’ summer pattern release. There were so many designs that appealed to me. This dress was the first one that caught my eye. I’m a sucker for a flared dress with princess seams. Both the long and short versions look great.

I’ve had this polka dot lace in my stash for a couple of years. When I saw this pattern I instantly thought of making the long version with the polka dot lace and lining it with the shorter version in poplin.  My initial thought was to buy poplin in the same color as the lace. While shopping for the matching poplin, my husband pointed out that a lighter shade might be nice. He was right, the lighter shade made the polka dots stand out more. He’s not just good at taking pictures, he has a good eye for color as well 😉

The pattern calls for the dickey to be attached to the dress with snaps. I permanently sewed mine on because there’s no way I’m ever going to wear the dress without the dickey.

I sewed both dresses separately and basted the two dresses together at the neckline and armscye. I cut the neck and armscye facings out of the poplin and sewed them to the dress as if both layers were now one dress.

The pattern is well drafted and came together without any issues. I already have fabric set aside to make the shorter version.

You’ve got to love a dress that has some swing to it!

I had some kind of tunic in mind when I purchased this polyester chiffon from Fabric Mart a while back. It sat in my stash waiting for the right pattern. After seeing a RTW (Ready-to-Wear for my non-sewing readers) top with a front and back overlay in a print similar to this fabric, I went looking for a pattern to re-create the top. I found New Look 6527.

I like that the overlay is actually a little longer than the fabric underneath.

I changed the sleeve to be similar to the tunic I saw in the store. I cut out a bell sleeve and created a casing with bias tape in order to insert 3/8″ elastic. I also sewed French seams throughout the top because the fabric was sheer. The fabric wasn’t much fun to work with but that is just the nature of polyester chiffon. I knew this going in and decided it was worth the effort.

The high-low hem was another feature I liked about this pattern.

I think this is a fun top to have in my closet and am glad I was inspired to finally sew up this fabric.

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As soon as Vogue introduced this Lialia by Julia Alarcon pattern last year I knew I had to make this for myself.  The deep cowl and the open back were striking. The challenge was going to be finding the right fabric. Thankfully there is a wonderful sewing community out there that loves to share their projects. The talented Erica Bunker made a beautiful version of this dress with an Italian stretch polyester crepe from Mood Fabrics. I hurried over to Mood’s website and bought the fabric to make this dress. The cowl requires a drapey fabric and this crepe was perfect.

The instructions were good and the pattern well drafted. I omitted the center front seam but cutting the front skirt on the fold. I added 0.5″ to the length of the bodice (normal for me) and 0.5″ to the length of the skirt and made a 1″ hem instead of the 1.5″ called for by the pattern. The dress is fully lined with the top being out of the fashion fabric and the skirt being from lining of your choice. I opted for a stretch satin.

The cowl is very interesting and allows for different styling options as demonstrated in this picture from Vogue Patterns.

I prefer the cowl but I also like the hooded version. It was windy today so it made taking pictures of the cowl and the hood challenging.

I was not sure how I would feel about this color as I tend to gravitate towards brighter colors but after seeing quite a few RTW dresses in this color I got used to it. I’m so thankful for this sewing community of ours. I get so much inspiration from other sewists. This dress turned out even better than I imagined. I plan on wearing to it to a couple of upcoming events with my fashion photographer. By the way, this fabric is so wonderful I bought a bunch of it in black as well.

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