Vintage Style // Garden Party Dress

Guys. I am so excited about this dress! Its my first dress, made for myself, that is lined (and underlined), has darts, a full zipper, cute pleats. And it fits! I've had the Garden Party Dress Pattern by Honig Design on my "to sew" list for awhile. I just assumed it would be complicated but after reading the instructions I knew that I could sew it. Oh, and its free! How great it that?

I was inspired to sew this dress when I saw the week 1 challenge on Project Sewn. There are so many great women sewing this time around and I'm excited to see what they make and to sew along! The first challenge is to sew a look inspired by your favorite fashion icon. I love vintage style as well as vintage patterns so I immediately thought of Grace Kelly. She had such a classic look and wore some really beautiful dresses. After doing some research, I came across a few floral dresses she wore and knew that's where I wanted to start.

This is the dress that I loved. She wore it in the movie Rear Window and the simple lines and the bold floral and just wonderful. Awhile back I purchased quite a few vintage sheet sets from an estate sale. After lots of soaking, time in the wash and sun they were ready to use. I chose this gray, orange and brown floral print (I also made a top for Miette using this fabric) because it has a few of my favorite colors and it was reminiscent of the above dress. One bonus of using vintage sheets is that I used the existing hem so I saved a step. And it's so nice and straight!

Before sewing the dress I actually did a muslin of the bodice out of the lining fabric (just in case it no adjustments were necessary half my work would be done!) and it fit perfect. Not a bad start! The instructions are just text, no illustrations, and that can be tough for a visual person like me. But luckily the techniques are pretty standard so I could visualize the steps easily. It went together smoothly and I was crossing my fingers when I tried it on and zipped it up. Perfect fit.  I'm so happy with how it turned out and I can't wait until we are all well again (both kids are sick, again) so I can wear it to church!

I had a few options for sweaters, shoes, accessories so I thought I would try them all. I'm not sure which is my favorite but I like having choices. Also, does anyone else feel silly not smiling? Its normal for me to smile in pictures so any picture where I'm not, I just laugh at how silly I look!

I'm also sewing along with Shades of Me. While this isn't an entire monochromatic look, it has shades of orange to brown. I realize that I tend to wear lots of solids in monochromatic shades but when buying fabric I'm drawn to prints. I think I need to invest in some great solids to sew some basics. And the next project on my list...cigarette pants! Those may take a lot of trial and error but I'm excited to try!

Deer and Doe Plantain Swing Dress

When I first saw the Plantain top by Deer and Doe I thought it would easily convert into a dress. So I looked around at a few of my favorite stores and found a some dresses for inspiration. The first one I decided to try was this swing dress from Anthropologie. I mean how cute it this?

And when I did a close-up from the fabric and saw that it was herringbone I was sold! I had a black and white herringbone in my stash, that was meant for a cardigan, but I haven't been able to find a cardi pattern that I like so a cute dress is just perfect!

I searched around and found a basic tutorial on how to create a swing/trapeze style dress from Cotton and Curls. Seemed easy enough!  I cut out the plantain top pattern and then taped it to a larger sheet of paper and then just under the bust I flared out a few inches and lengthened the pattern. I made a quick muslin, made a few adjustments then cut into my fabric! Its definitely not perfect and there are a few things I would change next time, but overall I'm very happy with it!  I also lengthened the sleeves and I love this length.

I had one more idea for a dress version of this top...we will see if I get around to it! I do have a different project in mind that may take awhile and I'm excited to start!

Oh, and I took close to

1,000 pictures of me and this dress! I'm still getting used to my husbands camera. I tried multiple places in the yard, times of day, but I'm limited on when I can take them because of the kids. So they aren't perfect but I was pretty tired of smiling and posing so these are good enough!

Plantain Top // Deer and Doe

I've decided to take a little break sewing clothes for the kids. For now, they have enough clothes and I don't want to have a bunch of things hanging in the closet that never get worn. There are a few things I still need to finish up but they are practical. Some pants, hooded sweatshirt, and a doll/bear carrier for Miette. So I'll definitely still be sewing but on my list is a dress for myself as well as some cigarette pants. And finally working on a button down shirt for Brian!

This is my second Plantain top by Deer and Doe. The first one was such a great fit that I had to make another! The problem with using my stash is that most of my fabric was purchased with the kids in mind. So when I picked up this black ponte knit in the remnant section of JoAnns, I wasn't planning to sew something for myself. But I knew that it would be the perfect fabric for this top. Turns out, it is. I love how thick and substantial it is and it looks a bit more dressy. Since it was just under a yard of fabric, I had to do some piecing together and I ran out of fabric for the sleeves.

I sewed the same size: 38 in the bust, graded to 40 in the waist and the longest length. Since this fabric doesn't stretch as much I used a 1/4 seam allowance and it worked great! The solid black knit I used for the sleeves was from an old shirt so there wasn't much length so I cut it to hit just above my elbow. It is really thin so instead of a hem I used a narrow cuff and its perfect.

Baby girl wanted in on the picture taking. Love her!

And yes, I have one more version in the works!

Deer and Doe Plantain Tshirt // Sewing for Me

This year I have decided that I'm going to make more of an effort to sew for myself and my husband. I'm starting off the year pretty good! This is the second top I have sewn and I love it! The Plantain is a free pattern from Deer and Doe. It's my first time sewing with one of their patterns and it was great. The instructions are easy to follow and I just love the fit. Funny thing, it doesn't feel tight at all but it looks a little snug in these pictures.  I think I'll go up a size for the next one and see how that fits.

I cut out a size 38 for the top then graded to a 40 in the waist and hips and used the longest length.  I was dying to use this floral knit but I didn't have enough so I decided to mix it with a gray knit. The gray kit with white dots is actually from a thrifted dress so that's why there is a seam in the back. Matching different patterns is definitely out of my comfort zone but I really like how it turned out. It's comfortable, the perfect length and in my favorite colors. Too bad the weather is going to be in the 80s this week, I was looking forward to wearing my new top!

 And my first article of clothing with elbow patches. The perfect placement and size.

I'm off to search my fabric stash to see what I have so I can make a short sleeve one!