Simplicity 8014 - Denim shirtdress w/ white topstitching

When this pattern came out last year I knew that I wanted the EXACT same dress as the example on the envelope. I chose a nice weighty denim from my stash which I have no idea where I bought it from nor what project it was purchased for. It has a good bit of stretch which I thought would be great for a somewhat fitted casual dress.

I cut a size 10 through the bust, tapering out to a 12 at the hips and through the shoulders. I also added 2 inches to the hemline. Probably I could have gotten away without the extra length since the top offers so much coverage.

I left off the in-seam pockets and folded the back into an inverted pleat instead of having gathers per the instructions. In this thick of a fabric I was worried the gathers might look funny and not lay flat.

I decided to add an elastic casing to the waist to give the dress even gathering distribution.

Dressform pictures:

I topstitched with white thread. The sleeve treatment is really interesting. That's a topstitched tuck instead of a bottom sleeve band, and the way it's sewn together there's no need to finish the edge or sew an invisible hem. 

The elastic waist casing was stitched with navy thread so that it disappears under the fabric belt. The buttons I purchased at JoAnn's.

Back inverted pleat:

Because my denim was so thick, I decided to use a contrasting fabric in various areas to cut down on bulk. I made a dress out of this fabric years ago and saved the remnant because I thought it was so cute.

Here you can see the contrast fabric at the inside yoke, waist casing and hem facing.

It's too hot to wear this dress currently - it's more of a fall outfit. I'm not sure why I decided to make it in the middle of July, but now I have a fun new outfit for when the weather turns slightly cooler.

Here's a photo bomb by my baby girl. She's nearly 6 years old and will start kindergarten in three weeks. Time is flying by with these kiddos!

Vogue 8962 - Yellow striped long sleeve tunic

I am having so much fun making casual clothing lately! In the past I have mostly made fancier stuff and just purchased my casual clothing from stores. I still plan to make the really envolved garments, but you can expect to see a lot more everyday styles with interesting details on this blog in the coming months.

The pattern used is an OOP "Very Easy Vogue" pattern, 8962. I bought this pattern for the cowl neck view, which I cut out and sewed a number of years ago. At that time, unfortunately, I wasn't very knowledgeable about sewing with knits and picked a fabric that was too thin. This time around I used a nice weight yellow viscose ponte knit from Mood fabrics. I previously used this fabric in 2014 when I was pregnant for a maternity skirt. I knew then that I would need to make something more permanent in my closet and ordered another cut of it.

I cut the size 10 and it is loose but the bust fits nicely so I don't feel it is too big. My normal Vogue size is a 12, but I always go down one size for knits. I might go down to the 8 if I make this pattern again to tighten up the shoulder area.

Somehow I managed to cut the backs opposite of the example on Vogue's website. I also cut some off the bottom of the pattern the first time I made this, so I'm not sure how much shorter it is than it was drafted.

I modified the neckline from the directed 5/8" double folded hem to a folded piece of fabric cut on the straight grain. I folded it so that only the yellow is showing on the outside and topstitched with a 4 mm stitch length. I've figured out that this longer stitch length is the key to getting RTW looking results on knits, and also use it for the double needle stitching along the hemlines.

I was asked to show an inside picture of this type of neckline finish on my last top, so here it is. After topstitching on the outside, I graded the fabrics to lay as flat as possible on the inside. All other seams were finished with the overlocking stitch on my regular sewing machine.

Will I ever tire of the tunic with skinny pants silhouette? Probably not anytime soon. It's perfect for my mom-on-the-go lifestyle.

Here we have some photobombing children. Yes they are in shorts. We had the mildest winter in years and our current daily highs are in the 70s. It feels like heaven.

Note: This fabric was purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

Vogue 1378 - Black pants in embossed knit + baby pictures

Y’all, I’ve made some pants.

Big deal, right? I’ll bet you make pants all the time. You’re a wizard at crotch curves and the fish-eye dart and all the pants making things. Yeah. Well, in all the almost 7 years I’ve been blogging (!!!) I think I’ve made one pair of pants and one pair of knee-length crops. Oh and a pair of shorts or two. I’m not scared of them per say, it’s just that I’m more interested in making things that I can’t afford to buy or can’t find to fit me very well. Pants I can readily find in stores at prices I’m willing to pay, so unless it’s a unique design or some sort of suit coordinate, you probably won’t find me stitching any up.

These happened to be a unique design. Also they have loads of topstitching. (The top I'm wearing in these pictures is Vogue 8536, made way back in November of 2008.)

The pattern is Vogue 1378, part of the Donna Karan designer collection. You can see nothing of significance in the envelope picture, but the line drawing revealed some really cool construction lines, fun vented hemline, and miles of topstitching. I had to give them a try, but first I had to find the perfect fabric. I read the description for this black floral ponte de roma on Mood Fabric’s website and was intrigued. After my swatch came in the mail I knew instantly what I was going to do with it.

You probably thought they were just plain black, right? In normal lighting conditions the embossed floral motif is subtly noticeable. This fabric is really soft and has a slight sheen to it. Most of the construction of these pants are unfinished lapped seams, so the fact that my fabric didn’t fray or curl in the slightest made it perfect for the design.

There was quite a bit of thread switching going on while I was working on these. First I would stitch them together with black thread to get the placement right, then I would go back with heavy duty gray thread to do the 2 rows of topstitching. It was very much like a puzzle – I had to stitch together two pieces, topstitch, trim the excess away, rethread back to black, figure out where the next piece went, get it positioned, and repeat the process again.

Before cutting out the fabric I made a muslin out of an ugly stretch woven from my stash. It revealed that the pattern was super long, really tight from the knees down, and really tight at the hips. I decided I wanted to leave the bottom of these unhemmed, so I trimmed away the hem allowance as well as another inch in length. I also took an inch of length out around the knee area in a process that is too convoluted to describe. Then I added 3″ to the bottom leg width, tapering to nothing right above the knees. I added 2″ to the width of the hips and lengthened the top of the pants 1/2″.

A sharp scissors and a steady hand is a must if you are thinking of making these up.

The waistband is a simple fold over elastic one. The instructions want you to cut the elastic to your waist measurement plus 3″, which I totally ignored. I can’t have my pants falling down while I’m chasing my kids around!

I had a lot of fun making these. After the muslin and the altering of the pattern was completed, the actual sewing went quickly. This design is pretty unique, but I just might make it up again if ever I run across another perfect fabric.

Now, I want to let you in on a little secret. This fabric is not really ponte de roma at all - Mood has mislabeled it. Is is actually a nice weight scuba knit, which I have been wanting to work with for awhile. When I got my sample in the mail I knew instantly what it was. If you've been wanting to try your hand at working with scupa I would snap some up. At $14 a yard and in black it's an awesome buy. The thing with scuba fabrics is they don't want to lay flat at the seamlines. I did try ironing it at first but the heat made the embossed pattern disappear from the fabric face somewhat. For the interior leg seams I topstitched in black thread. The crotch seam is the only thing that's not topstitched down, but it's only a small part of the garment and doesn't bother me.

Here's a few pictures of my baby boy in case you want to see how he's growing. He has the most beautiful blue eyes. My mother and FIL both have blue eyes, so the gene is on both sides of our family, but Joshua is the only one of us that got them. His hair looks like it will either be blond or strawberry blond. Only Nathan was this bald as a baby and he has red hair.

Note: This fabric was purchased with my Mood Fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network.

McCall's 3830 - White lace skirt

I have wanted a white lace skirt for several years now. They were all over fashion blogger's websites awhile back and I kept pinning them to my "sewing inspiration" Pintrest board. After swatching several white laces I finally settled on this beautiful white re-embroidered lace from Mood Fabrics. It had the textural qualities I was looking for as well as the large scalloped edges. For the underlining and lining I used a soft taupe silk crepe de chine, also from Mood.

The pattern is my TNT straight skirt pattern, McCall's 3830, which I have made numerous times. In order to have an uninterrupted scalloped hemline I had to peg the skirt slightly, making it more of a pencil shape then a straight skirt. I used the exact same sewing techniques for this skirt as I did my green lace skirt, so you can visit that post if you want more information. (Also I can't get this skirt over my dressform's hips for any nice interior pictures.)

For this skirt I opted to use some white Petersham grosgrain ribbon for the waistband. This is an easy method for making a waistband that doesn't need any handstitching along the inside. I have done this once before for yet another lace skirt, and was quite pleased with the outcome.

I was careful when cutting out the lace to match the motifs along the center back seam. I tried my best to match them along the side seams as well, but because of the pegged hem there is some slight twinning there. You have to really squint to see it though, so it doesn't bother me. I'll bet you didn't even notice it until I pointed it out, right?

Other then the extra care that goes into sewing with slippery silk fabrics, this was an easy garment to stitch up. I think I have enough lace skirts in my closet now. ;)

This little girl wanted in on the photo shoot!

Note: Both fabrics were purchased with my Mood fabrics monthly allowance, as part of my participation in the Mood Sewing Network. 

Joshua

I thought you all might like to see a picture of my new little boy! This is Joshua Wesley, born October 16th at 8lbs. 7oz. and 21in. long. You might think that's big but I've had two bigger babies (and one smaller) before him! I am up about two times a night feeding him and am pretty exhausted at this point. However, all of my kids have slept through the night at 2 months so fingers crossed he follows the same pattern.

This little man gave us the scare of our lives. Born with the lungs of a preemie despite being full term, he was pronounced in respiratory distress minutes after birth and whisked off to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). My thoughtful nurse encouraged us to snap a quick picture before he was taken away.

He was suppose to be in the NICU for only a few short days until his lungs could adjust to breathing normal air. However, at 48 hours old, he went into a downward spiral. His oxygen levels dropped dramatically because his left lung collapsed. The doctors got that re-inflated and he stabilized, only to have the oxygen start dropping again. This time they inserted a tube into his chest to suck out the oxygen that had leaked into the space between his lung and his lung cavity, causing the lung to collapse again. Once more he stabilized, then again started to drop his oxygen levels. The doctors were scratching their heads about what was causing all this trauma, and were having to resuscitate him in between procedures and bedside x-rays. He finally ended up on an oscillating ventilator, hooked up to a tank of nitric oxide and given a dose of synthetic surfactant. Five hours after the initial lung collapsed he stabilized for good.

Sitting in a waiting room for that amount of time while your baby is fighting for his life is terrifying. It was the darkest night of my entire life, and the only thing that got me through was my faith in God and in his being in control of the situation.

Everyday of his stay in the hospital I got up early, got my kids ready for school, and went to spend the day with my baby. I had no time to heal, to rest at home while my body recuperated, to enjoy the solace of being surrounded by only my family. Every afternoon I had to leave him there in the care of strangers and hope that he would still be there when I returned. If you've never experienced having an infant in the NICU I cannot explain how hard it really is. I was so grateful for the care of the doctors and nurses who saved his life, but I was incredibly sad every night that I didn't have all my children under one roof.

We were warned that Joshua might have a few more setbacks after that really horrible night but he never did. Thanks to the prayers of hundreds of people all across the country, we saw our little man get steadily better and better. I brought him home on October 29, thirteen days after his birth. It was the first time my other kids got to meet their brother.

Going through something like this has a way of putting all of life's experiences into perspective. Five days after Joshua came home a spark plug exploded in our minivan, ruining the engine and causing thousands of dollars of repair work to be needed. We ended up completely replacing the vehicle. Had this happened a month before I would have been super upset. When it did occur, though, I could only be mildly annoyed. The worst thing in my life that could have happened didn't. My baby did not die in that hospital. Every other setback pales in comparison.

Life is precious.

McCall's 6058 - Black + white zigzag toddler dress

I had a large remnant of black and white wavy lace left over from last month's Mood Fabrics skirt. One of the things I loved about this fabric was the solid black wave along the selvages. I couldn't utilize it in the skirt, so I went looking for a simple dress pattern to make something for Rachel.

This is McCall's 6058, a pillow sack dress pattern that's reversible. The inside fabric I used is the same tan cotton blend that I used for my skirt. Since the pattern was for an infant, I made the largest size and added 6 inches to the length. It was really wide in the neckline when I used the elastic guide that came with the pattern, so I recut the elastic several inches shorter and redid that area. If I make this again I'll use the medium size with the added length. She's pretty tiny but this pattern is super wide.

I was careful to lay out the front and back so that the bottom black wave was uninterrupted, which you can see in the below picture. The side seams of this dress match as well, although some of the waves are a little cut up. That couldn't be helped since this dress has an a-line shape.

Instead of using fabric for the straps, I used 1" black petersham grosgrain ribbon, also from Mood Fabrics. Petersham is 100% rayon. It can be ironed into curves, unlike regular polyester grosgrain, and is just a better quality ribbon.

The back:

I have now successively used up all of this fabric. It's really fun to have a little person whose clothing doesn't take much yardage.

NL 6219 - Orange & navy toddler sailboat dress

Now that Rachel has grown big enough for the toddler patterns, I am having lots of fun making her some clothes. At first I had a hard time finding fabrics that I like. The quilting cottons at my local fabric stores aren't very good quality and wrinkle quickly - not what you want for little girls' clothing. However, I have recently discovered the coordinating quilting fabrics at fabric.com, which are the perfect weight for clothing and hold up really well to lots of activity. 

This little dress is from NewLook 6219, a pattern I bought for the ruffled dress over ruffled pants outfit featured on the envelope. I cut the size 1/2 for the width and "sleeves" and the size 1 for length. Rachel is almost 3 but very petite. The bodice has a downward curve at the front waist seam that I cut off and made straight. I also put the side seams on the actual sides and not the side front. (This pattern has those side front seams because of the ruffled version.)

The belt was originally really tall and drafted way too short to reach around the waist. Luckily I had enough fabric to recut a longer one. I added navy piping to the belt and sleeves - the white belt directly on top of the orange bodice just didn't look quite right to my eye. I used big navy ric rac along the bottom.

Rachel has come a long way since I took these pictures of her, and will actually take some direction now. I said, "Hold on the railing so mama can get a picture of the back" and she actually did it! The back neckline is so cute on this dress. I couldn't find the right color of orange-red for the zipper so I used white. It could have been special ordered from NYC but I was ready to make this and didn't want to wait.

The only thing I will change next time is to move the sleeve in a bit. The bodice bunches outward when she moves around and I can see down the front.

I matched the center back seams for fun. The insides were finished with my overlocking foot (no pictures, sorry.) I used navy thread on top and white thread in the bobbin when I stitched on the ric rac.

This was a really fun dress to make! I wanted her to have a new dress for July 4th but we went to Lake LBJ for the extended weekend and ended up not taking it. Here are some shots of our trip:

You can just see me sitting at the table. This is the only picture I made it into!

That's my niece on the left. She and Daniel are inseparable when they're together.

Now I'm off to do a mountain of laundry and a ton of unpacking...