Cynthia Rowley dress in copper brocade & black wool

When I first laid eyes on this brocade at Mood, I thought it was very striking but had no idea what to do with it. I didn't want an entire dress made from it because that would be too fancy for my lifestyle. While perusing some design magazines on vacation, I ran across a dress with a bunch of folds around the neckline that I wanted to copy, but then couldn't find the right pattern in my stash. Enter this Simplicity Cynthia Rowley pattern. It had the fitted bodice that I find most flattering on my small bust, and the cut up design I wanted to show off the metallic bits of the fabric.

I made a muslin of the bodice only as I planned to make the full skirt from the pattern and never muslin full skirts. I only had to make a few tweaks to the pattern to get a good fit. (This design is definitely for the small busted!) The pieces were carefully cut out from a single layer of fabric and I tried to balance the colors all the way around. I used a black wool crepe for the flat piping and skirt.

Sometimes I do not cut out all the fabric for a garment I'm working on in a single session. I do this because if the outer fabric turns into a wadder, at least I can save my lining. Also, cutting out is tiresome. For this dress, I cut the black wool in strips for the flat piping but did not cut it for the skirt right away. However, after I'd finished the bodice I found that I did not have enough black to do the full skirt that I wanted. Oh, did I mention I began this project in January? I set it aside in order to get more of the black with next month's Mood money, and scrambled to make the lace dress previously posted.

When another yard of the black wool showed up on my doorstep this month, I quickly cut out the full skirt and stitched it up. Remember when I wrote I never muslin full skirts? Not such a good idea this time around. It's unique but peculiar shape (see pattern picture below) looked lumpy and bumpy. SO, I ripped off that skirt, threw it in the trash, and cut a straight skirt from my TNT (that's tried-and-true) straight skirt pattern, McCall's 3830. For a little interest at the hemline I included small slits. This wool crepe is a little stretchy, so I added 1/2 inch to the center front and back of my skirt lining to maintain the slightly looser fit.

I just love all the piping on this design! It was time consuming to get it all the same width but definitely worth it. The neckline is also a beautiful feature that I really like. The line drawing on the pattern didn't really register with me, so when it turned out to be a little plunging in the back I was pleasantly surprised.

Dressform pictures:

This pattern directed a lining for the top portion, and I added the lining for the skirt. It is black Ambiance from my stash.

The neckline was finished with bias tape, as were the armhole seams.

I've taught myself mitered corners. You can see them at the bottom of the black wool. They are those diagonal seams coming off the slit corners. I have some RTW (ready-to-wear) skirts that utilize this technique and have always thought it very smart looking. The lining was slip-stitched down around the slits so it wouldn't show while I'm wearing it.

These are the patterns I used:

McCall's 3830

This dress was A LOT of work but I'm thrilled with the outcome. I am not producing nearly as much as I had in previous years but rather am slowing down and really taking my time with things. I want to build a wardrobe of pieces I love and will cherish for years to come.

Vogue 8742 - Copper & brown lace dress

Sometimes when I look through an online fabric store, I like to type certain things in the search field and see what pops up. "Yellow", "embroidered", "wool doubleknit" and "silk jersey" are some of my favorites. Right after I'd made my eggplant military jacket I did a search for "copper" on Mood's website, and it pulled up this lace. I thought it would be perfect for a little top to wear under my jacket, so I ordered 1.5 yards with no real pattern in mind. Surprise! Turns out it really wanted to be a dress. It's funny how fabric can be so opinionated sometimes, right?

I've been wanting a lace dress for awhile now, and also have been wanting to try this pattern, Vogue 8742. I like the simplicity of the design with the front gathers to give it some interest. I underlined the lace with a winter white ponte knit bought locally. Since Vogue didn't bother to include finished measurements on the pattern pieces (I'm shaking my finger at you, Vogue!), I added up all the measurements at the bust, waist and hips, and subtracted the seam allowances. I then cut a 10 on top tapering out to a 12 through the waist and hips. This pattern is described as "close-fitting" and it certainly is, especially in this stable knit.

I paid special attention when cutting this out that the lace lined up horizontally.

I added the scalloped portion of the lace to the sleeve and bottom hems after the underlining was attached and all vertical seams sewn. I then made facings for those areas, understitched them, graded the seams and hand-sewed them in place with a loose whip stitch.

I really like that this pattern doesn't call for a zipper at the back, but merely an opening with a hook and eye closure. I opted for a button and a thread loop.

I love this dress! It looks pretty on its own (with a necklace though!) as well as with my jacket that has matching copper buttons.

Floral mesh statement skirt

I have made another statement skirt using my TNT straight skirt pattern, McCall's 3830. The fabric is a polyester ribbon mesh from Mood. The name they used to describe the color is Weimaraner, a very appropriate name for this slightly brownish gray (which you can see in some of the closeups. The sun was setting when we took these pictures, casting a warm glow on everything.)

 I really love the textural interest of the mesh ribbon roses and that the fabric is thin enough not to add a lot of bulk. After trying all sorts of colors for my underlining, I settled on white. It lets the skirt remain neutral and the roses to really pop. Plus I can pair it with all sorts of colorful tops.

You may recall that I attempted a similar skirt back in August, but was unhappy with the way the sides did not match up perfectly. This time around I paid special attention to matching up the roses along the sides and back seams.

For the waistband, I used the mesh along the selvage that had no roses sewn to it. It was underlined in the same white Ambiance and then interfaced.

Here you can better see the color and the roses along the side seams:

I happened to have a taupe colored invisible zipper in my stash that was just a bit browner then the fabric. Since only the tab shows, I think it blends in pretty well.

I used white ambiance for the lining as well:

I added a floral hem tape to make a neat finish along the inside, then slip-stitched the hem in place. You can also see the white underlining here, which is what the hem was stitched to. The line of white stitching along the bottom edge keeps the mesh and underlining together where it is turned up.

Since this is my TNT skirt pattern, I had no fitting issues and no reason to make a muslin. It was a relatively easy project once I got past the cutting out.