McCall's 6844 - Cobalt blue geometric printed cardigan

I have this (slightly ratty) fleece jacket that I wear constantly around my house during the winter. It's warm but not too bulky and is just the perfect thing to ward off any indoor chill. Of course it never gets worn out and about because it's a weird color and doesn't match anything. And I have some really great outer wear that I like to wear. All this to say - I've decided to replace it with several pieces of similar weight and warmth that are hopefully more chic and not so dowdy.

I picked up this textural geometric novelty knit from Moodfabrics.com. I'm always on the lookout for interesting textures and I loved the colorway. Cobalt blue is probably my next favorite color next to yellow. I got it in the spring I think and it's now completely sold out. They do have a yellow colorway that is lovely and still available, and I had a hard time deciding between the two.

The pattern I chose is McCall's 6844, one of patternreview.com's best patterns of 2013, and it's been reviewed about a million times. It's a nice and simple pattern, great especially if you have a somewhat busy print. I really like the fact that it has some shape to it and isn't too voluminous. I cut the size small but sewed 3/8" seam allowances for the vertical sleeve seam and side seams. The sleeves were a bit tight when I first stitched them at 5/8".

I had a bit of a panic when I was cutting out the fabric. Because of my uneven print I did not have enough to cut out the collar with horizontal stripes. Of course this predicament is never noticed by me until half the pieces are cut out. The collar had to be cut on the cross grain, but I quite like how it turned out.

I matched up the stripes across the sleeves and at the side seams. I also ignored the 5/8" hem called for in the directions and put in a 1.25" hem by hand. All interior seams and edges were finished with my machine's overlock stitch.

This was a fun and relatively quick project, and I'll definitely be using the pattern again soon. (Maybe in a grey sweaterknit with leather sleeves? Hmmm..)

Vogue 1499 - White striped dress in embroidered cotton

Whew! I'm rushing to get this posted so that I have at least one entry on this blog for August. It has been a super crazy month with all three of my kids starting new schools. The baby is a wild child and is constantly into everything. I'm hoping for more sewing time this fall during his nap time. We shall see.

Anyway, here is my last garment for summer. It's Vogue 1499, an Anne Klein designer dress pattern that came out this past summer. I really liked the changing stripes on the bodice and thought the width of the skirt would make a good day dress. The fabric is a black and white striped floral cotton from MoodFabrics.com. Shortly after I bought the pattern they posted it to their website. I needed a thin stripe to show off the design and thought the embroidered flowers a fun textural element.

I washed and dried my fabric prior to cutting it out and the embroidery crinkled up a bit. It's kind of like a seersucker fabric now, which I quite like for a casual summer dress. Wrinkles do NOT show, and this white is totally opaque. Consequently I decided to forgo the lining.

I cut a straight size 12 - my typical Vogue size - and ended up taking the side seams in a little over an inch from the armpits tapering to nothing at the waist. Early on I knew I wanted to leave off the little cap sleeves. Something about the angle of how they connect to the bodice just bugged my eye. Instead I wanted to add a sporty cut-in sleeve element, so I raised the front and back neckline and used a RTW shirt to guide my scissors as I trimmed out new armholes.

I cut all the pieces out singly and matched the embroidery pattern across the center back bodice and skirt. I also took care that the side panels and skirt were stitched together so that the black lines were perfectly straight. The zipper was probably the most time consuming part of this project. After it was inserted and all the stripes lined up across it I took a gusty sigh of relief.

The neckline and armholes were finished with bias tape. All the inside raw edges were finished with my machine's overlocking foot. It's a nice weight of a dress - not too light to wrinkle or see through but not too heavy to be hot during the summer.  

Dressform pictures:

I have a ton more summer garments planned but of course never am able to sew it all up. Life is too busy. And now I'm tired of looking at my summer wardrobe and I'm ready for a change of color and of fabrics. Bring on the silks and the wools! I'm sewing for fall and winter from here on and already have a cardigan finished. Just have to get some pictures!

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

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!