Reversible wrap dress in stretch rayon

The temps have dipped a teeny bit and school starts on Monday; for the moment the Bay Area feels like Fall!  This amazing sea green and black fabric, a medium-weight stretch rayon, felt like a gorgeous choice for a new cooler-weather dress.

Since the style is always flattering and effortless, I chose a vintage Diane von Furstenburg wrap dress design (Vogue 1548). The pattern envelope suggests that the dress can be worn with the wrap in the front or the back, but truthfully I kind of chuckled at the idea of wearing it "backwards". However, after trying it on both ways, I was convinced; the deep-v in the back is just so striking! 

The fabric has a glorious weight to it, and coupled with the busy print, all bumps and lumps are well hidden.  

To get a decent fit, I made some petite adjustments to the pattern.  First up, I shortened the bodice at the midriff by about 1".  I'm not sure I did it quite right as the wrap "front" gapes a tiny bit, but I think I can adjust that for the future.  Then, I hacked off about 5"of the hem since I prefer an above-knee length.  And while it wasn't a fit issue, I reduced the sleeve from full to 3/4 length, which is just my own personal preference.  

This dress is definitely business in the front, party in the back...but unfortunately, that's enough "party" to make it not at all work appropriate (at least in MY line of work :).  It looks so subdued from the front, doesn't it?

But wait!  While I prefer the "backwards" version, it can also be worn with the wrap in the front!

Somehow, this version is still not exactly work-appropriate either (I suspect that might be DVF's intention!) but is also very lovely.  Perhaps a cami would make it suitable?  Or a snap to keep the wrap at a decent depth?

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my new probably not-for-work dress.  I can always use something fun for evenings out!  Happy Fall!

My most sincere thanks to Britex for the lovely fabric.  I know it's been crazy over there with the upcoming move, but we're all so grateful that Britex is staying in the city!  

50 shades of gray (topstitching)

And by 50, I mean 3...I was a lazy, lazy sewer and didn't change out my bobbin when I realized that it was not the same as my thread, and then when I ran out of the thread, I didn't have the same color--so yeah, three shades of gray thread were used and you can see ALL of them as topstitching in various locations.  I suck, but I've already worn the skirt so I clearly don't care too much about it!

I've used this pattern (vintage Butterick 4309) once before, and I wear that skirt quite frequently.  It is a bit heavier, so it can span 3 out of 4 seasons here in NorCal.  For this version, however, I wanted to make something more versatile, in a lighter weight fabric for the summer.  And after learning so much about fibers and fabrics in my current Fabric Analysis class at WVC, I ended up being wooed by a chambray Tencel (darn, sold out!) from Mood.  I've definitely never worked with Tencel before, and I don't do manufactured fibers very often, but this was a pretty easy-to-handle substrate.  It was a bit lighter than I expected, and not as wrinkle-resistant as this fabric is generally know for, but I think it makes a good wrap skirt. I can see some faint pilling on the inside already, so I don't know what to make of that.  I'm skeptical about manufactured fibers, so I'll be critically evaluating the longevity of this one for sure.

So on a normal day, this skirt would have taken 2 hours, tops, to sew, but I spent at least that long just adjusting the fit.  For a wrap skirt, that's just dumb!  The pockets weren't laying right, so I had to rip them out and redo them multiple times.  I'm not sure the pattern was drafted to account for the fact that the skirt will actually wrap around a body, so I'll make some adjustments in the future.

Oh, I also lost the waistband pattern piece, so I had to redraft.  I opted for a slightly narrower waistband for both stylistic and fabric conservation reasons.

I've got so many projects in the works, now that I'm done teaching for a while.   I'm excited to be able to spend more time at my machines, and I've got an actual spreadsheet of all the projects I have to complete.  Now if only I can stick to my proposed deadlines!

Katie of The Creative Counselor is planning a Back 2 Basics week in the second half of April.  This skirt is a workhorse-type of basic in my wardrobe, so I'm getting a bit of a jump on the it all!

Undocumented Garments of 2015

I don't need to review my year to recognize that I didn't blog a lot this year!   I sewed a lot less and had a lot less time to take photos and write posts, just in general.  But I sewed more than I reported, so instead of reviewing my "hits and misses" of 2015, I decided to post a photo or two of each garment I didn't blog about when I made it.  I just spent an hour digging through my wardrobe and photographing them all.  So, ladies and gentlemen, here are my Undocumented Garments of 2015.

Blouse and pants (made in June, worn to my birthday dinner at Quince in SF)

Blouse pattern: Myrtle, cropped by Colette Patterns
Blouse fabric: Britex Fabrics (not available online)
Pant pattern: self drafted
Pants fabric: Mood Fabrics (no longer available)

Summer top (made in July, first worn during our vacation in upstate NY)

Blouse pattern: self drafted
Blouse fabric: Britex Fabrics (no longer available)

Spotty blouse (made in August, first worn to my son's birthday party)

Blouse pattern: Alma blouse (with sleeve alteration) by Sewaholic
Blouse fabric: purchased in person at Hart's Fabric

Chambray shirt-dress (made in October, first worn to travel back to NY for my 20 year high school reunion!)

Dress pattern: elongated Granville button down, by Sewaholic

Dress fabric: Harts Fabric

Flannel PJ bottoms (made in October, I think)

Pants pattern: self drafted
Pants fabric: Harts Fabric (no longer available)

Funnel-neck dress (made in the fall sometime--maybe November?)

Dress pattern: vintage McCalls 2506
Dress fabric: Mood Fabrics

Lace-front top (made in December, to look "fancy" while spending way too much time outside on the playground with the kids)

Top pattern: Linden top, by Grainline
Top fabric: Mood fabrics (French terry and lace)

Silk peplum blouse (made in Nov/Dec as a muslin)

Blouse pattern: self drafted
Blouse fabric: vintage silk, purchased on Etsy

I didn't just sew garments that weren't documented!  Here are two Christmas gifts:

Jewelry roll (made in December, for my mother)

Roll pattern: Modkid 
Roll fabric: Tweed from FabMo, with some scraps from my stash

Waxed canvas shaving bag (made in December, for my husband)

Bag pattern: adapted from Thread Theory tutorial
Bag fabric and notions: Thread Theory kit

In 2016, I've already sewn a few garments.  I'll try to post photos before 2017 :)  Happy New(ish) Year!

Two bathing suits, but only one winner

It's been two years since I made my last two bathing suits (here and here).  I love them, but much like underwear, bathing suit sewing is addictive, so when I spotted this fabric, I had to make another.  

For my first attempt, I found the Abigail swimsuit pattern by Ohhh Lulu.  I'm a huge fan of their undergarment patterns, so I was excited to see a bathing suit available on their website.

I made one version (too tight!) and while this, my second try, felt like it fit better, it doesn't look very flattering.  The style calls for the back to dip a bit, with a strap across the back.

My back flub was bulging a bit more than I would like (and these two are the very best photos--my ego couldn't handle posting the mediocre and bad ones), and the butt wasn't quite as full-coverage as I would like, despite some pattern tweaking.   At the end of the day, while a super adorable style and good drafting/ instructions, the Abigail suit just isn't the style for me.   

Back to my TnT 1970s swim suit pattern (McCalls 5036, which, if you can get your hands on it, you should buy.  The construction is super clean and there are so many options!) Thankfully, I had enough fabric to make a 3rd suit, with addition of a bit of a black and white diamond print for the bodice.

Super full butt coverage and less visible back rolls!  Hurray!  This pattern has a center back seam, which was a pain to match up, pattern-wise.  But, it's super functional fit-wise.

I just love the little cut out under the bodice (and, I saw the same feature on this suit at Anthro!  Mine has better butt coverage, that's for sure!).   I used a 1/2" clear swimsuit hook at the back neck instead of ties for a cleaner look.  

We aren't discussing the pattern placement :)  

My class isn't finished for another week, but then I step (or rather, fly) directly into vacation, so I'm ready for some beach action!  

2015 Resewlution, June garment #1+2 (not counting a pair of pants and shorts I have yet to post)