Persimmon Sundress Pattern Review

*This is a late post, I made this 7 or 8 months ago.*

I have been dying to make this dress, but the amount of pieces made it seem overwhelming.  As a result, the pattern sat collecting dust for a year.  We go to the local Air Force base a lot and my children love the airplane, so I wanted to make a fun outfit to incorporate the ABU print and the Air Force fabric.  After flipping through my pattern library I re-discovered the Persimmon Pattern (by Mouse House Creations) and I thought it would be perfect for mixing my prints (in a not so obvious way).

The pattern instructions are very clear and easy to follow.  My biggest problem was that I didn't pay attention to the instructions and I only pintucked the front.  Also, I feel this pattern might run small, I had to size up to a 4T for my 20 month old daughter (who typically wears 3T in other patterns). 

This pattern does have a lot of pieces (not to mention the lining) but it all comes together quickly and you get a very professional looking garment.  In fact, I'm in love with the dress...it looks great from the inside and the outside!

#aimhigh


    

Love Notions Hip Hop Tank Pattern Review

I bought this pattern as part of a pattern bundle.  I had originally intended to make a summer tank but I didn't get around to making it.  I pushed this pattern to the side and didn't think about it until I went fabric shopping and found workout fabric at JoAnn's.  I was really excited about my find and I thought I would try making my own workout clothes (using this pattern) since I had started doing more exercise.

I cut out the pattern according to the measurements and went to work.  I opted to use the same fabric and not make a contrasting panel in the back.  The top came together quickly and I cut complimenting black rib knit fabric for the neck band.  If I remember correctly, I cut a 24" inch length and stretched it to fit the neck.

To finish the top I used my coverstitch machine on the hem and I topstitched along the neck.

This shirt is a great addition to my workout gear.  I like the loose fit for gym days or running errands.  You can see the straps of my sports bra but it doesn't bother me...the straps of my normal bra don't show.

Overall I really like the pattern and I plan to make some more variations.    #winning

Black and Blue - My Coppélia Sweater

It was a cold and very windy day when we took these pictures...as you can tell by my hair.

I bought this pattern with the intent of making sweater to wear while working out.  However, when I saw this black and blue sweater knit fabric, I knew I wanted to use this pattern.  

This pattern was a quick sew and I love the contrasting bands.  

I don't think I'll wear this to the gym because the fabric is a little dressy and not very good for absorbing sweat.  I suppose I'll have to make another version with more appropriate fabric for the gym.

Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose (my failed Moneta)

I was excited when the Moneta pattern came out and I purchased it immediately after it was released.  I picked out fabric my fabric and printed the pattern.  As usual, the fabric and the pattern sat on my sewing table for months before I started the project.  I had high hopes for this pattern and I saw tons of amazing dresses made by other bloggers so I figured that everything would come together nicely without any fit issues...but I was wrong.

I followed all the steps to the pattern and I watched the video on adding the lining and reviewed the pictures on the sew along too.  Everything seemed to go smoothly....

 I sewed the clear elastic on the skirt and tried to keep everything even and feeding the skirt through the machine but I accidentally skipped a few places and the skirt ended up with pleats instead of gathers.  I decided to try on the dress to see how horrible it looked and that's when I noticed the gapping in the center front of the bodice and on the sides of the bodice.  I had tried on the bodice after I added the lining and I didn't notice the gapping, but perhaps that's because the weight of the skirt wasn't pulling at the bodice when I tried it on...I don't know???  I really don't know, but I was sad that this pattern didn't fit me.

At the moment I am over this pattern...I may come back to it and try to make some alterations once I feel up to the task.  I am beyond lazy when it comes to fitting and making pattern alterations.

Recess Raglan Tee x2 - Pattern Review

This is the easiest pattern ever!!!!  This pattern has a lot of variations so your options are endless.  Also, if you're new to sewing knits, this pattern makes the process painless.

I fell behind on my sewing queue and I had the cut fabric sitting on my sewing table for a few weeks before I finally got tired of looking at it collecting dust.  I assembled both shirts in an hour with interruptions!  Sadly I wasn't able to finish them because I ran out of ribbed knit for the neck band on one of the shirts.    

I opted to use a serger on the bottom and not hem them as instructed.  My coverstitch likes to skip stitches at the side seams so I didn't use it.  I started using woolly nylon for the bottom thread and it helps but it doesn't solve the skipped stitches problem.  I also attempted to contact the manufacturer to see if they had any suggestions and their response was to take it to my local dealer.  I was a little annoyed that they had zero suggestions for me.  Ok...enough about my sewing problems.

After I whipped up these two shirts, I cut out fabric to make more because they are ridiculously easy to make and they cost me less than $6 each...and that's the breakdown cost of what I paid for the supplies that were sitting in my sewing stash.

I highly recommend this pattern, it's a great staple for your pattern library.

Postponed Day Tripper

I bought this fabric months ago and planned to make myself a lightweight pullover for summer, but that didn't happen.   It's now October and I finally got around to making my Day Tripper.  I can still get use out of it in out California fall/winter weather, however it would have been ideal for the summer.

I chose the shortest length because I have a short torso and I didn't want it to be too long or baggy looking.   

The sleeves are about 2"-3" inches too long, so I'll have to shorten the sleeve length in my future variations.  In this picture I folded the ribbed cuff over to make the sleeve look shorter than their actual length.

This pattern was such a breeze to sew and I probably could have cut and sewn everything in 2 hours if I didn't have any interruptions. 

I'm extremely thrilled how this sweater turned out.  It looks great with the leather ponte leggings that I bought last fall.  The relaxed fit of the sweater makes the leggings look a bit more casual and wearable...but still edgy and trendy.

I love this new sweater so much that I'm tempted to make more using this pattern.  :)

Thanks for stopping by and I'll see ya next time! 

Burda Style 07/2011 #115

I wanted to make myself something to wear for Violet's first birthday party and I had the perfect fabric in my stash.  Since I was making this last minute a week before the party I decided on a simple skirt design, Burda Style Asymmetric Skirt 07/2011 #115.

I would like to note that the skirt doesn't droop like it does in the pictures.  When I tried it on, it looked fine and you couldn't tell that I used a lining unless you saw the underside of the skirt.  With that being said, let's continue!

The skirt consists of one pattern piece and then a rectangle piece for the band, so it came together quickly.  The most difficult part of this project was working with the fabric I selected because it was lightweight jersey.  When I finished sewing the two main pieces and tried on the skirt, I realized that it was almost transparent!  

I was bent and determined to finish this project and not waste the fabric so I went to JoAnns and searched for fabric to use for lining.  I needed something knit and something a little slinky so the lightweight jersey wouldn't cling to the lining.  The only thing I found was swimsuit lining so I bought it and took a gamble.  My gamble paid off and the skirt was a little bit more opaque.  I attached the waistband, only to realized I cut it in the wrong direction of stretch....doh!  I left it attached for now...it "works" but I need to switch it out for rib knit fabric instead.  As you can see in the picture, the lack of stretch made the skirt bunch up in some parts.

My skirt came out okay, albeit not as cute as I thought it would turn out...whatevs, now I have a comfy and stylish lounging skirt.  I'm just glad that I finally made something with this fabric that has been sitting in my stash for a year even though it's not the oldest piece of fabric that's been sitting in there.


p.s. - I did shorten it about two inches so it looked like the skirt on the model in the picture.

Violet's Birthday Dress

I bought the fabric for Violet's birthday dress and I started playing around with ideas on how to design her dress.  I had an idea of what I wanted to make but when I saw the Marrakech Dress Pattern, I scrapped my idea and bought the pattern for $5.  I didn't pay attention when I bought it so I didn't notice that the pattern only included sizes 2T-5T....and I needed a size 18 months for Violet.  I figured that I could grade down the pattern myself or cut out the 2T and just take it in a little.  I taped together my pattern pieces and started cutting my fabric.

As I began to assemble the dress I realized that there were quite a few things off with the pattern pieces.  I am not sure if it was because of a printing error or what happened, but the shoulder parts were off by 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch.  The front skirt and back skirt pieces were oddly shaped, the front had a curved hip and the back a straight hip.  Also, the pleated neckline piece was too short.  My neckline for the 2T measured 23 inches and the piece for the pleated neckline was only 38 inches long.  The instructions do not indicate how large the pleats should be in order to make the pleated piece fit, so I pleated and pinned it twice before I realized that the piece was too short.  There was no way for it to fit like the photo.  Luckily I had some extra fabric so I cut more and extended the band.

One of the main reasons I purchased this pattern was because I fell in love with the pictures used to show off the dress.  The hot pink layers of tulle looked so pretty and I wanted to recreate the same dress.  I was disappointed to learn that the instructions don't include how to make the tulle circle skirt(s).  Instead, the instructions say to use google search to find online tutorials on how to measure and cut circle skirts.  Additionally, the skirt pictures that are included in the instructions look like they were recycled from a previous pattern and they don't show off how the pleats are supposed to look.  I really felt like this pattern was quickly thrown together for the sake of being able to make the STYLO Magazine publishing date.

Currently the pattern is priced at $2 which I think is a bit more reasonable considering the limited sizes and the lack of instructions and pictures.  This dress came out cute but I can only say that I used the bodice pieces and the inspiration from the pattern because I had to make a lot of changes to "make it work".

Going Boho - Cora's Maxi Dress Pattern Review

I'm a sucker for long billowy dresses, so it was love at first sight with this pattern. I actually own a RTW dress that is a similar style; however, it's too long to wear with flats and it's strapless (which means I don't wear it often).

The fabric is linen from JoAnn's.  The pink color is almost the same shade as the two skirts (the Cascade and the Mabel) that I recently made (with fabric I also bought at JoAnn's).  I might be obsessed with this pink.

This pattern is rated for an intermediate beginner however I think anyone can make it.  The most difficult part of this dress is gathering the tiers and sewing them.

The pattern is well written, however there are a few things I would change if I were to use it again.  I followed the instructions on attaching the bodice ruffle to the bodice and I found the casing to be a little bulky.  I would probably sew the bodice ruffle to the wrong side of the bodice and the flip it to the outside to sew the casing as instructed.  I think it would reduce the bulk and make it easier to thread the elastic through.  Also, you could attach the straps between the two layers.  To secure and reinforce the straps you can top stitch them as directed in the instructions.  Another thing I would change is adding an elastic casing at the bottom of the bodice (to match the one at the top) instead of only sewing two rows of smocking stitches.  The dress just hangs and looks like a maternity dress on me.

All these gathers look cute but they are a pain to sew, especially when you have soooo much fabric.  I used my walking foot and lots of pins to keep the gathers in place as I sewed.  The pattern calls for top stitching above the gathers but I opted to use my serger to trim and finish the gather seams.  

I really love the dress (even though it took more than 5 yards of fabric!).  And of course I had to make a flower crown to wear in my dress pictures.  I didn't think my pictures would be complete without one...I mean, come on...who doesn't love flower crowns?  I will show you how I made my crown in a separate post.  

This is probably my favorite thing I have ever made...I love the dress so much that I might need to make more.  Perhaps I will make a matching version for Violet.  :) 

Cascade Skirt - Pattern Review

Last summer I saw a gorgeous Cynthia Rowley skirt (shown below)and I looked for it online, only to find that it was waaay too expensive and it was sold out.  I knew that Meg Nielsen had a very similar pattern, the Cascade Skirt, so I bought it and decided to make my own skirt.  (On a side note, Simplicity just released a pattern to make the Cynthia Rowley skirt.)  

I still have a little extra around the middle from baby weight so I made made this a size inbetween pre-baby and my current size (in hopes that when I finally lose the weight, it will fit better).  I thought the skirt would fit okay, but I was sooooo wrong.  The skirt wraps around me and it covers in the front but it doesn't overlap enough to keep me covered if I need to run after my children.  To fix my problem, I made a Mabel skirt in a matching color to wear under.  I'm petite (towering at 5' 1") but I decided to keep the full length because I like the dramatic look of the skirt.

Meg's pattern is extremely well written and very carefully thought out.  I love the simplicity and the professional results with the french seams. 

I followed all the directions for the skirt, except I think I messed up on the placement of my waist band.  I didn't transfer the pattern marking and I think I didn't align it correctly, oh well...c'est la vie!  I also used my rolled hem foot to make my hem.  Using my hemming foot may have helped me save a little time but not much.  I think sewing the hem is the most time consuming part of the project, especially if you're using silky fabric.  I would like to make a few more Cascade skirts, perhaps in jersey and shorter in length.