M6696 | A Shirtdress that Fits

Hey Sew Family, missed you!

I've always struggled when it comes to finding a great fitting shirt, blouse or even 

shirtdress for that matter. When you're top heavy or a big busted gal, nothing ever fits right 

especially if it buttons up! Off the rack I often deal with the infamous gaping, or have to settle for

 a full blousey, or shapeless fit. This is one reason why I love sewing, "fit and options"!  When I came across this pattern I immediately loved all the options, full or straight skirt, sleeveless, short sleeve and quarter length sleeves. I love a yoke back but most importantly, "no need to do an FBA"  

this baby includes multiple cup sizes!!! What's not to love!

V1027 | Tye-Dye-Ombre' Twirl

This dress is an oldie but goodie!

I made the longer version for my B-Day a few years ago.

I was influenced by Mimi, to make this shorter version. Her style is amazing!

She rocked it and I loved it, so of course I had to copy!

Burda 6919 | Another Little Black Dress

   In the past, I only owned a few Burda Style patterns. But recently I was able to grow my stash when a local Joann's was closing. To be honest my whole Big-4 stash grew, when all patterns were priced at $1.99!!! I was lucky to pick this one up because those pattern drawers were almost empty.

 Please excuse the location shots in my sewing cave, my other location is temporarly a gym for now, lol. (I'm on a fitness weight-loss journey, that 40/40 club gotta work-it-out!) More on that later!

Summer McCalls picks 2012....and what I'm loving

 I dont think I've ever posted about my favorites before, so you know I'm loving 

McCall's latest release!! I'm really digging the whole collection, but here are my picks:

 M6600: This shirtdress is one of my favorites, it's such a classic. The fabric choices can make a real difference, and the fabric on the model is gorgeous too! I also like how they are showing different design options, sort of like designers view. (ex: simplicity/project runway)  I can definitely see myself making this with some type of funky fabric, I'm influenced.

Fabric Store Visit (catch-upz)

It's been a while so I'm catching up, lol! Okay, months ago I visited one of my favorite fabric stores here in Houston, "High Fashion Fabrics" I scored some really nice pieces! Which btw, I've already managed to sew up.

The one on the left is a navy knit, The red which I love is dotted, with a great border, you'll see
what I've done with that coming up!

Great cotton prints which I love.

This knit fabric feels so fab, and the colors are tdf!

I can never get enuff cotton sateen fabrics and these have stretch! I've sewn
these up already as well.

Okay what ya think, I got more ......seeya!

My attempt at copying....and drafting

Although I've been M.I.A for a while, I've still managed to find time to work on a few projects. I've always wanted to duplicate some of my favorite RTW pieces, in different colors, fabrics and better fit. Because of my height, some tops fall too short on me, and of course the inseam of some pants are short too. I decided to conquer a top first.

Here's the top I'm copying, nothing fancy but I really like it.

Now, I've had this top for,.... lets say many sizes ago, lol. It's nothing fancy but I love the smocking/shirring details on it, and I've held onto it for quite some time, with hopes to one day duplicate it.

Since I have some new pattern tools, (yeah) a much needed new cutting table, and a big roll of masking paper (from Lowes), I guess I'm ready!

Here's a pic of my pieces all cut out with fabric pinned. I actually started off by lying the top down on my paper, pinning it to the paper to keep it straight and tracing around. After I traced, I added length and width where I needed, then added in my allowances.

Around the neckline and below the breast is this shirred band so I used elastic thread, hand wounded onto my bobbin to recreate the look. The funny thing is, when I attempted this on my computerized machine, it would not work, it just made, well straight stitches. So I had to pull out my Singer machine to get shirring, lol. With a long stitch and contrasting thread in my needle, it worked perfectly!

I used my serger to roll the edges on the band, before I shirred it. I also used it through-out the construction which made completing it a little faster. Here's a close-up of the top after I finished it.

The outcome was exactly what I wanted, with a much better fit!

Here's both tops

Update: Simplicity 2694..........any advice

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Update: 4-9-09

I fixed the hole in this dress, with a little rigging. I purchased a roll of black fusible hem tape, I forgot the name. I cut out a small piece of fabric (square) and I tore off a piece of the tape, put it over the hole, placed the fabric over it, and steam pressed it. It blended almost seamlessly. I embroidered a flower in pink on top of it, worked like a charm! lol

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am working on this dress, well I've actually completed most of it. I need to add a buttonhole and a hem, rolled maybe? Idk, well maybe shortening the dress slightly.

I was doing pretty good with this dress,....well at least ....until it was time to press. As usual I'm guilty of multi-tasking, you know, putting dinner on, help with homework, put the towels in the washer, sew a bit, peek in the oven, etc. Well anywho, I plugged my iron in to press some seams, and without looking at the temp. melted a nice little hole in my fabric! (I am sick)

Nasty eeh?! What can I possibly do about this? I refuse to trash this whole dress based on this hole, lol.


It doesn't look too bad from afar, but it is definitely there and ugly.

Any suggestions? Maybe cover it with something? Idk

My New Dress Form!

I've wanted a dress form for like forever, but I really wanted one that was more true to 

my own size. Ive always seen and liked the ones that people made themselves,

 but was unsure if I could do it properly. 

Well here she is,......meet "Lady Mocha"

Fabric Store Visit

I hadn't been to the fabric store in some time, so on my lunch break I decided to go to my local Joann's to pick up some notions. I came across quite a few nice fabrics to play with! They also had McCalls on sale @ 1.99, so of course I had to pull up a chair and flip thru the pages. Now, I did have a list at home of some I wanted to try, but all is great none the less. Here's a few I picked:

Really digging this wrap dress.

I'm also digging pretty much all the Hillary Duff collection!

Really, it's time for me to go thru my fabric stash, I'm sure I have something interesting to try with these great patterns. Of course, some fabrics I have no idea what to do with:

This fabric is bold, shimmery and it has a lot of stretch to it.

Here's some new fabrics I picked up at Joann's yesterday:

Looks like I have enuff for spring break week to stay busy!

Incomplete Projects.........

I confess, it's been quite a while since I've actually sewn anything.

I went to visit my mom the other day and she had quite a few projects she was working on. (I love to see her in action) A few re-designs, you know..... the skirt from one outfit, top from another, few darts here and there etc. Usually I just watch her, but on this day she inspired me. lol Yep, we ripped the lining out of a dress to make it fit better, she took a large dress cut it down to fit her perfectly! I must say, it did awaken my sewing mojo, in fact I decided to dust off my old machines, take them out of the closet and tackle some of my incomplete projects.

I had to think back,.... why did I stop sewing anyway? hymn..... Ooh I remember, my sewing area was turned into a sitting room! Hubby's idea, well, it's time for a transformation.
After reading a few blogs, finding out there are so many women like myself that enjoy sewing, I was so inspired again. I have rolled out my sewing cabinet, re-aligned the screen on my machine, re-threaded my serger and opened up my project chest!

I found a dress I started on a few years back, well okay, maybe 7yrs back, I know-I know. lol Yes, its been a long while. I just refuse to start on something new til I finish this dress.

It's an old pattern from Vogue by Anna Sui, the Attitudes collection. You can hardly see the dress here, but it's the black & white checkered dress. It's a wrap halter dress. Here's a better shot, I hope... I'm sure it's out of print.

Here's a pic of my unfinished dress, notice my fabric choice.....bold huh...

Front view

Side view

The Lost Pocket

The Back

Now, I was pretty adventurous with the fabric I chose, I mean, I liked it, back then and I still do. But now, I'm somewhat a lil more toned down. (does that make sense?) Anywho, it's a lil too short, I didn't hem it so, I'm thinking of adding a few inches to the hemline. This weekend I'll be on the lookout for a contrasting color preferably in drk. brown. I was thinking of also trimming the pockets in brown (they are lost in the busy fabric) and making the tie ends that wrap around in brown also. What do you think?

Welcome to my Blog!!

Hello all, and welcome to my blog! I'm pretty new to this, so please be patient with me as I get the hang of this. This blog will mostly consist of my ventures in sewing. But, since I'm very crafty and family oriented, you'll probably see and read a bit of it all. lol
First off, I love to sew! I used to watch my mom sew, (70's) when I was a kid. My mom was and still is a blues singer and she would often design and re-design the most beautiful dresses and outfits to perform in. She used a lot of beautiful fabrics and sequins and often designed for other entertainers.
I would often sit on our shag carpet while she sewed and pick up lost pins and collect sequins on my safety pins. I'll never forget asking my mom, "Can I press the pedal?" lol She had one of those vintage black Singer's, (Oh, how I wish I had that machine now!!!) I believe I was about 6 years old when my mother bought my first machine. I opened it up and it was a "Raggedy Ann" sewing machine!!! I was sooo umber excited!! My mom showed me how to cut a pants pattern from newspaper for my Christy barbie doll, and I was in love.