Thanksgiving Dress, McCall's 6687

I made a dress to match my Luxulite acorn necklace. I love it so much, and I don't wear it enough in the Fall so I made a dress to fix that problem.  It's my second version of  McCall's 6687 view c, it was (see my first one here) so easy to make the first time, I whipped this up in no time. 

The only change I made to it was to fix the issue with the skirt. I cut the seams down a whole size and now they fit into their proper place. I had to ease inches last time to get the skirt to line up and the side seams. 

The fabric is a quilt weight cotton from Fabricland, it's a coordinate to a Thanksgiving print I made an apron for display out of. I also used a chinz piping from the home dec department of Fabricland as a belt in the waistline. Sometimes if you can't find the perfect thing you have to think outside of the box! It matches PERFECTLY in the seam btw. I love when that happens, on the first try. 

I wore this dress on Thanksgiving and as you can see it started to snow! My Mom wore the apron I made her, which coordinates to my dress. I confess I even made a necktie for Rockford the dog to match. Cuz I'm that nerdy whatever. 

Anyway Happy Thanksgiving America! 

Peggy Sue Sweater

I FINISHED A KNITTING PROJECT. This is epic people. Ever since I've become obsessed with sewing, knitting seems to have taken a backseat. And then I got a smart phone. So instead of watching a movie and knitting, I have the phone in my hand  instead of needles. And I feel bad about it. But look a pretty red sweater!

The pattern is Peggy Sue, a basic cropped cardigan, which is free, woohoo. I started it this Spring because I thought it would be a quick (ha) knit, and I desperately needed a red cardigan. Then summer happened, and I quickly lost interest. But I picked it back up in September and now I have my red cardigan.

This is a top down raglan, with cables at the neckline and hems. The cables were very simple and went even faster than the stockinette stitch. Sometimes when knitting raglans, and before you break for the armholes, it seems like every row takes FOREVER. I used to be so fast knitting things! Oh well.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Mia, a wool, cotton blend. I thought it would be perfect for all year long. It was very smooth and easy to knit with. The buttonhole are a little too big for my buttons, so I need to go back and make them a little tighter. I finished this sweater about a month ago, and have found so many different ways to wear it. The knitted cardigans I have made over the years have gotten SO much use, I really need to buckle down and make more.

Merry Kitschmas at the Fabricland Craft Fair

Hey there! Not too much going on sewing-wise here. I've been prepping like mad for the Fabricland Craft Fair this Saturday. My mother-in-law, Jackie and I are obsessed with ornament wreaths and all things kitch, and love to craft. We have gotten together the past few Saturdays and are selling or crafts this Saturday, 11/15. Our booth name is Merry Kitschmas, and we are pumping out the Christmas goodies. 

I have been obsessed with making wreaths, and if you follow me on Instagram you can see my Halloween and Thanksgiving wreaths. I have been running around NJ collecting vintage ornaments, hitting up every rummage sale and cleaning them out. We have 9 vintage ornament wreaths, and 3 frozen/ elsa ornament wreaths. The elsa wreaths are actually really pretty, I'm sure they will be the first to sell!

My MIL is also a super talented artist, she has been recreating all of those vintage Christmas images that float around pinterest. She is making the cutest paintings and watercolors. It's gonna be hard to let some of this stuff go!

Today is my day off and I'm going to get some Christmas sewing done. Pillows and making a panel. The craft fair is this Saturday, (see below for details), please check it out if you are in the area.

Anything that doesn't sell will soon be put up on Etsy, under the shop Merrykitchmas.

                     

                    

                 

Super Stitcher: The Sewing Superhero!

I've always said sewing was a superpower, Its so inspiring to see what everyone in our sewing community is making, so I decided to make my Halloween costume just that, a sewing superhero! Meet Super Stitcher, she can solve any sewing problem! No pattern is too challenging for the Super Stitcher! She can sew anything and does it with speed, accuracy and pizzazz! She can make any garment cute! SHE'S SUPER STITCHER!

I started out with a simple dress out of this amazing fabric, that has every kind of crafty vocabulary. I then made the sewing machine burst on the chest out of felt and a square of sewing machine fabric I already had. I just pinned it in place so I can wear the dress after Halloween. Then I made my cape out of a yard of felt. I cut it into a cape shape and made the sewing machine for the center. Then I was inspired to write sewing terms in gold glitter, such as ZIG ZAG! RIP! BASTE! I stitched a piece of ribbon so it would tie around my neck. 

I needed something on my head and contemplated a mask, but the glasses would interfere. I happened to have this gold glitter headband and decided to glue thread, buttons and a tiny sewing machine as a topper. The wristbands are made from gold sparkle felt and I made tiny pin cushions to attach to them. My favorite thing is the tool belt. I used an old vinyl belt and attached sewing tools with elastic. 

Every superhero needs a sidekick, so I had to make my new puppy (sort of new) my trusty spool of thread. He's my favorite brand Mettler! I made the base of his costume with felt, and attached yarn in a crisscross pattern. Just like Mettler thread. He was ok with it, at first he just wanted to chew on it. 

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Halloween Spiderweb Dress: McCalls 6887

Happy almost Halloween everyone! A few months ago, I made this Spiderweb dress for display at Fabricland. And now I finally get to wear it!

 It's McCall's 6687 view c, with the cap sleeves. This is one of those cup sized patterns, and I'm in love! I cut the d cup, and it fits perfectly with no alterations! OMG thank you McCall's. This is the perfect dress that can be made up in so many different prints. I'm already planning my next one. 

The bodice is a princess seamed, scoop neck. The scoop sits nice and flat, and not too low. The neckline I finished with some bias tape. The only trouble I had with the dress was attaching the skirt to the waist. The skirt is six panels, that make it very swirly, but the skirt was way too big for the waist and needed to be eased ALOT. something is defiantly wrong, I checked the pattern several times and I used all the right pieces. Oh well 

The belt buckle is something we have at Fabricland. It's from dritz, and I attached it to a piece of purple elastic. Super cute, little bow made from metal and resin. 

                             

                                 

You may have also seen this fabric on a dress from Modcloth. It's the same exact print. The fabric is a quilt weight cotton from timeless treasures. I made my dress weeks before they put it on Modcloth, so I like to think BITCH STOLE MY LOOK! Haha. I'm also not sure why a strapless Halloween dress is smart. 

I even made a spiderweb barrette to wear with it! It took me about 3 minutes this morning. I just used hot glue. I'll be wearing my costume to work tomorrow for the Halloween contest and this dress on Halloween!

Are you getting dressed up? Did you make a costume? Can't wait to show my costume to you all! 

11 Insanely Cute DIY Halloween Costumes

Make sure to check out Buzzfeed's list of 11 Insanely Cute DIY Halloween Costumes. My vintage pattern costume from last year is number 11! Well, I'm off to work on this years costume!

Cotton + Steel Border Print Butterick 5882

     

 Omg. I hate computers. I have been sewing up a storm, but MIA because of my dumb laptop. I can't get the pictures off the camera into the computer. Computers are so much harder to control than fabric. I finally borrowed/stole my Mom's netbook so I can show you my new favorite dress!

Our two year anniversary was coming up so I wanted to make a special dress, just like last year I made my Rick Rack dress. I loved this Cotton + Steel cotton lawn border print since it first came out but I have been trying to think of something cute to make with it. The pink border is rather skinny, so it finally occurred to me to make a shelf bust dress with it. I loved Gertie's gathered bust version of Butterick 5882. So i decided try and make my own.

The shelf bust goes above the apex, and then I made the gathered piece so I have some coverage. I followed the fba tutorial from Gertie's blog, and then made a gathered piece to sew across the top. Even though the bodice is a little bit different than what I usually wear, but it's more flattering than I thought it would be.

We even went back to where we took our wedding pictures for the second time, but this time we had our new puppy,Rockford, in the picture! If you follow me on Instagram (erikamadeit) you know I am obsessed with this little guy. 

Lonsdale Dress

 Hello there, sewing friends! I finally made my first Sewaholic Lonsdale dress. Its such a fun summer dress, perfect for days spent drinking sangria.

I used Art Gallery's voile, which is so soft and fun to work with. I had been eyeing it up at working trying to think of the perfect use for it, and Lonsdale seems to be it. I had to make some changes to the bust pattern in order for it to work. I did a fba, and added a bust dart. I also shirred the back bodice pieces. I love wearing the sweetheart dresses that I have shirred all summer and thought it would be a cute addition.

Its not the most perfect fit, the waistband is a little tight, but whatever. If i was going to make it again i would make the shirring into panels in the back, not shir the whole back. It makes it kinda hard to zip up, and the zipper is more exposed than I would like. It's getting harder to overlook imperfections when sewing. Things don't always turn out perfect and I can't beat myself up about it. Does anyone else have that problem?

Well I'm off to enjoy one of the last weekends of the summer! Hope you are too!

Polka Dots and Stripes Hazel Dress

Woohoo! Another Colette Hazel Dress for me! This time I made some major improvements. I had to add a lot of length to the upper bodice. I made it before and it gave absolutely no coverage, making the bodice pieces about 2" longer fixed this problem. 

For this dress I used this Marc Jacobs lightweight cotton. It is red, white & blue, polka dot, and striped. SERIOUSLY, what could be better?! I've been wearing a very patriotic wardrobe this year, and it all goes with my new Sven Clogs that I'm in love with. So comfy, I wear them to work where I'm standing for hours. 

Everything is from Fabricland, this dress was a display sample for a class back in Spring. (I think there is even some more of this fabric in stock!) The stripes are the best thing to use for this unusual bodice shape. If I made this again I would probably make the skirt a little fuller. I think this is a dirndl, but it seems to come in a bit at the bottom.

My favorite detail is the piping I used on the top of the bodice and the double row of piping on the hem. Fabricland has sparkle piping by the yard. I stitched the piping together and then to the hem of the skirt. The belt it just a ribbon tied in a bow. This is the perfect dress to throw on on a hot summer day, and look cute. 

Simplicity 2176: Summer Sewing Camp

 Sorry for the long absence folks...this summer has been super busy. If you follow me on Instagram (erikamadeit) you have seen my new puppy, Rockford. He is an adorable time suck that keeps me from blogging. I've also been teaching everyday at Fabricland's Summer Sewing Camp. 

Last week we made Simplicity 2176. Its one of those Project Runway sewing patterns which are frustrating to use. They separate each of the styling designs on the back of the envelope so you never know how much fabric you really need. I made the version with the band, wide straps, and the border on the skirt. I used a contrasting floral and stripe to make a fun, summery frock. Both fabrics are a quilt weight cotton, which works fine for this dress.

The dresses in the class came out beautifully, we had four afternoons to make them.I had to do some alterations to make them fit such a wide range of girls, one was way smaller than the smallest size, but they look great. The most challenging part was folding over and sewing the band on the bottom. We had to hem the skirt a lot for the girls, and then shorten the band to match. The bias started the stretch and we had to try a couple times to get it right.  But they did really well and we had a lot of fun.