Layer Cake Crinoline

After being in my to do pile for over a year, I finally made the layer cake crinoline. I followed the multimedia tutorial from Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing. I used half a yard of bemberg rayon, and  half a yard of cotton organdy, both in hot pink! It was super easy to put together, the hardest part was trying to iron these fabrics. The rayon does not want to be ironed. I had a bit of a mishap with my serger and caught more organdy than needed to be serged. Oops.

So I took a break halfway through gathering the organdy, and went shopping with the friends. Guess what I saw, the crinoline hanging in the Kate Spade store. This is made from tulle, but the same exact color, with the same effect. It also cost $195, and made entirely out of polyester.  I think mine may have cost $16 including the elastic. I will definitely be making more of these. Thanks Gertie!

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Simmer Dim Wrap

I've been knitting for a million years and this is my first shawl. This is the Simmer Dim wrap

by Gudrun Johnston. I love her patterns, I also made her pattern Audrey in unst, which was so well written. This shawl knits up very quickly. The center triangle is knit using the Shetland construction method, which makes loops in the beginning of every row, making it very easy to pick up all and knit the rest of the shawl.  

 

I used one skein of madelinetosh eyre light, that I bought on the madelinetosh etsy page. The yarn is super soft, and a gorgeous color. The last two things I have made with madelinetosh have been impossible to wind and knit from the skein. It is constantly getting caught on itself, it really slows down the progress when you have to stop all the time and untangle. Anyway, this is a simple and fast pattern that would be great for anyone.

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Valentine Cardigan

I've been knitting this little cardigan since March and I finally made myself finish it. This is the Valentine Cardi from Spud and Chloe and designed by Laura Chau. The stitch is a lacy rib, that was very easy to knit, I just didn't work on it very much, so it took so long to finish. This is a botton up cardigan knit in one piece until the armholes. I used two skeins of Madelinetosh tosh merino light in tangerine. I just love this color, but it was very hard to find buttons that were the right shade.  I originally bought some orange mirrored buttons from M&J trimming, but they were just not right, I found the perfect shade of orange at the local fabric store.

I made some minor changes to this pattern. I made sort little cap sleeves, instead of the elbow length in the picture. I also made it a little bit shorter. This sweater is not blocked. The stitch will stretch out a lot when wet, so leaving it unblocked gives it a cropped look. I learned a new technique from this pattern, the stich in 1 row button hole, which sounds hard but is actually easy and gives the buttonhole a very finished, professional look. This video here, helped me a lot. 

I'm so glad I finally finished this sweater, even though it can probably only be worn a few times before it gets too cold out.  I can see myself wearing this over and over again in the spring and summer.

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Simplicity 5707

I finished my dress in time for our engagement party. Vintage Simplicity pattern 5707, made with a burgundy silk charmeuse and a detachable velvet flocked tulle overlay skirt. It's the perfect party dress, it felt so special.

I didn't have to change much to this pattern. It was already cut out, and whoever owned it before me had elongated the bodice, so I made the muslin with that alteration. All that needed to be done was take up the shoulders a bit and make the back smaller at the zipper! So easy.

I was very careful while sewing the silk, I used silk thread and held the fabric taught while sewing. The finished product doesn't have any dimples. The hardest part about sewing this dress was gathering the tulle for the skirt. I sewed through the velvet polka dots and the gathering stitches were stuck in the velvet and broke. So I had to make several rows of gathering stitches. 

The only thing I don't like about this dress is that the facings around the armhole won't stay down. After I put the dress on I have to tuck them in. I did understich them and tack them down at the seams. But over all I'm glad I made my dress for this occasion, I think it made it even more special.

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Colette Patterns Featured Seamstress

I am Colette Pattern's Featured Seamstress! You can see the post here. I'm wearing my yellow beignet skirt and the meitte sweater, both were made for Colette's spring palette challenge!

So nice to be featured, Thanks Colette Patterns!

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Simplicity 3045 / 2444

I've been working on this pattern for a little while now. I made several muslins and realized that a short sleeved kimono sleeve is not for me. So I tweaked the patten a bit, using the scalloped neckline from the vintage pattern and the basic bodice from simplicity 2444.

The scallops are subtle, and the open neckline is flattering. It is a good transitional piece for the fall. I used a cotton from B&J in NYC. It has a bit of stretch to it. The fabric gets a little more wrinkled than desirable, sitting down makes the skirt a mess! It did not seem this way in the store. Oh well.

For this dress I used some different techniques, the vintage pattern suggested I stabilize the waistband with some stay tape, after is is sewn all together. I used hug snug on that seam, as well as turning in the armholes. Horsehair braid on the hem makes the skirt crazy swirly.  I attempted to do a lapped side zip, from this tutorial the famous Gertie posted a while ago, but it doesn't look the same.

I had some trouble with the scallops, and I don't think they look as defined as they do in the photo. Maybe this pattern would look better with a different fabric. Sometimes things just don't work out as fabulous as I pictured them. On to the next project! Pin It Now!

Fabric Swatches

I have survived the earthquake and the hurricane that hit the east coast, and went fabric shopping! My parents are throwing us a lovely engagement party, and obviously I have nothing to wear. I need to look fabulous, but can't find anything in any store. I did find shoes, that I NEEDED to have, so  I decided to sew a dress for the occasion.

My cute shoes

Simplicity 5707 is something from my stash, and the black dress with the lace overlay was my inspiration. I went with a flocked polka dot tulle instead of lace, in this gorgeous, deep purple/ maroon color. I call it vintage burgundy ooh la la. Silk charmuese in the same color for the dress. I will probably be over-dressed, but oh well.

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