Wow, I need a third arm

Im going crazy over here. Call it cabin fever, whatever, I'm sewing up a storm. I finished the Art Dress, I finished the 1940s back button up top, I have two dresses cut for my little lady Lorna, and I'm also just about done with the ric rac Simplicity dress. No pics of course, but I'll do them soon I promise.

And we're off! Simplicity 4640

Starting on my next dress today and I think it's going to be fairly problem free. I also just found red and white vintage baby ric-rac in my stash to finish it off. The pattern calls for a side zip in addition to the buttons on the front but I think I can skip it and still get it on. The only thing that worries me is the pocket. It has some odd slash method I have never used before and looks fairly godawful.

Lucy, I'm home!

Whew, it's totally done and I'm in love with it. If I make it again I need to widen the waist about an inch for a better button overlap. There was no waist measurement listed on the pattern so I just winged it and prayed for a fit. Pre-children this would have easily fit better but as it is I put the waist size down for a 25 inch waist woman with approximately 4 inches of room for the button packets etc. Now it's more like 2 inches for the buttons which technically fits but isn't the best. I could always get a waist nipper like a woman then would have worn but I'm not going down that tight and upright rabbit hole.

The fabric was a beast. It was very shreddy and slippery. One seam mistake and the holes are there forever. The totally botched the shoulder/collar area too. You have to make a slice then wiggle the fabric into place to make the back neck and shoulder seam. No matter how I tried it need up looking like a child sewed it. Luckily the collar covers it. I did French seams and just did a narrow hem on the bottom. I like the look of a deep hem but it's way more work and I'm pretty skrimpy when it comes to fabric usage. I wish it was warm already so I could go June Cleaver grocery shopping.

Almost done!

Finished baby blanket

Well, after much adieu, here is my completed faux chenille baby blanket. I got the idea from the Aesthetic Nest blog (I can't make a link for some reason but it's easily findable on her blog). Awesome! It's pretty self explanatory so I won't go into detail. The only change I made was to put a larger silky border around the blanket and instead of a fabric top I used a flannel top. I think the flannel worked about very nicely and it is sooooo soft.

The sneaky gift

I unfortunately can't share the whole project yet. Once I gift this creation to Caitlin (http://inklingsartwork.blogspot.com) for her baby shower I will post the rest. I have never made anything like it but I saw this awesome tute and had to do it. Final pics and post will appear on Sunday. In the interim I have a tiny teaser....

Hello darts. We meet again.

I hate darts. I'm not going to mince words here, I really do hate them. I don't tend to pin them either however, I had to with these. It seems that the pattern is trying to wiggle the darts in a way that the fabric is reluctant to stay in. It goes but if you don't pin it the dart will look like an aerial view of the Amazon River. Soooooo, I'm pinning and darting and pinning and darting and darting and pinning. Sixteen darts! Ugh. This is the type of pattern I usually avoid but the entire dress was one pattern piece so I am intrigued.

The art show dress

I've sort of gotten myself in a bit of a jam. I want to make a new dress to the opening of an art exhibit featuring 50s art and furniture and such in the city. That being said, it's the 29th. I have a couple other fall back dresses but this one would be perfect! There is going to be a band and food and drinks etc and they want people to dress the part. Like one would have to ask twice. Anyway, I bought a deep navy blue cotton, white for the collar and deco-esque buttons In a bright candy apple red.

The pattern is a 50s wiggle day dress by a company called Household Patterns. I haven't made anything by them before so I hope there are no glaring size issues. I also just got a great 40s pattern off eBay and plan on making the blue ric-rac version just as the pattern shows. We shan't speak of it again for a while though or my husband may divorce me for pattern hoarding.