Yet another Harmony...

Yes, that's right...a third Harmony. Some patterns are just worthy of repeating and this is one of them. 

In case you are wondering, here is the pattern.  It is from StyleArc, a company located in Australia.  I am a bonafide SA junkie! 

This time, I used this floral coral print from Telio that I purchased at fabric.com.  

This fabric!  I simply love it.  I rescued a near flop from disaster by cutting it up and using it for this top.  Whew!

I really love how this top looks.  Those flounces!

Enough said, right?

For this fabric, since it's poly and doesn't hold a press well, I ended up topstitching the flounce seams about 1/8" from the seamline.

I had this cute little blue button in my stash that worked great for the closure.  

Thanks for reading! I am going to put this pattern to rest for a bit. I am sure you'll see more of it in the future.  Wouldn't this be a cute dress? 

Sue

Kobe top and dress pattern.  Another winning pattern style from a fabulous indy company outside of the US called Papercut Patterns.  These are fabulous!  The drafting is excellent and the styles are fresh and CUTE!  

Check out the back of this dress: 

 

How gorgeous is that?  Here is the image of the line drawing as well.  What is deceiving about this pattern is the gorgeous image above.  It looks all cinched at the waist, right?  Well that's due to the thin belt she's wearing to hold all that volume in.  

And, this dress is made from a sheer fabric so it appears you get the cute little slip dress pattern as well.  Well you don't and Papercut doesn't say mention it in the description.  They even have a disclaimer on their site stating this.  It is so important to read the pattern description.  I knew it wouldn't be included.  

So fitting...I used Designer Joi's method and am very happy with the results.  However, this pattern doesn't have the apex marked so what do you do?  I googled it and here's a link I found: 

Finding the apex by Designer Joi

I thought this method worked perfectly!  

With a boxy garment such as this, it is important it doesn't look sloppy.  For me, that means it fits through the shoulders, and front/back necklines.  You may have other preferences, but that's what I like.  

I've had this fabric in my stash for a while and I believe it is a challis.  It has lovely drape and feels so awesome on your skin.  

I do believe it is a poly blend, not a pure poly and definitely not a silk or cotton. 

 I know, I use a lot of white, black, and beige, but they are so easy to work with!  

I will be making the dress.  

I added self-bias binding to the back hemline as this fabric is so floaty and I wanted to keep it in place.

What I didn't think about is that the back is so much longer than the front so naturally it will be heavier in the back.  

I am proud of the bias binding on the front and back.  Look at how nice it looks!

I used a covered button on the back overlap.  I also raised the back neckline as in my muslin, my bra showed and I don't care how cute your bra is or how nice your back-skin is, having your bra back show isn't a good look.

So I love my new top!  I think I will enjoy it with black skinny jeans as much as I like it with my white skinny jeans.

Thanks for reading and stopping by!

Sue

I think I made a grandmother of the bride/groom dress....

I really had some high hopes for this dress pattern.  It has received rave reviews from SPR and so I thought I'd give it a shot.  This is the Barcelona dress by Loes Hines.  It was available through Textile Studios.

The shape is very simple, almost so simple it becomes just about sack-like.  But, I thought I'd try it anyway as sometimes simple shapes are best to highlight a pretty fabric.

I really loved this fabric from JoAnns.  It is 100% poly and as light and flowy as a breeze.

It washed and dried beautifully.  When you are close-up, it has some places that have a metallic sheen.  This is almost impossible to capture in a photo.

Even though I tissue-fit this, it is still difficult to get a flattering fit all around.  That swayback...

I made an FBA, sloping shoulder, and swayback adjustment.  I am still not happy with the fit. 

The skirt is rather full and fun.

This photo captures how I feel about it.  Meh.  I won't wear it.  I feel like I look like an 80-plus old woman, ready for a wedding or a funeral.  I will however recycle this fabric into something else.  

Thanks for reading...

Two wadders in a row...

Do you ever feel like throwing in the towel?

Sue :)

McCall's 7543 ready for spring!

I officially feel ready for spring!  I've sewn another off-shoulder top.  I sewed an off-shoulder dress last summer that I love but I wanted a sort of casual top.  

                   
This is a super simple pattern to create and just look at those sleeves on views B and C!  I love that little detail and honestly is the reason I purchased the pattern.

I always seem to have several photos with a sort of goofy look on my face.  Sorry about that!

I do love those dang sleeves!  Aren't they the bomb?

This was my muslin.  I had thought this fabric was all cotton, but it wasn't.  When I went to iron it, I melted part of it and luckily had enough to re-cut the piece. It still works, but darn.

I made my usual FBA.  I wish I would have lengthened this slightly.  Just an inch or two.

Also, I noticed that my top doesn't sit as low as the model's.  That's okay with me. 

                 

The back fits really nice.  I really do love this top.  It's an instant gratification project that is fun to put together!

Thanks for reading!
Sue :)

Sewing up some fun! Simplicity 8215

How FUN is this top from Simplicity? If you were me, you'd make this one too!

Image from Sewing Pattern Review.  Of course, it looks amazing on the model who is pretty, young, and thin.  

At first, I was going to make this pattern as it is, but I couldn't find any lining fabric for the lace bodice that worked.  

I really didn't mind the sleeves sheer and I just love how full and flowing they are!

So, since I used the main fabric to line the bodice, I was stumped as to how to finish the neckline until I thought--duh--just create a facing or use bias tape.  I made my own bias tape and it worked beautifully.  I even used it on the back neck slit.  

This fabric and lace were from the Casa collection from Joann's.  While I don't go to Joann's to purchase fabric, I did see these two matching-colored fabrics and decided it was worth making a muslin.  

If I create this again, I will make an FBA with a dart.  I did make my usual swayback adjustment and also a sloping shoulder adjustment.

I really love the little collar, bodice and sleeve details.  What are you sewing right now?

Sue 

Anne Klein: Vogue 1499 dress

The minute I saw this pattern from Anne Klein for Vogue (1499), I knew I had to make it!  I love the lines, I love it in a stripe, and I really think it is a classic style calling for a classic fabric.  Nothing screams summer like seersucker! 

 

You can play with how you lay out this pattern based on how you want the stripes to run.  I choose to vary my slightly from the pattern suggestion by making the back center bodice stripe run up and down, rather than side-to-side.  

 

I choose to use this beautiful Maggy London seersucker fabric for my dress.

This photo was copied directly from Fabric Mart's site.  

It is 100% poly and is 63"' wide.  It so and pressed very well.

We had to take the photos indoors as it is pouring outside.  My dog, Lucy, loves to help when it comes to sewing photos.  

I really didn't deviate from the pattern too much.  A few times I sewed on the machine rather than hand stitching.  Some days I love to hand sew and others, well, I will think to find a work-around!  

This dress is super comfortable in this fabric.  It is also lined, and that fabric was also purchased a while ago from Fabric Mart.

I love the cute little sleeves. Did I mention I am very happy with the fit of this dress?  Yes, I know it could use some additional tweaking, but I do believe there is a fine line between fitting comfortably and fitting so you look like a model in a photo!  

I S-T-R-O-N-G-L-Y suggest making a muslin before tackling this dress.  I did to tweak the fit and then had to do some additional tweaking after I made this up.  The most difficult part is to get the bust to fit, especially at the armscyes as it needs to fit snugly.   Typically I don't have any issues with this area with the big four patterns.   

Thanks for reading and I do hope that you are making some great garments for this hot and very humid summer we are having.  If you live in another part of the world, I hope you are looking forward to summer and planning your warm-weather wardrobe!

Thanks for reading!

Sue from Ilove2sew!