All I want to do is sew clothes. I have many ideas for other crafty projects, including shop stuff, but at the end of the day I just want to make a skirt or cut out a new blouse. Life has been a bit crazy lately and sewing for the pure fun of it is my therapy, I suppose.
The clothes I’m working on are fall items I can wear now. Because, you know, it’s not really going to get chilly here ’til late October or so.
Here is a blouse I made combining pattern pieces from McCall’s M5977 and New Look 6022. I shortened the sleeves, drafted the v-neck and made the bows. I don’t recommend attaching sleeves to bodice pieces meant for a sleeveless top (which is what I did) because the armholes aren’t quite right but I don’t think it’s noticeable and fits comfortably anyway.
The original design had 5 larger, pointier bows going done the front. Even after testing the placement I didn’t get a feel for what it would truly look like until I had made and attached all the bows. (You might be able to see bias tape stitched down the center front on the inside; this was placed there to support the bows.) But I didn’t like it afterall. Don’t know why, it just seemed too stiff or something. So I re-cut 2 of the bows and attached them just near the v.
The skirt is my favorite of the 2. The colors look blown out in the photo where I’m modeling it but the fabric really is so pretty and has a nice, slightly coarse texture. (By the way, I probably wouldn’t wear those shoes with this skirt out and about because they are too orange but I’m currently without dark brown pumps.)
And yes, I used Simplicity pattern 8418 for this skirt. Of course!
I’m so glad it’s Friday. Do you have any fun plans for this weekend?
Happy Tuesday! How was your weekend? I spent the better part of mine sewing…I haven’t felt this productive sewing-wise in a long, long time. I’m pleased as punch with my new summer clothes; for many years (and even now) I’ll sew something that I never end up wearing either because of fit, comfort or that my homemade creation really looks “home sewn”–and not in a good way.
Most of the blouses I have I think of as work clothes and I rarely wear them on other occasions besides going to the office. So I thought it was high time I made some casual blouses that I could wear to work but would also want to throw one on with jeans or a skirt in lieu of a t-shirt. I used voile for all three which is perfect for warm weather.
Two of the tops use the above pattern, McCall’s M5977. I chose this pattern because it has no closure and I liked the ruffles around the neck (reminded me of 1920s and ’30s styles). I made the first view minus the armhole ruffles (which I think look weird dropping down like that).
I made this one as fitted as I could and still get it over my head. I reduced the ruffle by almost 40% and edged it with black to mimic the design in the fabric.
The other one I made has a slightly looser fit and fuller ruff. I also added a ribbon belt and gather under the bust just a little to give it shape. (Because of the eyelet border this blouse would be worn untucked unlike the one above).
The last top is from New Look pattern 6022:
I really liked the top part of the dress (particularly View B) and while I had my misgivings about the boxiness of it I went ahead and started to make it, thinking it would look better with some adjustments. Nope. Once I sewed up the side seams and tried it on it became clear this it was going to hang off of my like an insubstantial rectangle and even a belt around the waist wouldn’t be enough to make this wearable in public.
So I cut my losses and chopped off the bottom and kept going with the neckline and sleeves. Thankfully I really love it as a blouse (and wore it yesterday!).
I may try to make this again as a dress but would combine the top with a different dres
One of the things I did this past weekend, besides re-vamping a couple of vintage pieces, was changing the buttons on a few tops. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was a kid. I don’t know, I guess I don’t really like the buttons that are normally sewn on store-bought clothing. And it’s such an easy way to freshen the look of a top or dress (while personalizing it too).
I’m sure you’ve seen this sweet blouse (above) before! I had replaced the broken buttons with red, M&M-like ones when I first bought it. But then I decided I wanted to use those red buttons for something else (see 3rd photo, below). I think these foil-backed glass buttons suit this blouse perfectly, in a sweetly fairy tale way.
I recently thrifted a couple of Banana Republic silk blouses which is pretty fantastic since I don’t normally have a lot of luck finding pretty, modern clothes at thrift shops.
Red buttons for the dotted blouse, vintage mother of pearl for the mustard-y gold print. As I was on a roll, I swapped the plastic buttons with vintage grey and gold glass ones on the creamy-colored sweater.
Oh, before I forget, thank you for your lovely thoughts on my last post! I hope to wear those gossamer things this fall and winter, perhaps layered with warmer clothes. AND I’ve got some other fun stuff to post soon including this year’s holiday cards and a sweater clip tutorial.
Happy Wednesday!
.jpeg?picon=2420)