Simplicity 3673 Makes a Debut

Okay, so I finally wore the embroidered grey flannel dress made from S3673. I went with Shannon's suggestion and paired it with a black turtleneck, black tights, and black pumps (because I don't have the right black boots). I also wore the pearls that JB gave me for our 10th anniversary.

Anyway, I know the dress is too big from under the bust on down. It was suggested at my last ASG meeting that I take it the center dart just in the front. That would make a difference and probably make me feel more comfortable. However, I can't manage to keep my weight steady and I hate to take the dress in and then not be able to wear it at all. I did get lots of compliments on the dress at knitting night and it was very comfortable all day.

By the way, nobody is home when I get ready for work except the dogs and there's that whole issue with opposible thumbs, so I had to wait until the end of a very long day, knitting night, and watching the eclipse to get JB to take some photos.

Can anyone tell me why one of my dogs always feels compelled to get into the photo?

Happy February

Look what was on the kitchen table when I got home last night. I know - a package. Thanks Mary! (by the way, my hounds won't stop sniffing the dress) Mary has been working on the same dress that I recently finished (well it still needs the lining tacked to the zipper tape). Only - she doesn't like it. She left a cute comment on one of my posts about sleeping with the lining book which lead me back to her blog - it was in favorites on the desktop, but not the laptop, which is where I do most of my surfing these days. Anywoooo - I offered to take the offending dress off her hands. Look at what she sent - along with the dress, the already cut black silk lining she also sent an invisible zipper and the thread she was using. The color shows up much better in Mary's post - but look at how much better her dress fits my Lou than mine does (scroll down). Last weekend I picked up a cute soft blue top to wear under it, but I haven't tried them on together and I still don't have a new pair of black shoes! I bought a new pair, but there were 2 different sizes in the shoe box - darn it!

So, after I finish those darn curtains, I will be finishing this dress and then working on the already cut queue.

Essentially Done.

I say essentially because I still need to tack the lining to the zipper tape. The Dress is Simplicity 3673, I made View C in a combination of sizes. I started with a 14 through the shoulders, tapering to a 16 at the waist and a 20 at the hips. I moved the zipper from the center back to the left side and cut all the pieces on the fold. I also fully lined the dress. The pattern only calls for lining the bodice, but I'm learning it's pretty darn easy to add a full lining and make it feel good when you're wearing it. The fabric is embroidered wool flannel from JoAnn's. I wasn't sure it was really wool until I washed it and then ironed it. There is a definite smell that belongs to wool alone and believe me - this is wool. I can't remember what I paid for the yardage, but I purchase 3 yards and have a very little bit left. I might make some sort of matchy-matchy handbag. Not sure. I think, based on the muslin (I haven't actually had the dress on yet) that I could have stayed at a 14 through the waist and gone out to a 16/18 through the hips. But I didn't want to over fit the dress. I will mostly wear this work, where I sit and jump up and down all day long. Currently, I don't have a cute little blouse to wear under it, but other than the fact that it is Winter I could wear it without a blouse and just layer either a soft pink or blue cardigan over it. I will try it with a turtleneck, but I think it needs a cute little blouse like the envelope. Thanks for the support and encouragement during this project. Tonight I'm going to cut out the next dress and lined jacket. Carolyn - I'm finally taking you up on the challenge to make a lined jacket. Stay tuned.

I Should Have Been Vacuuming

But instead I put 12 darts into the skirt of the Flannel Dress. I also sewed down the tucks in the lining. It feels good to be getting down into the sewing room on a regular basis again. At this point all that's left is sewing the right side seam on the skirt; attaching skirt to bodice - twice; inserting the zipper; handstitching the lining to the zipper tape; and hemming. I have a long weekend coming up - this time with Monday off. Which results in a short week - 3 days next week. Although I plan on doing some work from home on both Saturday and Sunday, I don't plan to let it consume me. I have a dress that wants finishing! In an attempt to not post without photos (because I'm not always that interesting) I have been taking random photos around the house. The candle and candle jar? were gifts from The Princess for throwing her a "get out" party. This is the first time I have lit them. The candle is vanilla - yum. The little tiny person in the back of the bottom photo, is a yarn, fabric and wire interpretation of one of the girls. I have 3 of these figures - The Musical One, The Princess and Dudley. My friend from High School made these for our family one year for Christmas. We have had them so long we only had Dudley at the time. I keep asking her for Abby, Beau & Lucy. They are really cute though.

Thank Goodness for WhirlyBall!

What you might ask does whirlyball have to do with sewing? Well in my life it means that JB won't be home until after the second game. For me, that means I can have scrambled eggs and a toasted cranberry bagel for dinner at 9:00 p.m. It also means I can lock the dogs behind the gate downstairs with me, turn on mindless tv and work on the bodice of the flannel jumper until I can't take their whining because it's past their dinner time anymore. As long as we're thanking goodness, I also need to thank goodness for The Easy Guide to Sewing Linings by Connie Long. The last time I made a fully lined dress I could not for the life of me figure out how to sew the lining in on the sewing machine. Remember in this dress, I moved the zipper from the back seam to the side seam. So, I wanted to sew the lining into the dress entirely on the sewing machine. I didn't want to bind the armholes (that's what I did the last time). So, thanks to Connie Long, I managed to put the lining into the bodice completely with the sewing machine. Now, to sew the right side seam and the bodice is finished. Finally, the last photo is of a film canister. JB still shoots film and I steal one empty canister every 6 years or so. I punch a little hole in the top and snap it back on. Then every time I change the needles in my machines I drop the old needle into the canister. If you're really industrious you can use the 'dead' needles to hang photos on the your walls or for sticking things up on your cork board. Anyway, I use the film canister so I'm not dropping sharp objects into the garbage for somebody to get poked with or one of the dogs to eat. Works great and now, after about 6 years, this one's finally full.

Muslin Done!

Finally I have finished the muslin for the Simplicity jumper. Other than the changes I already made - cutting a size 14 through the shoulders to a 16 at the underbust seam, then I tapered out even farther at the hips.

I moved the zipper to the left side seam. So fabric allowing I will attempt to cut the front and back pieces on the fold rather than have a seam down the center of both pieces.

I have a powder blue lining and will line the entire jumper rather than just the bodice. I think it gives a much nicer look and feel to a dress. I plan on just taking tucks in the skirt lining rather than putting in the darts. Hopefully, I can make it back downstairs after dinner tonight to get started cutting the parts and pieces out.

I have the next dress starting to play out in my head. Remember this fabric? I finally decided on a pattern for it. It will become Simplicity 3774. I plan on making a lined pink jacket out of Butterick 4980 to go with it.

So, here are the elements for the next two garments in the lineup. The polka dot dress which will be full skirted and either short sleeves or sleeveless. The pink is for the jacket and the white to line the jacket. I think for this first try at lining a jacket I will leave the pattern as is - no closures. Will keep you posted.