sewing saturday! red velvet valentine dress

Sewing Saturday! I didn't expect to have a completed project to share with you guys today - but after two full days of sewing, I finished my Valentine dress!

Now, it's just a matter of waiting a full week to wear it.

Lots of steps, so I'll try to abbreviate a bit (sorry there aren't photos for every step.. I'm trying to keep this short-ish, but if you have any questions, feel free to email me!).

My first section to finish was the bodice, which was considerably more time-consuming than the skirt. I began by marking and sewing darts - four in the back (shoulder and waist), and two in the front (bust). I clipped them with pinking shears and pressed them.

Using my zipper foot, I sewed the 18 inch zipper at the back, pressing the 5/8 seam allowance on both center ends of the back bodice inwards, as well as attaching the two back pieces by sewing a couple of inches at the bottom of the bodice.

I then tackled the facing - armhole and neck. The neck came in three different pieces, so I sewed them together and clipped and pressed the seams. I then sewed 1/4 inch from the outer edges of all three facing pieces, pressed at the stitching line inwards, then stitched over the pressed 1/4 inch. I sewed the facing, right sides together, to their designated spots on the bodice, making sure to match markings. I pinned them in place first and trimmed the seams afterwards. Once they were stitched in place, I stitched a second seam right above the first on the facing, stitching the inside seam edges and facing together to reinforce it a bit.

I then pressed the facing pieces inside (this is the part where you should stitch them in place inside the dress.. and if I wasn't lazy, I'm sure I would have done that). Then, I stitched the sides of the bodice together - front to back, right sides together.

Skirt! The skirt pattern pieces called for two separate pieces for the back and one for the front (cut at the fold), just like the front and back bodice. First step was sewing the two back skirt pieces together (so the seam would be the center back seam on the skirt of the dress, and be in line with the zipper), then sewing the back piece to the front at the sides. I then pressed the hem and sewed it - I pressed two inches, wrong sides together, at the hem, then folded one inch of the hem inwards, pinned it, and stitched it shut.

Then it was time to gather the skirt. I gathered the skirt the old fashioned way this time.. stitching two lines at the top of the skirt (within the 5/8 inch seam allowance), being careful not to backstitch or connect the ends (or cross the lines). I then pulled the threads and gathered along them, spacing it apart so the width of the skirt matched the width of the bodice (for a more detailed description, go here).

Then, I had two finished pieces. I sewed them at the waist, right sides together.

Somewhere along the way, I had to choose which trim I'd use on the bodice. I wrestled between a lot of choices, but mainly these three - two strands of thin, cream colored lace and light pink floral buds. I ended up choosing the flowers.. I sewed three buds near the neckline, once the dress was finished.

Finished! What do you guys think? And how would you style this dress? I'm thinking cream colored tights and maybe some lace up oxfords.

To bed for me, I've got an early morning. Lots to do tomorrow.. fabric shopping, work downtown, time with friends, art crawl, amateur wrestling. A weird mix. Have a great weekend!

pleated drop waist dresses, peter pan collars, and striped rompers

When lovely Maria of Adelaide's Homesewn asked me to model some pretty items in her shop, I jumped on the chance. Her Etsy shop has been a favorite of mine for some time, so why not try out some of her great things for free?

Here is the first batch of pieces she sent me.. the polka dots and stripes dress and a sweet berry pickin dress with peter pan collar are both in her shop, and the pleated drop waist dress and striped romper should be added soon!

I have to apologize for the lack of Sewing Saturdays recently.. it's been nearly a month since I posted one! Suck. I guess I can blame it on the chaos that's been our house and our life in general lately. But this past week, things began to slow down and I finally had time to unpack my sewing supplies and put them in their proper places.. which means I can have a Sewing Saturday ready for you for next week! I'm planning on making it rock, too. What would you like the next Sewing Saturday to be about?

It's Saturday! I'm headed to work at American Apparel for the afternoon, then I'm walking over to Robert's Western World with some super awesome girls for dancing and rum and coke (ONE rum and coke - I have the alcohol tolerance of a small animal). Happy weekend!

etsy update! sheer dresses, summer polka dots, and eyelet lace.

Shop update! The 1950's White Eyelet Lace Summer Dress and the Vintage Blue Polka Dot Drop Waist Dress have been added to the shop this evening. The ruffle eyelet lace skirt and deadstock sheer polka dot dress in black and white will be added later on, as well as the blue roses hair barrette.

I'm excited for a day off tomorrow. I'll be going out for lunch at Burger Up with my dad, then heading to East Nashville to do some thrift shopping with Quincy! Burgers, thrift stores, and cool people. Do you guys have any fun middle of the week plans?

sewing saturday.. white drop waist dress with lace trim

Sewing Saturday! This week, I made an improvised pullover dress with a stiff, sheer cotton fabric (thrifted). I knew I wanted a sleeveless drop waist dress that was simple, no buttons or zippers, that I could wear as a cover up for swimming. Since I didn't have any stretch fabric, I needed to make it large enough to be a pullover. I decided to use the bodice of a jumper pattern I owned and make my own skirt, which would allow me to control how gathered it was as well as its length.

I found this late 1980's jumper pattern at a church-run thrift store in Nashville. The dorky photo with the kittens and teased bangs definitely sold it to me.

What you'll need for this project - fabric (I used less than 2 yards), thread, pinking shears, scissors, pins, a pattern (although I only used it for the bodice), measuring tape, a flat working surface, and a sewing machine. Lace trim is optional.

First, I cut out the pattern pieces, pinned it to the fabric, marked 6 inches lower at the bottom edges to allow for a longer bodice (for a more drop waisted look), and cut the pieces out.

I used a 5/8 inch seam allowance at the top of the straps and sewed them together. I did the same at the sides, stopping at the underarm area. I then cut the seam excess with pinking shears and pressed them flat.

Once the bodice was mostly done, I focused on the skirt. I knew the height it was supposed to be - shorter than the bodice by several inches, so I cut a long rectangle of fabric shorter than the bodice length and over twice the width of the bodice. Once the rectangle was cut, I sewed it together then sewed two lines of stitching on the top of the skirt, being careful not to backstitch over the ends. I then pulled the strands and pushed them along, gathering the skirt until the waist fit the bottom of the bodice.

Once I sewed the gathered skirt to the bottom of the bodice, I finished the neckline and arm holes by folding them in, wrong sides together, by 1/4 inch. I stitched them shut, then folded them over another 1/4 inch and stitched again.

When I stitched the neckline, I was impatient and did a shoddy job. To cover it up a bit, I decided to add lace trim to the neckline.

All finished!

When I started this pullover jumper, I had intentions of using it only as a swim cover up. Now I want to layer it with a slip, put on a skinny brown macrame belt at the waist, and wear it out. Maybe a later post?

Last night, I dreamt that Alexa Chung's Madewell collection was finally for sale. This is getting pretty bad. I think I might just have to recreate the brown velvet dress with black peter pan collar myself, because I can't wait til September.

Today was a wonderful first day of work at the vintage shop! I had a lovely visit from a fellow blogger, Cayce Layne of Madame Joy. She and her friend were in the middle of a Nashville vacation when they decided to make a stop to search for some vintage and say hello. We took a quick picture (thanks, Quincy!) and talked a bit while they shopped.

Happy Monday! Etsy update coming soon.