New Look A6180 Shirt Dress for Memorial Day!

I bought the New Look A6180 pattern a few months back and have wanted to make this dress since I first saw the pattern out.  Once I started my usual fitting measurements I noticed that there was 7-1/2" of ease in the chest area and waist!  That is A LOT of ease!  The lady on the cover picture does NOT have that much ease with her dress!

New Look A6180 Shirt dress

Doesn't this model look like Taylor Swift?

 

So I put the pattern away and made a note of the excessive ease, then on Thursday night I realized I didn't have anything patriotic or even red or blue to wear to church on Sunday.  I pulled out the pattern again and did my usual (Fitting Finesse with Nancy Zieman) changes to the pattern.  I only used 3" of ease in the bust area and waist and 10" in the hips.

I received so many compliments at church on the dress.  I am planning to make it again and I am thinking I will only make 2" of wearing ease on the top.  I now am a size 18.  On the second try I am thinking a straight 18 with my usual hip adjustments will work just fine!

New Look A6180 Shirt Dress Front View

Fabric Close up

I really like the fit of the dress and I love the back yoke.  The collar gave me a bit of a time and I do feel a little like Elvis when I wore it, I think I will just have to get use to it.  I may even put pockets in the next version.

New Look 6180 Back View

The matching fabric belt needed to be interfaced.  I wore it Sunday morning to church and by the time it was over the belt had crumpled into half it size and twisted like crazy.  I am thinking that a little structure to the belt will help a lot.

The sleeve design were really cute.  It perked up the otherwise plain sleeve.

New Look A6180 Sleeve View

I am going to make a muslin of the second attempt to try to remove some of the ease of the bodice I had to lower the armcycthe? 1-1/2" to fit for the sleeve increase.

Until next time....................

Bonnie

Baby Shower!

My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby in three weeks!  I have been planning a baby shower for the last month for them so not a lot of me sewing has been going on.

I am so excited that I'm going to be an AUNT!  I have an Aunt that I adore.  Growing up, she was the one I always looked forward to her gifts.  She gave the best gifts!  For my 8th birthday she gave me a baton.  I didn't know I wanted one, but I loved playing with that baton.  I kept it until I moved out when I got married!  She also gave me a china tea set and a beautiful doll dressed in a wedding dress.  She bought me my first pair of high heals!  I love her dearly and not a day goes by I don't think of her.  We try to get together often and time flies when we do.  We can not talk for a month then see each other and chat and chat like we haven't missed a beat.  I LOVE MY AUNT!

Ok, back to the baby shower.  My brother and mother live about 75 miles away from me so we had a lot of planning over the phone and by e-mail.  I couldn't have done it without my Mom's help, she did a great job!

I have been to a few baby showers and I must say, they received A TON of baby stuff!  So much, my brother said he needs a bigger house!

Tigger on a diaper motorcycle!

My Mom made this Tigger on a motorcycle from diapers!  She did a GREAT job and everyone loved it!

Baby Shower

They received so many cute outfits!  I think about 100 or so!  Only one or two duplicate items but I think they were pretty happy with the outcome.

I did sew this month but it was all baby stuff.  I found a yard of fabric on eBay with Tigger and blocks on it with a dark blue background.  I was able to make 2-bibs, tag blanket, regular baby blanket with minky dots on one side, a set of three soft blocks and a burp pad.  

I made the mom to be two nursing shirts.  They were easy but I'm such a worrier when I make clothes for someone else.  My brother measured her and send me the measurements.................he did a good job!  The tops fit her great!

Now the real countdown!  The baby is scheduled for June 10th!  That is my oldest son's birthday too!  So my Mother will have her oldest and her newest grandson on the same day!  That's pretty exciting!  

Hopefully I won't be away too long, there's only 6 more days of the school year left and the kids will be here to bother me all summer!  Sounds like lots of chores will get done!

Until next time.....................

(AUNT) Bonnie

Simplicity 2369 Dress

I made this dress for my neighbor lady whom I love dearly.  (She gave me the cutting table)  I haven't sewn with knit fabrics too much.  I made a dress last year and I do love it but I seem to gravitate towards cotton prints.  It's time for me to venture out more!

Simplicity 2369

Simplicity 2369 dress in progress

I have never sewed a dress or top with raglan type sleeves.  I was confused a little bit at first but once I progressed with sewing I really found them easy to sew.  I like the shape of this dress.  The fabric she gave me was a stretch knit from Jo-ann's.  I liked the drape it gave the dress too.  

Simplicity 2369 Dress

Simplicity 2369 Dress

I used a suggestion on www.patternreview.com to use a strip of interfacing along the inside neck edge to help it lay a little flatter.  It did make sewing the facing down a lot easier. 

Simplicity 2369 front closeup view

I like that the center front is not too low.  Sometimes when I sit the front of this type of dress wants to gap open.  

I really hope that my friend likes the dress and will get many wears out of it!

Until next time.......................

Bonnie

Cleaning out closets and Sewing baby bibs

It took me most of a day last week to clean out our closet!  We had sooooooo much stuff in there.  Granted it is a pretty big closet. 14'x6' but we had every inch packed plus some.

This closet is FULL!

Much better organized & cleaned out!

We ended up having 5 garbage bags full of clothes!  Donated!  

I have two baby showers this month.  Both boys!  I have a little baseball player shower and my brother's shower is going to be Tigger!  

I made two bibs for my husband's Uncle's grandbabies, (would that be 2nd cousins?)  I wanted to see how easy it would be to make bibs.  I found a nice pattern & tutorial online at www.hellomynameisheather.com the bib patterns is called Slobber Monkey!  So cute!

Bib with Tie & Pencil

Circle Dot Bibs

I am working on a dress for my sweet neighbor lady.  She had both the pattern and fabric for a while and asked me if I would make it for her.  How could I say no? 

Until next time..............................

Bonnie

Simplicity 7117 Sleeveless Dress

  I made a muslin of this pattern last month using a vintage sheet.  It's pretty groovy thick sheet and I wear the dress every day if it's clean!  It's so comfortable and it does have a back zipper that I have yet to use, since I slip the dress over my head.

  I decided that since I didn't have enough of the purple fabric for my Easter dress to make another of the Simplicity 7117.  In place of using armhole and neck facing I cut out lining fabric from the pattern and just had the whole dress lined since the purple fabric is thin.  It's not quiet sheer but I thought that lining it would give it a little body and flow too.

Simplicity 7117 cutting out fabric

My pattern weights from my dear hubby!  Large washers, they are perfect!

Simplicity 7117 Front View

This dress looks a lot better on, it looks like a big purple paper bag on my dress form..... :(

Simplicity 7117 Side View

Simplicity 7117 back view-zipper omitted

The back view looks like a large rectangle!  I enough curves going on back there to fill it out!

Simplicity 7117 view of lining under

The lining fabric has a satin side and a rough side.  I used the soft satin closest to my skin so I won't have to wear a slip with this dress.  Maybe just some spanx!

Simplicity 7117 Neck view

The neck view is the best, I'm so happy how it turned out!  Very neat and clean looking.  Also, it is high enough I'm not fiddling with it during church thinking I'm over exposed!

I used http://ragbagsandgladrags.blogspot.com/2013/05/tutorial-sewing-lining-into-sleeveless.html for a lining tutorial.  It was the first time I tried it this way and the end product was so much nicer looking.  I will use this method in the future!

I am planning on going through my closet to SPRING CLEAN today!  I have lost a few more inches and I really want to throw away clothes that are too big so I don't have anything to go back to!  I would say 25% of my closet is too big, 50% I will fit into soon and 25% I can wear right now.  So I'm donating to the thrift shop fund today!  

Wish me luck, until next time..................................

Bonnie

Sewing but nothing GREAT!

I have done a lot of sewing but thing GREAT!  Really just alterations and the usual fixes from a family of five.

This week I have:  Hemmed two pair of dress pants
                             Fixed two backpack straps
                             Altered the seat of two pair of uniform pants
                             Resewed a button onto a dress shirt
                             Refashioned a pair of jeans into a denim skirt
 I did get to cut out the lining for the purple dress and sew it into the dress but I still need to hem it.  Maybe I can get to it this afternoon.

Butterick 4443 Princess Dress & DH on the way to Church

I hate having my picture taken, but I thought that since we were dress and on the way out the door to church I would let the kids take a picture.  I have this look on my face because the kids were talking smack while taking the picture.  

I like the dress but now I need about 3 inches taken in from the chest through the waist!  I might get around the fixing but I'm in no hurry.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter and get to spend it with your loved ones!

Until next time...................................

Bonnie

Fabric Cutting Table

I have a dear neighbor who is 84 years young.  She can run circles around me crafting.  I really believe that she an image of myself in 44 years!  She can sew, quilt, crochet, knit, loom, embroider, card make, scrapbook, I could just keep going!  She in so generous and shares everything she has with me.

Recently she shared this cutting table with me.  It is so nice to have a table that I can put away when I don't need it, is high enough it doesn't hurt my back when I'm cutting fabric and is as wide as  my fabric.  I have always cut my fabric on my dining room table.  It's oval and I've always just made it work, but this cutting table is WONDERFUL!

Cutting Table

I found a nice lining fabric at Jo-Ann's yesterday for the purple sheath dress.  I also bought tan colored serger thread for a sheer poncho that I'm making.  I had hoped to be able to sew most of the day Saturday but my dear hubby signed Girl M and myself up for a hunter safety course!  What a way to spend a Saturday!

Until next time.............................

Bonnie