Here’s another recently finished project, a winter dress just in time for spring! Or let’s just say I’m getting a head start for next autumn. ;)
The pattern for the bodice is McCall’s M5845 (without the low back), the skirt is just a full circle skirt with added pockets. The fabric is a wool herringbone (has a bit of an equestrian feel to it, I think…let me just go put on my riding boots!) and the dress is fully lined with a cream satin, and the hem and seams bound with satin bias tape.

Time to start thinking about some summer projects now!

by Austin Kleon

;)

A couple of snapshots from my trip to London last month. These are from two different areas that I always make sure to visit when I’m there (for excellent thrift-/antique-/market shopping), Notting Hill (above) and Spitalfields (below). :)

Pink flowers help me pretend that spring is near, even though there is nothing outside that looks remotely like it today.

This is the shirtwaist dress project, round two. I actually started this project before Christmas, with the aim of replacing a shirtdress I already had that I liked the idea of, but didn’t really love. I’m a big fan of shirtdresses but good ones are hard to find – the one I had was made in a thin, flimsy cotton that was usually a wrinkled mess before I even left the house, and the skirt was much shorter than I preferred, so I have been thinking about making a new one for a while. After a disastrous attempt at Simplicity’s 3039 (from 1959) (don’t ask!), I decided the easiest thing would be to make my own pattern for it, so this dress is partly based on an old dress I had (the shirt part) with a full, knife-pleated skirt.

I really like the pattern and think this has the potential to be the shirtdress, but the fabric is still not quite perfect. The weight and drape is right, but it’s still a little too wrinkle-prone and dust-attracting. So the project continues, when I find the right fabric I will make up a version #3!

As I mentioned in this post over at Burdastyle, I am currently forbidding myself to start any new sewing projects until I have finished the better part of the pile of unfinished objects I have lying around (finishing things that I start is a huge challenge for me, I must be strict with myself!).

This slip, made from a vintage Simplicity pattern (2220) from 1947, was started many months ago, but put aside when I couldn’t decide what to do with the seam finishings (I made french seams for the vertical seams, but forgot to plan ahead for the horizontal ones). I picked it up again a few weeks ago and bound the raw edges with white satin bias tape, which I originally thought would be too bulky inside thin lingerie fabric. It worked out alright but I think I will try to find a better alternative for the next version.

I am…quite pleased with the finished project. Being cut on the bias it has a lovely drape, I absolutely adore the fabric, and it fits well, but there are some details that are bothering me. I struggled a bit to get the curved seams on the inset smooth, and on the inside the back facing does not look very good. But it is definitely wearable, and I am already planning to make up another version in black, with a few minor tweaks, and a bit more experience.

P.S. I feel a bit silly sometimes when showing off things I have made or done to strangers (and friends) on the internet…kind of like this:

Can you relate? ;)

I made this dress a few weeks ago, and a couple of days ago it was featured as the Member Project of the Week over at Burdastyle, hooray! See more pictures and details here if you are interested in that sort of thing!

I am considering bringing this blog back from the dead, we’ll see how that goes. :)

Recipe here.
I made this for dinner today and it was amazing!
Though I have a feeling that the massive portion I just had will have ruined all my chances of fitting into the dress I planned on wearing to a wedding this weekend…

Charles de Gaulle, you are sheet. Can’t argue with that. ;)

My computer has finally signed off for good and I am currently without, which partly explains my lack of posting. With little opportunity for editing photos it has put a bit of a damper on the creativity as well, so there has not been much photography to speak of lately either. But here are a couple from last month – I am trying to teach myself how to cook (stuffed a chicken for the first time, yuck.)! So far it’s going pretty well. :)