My Watermelon Dress

On my last post I mentioned that I made 1 1/2 dresses in one day.  I started and finished the pink dress, and finished this one.  When I look at this dress the first word that comes to my mind is watermelon, thus the name of this post.  Although this dress has daisies on it, the green and melon color draws my attention first.

 This pattern is a Simplicity 7629 from 1968.  There isn't one distinct view I followed.  I did not use a bow or neck ruffle but I did add a lace trim around the skirt.  For a 32 1/2'' bust the final dress ended up pretty big on me.  I'm starting to think I'm giving my petite frame too much credit.

Something about this dress makes me feel like a kid.  I'm not sure if I should give credit to the silhouette, the ruffled hem, the fact that it's a bit loose, or the bright colors.  No matter what the reason is, I love the outcome and the way I feel when wearing it.  It is really exciting to recognize that I love each project more than the last, and that I am wearing them more than I ever have!  (I've worn this dress 3 times in the last 2 weeks or so!)

My Pink Dream Dress (And Pattern)

Whenever I picture myself wearing dresses I've made, for some reason they are always pink, floral print, or covered in lace, bows or ribbon.  Rarely thus far has this dream been a reality.  I made this dress with the mind to put all the things I have dreamed of into it. I am in love with this dress, my friends.  It even matches my favorite pair of shoes.

My dream dress was made from a vintage Simplicity 7955 sewing pattern from the 1960s.  I used view 3, but decorated the final product quite a bit.  The dress was so simple to construct. No, really.  I made this and half of another dress (post coming soon) in one day!

I am in love with how basic this pattern is.  It makes a great fitting dress and leaves room to the imagination on how to dress it up be it with ribbon, lace, bows, fringe, fake flowers, rhinestones, or anything else you can think up! 

Please forgive the creases, but I took these pictures after a day's wear.  Ignoring that it needs to be pressed, lets move our attention to the lace details!  They are, in my opinion, what really makes this dress so cute.  I weaved a peach colored ribbon in and out of the lace then sewed two stripes down the front.  But you probably didn't even notice the best part because I haven't shown a close up:

I added cute tiny bows at the top of both strips of lace!  When I look at clothes, I first notice the shape and color, but I fall in love with the details.  I wanted to put all of my favorite details (bows, lace, ribbon, floral, and pink) into one fantastic dress.  May I say mission accomplished? 

Because I have worn this dress so many times, I am planning many variations but I keep going back to the idea of a white lace version with  a turquoise lining peeking through. Possibly a giant turquoise bow on the bust?  Thoughts?

A High Collar And Upcoming Plans

Now would be a magnificent time to mention how I have thrown myself into quite the sewing frenzy.  Today was the start of spring break, and I have big plans.  What are these plans, you ask?  To sew one garment a day.  I have always been a speedy seamstress in my year and a half career and want to take complete advantage of this by pushing my abilities.  I need to because I really want to participate in a Me-Made-May,  meaning I only wear articles of clothing that I have made for the entire month.  I definitely do not have enough pieces to do that. 

If I want a month's wardrobe I will need separates to optimize the amount of outfits I will be able to wear.  I figure this challenge will not only push my sewing capabilities, but also my style.  I might be forced to mix patterns and colors I wouldn't dare before just for the sake of not repeating outfits!  This is a golden opportunity that should not be wasted.

Anyhoo, back to this project.  It is a shirt from Simplicity 5563 (view 3).  

I would have never used this pattern if it weren't for Mad Men.  It would have been one I bought simply because I am a vintage pattern hoarder.  This style of collar is one I shy away from because it is so stinkin' tall!  It scared me a bit. But the women rock these collars in Mad Men.  They look amazing!  So, I simply had to have one too.  Fortunately that didn't come at a big price at all.  I paid $0.50 for the pattern and this fabric was given to me.  

The collar for this pattern actually was quite the beast.  I have no comprehension why but it was inches larger than it was meant to be.  As in 6 inches larger. The dumb thing overlapped itself in the back when the pattern and instructions show the ends not even touching!  It was an easy enough fix, but it was time consuming.  

Have I mentioned that it buttons up the back?

I adore shirts that button from behind. They look classy and are a fun way to mix things up. (anyone out there as obsessed with reverse buttons as I am? No?)

 I am really excited about my project going through this week and I already have two more pieces ready for posting!  

My One Day Project

My most recent project (I started this afternoon and finished an hour ago) was a vintage Simplicity 4213, view 2.  I made my shirt in a vintage floral rayon which was a bit of a problem being that this particular fabric was very thin, and it was exceptionally stretchy.  It is a bit shorter than most modern styles but that is just fine with me since I plan on almost always wearing it with high waisted skirts.  The darts that make the waist fitted will definitely come in handy so I wont have a lot of extra fabric hanging over the bands of my skirts!  If I were to remake this pattern I would probably use one long zipper in the back of the shirt rather than have a smaller one on the side seam underneath my left arm.  Because the waist is so fitted even with the zipper undone, I have to be careful when pulling the shirt over my shoulders.  Overall, I really like this pattern and I love that it is such a fast project. The fact that the pattern was $1 and the fabric was free doesn't hurt either! I do plan on revisiting this soon, but I might try view 4 next.

Belated Halloween

Happy late Halloween! I had no camera the entire day, so I waited for some friends to post pictures from the day.  

This year I dressed up as Max from where the wild things are. I sewed my costume in my three clothing classes because I am always up for a new challenge!

Curtains to skirt refashion

I bought a pair of curtains last winter and as cute as the fabric was, they weren't. So they sat in my basement until yestdrday.  I finally decided to cut them up and turn them into a gathered skirt. I think the final result is fantastic!

I sewed: Tie

I have finally been inspired to start sewing again!  It feels like I haven't done much at all with my summer and I've only got a week and a half until school starts again (my last first day-eep)!  Thank the heavens for this picture to get me back into sewing.

The fabric was actually a vintage sheet I picked up from an estate sale a while back. When I saw the floral print I thought it would make the cutest 1950s style dress but when I got home to open it up, it fell apart. I guess the original owner had cut it up for her own project.  And so it sat in a pile of scraps waiting to be made into something beautiful until today!

what I wore: I sew rockabilly

Holy cow!  It has been an incredibly hot week!  It was the perfect time to pull my hair off of my neck and break in a shirt I sewed a little bit ago, but have only worn once. 

**also, blogger reader goes away tomorrow, so be sure to follow me on bloglovin!**

 

shirt- I made it! 

shorts- forever 21

shoes- jcpenny

scarf- estate sale

sunglasses- jcpenny

purse- kmart

sew for victory challenge: finished dress!

I ended up falling in love with my dress I made for the sew along!  I'm so thankful to Rochelle for hosting Sew for Victory because I really would have never made this dress otherwise.

This dress really did feel like a project someone from the 1940s would have done.  This project costed me no more than $3!  That is including the fabric, pattern, buttons, and zipper.  Not bad at all, right? Everything I used was thrifted vintage.  The "make do and mend" portion really did come into play a lot because the sleeve cuff pattern pieces were missing so I made them up, which wasn't hard at all.  

(I would just like to point out that I was very careful in matching all of my lines and diagonals.) 

dress- made by me

vintage cardigan- estate sale

vintage shoes-estate sale

vintage clipons- estate sale

Sew for victory: sneak peak

It's finished.  I am so relieved that my dress is ready for the sew for victory challenge! After a mini scare because I left my dress in my locker at school and it's spring break, I wasn't sure if I would be able to post in time.  But it is completed and here so check back Monday and see the finished product!

I sewed: plaid button up

 I finished my shirt last week!  It was a very quick project that I loved making, so I'm sure you'll see this shirt in every color and pattern by the end of this summer.  

You will have to forgive me for taking pictures with a mess of fabric on my bed.  Pattern pieces for the 1940s sewing project were being cut out moments before. 

sewing smart in 1948

Do yourself a favor and watch this video.  I found it on Lucky Lucille's blog and couldn't resist sharing.  It really makes me appreciate my vintage dresses that were home made.  They went through a lot more than I do(Hand basting the entire dress first-crazy)!

Sew For Victory! A 1940s Themed Sewalong

I don't think I have been so lucky in my life.  If my new manager hadn't told me I needed to buy different pants for work that were nearly impossible to find, the gems I discovered in the pattern section at the D.I. would be someone else's treasures.  Did I mention I bought 20?? (In case you were wondering, I found pants too!)

The incredible luck plays in because I wanted to participate in the Sew For Victory sew-along,but didn't want to shell out big bucks for a 1940s pattern and fabric.  Not only do I now get to sew a dress from the correct era, I got to choose which one! Five(?) of the patterns I bought were from the1940s.

Here is the one I picked!  I think that I came across vintage fabric at a garage sale will make this even more authentic. The stripes will be the main part of view 1 with the floral print as the collar and pocket accents.

Here's the catch... Rochelle of Lucky Lucille is posting finished projects on March 31st.  I am being completely honest when I say I am not confident in my ability to finish by then.  Wish me luck(I'm going to need it)!

P.S.  I'm going to post a sewing video from the '40s later today, so come back!

my current sewing project

I am loving the button up shirt I'm sewing right now.  Pastel plaids are so pretty! This is my first shirt I've ever sewn, and I'm impressed with myself. The most difficult decision is whether I should make more of these shirts with my pink and mint plaid pastel fabrics or circle skirts.  Oh, the choices.

what I wore: valentine's day

 The big reveal!  I have been aching to wear this dress to school and post about it! This is the dress I sewed for star events(and got silver).

Did I get many stares? Oh yes.  I got many compliments and some not nice looks and laughs as well.  I like to think on the compliments.  Besides, the people that laughed definitely are not ones I want to resemble at all.  My valentine's day outfit was meant to be big and cheesy.  Success!   I made the cherry dress, crocheted an X and O scarf, and paired it with vintage gloves.

dress- I sewed it! 

XO scarf- I crocheted it!

vintage gloves- estate sale