Still Channelling Dolly Clackett

I had both of theses dresses cut out but ran out of time to sew them before the Dolly Clackett deadline. The first is a sewaholic Cambie with a raindrop pattern. I like it more than I initially thought I would.

The first time I wore I had major gaping, so I added a couple of darts to the neckline near the straps.

 I didn't open the lining, just darted the two layers together. I suspect anyone looking down the front of my dress isn't looking at my sewing techniques anyway. ;D

I'll pinch that out of the centre front pattern piece next time around.  I'll also move the darts closer to the midline; on me they splay a little out to the side.
I didn't use the gathered straps (I'm not a 'gathers' kind of girl) but instead used the strap lining for the inside and outside.

Next time I'll move them a couple of millimeters closer to the middle so my bra strap doesn't show.

I initially thought I wouldn't make this again, but now I am pretty sure I will.

 The second dress is Simplicity 2444 with the Cambie skirt in a seaside print. I had originally thought to go with a sleevless 2444, but I only had three yards of fabric and as I discovered with my crayon dress, three yards is not enough when using a uni-directional print.

It is lined with the same beige cotton as the Cambie
. If I had been more diligent I could have made the darts line up, but one doesn't notice with the print.

Another comfortable, easy to wear dress.

I wore it with the jacket (pre-blog circa 1997) hanging on the door knob -the day started off cool.

The Cambie skirt will definitely be used on its own again. It is the ideal width for cycling and I love the pockets. It was a cool dress to wear in the  33 degrees we had on Thursday and between all the meetings I had that day I put over 40 km on the bicycle.

We may not have had spring this year, but summer has finally arrived.

Apparently I haven't much to say today. I'm usually brief, but this is ridiculous.

Week 2ish M-M/N-B-N-M and McCalls 6708

May 6 - A thrifted kilt and sweater. And wool tights. Wool! It's May 6 and we're starting the day at 0 degrees.  I debated if I should wear mittens instead of gloves on the bike.Oi!

Will the highland fling translater to 'spring fling' weather?

May 7 - Shorts-that-were-once-trousers and McCalls 6708 cotton cardigan (unblogged) , both in the colour best described as puce. A wearable-if-you-don't-look-too-closely muslin. Cotton tights, so at least it is slightly warmer.

May 8. You'll note the Crayon dress is no longer hanging on  the chimney. That's because I am wearing it. With another McCalls 6708 cardigan. I have fabric for several sweaters - I bought the knits last year, but the sweaters did not materialize. They take about 0.9 meter of fabric so I have enough for the sweater and a simple t-shirt from the yardage (?meterage) I bought. Now that I know how easy they are, I hope to put them together quickly; I need them to wear at work. I've yet to figure out why the air conditioning temperature is set a couple of degrees colder than we are willing to accept for indoor tempertures in the winter time. Hence the need for indoor sweaters.

Hmmm. I should wear different coloured tights. And shorten it by 3".

Thursday - I forgot to take a picture but it was nothing memorable; hand-me-down trousers with a thrifted sweater.

Friday -Yahoo! Hand-me-down jeans with thrifted scarf and re-fashioned (felted with zipper inserted) yard sale sweater.

Saturday and a birthday party for a three year old in a denim Hollyburn. And my kinesio tape matches my shirt, how's that for planning?
It turned out to be a lovely day with the temperature topping out at 23 degrees. Luckily I didn't get a sunburn.

Prepare to run fast!

Sunday and Monday I spent in old, purchased, yard-work clothes. And they don't meet the criteria for this undertaking, so there is no point taking a photo.

Tuesday May 13. Rayon challis skirt and dolman sleeved top with McCalls 6708 sweater. I think the skirt and top were from Vogue patterns but I made them pre-blog. Heck, I suspect they are pre-internet since I think I made them in 1989. I am such a packrat -I create my own vintage items.

Standing for the national anthem.

Thank you for reading this all the way to the end. I wish I had a reward for you!

It's pretty hard core. There's been some fruit used and some very inappropriate gestures.

When I grow up, I want to be like Dolly Clackett. She has such fun dresses, made from great fabric and versatile patterns, cute shoes, and a great attitude toward life.

Sarah's idea to celebrate Roisin and Nic's wedding by having the blogosphere make Dolly Clackett-esque dresses is genius.

I'm off to a good start -I already have a few of her favourite patterns in my collection -Simplicity 2444, Sewaholic Cambie, Butterick 5748, and ByHandLondon Anna (tho' I must be the only one in the world who can't get that dress to work for her).

I decided ages ago I would make Simplicity 2444 - a dress I tried once last summer, and I already had three yards of some cute nautical fabric. Then I ran into a snag -three yards of 45" fabric with a one-way design is not enough to make Simplicity 2444. Three meters, yes; three yards, no. So at my first opportunity I galloped off to Marshall's Fabrics to find three meters of a different print. It wasn't that easy. Marshall's has a wide selection, and while I like a quirky print, there is not point buying something that doesn't speak to who you are. If they had something with bicycles, or rowing shells, or maps, I would have been in-and-out in five minutes. As it was, I had a serious snoop that lasted at least half an hour. But I finally found what I wanted, and the dress has turned out well.

So here I am, by my own colourful door. I would have taken the pictures by our front door so I could also have stairs, but our stairs are still covered in ice.

This is the first time my legs have seen the light of day since September. I should have worn tights.

May I present the Colourful Happiness dress. It's odd how something so simple can cheer you up.

And bring a silly grin to your face. Too bad that grin didn't show up in these photographs. I find it hard to take pictures of myself with the timer because it always takes so long to go off- I can't concentrate that long...

Mandatory hands on hips pose.

 My tripod is pretty funny too. However the snow is still rather depressing -hence my difficulty eliminating my dour expression.

I have no idea what that contraption on the stool is, but it works to elevate the camera.

I had to hurry through the outdoor pictures; it was only 8 degrees today.

We haven't dared put away the snow shovels either.

Here is my dress hanging on the chimney. The colours seem even more vibrant against the brick. Very cheerful.

And if you wondered about the print, yes, those are crayons. You can't tell until you look closely. I feel very subversive! Plus, they are all my favourite colours; green, orange, purple, turquoise, blue.

There was very little fiddling with the pattern. Other than lengthening the bodice by about one and one half inches, I made a straight size 14.

I self-lined the sleeves after removing all the ease from the sleeve cap. They would pucker badly on top otherwise.

Plus, my usual trick for back zippers. As long as I can get my head through the neck opening, I sew the back seam completely closed. I then put the zipper so it's about an inch below the top of the dress. I like the neat finish and I don't have to fuss with hooks and eyes, or other methods of closing the top edge. I haven't tried this yet with a lapped zipper, but I expect it would work just as well.

And a serger rolled hem -I was getting lazy.

I expect I will get a great deal of wear from this dress. I'm already planning on wearing it to my office partner's retirement party.

That's the craic on this dress.

Congratulations Roisin and Nic, my best wishes on your upcoming wedding. May the saddest day of your future be like the happiest day of your past!

Fall Sewing Plans

The other day I noticed Sarah is starting the Fall Essentials Sew Along today. I've never participated in a sew-along but, hey, I've got some fall sewing on the adgenda, so why not give it a try.

My fall and winter wardrobe is rich in separates but a bit sparse in the dress department so I am going to attempt more dresses. And more colours. Fall is colourful, but winter can be very bleak, especially
when the sand turns the snow a drab brown colour.

First up - a Simplicity Project Runway in a rayon knit. It is at least one size too small (I bought the pattern at a thrift store), but this is a very forgiving knit so it should work.

These two prints work with both of the solids (so much for my dress resolution) tho' the grey is photographing more as navy. I have already made up the grey into a skirt.

 

I'm going to try this McCalls pattern for the first time on this print. I'm not as keen on it as I was when I bought it two years ago, so it will do as a wearable muslin. I have enough fabric for the 3/4 sleeve version.

The print on the left has a bit of stretch to it so I will attempt to use it in a knit pattern. I have made the top before with a very stable knit so I think it will work. If not, I will add a zipper to aid in donning said garment.
The skirt is my TNT skirt pattern and is already cut out and ready to go.

I have three meters of the green so I should be able to make Simplicity 2444 again (posted about yesterday) with the 3/4 sleeves and the upright collar.

I know I said more dresses, but I am trying to use up scraps. Here is Vogue 1247 with small pieces of
corduroy and upholstery fabric. I made a skirt out of the upholstery fabric but I screwed up the pattern, so it is now sitting in the naughty corner while I figure out my next step.

These next two aren't dresses either, but they are both colourful. For the orange I plan to use the ImageWear skirt and the flowers will hopefully sprout into a Hollyburn.

 

I'll have to see how far I get before I need to start my winter sewing.

How is everone else doing?

Two Muslins; One Wearable, One Needs...Work

I've had a couple of projects finished for a few weeks but I haven't been able to blog about them. First my camera went on vacation with my parents -they were over 20 kilometers from home when they realized they didn't have it, so I loaned them mine. Then it wasn't convenient for The Geek take pictures of the finished items. Just because she would be late for work, or silly things like that! I mean, really, where are her priorities?!?
I finally pinned her the other afternoon while the sun was still out.

This dress I cut out Labour Day weekend. It went together quickly, but it is a trifle to big. (I have to decide if I am going to sew for the size I am right now or hope that I regain the muscle I lost and I return to my former glory, and sew for that size. Decisions, decisions!)

It is a pattern from the late '60s, early '70s that I picked up at the MCC in a major haul earlier this year. Judging by the envelope and the tape on the pattern pieces, it has been well used. I like that in a pattern. The fabric is a quilting cotton in a swirly pattern I felt was very '70s-ish.

I thought adding pockets was a grand idea, but they pull the dress down in strange ways; I set them a little too high.

The back pulls a little strangely too. Those pockets may have to go.

I took in the dress another 1.5 cm at the top part of the bodice but stopped where those dratted pockets are. The more I look at these pictures, the more I realize adding pockets was an ill-conceived idea. I think I'll take them out and run the narrowing seam down the entire side. Later. Summer is pretty much done now so this dress can hang in the contemplation corner for the winter.

This second dress is Simplicity 2444, another MCC score. I bought it in spite of the ghastly green satin number on the outside of the envelope. I have seen this made up in several different ways all over the blogosphere and was glad I glanced at the line drawings before discarding it as ugly.

I had several garden-type parties to attend this summer and felt a garden style dress would be appropriate.

The fabric is from a garage sale for $2 including a spool of thread -we Winnipegger's do like our bargains.

It has pockets. They are in the correct place. Enough said.

This was a quick and easy make and I really like how it looks.

I wanted to have some morning glories in the pictures as they won't be around much longer, but I ended up squinting into the bright sun. A small price to pay I suppose.

I wanted to add details about the construction, but I transferred all the photos from the card when I loaned the camera to parents, and now I can't remember into which file or onto which computer (first world problems), so you'll just have to take my word that the lined bodice made the armholes so much easier to finish.
I've received many compliments on this dress even tho' The Geek (self-appointed Chief Constable of the Fashion Police) does not like it. She thinks the flowers are much too big. I think that just means she won't try to borrow it any time. Win!