Cream Dress (a la Jackie Kennedy)

As mentioned before, with a little imagination and willingness to try things, this coat pattern has limitless uses. Essentially, it's a starting point, or a base.

For the dress below, I cut the front piece on a center fold, making one solid piece. I also changed the neckline, added front and back darts, a zipper to the back, and created cap sleeves.
The fabric is a soft synthetic knit with a bit of weight to it. Needed to be lined, but not so thin as to be see-through.

Now if only we were having a Christmas party at work, this would have been perfect for the occasion.

Pencil Skirt and Boat-neck top

I was inspired to create this outfit by a photo of actress Kate Beckinsale. I really enjoy the vibrant shade of purple, and had my own fabric not been completely free, I probably would have gone for a similar tone.
I think my version pretty much hit the mark though:























There is a nice sleek side-pocket on one side, invisible zipper on the other, and kick-pleat for ease in walking.

And my favorite accessory for a great skirt? A big honkin' belt.

SweaterSkirt

Much like the aforementioned "Sweaterdress", this skirt was made from a thrift-store sweater. The torso of an over-sized men's sweater was in great shape and the natural lines of the knit almost resemble pleats the way they hang. It required little more than to cut off the sleeves and neckline, sew the front button closure closed, and add a waistband. Very comfortable for the office!

Coral Jacket: Complete :)

Hard to believe the hardest part of this whole piece was the front welt pocket, which required two tries.
The fabric was great to work with, and the pattern came together very easily. The shoulders, which I assumed would be 'somewhat' poofy were actually really REALLY poofy, and required some alterations to bring them down to a more manageable size so that I didn't resemble a linebacker quite so much.
Overall, very happy with the results.

Coral jacket: prep-work

All the pieces are cut out :) Take a peak at the pattern for the lining:

Mini Blazer, and Kick-pleat Skirt

The newest up-and-coming projects:













I have the pieces for the mini jacket (featured in the gown pattern at left) cut from a coral/orange cotton, and lined in a red, tan & black print.
Still hunting for the right fabric to use for the skirt.

Mouret's 50's Dress

I went looking for this dress (or something like it) and was thrilled to find a pattern that fit what I was looking for so very closely.
My version ended up being quite a bit more conservative than Demi Moore's Roland Mouret design.

Though I wouldn't mind taking another stab at it, with a much more casual, clingy fabric.



















This piece was started two years ago. After painstakingly piecing the complex pattern together I found that the entire shape was far too wide across the chest, causing it to buckle through the front and dig in under the arms. I guess my frustration got the best of me, because I put it away until last week, when I dismantled it and added some princess seams to the front to narrow the bust line.
I think it was worth the wait. :)

Asian Silk Sheath

This dress took form after I had housed the fabric (some sort of Asian woven, shifty, fray-crazy, silk afghan found at the Salvation Army in the bedding department) for well over a year, trying to decide what to do with it.
I didn't use a pattern at all, and just cut out the pieces according to the varying print of the fabric:
It is actually a detailed scene, with a great tree and animals on the front and floral scrolls on the back. I used the border of the scene for the bodice and hem.

Another dress I have yet to actually wear anywhere. (Maybe I need to go out more?)

Wide-leg Trousers

With 3/4 length 'Gouchos' being a declining trend which I was very happy to see leave the fashion industry, I kept these as full-length trousers.
I used a very thin gray cotton, one which I've discovered wrinkles very easily. Also added two decorative steel-gray buttons on each side, to the emphasize the angular pocket lines.

Though hard to see in this photo, the bottom of the pant is wide enough to cover any shoe, but at the right length they work great with heels.

"The Sweaterdress"

Ah, the sweaterdress.

An object of much contention among my friends.
Made by merely attaching the torso of one thrift-store sweater to the bottom of another, it is one of the most comfortable articles of clothing in my closet. It received mixed reviews from the peanut gallery- Carolyn hated it and thought the idea was a bit silly. Jess loved it and wanted one of her own.

Ideally I would have done this with two identical sweaters, for the continuity of the form. But working with the options I had, I elected to use two similar coordinating tones, rather than two completely different colours.

One Pattern: 3 Coats

This is by far the most-used pattern I own. It's a simple base that can be altered and transformed a million ways with a little creativity...

Over three years, I made three very different coats using this pattern (as well as the aforementioned dress, posted below). One coat each fall, when the air just begins to turn chilly.



















In hindsight I had chosen a pretty challenging fabric for my first try. But my old sturdy machine didn't miss a beat and the shifting, fraying, stretching weave formed a classic cut.

My favorite element of this model is the over-sized covered buttons.












This was a bit more of an experiment! Made from another dollar-store printed bed sheet, and lined with thin baby blue fleece. The pink tones and bell sleeves make it a playful piece.
I omitted clasps on this one, as it was more of a cozy blazer, but layering a belt made it much more wearable.















The Green Winter Coat. mmm, my favorite:
Deep green corduroy, fully-lined with chocolate brown teddy-bear fur (including the pockets!), and finished with pull-over toggle clasps.

My inspiration:
clipped from a magazine... at the time I was disheartened to find no green felt coating at the local fabric store, but the corduroy is very durable.

Several lessons learned in this project:

a) fur-lined pockets are cozy, but puffy. they had a bit of a spoiling effect on the sleek silhouette of the inspiration photo.
b) long-sleeve shirts worn in fur-lined sleeves will twist when walking, arg!
c) cleaning up bits of fur in my apartment afterward, looked like a teddy-bear massacre had taken place.

Printed Peasant Dress

When I'm broke I find all excuses to sew, because it can be a fairly cheap form of entertainment and it saves me from getting a case of the 'wants' during new fashion seasons.

I made this dress from a bed sheet sold at the dollar-store, using an altered pattern for a coat. It turned out well, however I am yet to actually wear it anywhere.

Empire-waist Top

Even though this is technically a maternity top, I really like the silhouette. It did, however, require a fair amount of alterations to fit properly on a small frame.. or perhaps I had the wrong size. But with a little tweaking it turned out just fine.

I used some left-over fabric to create a seamless-look tank top; a great staple for the office.

Yellow Lace Top

One of my first experiments in pattern-making! I made this top out of an old tablecloth and some yellow lace found at the Salvation Army. I believe I had some sort of a basic pattern for the base, but then created the collar and cap-sleeves on my own. The end-result was somewhat stiff to wear due to the thickness of the underlay fabric, but I loved the way the sheer collar stood straight up on its own, even though it was a soft lace.

Gold Halter

This halter (no pattern) was a bit flawed by a super high bust-line, but it did make a decent top for a night out with friends. Basically I was in love with the fabric and had to use it for something.

I believe I also attempted a pair of pants with a side-panel of this same gold patterned fabric, but they were were abandoned before fully taking shape.

Green Cargo Pants

This was my first attempt at pants! I chose a cotton-blend fabric with lots of give, but some thickness similar to denim. I like the side pockets, which give them a casual cargo-pant sort of feel.

Welcome to my newest blog, home to my trials and tribulations as a seamstress and make-believe fashion designer. Starting off with a brief history of my creations to date, I'll keep you updated on my newest projects and the disasters that inevitably accompany their evolution.