I Used a Pattern!!!

Yay! I'm so excited...I took the advice of a commenter here (THANK YOU!!) and bought the Regency dress pattern from Sensibility.com , and I was actually able to follow it.

Now, the end result isn't perfect, obviously, but for my first go I'm fairly pleased. I got this great fabric for $1/yard (LOVE the clearance table at Walmart) to practice with:



I definitely learned a lot during the process, including what understitching is. :-) There were a few times I had to re-cut some pieces because I sewed something together backwards, but what really helped me a lot was the pictures in the instructions themselves and the pictures on the sensibility.com website! SUCH a great help for visually minded me!

In the end, it's a tad big around even with the waistband to tie...I have quite a large bosom so I think that had something to do with it. But it was fun, and hey if I decide to go out for Halloween this year I already have a costume!

Oh right! Pictures...







This was my practice run, because I wanted to actually make a slightly modernized version for a family wedding coming up soon. (Yes, to wear out in public, ack!!) I'll be posting the results of that next!

Oh, by the way, just for fun I thought I'd try one of my Regency inspired aprons on over the Regency dress. I think they go rather well together!







(The apron pictured is a tad shorter than my usual aprons...I was trying to use up that lovely fabric! Because of that, it's also $5 cheaper than the others, available at my Etsy shop here. :-)

Tie One On Apron - Havana Nights

I know it looks like I'm just making the deadline, but I really finished this last week and am just now able to post about it, lol.

The theme for the Tie One On apron this time around was "Havana Nights." I actually wasn't sure what I was going to do or if I was going to do it at all, and then I remembered a fabric in my stash that I hadn't gotten around to using yet and was inspired!

Ta-da!











Aren't flounces just so much fun? I think they just make you want to twirl around!

This apron is available for sale at my Etsy shop here!

Some Mini-Me Aprons

The children's half aprons below were made to accompany a Springtime Pink and Green Regency Inspired apron like this one:

I found out why I hate patterns!

I've mentioned before that so far, I just can't do patterns...they scare me and overwhelm me and I just don't "get" them. Show me how a piece of clothing is put together and I can copy it on my own just fine, but a pattern for me is like lots of puzzle pieces thrown about with no box top to help me piece it together.

Sew, Mama, Sew had a great article about different learning styles and why some people may find using patterns difficult.

The visual-spatial learner describes me exactly, and describes the exact problems I have with patterns. I need to really understand and see in my mind's eye precisely how something is put together on the whole before I can even start one step, or I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing or if I'm doing it right. It's why when I think up a new idea for something I like to draw it all out and figure out what goes where and in what order before I even start to work on it. It's a lot easier for me to grasp something I thought up in my own head than to try to mentally create and wrap my head around something other people made up and then describe mostly in words without many pictures, especially because that often means learning new words and techniques I don't even have a clue about.

I'll be attempting a pattern soon with the regency dress pattern I bought...but I read through the (wonderfully simple) instructions and saw online visuals, so I already have a good grasp of how it all goes together, I think. I suppose that's why I'm not feeling as intimidated by this one as I normally am by patterns!

Fascinating stuff!

Mom's Patriotic Apron

So my Mom is very patriotic, and (can you believe it?) I hadn't made her an apron yet! So I decided to make a patriotic apron for her for Mother's day.

I walk in to Joann's and you won't believe what I saw...a patriotic toile!!



So of course, no doubt about it, I had to get that! I got some other fun coordinating fabrics and made her this:







I think the flounces on the bottom are a lot of fun! And what's a patriotic apron without an American flag pocket?



Now she'll be all decked out to bake a nice American pie on the 4th of July! ;-)

Grapevine Apron

And finally, the grapevine apron is finished. I was actually a tad worried about the purple print I'd picked to go with it, this one:



I thought it might be a little too light (and it looks even lighter in that pic, lol), but I really love the combo, more than I thought I would actually! I think it turned out well.






I used a nice deep plum color for the lining, which you can see here:



And yeah, I just had to make a matching card for this one too...

Yellow, Blue, and Green Paisley Apron

It's done!

Here's a closeup of the pocket so you can see the paisley. The yellow/white fabric is the same that was used for the Citrus Apron.







It was lined with yellow gingham, here's a closeup:





Edited to add:

While surfing Etsy I was absolutely inspired by some adorable fabric-covered notecards I saw!! So I made a matching one to send with this apron (as it was a gift).