Halloween Regency Dress

It's hard to miss all the Halloween fabrics and patterns in the fabric stores along with the influx of people venturing into the world of sewing around this time of year! I love it (though admittedly I avoid fabric stores on the weekends during October if I can help it!)

I've loved the possibility present in costumes since I was a little girl, I always loved dreaming about what I could be for the next Halloween! Usually this involved some form of pretty dress. But now that I can make my own clothes and costumes, it means I can make my dreams reality any time I want. This is what I love about sewing!! I'm in the process of helping my niece with her costume dreams, which I'll be blogging about once finished. It is going to be amazing!

One of the costuming dreams I'd had since beginning to sew was to make a regency dress, which ended up being my first dress using a pattern! A couple years later, one of the first years in our new home (and where we have TONS of trick-or-treaters!) I thought it would be fun to whip up a quick Regency dress in a blue ticking stripe to hand out candy in. It was a quick job, with raw seams on the inside, but it did the job as a wear-once kind of costume!

I did add elastic to the sleeves, which gave it a cute little ruffle on the hem which I loved!

I made it as a pullover dress, so without any buttons or any closures. In order to pull it in a bit under the bust, I just grabbed a pin, stuck a bow on it, and used it like a brooch.

 In cleaning out my closet I decided I really no longer needed this one, and it would make a great quick Halloween costume for someone else, so I'm selling it on Etsy!

Yellow Fabric Creations and Winner(s?)

Phew, what a week! I'm going to keep this short and sweet so I can get back on track.

The giveaway is a gathered clutch with the combination of the 2 fabrics several people suggested in the comments.







With about half of the fabric I made a Regency Inspired apron, combined with a black check so it reminds me of a taxi, lol. For sale here.



Next is a notebook cover, again with the combination of the two yellow fabrics. I ended up using up nearly all of fabric #2 as well, so that's a bonus! :-) In my Etsy shop here.




And finally, some tissue holders, but with a twist...


RUFFLES! I don't know why it took me so long to add ruffles to a tissue holder, but I love the results.



They're up for sale here and here.

Now for the winner of the gathered clutch...drumrolllll....

RAMONA! Congrats, I'll be emailing you shortly. :-)

Now I have a surprise! Since I was so late this week AND since I ended up using pretty much all of the #2 fabric, I decided to pick a second winner from those who voted for it. They'll be receiving a ruffly tissue holder. That winner is...

JANE! Keep an eye out for an email from me.

Thanks all! Hopefully I'll be able to catch up a bit on all I need to do this week, stay tuned for the next choose my fabric post.

May Giveaway Day

Bienvenue! Welcome to all my visitors today, new and old! I'm so excited to participate in my first Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway day.

My name is Stephanie, and I'm fairly obsessed with gorgeous fabrics which inspire me and give me the itch to make something pretty. My most common use of fabric is to make aprons, and so that is what I decided to give away today.

Then I had to decide which style apron to give away...and I couldn't! So, I decided to let you choose.

My aprons are a little bit different than most, in that I often use the fashion of specific time periods as inspiration for them. The truth is, I never outgrew wanting to play dress-up! So, I see an apron as both a functional, practical aid, but also a quick and easy way to play dress up for a while, even if you're wearing jeans underneath. ;-)

The first apron I ever designed was inspired by the empire waists of the Regency era. If I had a signature apron, this would likely be it! Here I am modeling one of the very first ones I made, so you can see the criss cross back and how it looks on:


And this navy striped Regency Inspired apron is one of the three the giveaway winner can choose from!




Another time period I absolutely adore is the Victorian era, all that fabric so stunningly draped and pleated. LOVE! I played around with some Victorian aprons, but a while back I designed what I called the Milkmaid apron which I think also fits in the victorian category with the overskirt and all. I modified it a bit this time, adding a drop waist, but the cool thing about this one is it has two totally different looks.

First, there's a fun super-full skirted half apron.


But just for kicks, look closely and you'll see some buttons and loops...


to create a kind of bustly, drapey front!


Peek-a-boo! Yes, this is a double layered apron with its own sort of ruffled petticoat underneath.



Isn't it fun? And I just love these fabrics. There's also a pocket...


This is the second of the three choices the lucky winner could choose.

Finally, because I know not everyone is as into antique fashions as I am, I'm offering as the third of the choices one of my more modern designs, what I call the flouncy full apron. Simple and chic!





So if you'd like to enter to win one of these aprons, please leave a comment with:

1. Which apron you like best (1. Regency Inspired Apron 2. Milkmaid Apron 3. Flouncy Full Apron)
2. Your email address (Either in your profile or in the comment, as long as I can find it! If I can't I'm going to have to pick another winner so make sure it's somewhere!)

Entries will be accepted through Wednesday, and on Thursday I'll announce the winner and contact them by email. I will ship to you wherever you are in the world, so everyone is welcome to enter.

Just FYI, I'm currently doing a weekly giveaway series, asking people to help me choose fabrics to use up and then I give away an item made with the chosen fabric. :-) It's a GREAT way to use up my stash! Check it out if you're interested, and if you're on facebook you can follow my facebook page where I post reminders about the weekly giveaway contest so you can enter.

And if you should fall in love with any of my designs and don't end up winning, I do sell them in my Etsy shop! Custom orders are always welcome. Also, whichever 2 aprons don't get chosen by the winner will be up for sale in my shop once the giveaway is over!

Well I think that about does it. I'm so thrilled you stopped by, and I can't wait to check out the other amazing blogs doing giveaways today! Bonne chance!!

Update: Thank you SO MUCH for the wonderful comments and feedback, I'm just blown away by the overwhelming response. Please check back tomorrow morning to find out who the lucky winner is! :-)

It's Been Too Long!

Well it has certainly been much too long since my last post, but a lot has happened since then. My husband and I became homeowners and, of course, I couldn't wait to decorate. My favorite room of all is my sewing room, here are some pics!












With my lovely new room to inspire me, I've finally had the chance to make some new aprons for spring. Maybe it's my walls, but I'm especially in love with springy greens right now!


Spring Vines Retro Full Apron


Red Scroll/Damask Regency Inspired Apron


Spring Green Regency Inspired Apron


Spring in Bloom Ruffly Half Apron

I hope to be adding even more in the very near future. :-)