Perfect Summer Dress - The Jiffy Popover

I've seen so many great versions of the Popover dress sewn up since Gertie's newest book, Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses came out.

The dresses in this book are meant to be quick to sew and the Popover certainly fits the bill. It's essentially one main pattern piece that creates a tent-like dress with no zippers or openings that you can just pull on over your head, and create shape by either belting or shirring.

After reading some other reviews and experiences I decided to size down and went with the 10 (I usually make a 16 in Gertie books) but used the armscye from the 16. I decided to use some lovely deep teal blue gingham lightweight cotton I picked up on our last trip to Paris. I cut it on the bias like her shirred pink gingham version in the book, and decided for a little extra fun I wanted to add a ruffle on the bottom! That made it a tad less jiffy, but it was totally worth it. I wanted to get it done before we left for a little overnight trip, so I wore it belted which was great. I was just able to snap a few quick pics with my phone before we left, here it is unbelted and before I added the fun giant pockets!

              

With a belt!

And with pockets!

 I especially love the different directions of the gingham on the dress, ruffle, and oversized pockets.

 Then when we got back I went ahead and shirred it, and I LOVE it even more! It is so so comfortable and cool and just easy to wear, perfect for summer! I played with the shirring quite a bit, trying it on and adding more where I wanted as I went. Shirring can be addictive!

View of the innards!

I finally managed to get some better photos this weekend! I've been living in this dress and probably will continue to especially as we're about to start hitting 100+ degree weather this week.

It also still looks great with the belt! I love that I can wear it as a lazy lounging comfy dress, or more dressed up with a more nipped in waist and fuller petticoat.

So versatile, super comfy, and COOL which is a must in the Texas summer heat. I foresee this being my go-to dress for the summer!

36th Birthday "May Flowers" Dress

This was a very fun and pretty quick make! I always like to make myself a birthday dress, this year I was in the mood for something flowery and spring-like. (Ok honestly when am I not in the mood for that?) I had this lovely yellow and pink rose Gertie fabric that I'd been hoarding for a while, and decided it was time to use it. I pulled out Butterick 5748 since I wanted a fairly simple pattern that would just let the fabric speak for itself.

I also decided to make up a matching bolero using Butterick 6354. It was my first time using it and I'll definitely be using it again, simple and quick and exactly what I wanted!

As luck would have it, Mccall's was having a Royal Wedding Sew Along and I decided to slap on a fascinator and join in the fun. :-)

I've been sort of stuck in a rut of not finishing things lately, so it was nice to work on a simple project and finish it. Hoping that will motivate me to get all the other stuff done!

A special thanks to my hubby for helping me with some outside pics! I always want to get some but it's much easier to use the remote function on my camera inside where there's a table, lol.

Valentine's Day Dress - Gertie Princess Seam Bodice

Well it has been a little while since I last posted, but I've been pretty busy sewing! My latest make for myself was for Valentine's Day. I used some red/pink gingham shirting I'd had in my closet for a while, and decided to use the princess seam bodice from Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book, and one of my favorite skirt shapes, the overskirt from the Walkaway Dress Pattern B4790 (with pockets added of course), just like I used for one of my first franken-patterns. 

I decided to take the time to get a really great fit for the bodice, and followed the instructions in the book to do a Full Bust Adjustment on a princess seam. I also added length to the bodice, and added width to the 3/4 sleeves. I was extremely happy with the result! I think this is the first time a princess seam bodice didn't squish my bust, and I love that it fits and yet is also very comfortable to wear. 

I will definitely be using this bodice again now that I've altered it to fit me, I already have a couple other dresses to make in mind, and want to experiment with different skirts (gathered, pleated, circle). So stay tuned!

My Inner Child's Fantasy Princess Dress! - McCalls 5731

Last year around Halloween, I came upon McCalls 5731, a great basic princess dress pattern.

 

I fell in love especially with the drawing they made for view B, THOSE SLEEVES!!

When I was little, and as many little girls do, wanted to play princess, I always wanted a "real" princess dress. I didn't want plastic sparkles and throw-away costumes, I wanted a beautifully made gown that was me-sized.

So this year, I decided I wanted to make a version. I didn't have anyone in mind to make it for specifically, but it was just one of those things where I had to get this out of my head and create it in real life, and hopefully whoever it is meant for will find it. :-)

I've been trying to use up my fabric stash, and so I had fun playing around with dying some mint green polyester fabric I had quite a bit of. I used Rit's Dye More that is made specially for dyeing synthetics. I mixed sapphire blue and charcoal, and got this lovely rich blue (which looks almost teal in this lighting, but it's not really).

I loved it! I decided to pair it with some buttery cream fabrics for the front center panel, and use an overlay of the swirly sheer organza I had leftover from the bluebonnet dresses for the center bodice.

I lined the sleeves with a very light blue, to pick up the light blue swirlies in the bodice. I trimmed it with a silver lace for just a tiny bit of sparkle. I loved the combination of all the fabrics, and just kept going until I finished her up this weekend.

In process pic..

I'm proud to say that except for the silver trim, all the fabric I used was from my stash, hooray!

And here she is!

I'm SO in love, it's just what I imagined! I can't describe just how satisfying it is to create what you were hoping to create, it's the best feeling. The only change I made to the pattern was to add a bow to tie in the back, so that it could be cinched in just in case it was a little big.

I also made a hoop skirt to go with it...

...because, I mean seriously y'all...if you're going to go full out princess, you HAVE to have some structure underneath for some serious poofage, amiright? Look at the difference some structure makes!!

I have a little confession...when I see a lovely little girl with a sweet princessy dress that is droopy, it makes me a little bit sad! I always felt that way when I was small too, lol, no half-baked princess gear in my house, I'm an all or nothing kind of gal.

So that's it! Since this wasn't made for anyone in particular, it's now listed in my Etsy shop, (as is the hoop skirt!) awaiting its home. This was such a pleasure to make!

And I'm just as excited about my next project, a gown inspired by Queen Victoria! Stay tuned. :-)