Teal Polka Dot Tea Dress - Butterick 5603

A perfect opportunity arose to jump back into sewing after the trip with a tea party last weekend! It had a candy theme and the invitation said to wear a colorful dress, so I started looking through my stash, both for which pattern to use and which fabric.

I settled on Retro Butterick 5603, view C, and decided to use the last bit of teal polka dot fabric I had for the top part, and a great lightweight, slightly stretchy cotton blend for the skirt.

The skirt went together fairly quickly, the longest part was covering aaaallll those raw seams inside with rayon seam binding! But it's worth it, I just love a pretty inside! I added a pocket, of course, though it wasn't in the pattern.

The bodice ended up taking a bit longer than I thought it would, just because it was a bit brain-twisting to keep straight which part was the front, which was the back, which was the left, and which was the right, as they all looked so similar.

They also overlap, and some of the parts are sewn only to the outside and not the lining, some are left open..it was definitely a brain bender at times! But I got through it, and I think having done it once it would go a lot more quickly if I decided to do it again.

I did add about an inch to the very front of the bust, as I felt it was just a tad high on my larger bust. I hand picked my side zipper, attached it all, and finished off my hem the morning of the tea party. :-)

Then I went and had a fun time tasting teas and enjoying great conversation. It was only then that I came home and took pictures, so my apologies for all the wrinkles! This was after driving for quite a while in the car, which didn't help. I wore this cropped gray sweater with it, I love my cropped sweaters!!

I definitely like the pattern, especially the shape of the skirt and the way it falls!

I think this is the first skirt I've done with paneling like this? But there are several other patterns in my stash that use it, I'll certainly be interested in trying them out after the success of this one.

So I already met my Vintage Pledge goal of 5 projects, but I'll go ahead and add this to my list for the year. :-)

Khaki and Blue Tropical Flower Dress - Vogue 8811

 

So this one is exciting, it's my 5th Vintage Pledge make this year, which means I already reached my goal, woohoo! I really love this dress and I'm already itching to make another version. This is Vogue 8811.

What I loved in sewing this up was its simplicity.

 I did make a few alterations. The largest pattern size was still just a touch too small for my waist, so I actually left out the back darts.

 

 

 

That meant I only had the front darts to sew (which are interesting, because they're cut out on the pattern and at an angle, which you can see on the inside below.)

 

Sorry for the wrinkles and folds, this was after washing it when back from the trip
and not pressing well enough!

 

 

I'm in love with kimono style sleeves lately (and love seeing them in so many vintage and retro designs!). Setting in sleeves is still one of my most dreaded parts of sewing, so any style that gives me a sleeve without having to set it in makes me one happy little sewist!

 

In addition to that, I've done so many gathered skirts lately that I nearly forgot how quick and easy a circular skirt (in this case half circle, I believe) is to attach to a waistline! I even cheated and cut the skirt all in one piece, so I just needed one seam to sew it up (to which I added a pocket, of course.)

 

 

Because my fabric was slightly stretchy, I also ended up omitting the side zipper altogether! So I just pull it on over my head, wiggle in a bit, and it's perfect.

 

 

Speaking of this fabric, I got this years ago, a cotton poplin with a bit of stretch, and I also got it in red, which is what I made my skirt out of for my 30th birthday vintage photo shoot! See?

 

 

As soon as I started thinking about what fabric to use for this pattern, the blue version I still had sitting there waiting jumped into my mind, I think it was absolutely perfect. In fact, if I do make another one, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to love it as much as I love this pattern with this fabric! It's a challenge I'll accept, though. ;-)

The only closure on the dress is a button and loop at the neck on the back, and I had to learn how to make a loop! (Thanks YouTube!) I rather enjoyed it and found it relaxing, I'm looking forward to using that skill more often now (I'd always been afraid of it before!)

The only thing I might change if I make it again is to fully line the bodice instead of using facings. I keep trying to use facings when a pattern tells me too, but every time I just end up finding them a bit fiddly and I always feel like they're about to flip wrong side out (even when I've tacked them and everything.) I did bind all the raw seams on the inside, all the facings, the waistline, and the hem.

Even with the slightly annoying facings, though, I think this dress is a huge success! It went together so quickly and easily, and was so comfortable to wear when touring the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens on our trip to Miami, I felt like I fit right in with all the flowers around me. :-)

Bright White and Yellow Butterick 6175

One of the first projects I planned after giving up sewing for myself at Lent was this dress! It just took me a little while to get to it. :-) I had this yellow sweater, and when I saw the fabric at the store I knew they'd go great together, it was just screaming to be made into a dress.

I thought for a while about which pattern to use and settled on Retro Butterick 6175, an out of print pattern that I had seen and fallen in love with. Luckily I was able to find a copy close to my size on Etsy.

It was pretty simple to put together, the most involved part was the gathered sleeves. I'm very pleased with how they turned out!

 

 

This makes my 4th Vintage Pledge item, only one more to go!

 

I think there are some tab things that are supposed to go over where the sleeves meet the bodice? I'm not 100% sure, but I omitted them as I couldn't really tell from the instructions and didn't think they were necessary.

One of my favorite parts of this dress is the back, I love how the sleeves meet the bodice and the shape they create at the back.

This was my first time doing a center zipper that didn't go all the way to the top.

I did my usual skirt gathering preference, leaving most of the fullness in the sides and back and leaving the front flat.

 

I fully lined the dress since it was largely white, and included a waist stay. There's a pocket as well, of course.

I almost forgot to snap a pic with the sweater that inspired it all, lol, but it works just as well as I'd hoped!

I've really got to work on a happier concentration face!

That's a bit better!

You might notice I'm still getting the hang of using my new camera, which I'm able to use remotely from my phone! (How cool is that?) So while this means I don't have to bug my husband to take a million pics of my projects, I still need his help with the gadgety stuff when I'm confused!


A little higher, I think...

Thanks for the help, dear! :-D