Thursday Thoughts 7/13/2011

• The Vogue 1250 remake is such a fun dress to wear. I told my co-workers I borrowed it from Tarzan!
• Speaking of Vogue 1250 I made another version of it last weekend and it too was a miserable failure. Why? you ask...think sausage casing.
• I used the correct fabric but sewed it without alterations. Big mistake. I'm going to try it one more time this weekend. If it doesn't work, I'm done.
• I'm currently working on Butterick 5600. I'm using a blue and white stripe seersucker.
• I'm starting to have visions of a housedress. We'll see how that works out.
• My husband washed a load of his clothes complete with an entire pack of chewing gum in is pocket.
• I should have suspected something when I opened the washer and everything smelled minty fresh!
• Wouldn't you know I wanted to wash some fabric!
• I only lost .3 lbs last week. At least I didn't gain.
• I'm getting a new car for my birthday next month. Yippeee! We're already looking.
• I'm obsessed with sewing dresses right now. Last summer it was jackets.
• I cannot justify buying one more pair of shoes!
• I love teaching sewing classes.
• JoAnns sewing classes are too expensive.
• I absolutely love Hummus and can eat it every day.
• I need a vacation.
• I have a doctor's appointment Monday. My knee has been killing me.
• I didn't sew today although I had intentions.
• I had to go to work with chipped nail polish because I was out of remover. That won't happen again.

Vogue 1250 - The Redo

Remember this dress? I wasn't happy with it and decided to make McCall's 6319 out of it.
Pattern Description:
Fitted dress with tapered skirt has lined bodice and elasticized waist
Pattern Sizing:
8-22
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
I made View C and yes I think it looks like the pattern envelope, do you?

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes, the instructions were easy to follow...if only I'd followed them. Totally because of operator error I had to take the bodice apart twice. In doing so I stretched the fabric badly and had quite a bit of my bra showing at the underarm. It was not until I started to sew the skirt that I realized I had so much bra showing because I cut the top at 22 at the shoulder instead of a 16. I knew I wouldn't be happy with it so I took it apart a third time! Yikes! Way too much work for about $7 worth of fabric. Sometimes you just have to tough it out to show yourself you can do what you've set your mind to.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like that the pattern didn't use a lot of fabric
Fabric Used:
I'm not sure what the exact fabric content is but it is probably a Rayon a knit that is very drapey and lightweight
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
The fabric was much too flimsy for the Vogue dress and I didn't feel comfortable in it. The fabric was actually to flimsy for this one too so I wound up lining the entire dress. I had enough fabric left over to cut a new from. I used the front of V1250 skirt to cut the skirt back, cut the new back from the old back with a center back seam and cut the front from the previous upper front. I was really pressed for fabric.

I noticed that other Pattern Reviewers didn't but I felt the pattern was just screaming for a left side bust dart.
I also added 2" to the bodice with additional 1 1/2" to the skirt length.

I feel that the fabric necessitated extra stabilization measures

I added a full lining of a lightweight knit fabric I had in my stash. I didn't use the top lining piece but instead the actual front and back pattern pieces.

I used the idea from the Tracey Reese Vogue 1224 dress for the elastic casing.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I do have fabric to make it again and might make a different view. It is very easy and a quick so, so yes I would recommend it to others.
Conclusion:
All of a sudden I'm obsessed with linings. This is the third dress I've lined this summer. More times than I've ever lined summer dresses before!

July 4th Sewcation

Hi all. I don't have any plans for the 4th other than to have a three-day Sewcation! Yay! I'm still working on the Vogue 1250 redo. Would be done had I bothered to follow the instructions :-(  I do hope to finish it later today. I went to JoAnns (no comments from you Carolyn) and picked up a couple of fabrics from the half off clearance rack and I feel a couple of dresses coming on.
While a lot of women seem to have issues going sleeveless and showing their arms, I'm not and have never been one of them. Hell, I got carded at the grocery store earlier. Anyway I am absolutely in love with dresses this summer--not skirts and tops or slacks, just dresses. I'm just going to run with it. I'm also loving belts. The wider the better.
Last week one of my co-workers commented on how nice I looked and said she had never noticed me ever wearing the same outfit twice! Huh! Okay I do have a lot to choose from but I try to rotate what I wear and try to never wear it the same way twice even if it only means changing up the shoes and jewelry. I will say that next to myself, she is the best dressed. There is a dresscode at my job but almost nobody follows it. I see so much cleavage, spandex, too tight everything, unironed, and flip flops that I could scream. You'd almost think I worked at a strip joint. I try to ignore it and lead by example but it doesn't seem to be working could be because the office manager is one of the main culprits! When I mentioned to one young lady that she shouldn't be using profanity, she had the nerve to be insulted. I could go on and on but I'm sure you get the idea. Wasn't I supposed to be talking about the 3-day Sewcation? I'm not sure where that came from but I do feel better now that I've gotten it off my chest.
So in the coming days there is a good chance you'll get to see Vogue

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Stay tuned.
Check out my husband trying to sew. It wasn't pretty