Pattern Review | Butterick 5950

I saw this amazing fabric at Joann a couple of weeks ago and completely fell in love with it. As I stated several weeks back, I have been on a self-imposed challenge to not buy any fabric for the rest of the year. When I saw this fabric, I had it in my shopping cart, walked around the store with it, put it back and left the store. Then I went home and dreamed about it. I went back within the week and purchased the fabric LOL.

Make a Garment a Month Challenge | November Garment

For my November garment I'm choosing Vogue 2237. It is a strapless floor-length gown with a long sleeved bolero.

 

This dress will be for a formal we're going to in mid-December. I'm starting early because I've never made anything like this. The dress includes a foundation complete with boning. Plus we're going out of town the week of Thanksgiving. When we get back I'll have a week until the event. My hope is to get it pretty much finished prior to leaving. And I can take it with me to do any hand sewing that needs to be done. I need to put my machine in the shop for overdue maintenance while we're away so taking the sewing machine with me is not an option.

 

Make a Garment a Month Challenge | My Completed Garment + Pattern Review

I actually managed to complete 2 other garments this month but this one is my official garment for the Make a Garment a Month Challenge.

I worked on this a little bit here and there (and then made a couple other garments in between) but this is definitely a pattern that can easily be completed in a few hours. This pattern is out-of-print. If you have it in your stash, this is a quick gratification project.

 

UPDATED TO INCLUDE A PIC FROM WHEN I ACTUALLY WORE THE DRESS OUT. THE PREVIOUS PICS WERE JUST TAKEN AT HOME. HUBBY TOOK ME TO SEE THE CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA FOR MY BIRTHDAY.

What was I thinking? | Pattern Review: Vogue 8789

Ever ask yourself this question after you've taken on a task? Last Sunday my husband and I decided we would attend a banquet that upcoming Saturday. And of course of course of course I wanted to make something to wear. It had to be a fairly simple pattern because I didn't have very many sewing days. The event I previously posted about was on Friday of the same week. I finished the tutu on Tuesday, cut out the pattern on Wednesday and got started. I worked on the dress in the evenings after work so that really only gave me Wednesday & Thursday. Friday evening was the Trunk or Treat event at church. Saturday morning I had a meeting and then the banquet was that evening.

Saturday afternoon as I was hemming the dress while sitting under the hair dryer I asked myself repeatedly "What was I thinking?"

I did manage to finish the dress but it needs some tweaking before I'll wear it again. I wanted to make a petticoat to wear underneath but I just didn't have enough time. Here is a pic of the dress as worn and a review for my fellow sewers.

When I Grow Up...

I often (jokingly) say to people:

"When I grow up, I'm going to be a ballerina, a Dallas Cowgirl and a racecar driver".

So when the time came that I needed a costume, of course I had to be one of those things, right?

At our church we offered our children a safe alternative to Trick or Treat called TRUNK or Treat. The adults wore costumes. We were SUPPOSED to decorate our cars and pass out candy from our open trunks (hence the name). I think all the adults got caught up in the excitement of wearing a costume and only one person decorated their car LOL.

Nevertheless, when I gave my "when I grow up" speech to explain why I was going to be a ballerina, my sister-in-law challenged me to figure out a way to incorporate all 3. Hey no problem. As long as I get to wear a tutu.

And of course the tutu is DIY. I had 40 yards of white tulle left over from my wedding decorations. (Don't ask). Now that would have been plenty to make a tutu but I mean what's the point in wearing a tutu if there's no pink on it? I purchased 8 yards of pink tulle from Joann. The tulle is approx. 54 inches wide. The white tulle was the same width. I had made a tutu before for my niece. I pretty much used the same method to make mine. There's a ton of tutorials out there so I won't bother. I Googled and found this post from Momdot.com

I simply cut my tulle into 6-inch strips and left it WOF. I should have shortened it but I had another project on the horizon and needed to finish the tutu quickly. I completed the tutu in the time it took to watch a movie.

Anyhow, here is the finished project. My cowgirls (t-shirt) ballerina (tutu) racecar driver (driving gloves) costume.

 



Everyone had a blast - young and old. And I got to wear a tutu. :-)

Even though I did purchase pink tulle, I'm counting this project as part of my stash buster challenge. I used 9 yards of the white tulle I had in my stash.

Make a Garment a Month Challenge .:||:. My Garment for October

Well I'm off to a bit of a late start in the challenge. Luckily the garment I've chosen is a UFO and I already cut it out - about a year ago.

I have chosen Vogue 8305 (View C). I believe this one is now out of print.

Challenges

A couple of months ago, I realized I have entirely too much fabric. And even though I haven't been finding much time to sew (for myself) , I kept buying fabric. I looked at my stash and decided to go on a Fabric Fast.