Butterick 5079 - A dress with a twist!

This Butterick Suzi Chin designer pattern has been in the stash since it was first printed in 2007.  The pattern back says: "Unsuitable for obvious diagonals, plaids or stripes".  Well - I beg to differ on the stripe comment.  With a few layout changes, I think it works perfectly with stripes!  For starters, I eliminated the seamline on the center front and center back skirt portions because who wants to match a stripe when they don't need too!

I raised the center front V by 1.5 inches.  It was way, way too low for my small bustline.

Ok, bragging time - just look at my stripe matching on the skirt sides!  

I also eliminated the center back zipper.  My fabric is very, very stretchy so the zipper wasn't needed.

 The twisty front portion gathers at the sides and pairs up with a separate gathered belt like piece around the back.

I purchased the knit at Fabric Mart earlier this year and after making this dress, I still have a little bit left over.  Maybe a t-shirt?

Latest Stashbustin' Stats:

Yardage for this dress = 2.5 yards
YTD yards sewn = 46.25 yards
Remaining yardage to reach 100 yard goal = 53.75 yards

Happy sewing everyone!

Star

A very quick sew - my fave turtleneck

It's 100+ degrees outside and what better to sew than an Winter Turtleneck!  This is a super quick sew and I needed to make some room in my fabric stash for some new gems I recently purchased.  I knew this would free up some much needed space quickly so here you go!

This knit was purchased at the Sewing Garage Sale earlier this year.  There was a total of 1.25 yards for $2.50.  Not a bad price!

I used the serger to sew up the top and the coverstitch to hem it.  Total time - maybe an hour to cut out and an hour to sew?

Just a quick post today!  Hope everyone is doing well!

Latest Stashbustin' Stats:

Yardage for this top = 1.25 yards
YTD yards sewn = 43.75 yards
Remaining yardage to reach 100 yard goal = 56.25 yards

Happy sewing everyone!

Star

Oh Matilda - How do I love thee?

I just can't get enough of the Megan Nielsen Matilda pattern - I love it!  This is version #3 and my May MAGAM Challenge garment.  The theme for the May MAGAM was "May Flower" and this gorgeous floral print fits the bill nicely!

I purchased this quilting cotton at a quilting garage sale earlier this year.  There was only 3 yards in the roll so I wasn't sure I could squeek out this dress out of what I had.  The pattern calls for 4.375 yards so I was quite a bit short.

I ended up piecing the bottom skirt panels together on the lower corners.  There wasn't enough fabric to pattern match my piecing, but - can you tell?  And I didn't have enough fabric for the patch pockets either.

There are alot of buttons on this dress - a total of 13 and I had these red buttons in the stash that match the red flowers perfectly! 

I think this could be my favorite version yet!  I just love this fabric!

Latest Stashbustin' Stats:

Yardage for this dress = 3 yards
YTD yards sewn = 42.5 yards
Remaining yardage to reach 100 yard goal = 57.5 yards

Happy sewing everyone!

Star

It's Catch-up Week!

It's been over a month since I've posted.  I have been sewing, just not alot of blogging happening in this space so it's time for a catch-up post.  First off - catch-up on Me-Made-May and April MAGAM challenges.

Me-Made-May - What did I learn?

I committed to wearing one Me-Made every day for the entire month with no repeats.  During the week was easy as I have a bunch of clothes to wear to work, but I really struggled on the weekends.  Casual clothes for just hanging around the house or running errands is where I need to focus more attention on.  Even just a plain t-shirt is lacking in my wardrobe - so I'll be making a few of those in the coming months.

April MAGAM Challenge

The theme for the April Challenge was "Alternative April".  This was a head scratcher from the start for me, but then the lovely @SarahLizsewstyle suggested suggested I make something plain.  PLAIN?  Hmm - well yes - that would be alternative for me!  So I found two plain knits I had in the stash to make some tops - a grey and a royal blue.

I selected Vogue 8856 as my pattern.  View A would be out of the grey knit and view B would be the royal blue.  I know what your thinking - that pattern isn't plain at all! 

Knowing that ruffles aren't my thing, I changed the back of View A to have the small triangle piece of View B instead.  That was ok, but it went downhill from there.  Here's a lesson in pairing the wrong fabric with the wrong pattern.  My knit was just too thick to make for a nice drapey neckline and the ruffle in the front sticks out too much for my liking.

Not sure if the necklace works either....

The back is better with the triangle piece, but I think just a straight back without the triangle would have been better.  The less attention I draw to the bubble butt backside, the better. 

All in all, this top is destined for the donate pile.  I really can't see myself being comfortable when I wear it.  Oh well - you win some, you lose some!  As for the blue top - it still remains in the UFO bin.  The front drape on it falls way, way to long and frankly, I just got fed up of working on it. 

Latest Stashbustin' Stats:

Yardage for this top = 2.125 yards
YTD yards sewn = 39.5 yards
Remaining yardage to reach 100 yard goal = 60.5 yards

Happy sewing everyone!

Star