A Sunny Day Dress

I’ve finally completed my Alexander Dress from Grosgrain’s ‘A Frock By Friday’.  This is not an easy dress to sew so I loved the challenge of tackling it. It’s the first time I learnt I could cut open a dart, gather one side of it, sew it back to create cute sleeves like these. Grosgrain’s detailed and clear sewalong instructions made constructing this easier.

The sewing pattern for the bodice came from burdastyle’s Alexander Blouse.

I normally sew using a size 38 pattern but for this dress, I used a size 36. I elongated the center front seams by 1″ each, dropped the waistline by 2″ and lengthen the peplum by 4″, so it would hit the hips. I also added a fire engine red bias to the waistline before attaching the peplum as I thought that would accentuate the waistline and it would go well with the huge red buttons I used.

I didn’t use the free McCall pattern recommended by Grosgrain but the skirt pattern from a vintage sewing pattern. My overused vintage butterick B5032.

I thought they looked rather similar, but my vintage version might be narrower and I could save some trees 🙂 However, I did shorten the length and change all pleats to darts at the top of the skirt. The skirt is lined as cotton voile is a little sheer.

For the back of the dress, I used an invisible zipper but it does not start from the top but around chest level at the back. The top has a hidden button attachment (Are they called press studs?).

The fabric is from Anna Maria Horner’s collection and is extremely comfortable to wear. My favourite part of it is the front bodice with the pleats and red buttons.

I hope you like it too.

My weekend starts tomorrow as it is a public holiday in Singapore, so happy weekend in advance!

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Festivity Macaron Dress

I caught a terrible cold last Thursday and have not been able to sew. My second macaron dress was almost completed with the exception of the invisible zipper and the hem. It has been a rather frustrating wait for me, staring at the unfinished dress but not being able to do anything to it until this morning. Here’s my festivity macaron, so named because I thought it would be so appropriate to wear for the next lunar new year celebrations.

I really enjoy the process of making a garment for a second time as it always turns out better technically. I made everything like the first dress with the exception of the pockets. I didn’t include them this time round as the fabric combination has already made the garment rather busy so I wanted the design to be more simple. The top yoke was made with Anna Maria Horner’s Social Climber while the bodice and skirt, Michael Miller’s Ta Dots. I used a solid pink fabric for the midriff band.

While I was unwell and couldn’t work on the dress, insecurities crept it as I ended up wondering many times if the fabric combination would work out. I even had Plan B worked out in my mind just in case. Here’s a photo I took to compare the dresses on Thursday.

I showed the dress to my mum and husband that night. My mum liked it while my husband said he could only tell when it is finished. When he came home on Friday evening, I realized he had checked out the Picnic macaron dress on my blog and told me he thought the colors from the Festivity version goes better with my skin tone. How sweet is that? I really appreciated him taking time to ponder about it and for his encouragement. Otherwise, I might not have completed the dress. Sometimes, I find it rather tough to determine if a fabric choice will turn out well for a particular project and am left wondering till the garment is completed. There were even times when a garment looked nice during fitting but the end product is hideous. How do you make a decision on your fabric choice. Is there a method that always works for you? Are there colors or prints you would never wear? I am still trying to figure that out but normally it is just a gut feel. In this case, I just happened to put two fabrics which I loved together.

I have decided to make one more dress for my dress week, inspired by this post by the Selfish Seamstress so I would be starting on a new theme next week. I’ll tell you more about the theme at the end of the week but I’ve started washing the fabrics in anticipation of it but am absolutely clueless. It is something I have never tried before and the language difference is going to be a challenge.  Nonetheless, I’m going to try my best and enjoy the process.

Have a blessed week everyone!

Scarf Sunday

I sort of  made a scarf sometime back and wore it today. I said sort of because this was such a beautiful fabric that I did nothing but stitched some hems and it was done. I happened to find a matching ring in my ring bag and wore them with a simple grey knit dress. Somehow, wearing even a simple Made Me accessory can brighten up my day!  Happy Sunday everyone!

Another irresistible print from the Anna Maria Horner Little Folks fabric collection

Little Folks Blouse

This is the first time I sew with voile and I’m in love. This fabric from Anna Maria Horner’s Little Folks collection is so soft and so comfortable especially in the perpetual summer we have here in Singapore.  The fabric, despite its sheerness, ceases well and is a dream to sew. The areas where you see little white dots (front and back facing, end of sleeves) are the reverse side of the fabric. I decided to use the reverse on some parts of the blouse to add some variation and I thought it turned out pretty cute. The pattern is from Wendy Mullin’s Sew U book. A variety of pink buttons were used on the front and sleeve of the blouse. My mothers’ day gift to myself. Happy mothers’ day!

A closer view of the front facing.

Here’s the back view with the back facing. I managed to match the lines:)