Merry Christmas! 圣诞快乐! Joyeux Noël! メリークリスマス!

Merry Christmas my sewing comrades! 圣诞快乐! Joyeux Noël! メリークリスマス! I hope you are having a blast with families and friends! What does your family do to celebrate this occasion and what’s your fave thing about Christmas?

My family doesn’t usually plan much for Christmas but this year we decided to start a new tradition. We had some simple Christmas decor, a dinner with turkey, home-made salad, wine and durian log cake as well as wrapped presents under a super tiny Christmas tree just to up the festivity! It was so much fun! Even my parents had a jolly good time 🙂

Next year, I hope we’ll have a much bigger tree so I can sew some decor items for it and have the kids help decorate it. That’ll be super fun!

I am wearing my Festivity Macaron for the first time too! I didn’t make a dress for Christmas as I thought this lovely dress which I have yet to wear went pretty well with the occasion:)

I couldn’t resist putting this photo of my lil princess putting her Christmas present, a baby doll to dreamland. Too cute!

Have a super-duper blessed Christmas everyone!  Jesus, our reason for the season!

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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!

Picnic Macaron Dress

I am in love with my picnic macaron dress. It makes me think of a refreshing al fresco lunch on a breezy summer day,  a picnic with sandcastle building, a barbeque and lots of laughter, even delicious crunchy red apples… it makes me daydream of happy things and brings a smile to a face.

Colette Pattern’s Macaron Dress has one of the most easy to use instruction booklets I have even read. The detailed explanation and graphics made the step by step instructions crystal clear  and simple to follow through. I chose an off white cotton fabric for the top, a blue gingham for the bodice and skirt and a smaller blue gingham for the midriff band which I widened for my version. The original band was a little too narrow for my liking. The fit, like what the instructions highlighted, had very little ease. I measured myself and made a size 6 and I love the fit! I didn’t need to make any adjustments. Yay!

I also love the hidden pockets behind the pleats and the flattering bodice. It was my first time sewing an invisible zipper. I practiced countless times on some extra dress fabric as advised and through the process I got to understand the tips from those of you who so kindly shared with me. Thank you so much everyone who left me tips on tackling the invisible zipper! Eventually, I decided that the method (using a normal foot) on Sew Serendipity was the one I was most comfortable with and used it for the dress. It is on the side shown on this photo and I’m happy with it.

I love that it is so different from the rest of the dresses I have made and a totally enjoyed the process of putting it together!

Dress Pattern Shopping Day

The Sew Convert is not herself today. She is feeling lethargic and lacks the motivation to sew. She is literally melting at 34 degrees celsius!

So, instead it turned out to be a pattern shopping day for The Sew Convert.

Colette Pattern’s Rooibos and Macaron dress patterns are on the way! The Sew Convert can’t wait to make these yummy dresses!

Rooibos Dress

Macaron Dress

My oh my! What other good deal did The Sew Convert discover?  Vogue Patterns is having a two-day sale. Most patterns are going at $5.75! The Sew Convert’s patience had paid off .  These are some of the lovelies that ended up in her shopping cart. Oops:P

Vintage Vogue V1171

Vogue V1158

Besides ordering the vintage jumpsuit pattern she mentioned previously, The Sew Convert also got herself a Vintage McCall pattern with cape inspired collar. The cape collar is full of potential and can possibly go with other outfits!

Now, The Sew Convert is not a ladylike person. In fact, she is most comfortable in her bootcut jeans. However, her infatuation with vintage outfits might be revolutionizing the way she dresses. If so, it would be documented right here on the blog.

While The Sew Convert did not make an immediate purchase, this 1940s Swing Dress from Sense & Sensibility Patterns also caught her eye.

1940s Swing Dress

What’s more, there is a downloadable pdf pattern while all instructions are online! Gorgeous as it is, The Sew Convert shall get this when she is done with the rest:) Who knows, there might be a sale when The Sew Convert is ready!

On a separate note, Grosgrain’s A Frock by Friday was postponed to this week. While tomorrow is Day 2  of the sewalong, The Sew Convert will only be able to continue sewing on Thursday as her mum can’t babysit.  Hopefully, she’ll be able to catch up with the rest. Nonetheless, she looks forward to a fun-filled day with her princess. Fabric shopping might very well be in the itinerary:)