BellaDonna Flower Dress

This dress has been awhile in the making.  My inspiration for this dress is the Bella Donna flower that grows in my front garden every summer. 



It is a beautiful white flower that has a heavenly scent.  I like wearing white and I made the strapless ruffle bodice last May.  I also like the 1960's shift dresses so I also thought of that when I was putting it together.  It was one the first dresses I made without a pattern but I did not like it on its own, so it sat in my unfinished pile.  The material is a soft sheen cotton & is so comfortable to wear so I did not rip it apart. 

When I finished my Tulle Skirt I thought of this dress and decided to make an overlay.  I used the McCall's 6199 pattern but I changed it quite a bit so I basically just used the sleeves & neckline from the pattern.  I also took in the sides to give it more shape.

For the hem I added more length to give it better drape at the sides.

The overlay is a sheer fashion fabric with little hearts.  My fave!

I did a double rolled hem at the bottom.

The white bella donna is one of my fave flowers that I love and during the winter I like to buy a couple to put in my sewing studio as inspiration.  So while I was making this dress I was surrounded by the beautiful aroma of this flower.

It is also my 45th birthday in a few days so I needed to finish this white dress to wear on this black day! lol
 I feel truly blessed with a caring loving husband, & three beautiful daughters that on this birthday I really feel I have enough material items & I would rather just relax & spend the day with them!  All of us dressed in our Sunday best of course!




But my true inspiration for this special post are:

The Princess

 The Model

and Mini-Me

& my elusive husband who does not like to be in pics!

This is my Fashion Friday project this week!

Have a great weekend!

Project Walk Away Dress Take 2

This is my finished Walk Away Dress (Butterick 4790) for the Vintage Sew Along that I joined. This was my first sew along so I am happy that I completed my project!  This was also my first time sewing a vintage pattern.

 The bodice part of the dress is a black retro square cotton fabric that I purchased over 12 years ago!  It was one the first fabrics I purchased when I bought my Singer.

I really like this full circle skirt & I added a little ruffle trim with a daisy charm on the neckline.

I added waist ties that I made my self.  I serged the trim in hot pink for contrast.

 I also sewed all the black trim on my 1960's Singer that is always threaded black.

It was a sunny day for a change but was cold!

I like this picture showing mini-me's shadow (taking the photo)

 This is a fun dress to wear!

The back view.

I really enjoyed taking a silent view in this sew along as so many of these ladies are extremely talented and the issues they had with these vintage patterns were way beyond my expertise! I did learn quite a few new techniques and found that I have a new addiction to vintage patterns & soon will be looking for more dress patterns.

Modern Tulle Skirt

 It has been gloomy & raining here lately so I have surrounded myself with some new spring fabric!  I have started to sew some Spring skirts hoping that winter will soon come to and end!  This is the first time I have worked with tulle and found it not too bad. 

 

 The cutting of the fabric was a little time consuming to line up, and I had to be extra careful in cutting the fabric straight.  I did the gathering on my sewing machine by sewing two straight lines

 and pulling the bottom threads on either side to make a gather.

 This tulle is called a shimmer tulle and the skirt fabric is a stretch cotton from the new Spring Collection at the fabric store.  I bought 4 meters of this modern cotton fabric & plan to sew a fitted dress with the remainder.  I just have not decided on a pattern.  Any suggestions?  This is an A line skirt that is my own pattern & I added the tulle for a little glamor. 

I have not worn a  tulle skirt since I was trained in classic ballet, modern jazz & tap many years ago.  I have been asked to volunteer in a children's ballet class soon & decided to sew my own ballet skirt.  I was surprised by the selection & vibrant colour of the tulle.  After I sewed my ballet skirt I layed it on top of the cotton skirt I had already started to sew and I thought how pretty it looked together. I decided to add it to the outer layer instead of the usual inside.  This is my first tulle skirt design so I thought I would share it with you!

I attached the gathered tulle on to the waist band of the skirt and folded over to sew.  I used my pinking shears to trim excess fabric to keep the bulk around the waist down.

 I purposely did not add too much tulle as I wanted  it too look like an overlay & not a ballet skirt!

Here I am thinking is this too poofy?

I serged the hem in hot pink thread.  The top is made by me with the last of my bamboo fabric using a boat neck pattern.  It is so easy just 2 pieces! 

This was another project that took more time to design than sew!

Project Walk Away Dress - Take 1

 I am participating in the Vintage Sew Along 2011 and I chose the Walk Away Dress Butterick 4790 to sew.  One of the requirements is to make a muslin & then sew your garment. 

This is my muslin even though it it not made of the muslin fabric.  I had this material in my stash & I would use this instead of purchasing more fabric. 

 I changed the neckline to a sweetheart neckline & used part of a leftover heart as a guide.

I really enjoyed making this pattern but I was also well informed by other blogs of all the problems with this pattern.

I found the shoulders are too big & I added front ties instead of buttons.

There is too much of a gap around the sides below arm.

I shortened the length by 4 inches.

 This is a really fun dress to twirl in!!  I also put in a hook & eye in the back bodice so it does not ride up.

 I also found the front bodice to be loose even with darts etc so I gave a little pleat to tuck in.  It changed the look on the front but it fits me better.  When I sew the "real" dress I will add in deeper darts.

 It is comfortable to sit in and I wore it all day.

A couple more twirls because the skirt is so pretty!  This fabric is linen & cotton.

The back.

I cheated & I sewed the hem on my serger in hot pink!

Like I said, I really like this pattern and have made all the changes to the pattern for a better fit.  If I learned anything from this sew along it is that it does make a big difference to sew a muslin (before I thought it was too much work) because you can make all the changes and when you cut into some expensive fabric it will be worth it & your wont have any surprises! I have already started to cut out my fabric for my "real" walk away dress!

 These are the roses my sweetheart got for me today!  I hope everyone enjoys Valentines Day!!

Pretty in Pink Fashion Friday

This is my Valentines dress that I made from hot pink bamboo!! It is another version of my shift dress this time sewn on the serger without gathers in the front. 



I also made the length longer on this dress.

I made up my pattern for the sweetheart neckline.

I sewed the bead feather trim around the neck by hand.

I made this overlay from a fashion fabric that is a new spring fabric collection  that just came out! I love the design & colours of the fabric.

I cut out a hood & made the front part shorter than the back.

 This overlay can be worn several different ways so I can wear it with other outfits.

I took my inspiration for this dress from my new shoes I bought in Las Vegas!

 This is my Fashion Friday Runway project for this week!

Thanks everyone for sending me your fashion sewing links!  I have set up my 1st  linky party to make it easier to post your creations and to visit other fashion sewing blogs!!  You can still link up your fashion project on my previous post listed below to be featured in next weeks Fashion Friday Runway post!!

These are the fashion sewing projects submitted & are my favs for this week!

1.   This is a modern maxi dress submitted by Couture et Tricot just gorgeous!  Check out her blog to see her modern & designer projects!

Thanks Tany you are entered in my Glamorous Giveaway for February!

2.   A beautiful chocolate ruffle top by Seamingly Smitten

Thanks Jenny and because you are also a follower you are entered in my Glamorous Giveaway for February

3. I love this beautiful Heart Dress by Sewing Adicta - check out her blog to see more gorgeous fashion projects made by her!

You are also entered in my Glamorous Giveaway!!

Have a fabulous weekend!!

Mother Daughter Graffiti Fashion

 Mini-me picked out this graffiti fashion fabric last summer and I finally had time to sew her a twirly skirt.  She had originally wanted us to sew matching dresses but with it being cold now I suggested we sew her a skirt and me a top.  We are going out this weekend and she has been asking me to make us an outfit to wear together!

Her skirt was made by measuring her waist and cutting the fabric three times the width. 

I serged the side seams and hem.

 I measured her waist for the sparkly wide elastic waist band for a snug but not too tight fit and serged the seam closed.

I then pleated the skirt with pins every 2 inches and then sewed on to the elastic waist band. 



I sewed the waist part on my sewing machine.

  The length is 16 inches and I added pockets with black trim.

This was a fun and easy project to complete in a few days.  We did the skirt in a evening before I went on a business trip.  I designed the top & cut fabric in a evening when I returned and finally sewed the top the third night.  The top is my own design with a small cut out back.  I folded over the trim but next time I will make bias trim for better strength because it was a bit hard to sew the circle. 

This is my Fashion Friday Runway project for this week!

 

Tany from Couture et Tricot submitted this beautiful modern maxi dress for this weeks Fashion Friday Runway!

Thank you Tany!  You are entered in my Glamorous Giveaway for February!  Go check out her blog to see her beautiful style & creations!  She is so talented!