Making of a Toile



This is the toile for a dress that I am making.  I can honestly say I never used to make a toile (muslin) before but since I participated in the Great Vintage sew along earlier this year I have learned the advantages of taking the time to make one.  For this dress pattern I cut to my size but as you can see I need to do a FBA as it looks & feels tight. 

This fabric is similar to the one I am using for my dress that I got on sale for less than muslin would of cost here in Vancouver.  I bought 10 meters & have been using it to make most of my toiles.

This is also a "easy" pattern....but I have found out the hard way that sometimes it is not so easy for me.  When I make a toile though I have no surprises and the sewing goes smoothly because I have worked out any pattern issues & have sewn it at least once.

This top is my own design that I drafted on white tracing paper and I made this toile...........you can see the shoulder seam needed to be taken in & if I had just blindly sewn it together this project would of ended up in a pile of garments to be fixed!  From this toile I ended up making a top & a dress.

I will also be making a toile for a Vogue jumpsuit that I want to sew but have not yet found a similar fabric to the matte jersey that I will be making it in.  Do any of my awesome followers who followed me here to my new blog url.........(btw ..thanks it meant a lot to me)  have any suggestions for the toile fabric or can I use a inexpensive knit/poly fabric?

Sew you later!

Friday Fabulousness....DKNY Vogue 1250

I must of have been living under a rock these past few months because I did not know there were so many fabulous versions of this dress in blogsphere!  I first saw this dress on Tany's sewing blog & I thought it would be a easy first Vogue pattern for me to make.   I was having problems with the shoulder seams so I googled Vogue 1250 and sooo many talented seamstresses have sewn this dress.    No one seemed to have my newbie problem though......but once I re read the instructions.....I got it!  I agree that it is an easy dress to sew.  I used this Electric blue jersey knit that is the same colour as Betty's gorgeous jumpsuit as inspiration.

This pattern has only 3 pieces........I cut out a size 12.........

I used a zig zag stitch......

I also read that some had left out the back neck facing & used other methods.......but I used the facing and was pleased that it turned out well!

I was lazy and did a zig zag doubled rolled hem.......

When I first tried it on.....I was not happy with the way the front fabric kinda rolls & droops across your middle but my critics (3 daughters) say that it looks fine & the "husband" really likes this dress.  I am wearing it tonight out to dinner with him.  I will sew this again but with a matte jersey or rayon jersey blend.....I have limited fabric selection near me and have to trek out to the suburbs to even find matte jersey and even then there were only 3 colours to choose from.  This dress took me around 3 hours to make including cutting out the pattern!

Here are some links to this dress that I found:

Erica B.

kimsewsilly

sewingfanaticdiary

adrienneslittleworld

themahoganystylist
kadiddlehopper

Wishing you a weekend of fabulousness............

Vogue Affair

Thought I would show you some of the patterns I am sewing..........Vogue.......

I just bought this matte jersey today to make this jumpsuit........it might be a little above my sewing skills.....but I am going to try!

I have started to sew this cowl style as my first Vogue pattern.....I was inspired by Tany's version of this dress.  I will be using this Electric blue jersey knit fabric for mine....... inspired by Betty's gorgeous colour of her jumpsuit

I also want to make a wrap top of this tiny polka dot knit......so I will use one of these patterns to try and modify it.

Lastly.....to go with the wrap top.....I want to make some high waisted shorts (with the buttons) with this pattern in black Ponte de Roma.

What are you making this summer?



Red, White & Blue



Hi There......

This is my first post to share with you under my new blog name........I love dressmaking and this my little spot in blogsphere to share my dressmaking creations with you......hope to inspire you if not just to give you something a little different......as my designs are not always on trend nor are they the same as everyone elses........as I like to mix it up!

This dress came about by me looking for fabric for the making of a skirt for our Canada Day celebration........there was a limited selection of fabric but there was an abundance of red, white & blue fabric!  This fabric was at the back....... high up peeking through for me to see these gorgeous flowers............I love florals and I loved this bold fabric.



This fashion knit fabric was perfect for a summer dress I was thinking of.......

a pattern from McCalls 6199.....an easy dress to make.........



this pattern has bust darts for the fit and it hangs loose at the sides.....hem the raw edges & your done......

I wear my dress with a belt and because it is a knit fabric and I was tired I did not hem.....I will see how this wears and then make hems if needed!

I will be linking this up to my Fave Parties!

sew you later!

Powder Blue Maxie Dress

This is a maxi summer dress I made from the same material as this dress.  This fabric is so soft & because it is a cotton/knit blend it is perfect for hot summer days.

I stretched the material as I sewed the back bodice to make a little ruffle.

I used this RTW maxi dress that I am wearing as a pattern inspiration.

I serged all the raw edges & used my sewing machine to make the seams.

I also pulled the fabric during serging the hem for a little bottom ruffle.  I love this summer dress...so easy to make & wear!

Happy Monday!

A little side note:  Burdastyle put my dress on the front of their website under Featured Projects!
What a surprise & honor! I am so excited I took this pic to share!