Circle skirt madness

As mentioned in my last post, I've been on a bit of a skirt-sewing kick, especially since I needed more work-appropriate wear for my recent business trip. Since I finally got my mom to photograph me in my most recent makes, I can share skirt #1 of Vogue fabric-buying madness! This was my *worst* deal: 2 yards of gray wool blend for about $10.

It's inexcusably wrinkly thanks to having been packed away for a while, but I like it! I used the By Hand London circle skirt calculator to make this one (my first ever!) and am pretty pleased with the result. The waistband isn't interfaced (because I was too lazy), and it ended up being a bit big, but it was definitely a good start.

I used a zipper I already had on hand - not invisible, but I don't think it looks too bad. I am gradually getting better at inserting them, too, even though this blend had a bit of stretch. I cut out and sewed this up pretty quickly, but when it came time to let it hang and even up the hem, I almost threw it in the trash out of frustration. After getting what I'd thought was a perfectly even hem, I used single-fold bias binding for the first time ever and was thrilled with how much easier it was than I thought, and with how nicely the hem turned out...until I realized how uneven it was and that I'd have to rip out about 6 yards of it.

My brand new (to me), lovely dress form helped out, but it wasn't until *after* I'd finished this one that I learned the secrets (thanks to Gertie). All in all, though, it's perfect for winter - warm and heavy (but not too heavy!), and I can twirl like a princess in it. ;-)

One skirt down, three to go!

Sewing plans

As always, my eyes are bigger than my stomach (or in this case, my plans are more ambitious than the time I have to finish them), but I have been seriously lusting over some outfits lately. The first two are indie patterns - the By Hand London Anna dress, and Megan Nielsen's Cascade skirt. However, since I'm on my self-imposed stash busting diet, I kind of feel guilty shelling out the cash (and adding to my stash) for these two patterns. I thought maybe I could recreate some similar looks for this summer, and once my cash flow is a little better, support both of these indie designers with some other pattern purchases. 

For the Anna dress, I'm thinking some good substitutes for the bodice might be: 

New Look 6156 (View A)

Pros: Similar shape, boat neck, solid back
Cons: No sleeves (but shouldn't be too hard to extend them, right?)

Butterick 5880

You can't really tell on this line drawing, but when it's sewn, the bodice actually looks really similar to the Anna bodice. 

Pros: Sleeves, boat neck (minus those little cutouts), similar overall shape, solid back
Cons: Different bust darts

Butterick 5605 (View C)

Pros: Sleeves, somewhat similar bodice/bust shaping (in the pictures of the made garments)
Cons: Now that I look at the line drawings, the bust shaping isn't all the similar, and it doesn't have quite the boat neck that the Anna does. The cutout back and the sleeves would also have to be redrafted a bit.

Now that I look at this one a bit more...what was I thinking? It's definitely not a contender.

I think I'll try #2 for this one and see how it goes. If it sucks, well, lesson learned, right?

I'm thinking (crazily) of trying to self-draft the Cascade skirt...or, you know, just shell out the $12, I haven't really decided yet. (That being said, I DID just get an offer accepted on a house, so every cent counts!)

(This has been a little rambly, sorry about that!) The last look I've been lusting over is one I saw on Pinterest a while back: 

 

As with everyone else in the northern hemisphere right now, I'm totally in love with florals. While I would love to find that exact same print, I should probably make more of an effort to keep to my resolutions. I found some navy quilting cotton with a (small) floral print in my mom's stash, so I think I'm going to attempt to make the bodice out of one of those two, using Simplicity 4070:

Maybe view E with some straps? (I thought I had a million patterns with a sweetheart neckline, but apparently that is not the case. This is really my only stash pattern that comes close.)

I know I don't have enough of that quilting cotton for a whole dress in this fabric, so I was thinking of doing the bodice in that and the skirt in a solid navy I have in my stash - I think it's a heavier knit, so a waist stay would probably come in handy here. What do you think, is this a good match?

What're your upcoming sewing plans?