UFOs and Pretty Insides

My goal this year has been to finish more of my UFOs (unfinished objects). I have quite a big box full of them, most of which I don't have the energy, the creativity, or the skills to finish. This skirt, however, was not hiding in that box, which was probably why I'd forgotten about it!

I cut it out last year in the midst of my Cascade kick, and when I rediscovered it, I couldn't remember why it ended up as a UFO in the first place. I decided to pay special attention to the inside finishes so that I could parlay this into participating in my first Monthly Stitch roundup: pretty insides.

The side seems are finished using French seams, and since the hem turns too tightly in some places to do some of the fancier finishes, and I can't find a rolled hem foot for my machine, I just did a basic hem, but cleaned it up using fray blocker and trimming it down. Even the inside waistband looks pretty!

[Awkward picture, but it's the best view of how the skirt really hangs - I chose a *really* windy day for these pictures. Also - isn't that mural awesome?]

Well, after finishing it all up, I realized it was in the UFO pile because the waist ties are a bit short. Oops. Oh well, it's definitely still wearable!

On my way out of work that day, the landlord's wife made a comment about how spring-y I looked, to which I had to respond, "Thanks! I made this!" She was sufficiently impressed, ha, and started grabbing at it to feel the fabric. I love getting to brag a little, don't you?

Vacation Cascade

Hey kiddos. Forgive my long absence, and the short post today. I've had very little time for blogging and making recently because...vacation! 

[Yep, that little dot is me!]

 
After way too long without one, I finally got the chance to get out and go explore. Puerto Rico was very welcoming, we had so much fun!

Right before I left, I got the crazy idea to make a fun, festive skirt to take with me. JoAnn didn't have too many tropical options, but with some help from the girl at the cutting counter, I was able to pick one I liked.

[Taken in our awesome beachfront condo because, although I wore this skirt several times, we were never in very scenic locations!]

 
Bright and colorful and comfy, though shorts underneath were certainly a necessity. I even had a perfect matching scarf!

Forgive the awkward pics and tiny-looking feet...my friend was getting a little tired of taking these, so they were the best I had! 

I don't really have anything new to say about this pattern. You've all seen it a million times by now, right? I did try a fancy-ish ribbon technique on the underside of the back hem to cover up the ugliness, but...it needs some work, honestly. Oh well, live and learn. 

I alllllmost thought I could make a full-on dress to take with me, too, but that didn't happen. It's currently sitting half-finished in my sewing room...hopefully it won't take until next summer to finish it. I need to start working through my UFOs!

Have you ever rushed to finish something before vacation? How did it turn out?

More Cascade love

Did I mention how much I adore this pattern? No? Wellllll, I do. It's awesome: 

This version especially is so flowy and floaty, thanks in part to the underlining:

[Pardon the derp-y look on my face, but I had to do one of these twirling shots.]

And the fabric is amazing. It makes me so happy. (I think it was only like $1/yard on clearance at Wal-mart, so again, not high quality, but that pattern is to-die-for.)

Here's an inadvertent close-up while I was messing with the self-timer on the camera (I really need one of those remote things, but I don't think they make them for this model) - 

I'd originally been saving the fabric for this ModCloth knock-off:

But then I decided that the chances of me getting around to making this, and making it right, were slim. At least I knew that the Cascade worked for me, and I thought it would showcase this fabric beautifully. 

[Again, stupid look on my face, but great shot of the high-low hem!]

I didn't chop the back of the hem so drastically this time, but did keep my modified pattern so that this skirt wouldn't be trailing the floor. Historically, I haven't been a huge fan of the mullet hem, but I'll make an exception for this skirt. However, I've still got to be mindful of yardages, and I barely squeezed this onto the two yards I had.

It was a bit of a pain to work with this version, as I was using TWO very slippery fabrics, and double-hemming them separately. I initially tried to hem them together, but good Lord was that a mess. The lining might be a bit too short, but at least it keeps my naughty bits from peeking through. 

This was a pretty decent stash-buster, too. I've probably had the floral fabric for 2-3 years but was afraid of cutting into it because of how slinky it is. The underlining was bought this year during a stock-up trip to Hancock Fabrics. I can never resist their spot-the-bolt sales, but I did limit myself to only buying fabrics that I thought would be good for linings (with no specific projects in mind). This one happened to be a really good match for the florals, and I used up most of it here (and have already cut into another lining for a project that I'm still working out some fitting issues on, to be posted once they're solved!).

So, version 2 completed, on to version 3...

Not the best picture, but I didn't want to do a complete photo shoot because this one's not actually for me (though I wish it were - it's the best-made version yet, and I am in love with that print!). My friend's bachelorette party is next weekend, and she's pretty shy and innocent and would totally be embarrassed by the typical raunchy gifts, so I decided I'd make her something instead. I'm planning to include a couple of nail polishes that match the colors in this dress. I think this will be the first hand-made gift I've given to someone other than my mom, and I'm very nervous! I wanted this to be a complete surprise, so I didn't consult her on fabric or pattern choice. I figured a wrap dress was a safe bet fitting-wise, but...who knows! 

Do you guys like to give handmade gifts, or are you more "selfish" sewers? And if you do give hand-made, what's the response been? Are people generally grateful/impressed, or are you worried about coming off as a cheapskate?

Cascade skirt, just in time for cold weather

I finally broke down and bought this pattern last week, yet again breaking my stash diet pledge and the whole goal of this blog, oops. However, I'd been searching high and low for a sale, and when the lovely Lauren at Lladybird introduced one of her new sponsors (Indie Stitches) with a discount code for the month of June, I jumped at the opportunity and allowed myself a small indulgence, since I've been dreaming about this pattern for more than a month.

[I braved the cold for these pictures, but yesterday really wasn't tank top and wrap skirt weather - cold and windy, and some people may have gotten flashed...]

YOU GUYS. Why in the world did I wait so long? I love this thing! I think taping together the PDF pattern took longer than cutting and sewing the entire thing...okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but this was such a quick project, even with the French seams. Not fiddling with a zipper probably helps a lot, huh? 

A million more of these are now on my to-do list. I made the tie-in-back version, but ended up tying it in front because A) it feels more secure, and B) I'm not a huge fan of bows, so I didn't feel the need to have the extra length to tie one. I also made the hem less drastically high-low, and ended up evening it out even more when I felt it wasn't sitting right in back. I'm wearing it as a high-waisted skirt because it's flattering as hell that way, even though that wasn't the original intention. 

The fabric wasn't a stash-bust, either, as I picked it up this year, but am proud that it didn't sit in my stash for too long! It was only 50 cents/yard brand new from Hancock Fabrics, talk about a steal! It's some cheap synthetic stuff, I'm sure, but it's still really soft and feels really nice on bare summer legs. :) (And obviously it's more florals, ha.) I'm also happy that I still have about 2 yards of it to use - I didn't need anywhere close to the almost-4 yards that the pattern calls for (this is the second Megan Nielsen pattern I've sewn that severely overestimates the yardages needed, though I know that cutting off a lot of the back hem contributed to that here). 

Anyway, I think I'm in love, and this may have surpassed the Tanias as my favorite pattern to-date (though I do have one more pair of those to show you soon, too!) Have you guys given this one a try yet? What did you think?

Me-made May, Week 4

We're nearing the end, guys! As much as I've enjoyed this month, I'm also getting a LITTLE tired of my me-mades and am ready to break out some other wardrobe favorites for June. We'll see what happens this week/weekend, but I just might have one or two more me-mades to add to the rotation for the final week (if I can figure out that silly Cynthia Rowley 2250)!

Day 19: My New Summer Dress
Day 20: Tania culottes part 2, altered RTW shirt, RTW denim jacket
Day 21: More denim jacket love, self-drafted maxi (I cannot get enough of this dress, despite a couple of issues I've realized that I need to fix after so many wears)

Day 22: Tania culottes part 1, RTW jacket and cardigan
Day 23: Self-drafted dress (which I'm still wearing despite the issues because I LOVE it with that mint cardigan). Switched up the belt for a better look, I think.

Day 24: Repeat of day 21, but I forgot to take pictures because I was visiting friends out of town. :)

Day 25: Tania culottes part 2, but shortened! After seeing the pictures from Monday, and realizing that the back wasn't even at all, I decided to chop off quite a bit of this skirt. I just felt that it was looking far too dowdy, and who wants that? Had a moment of panic that I'd cut it too short in some places, but I think I finally got it right, and I like it a lot more now!

Day 26: Did not leave the house nor bother to get dressed, oops. Still way ahead of my 5 days out of 7, though!

What about you guys - if you've been participating this month, are you ready for it to be over?

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?