dress #2

So, the last dress I made for myself was snug in the chest (and by snug I mean it was uncomfortable and only got tighter as the night went on).  This dress (butterick 5638) was almost the opposite.  The chest is a little loose.  The body of this dress, however, was a little tighter than I would have liked, but I redid the side seams to have less of a seam allowance, and it was good after that.  Overall I was happy with the dress and I plan to wear it again.....and again.  I just have to get better at figuring out, and maneuvering, these patterns.

I rocked it

I finished my first dress...and I wore it on Friday out to dinner for my husbands birthday.  As mentioned, it's McCalls Pattern M6518.  I used a gray linen fabric with black lining fabric to line the entire dress. 

Here's the dress

I wore it with a black sweater/shrug to keep my arms warm

 And here's a better look at the ruffles

I didn't do a great job on the zipper in the back.  I just couldn't figure out how to properly attach the very bottom of the zipper - I found the pattern instructions confusing.  I hope I get better as I do more.

Next dress: Butterick B5638

my first dress. i think.

I just finshed making a dress for myself.  I believe it's the first dress I've ever made for myself.  My plan is to wear it out to dinner on my husbands birthday.  I wouldn't let him see it while I was making it, nor would I let him see it once it was finished.  It's nothing amazing or anything, so don't get excited, but it's cute.  It's a size too small though - which has me really bummed out.  It's snug :-(

I would post pictures of the dress right now (since Kevin doesn't read my blog) but since Kevin won't be seeing it until his birthday I won't be able to get any pictures of myself in the dress until then.  Mid Feb.  I can post a picture of the pattern though (McCalls M6518):

Since making this dress I've found a few other dress patterns that I'm interested in.  I might make a dress for a late-Feb. dinner.  I might make a dress for random casual spring/summer affairs.  hmmmm. 

I think I also want a dressform.

wish me luck

last week I bought a pattern and today I bought fabric for my first attempt at a formal dress for my Claire. 

This dress is going to be blue.

Wish me luck

previous refashion

Remember this dress?

I made it back in August, when it was stifling hot outside.  Well, she finally got to wear in earlier this month!  I was thankful it still fit her, but I know she won't get much use out of it - it's quite tight in the chest. 

refashion of an adult shirt into a dress

Today I finished a dress for my daughter.  I made it out of a woman's button-up shirt that I bought (for free) from my sister-in-law's yard sale.  I loved all the little details and wanted to make sure I reused them all.  I was dead set on making it long sleeved but the problem is, it fits her perfectly right now and it's 100 degrees out.  I tried to make it a little big so it would fit her this fall and winter but I underestimated.  hmmph.  I figure I can either take the sleeves off and she can wear it thru the rest of the summer or I can try to alter it to fit her body in a month or two or three.  Really, my main concern is around the chest - that's where it's tightest - and I think I can rig it up if need be. 

Overall I am very happy with it.  It wasn't nearly as hard or time consuming as I thought it'd be.