The Saga of the HP Cosmo Dress

Here's the finished dress - well, finished except for the hems. I was sooo excited about making this dress. It's just too bad that it looks awful on me. I would never wear it. I even tried on the muslin again to check if I just missed something. It looked okay but not great. I thought the problem was just ugly fabric. The muslin was a dark brown jersey which didn't make me look as heavy as this lighter colored dress. As DH said, this dress is not one of my finer moments. Part of the problem was not enough fabric in the blue print to make the dress. I spent an afternoon trying different combinations and just could not quite make it. What a bummer! I think the dress would have been wearable in one fabric. That is history, unfortunately. I searched my stash and found a white knit that worked well with the blue print. Actually, things went along pretty well until I sewed the side seams and tried it on for hemming. I looked awful and would never wear the dress. Then, I had to decide. I could make it a wadder (the trash can looked pretty good right them), finish it and take it to Goodwill for someone to wear, or make a blouse out of the skirt fabric. I finally decided on the third option and V4076 is in process. Wow! I almost bowed out of labor day activities to stay in my sewing room and finish the dress in time for the Mini Wardrobe Contest. Okay, I thought about it for about 2 minutes.

Since I last posted, life has been beyond chaotic. I have finished (except for hemming) a pair of brown rayon pullon pants which works well with the other 3 garments in my mini wardrobe. I am determined to finish the wardrobe although the deadline is long past. Also, I'm working on a white jersey top from V4076 (sewing it assembly line method with the blue print). I'm leaving for Philadelphia tomorrow to spend a long weekend with my daughter, her husband, and 3 German Shepherds. I am more than ready to get away and this trip promises to be fun (although not sewing related -- I need a break!) When I get back, I am hoping to get these projects finished and post pictures --- of some things that I can wear!

Simplicity 2938 - Jacket

Project Details:

Pattern: Simplicity 2938

Fabric: 100% Tencel from Sewing Studio

Notion: 1 inch double fold bias tape

Description: Loose fitting, unlined jacket with raglan sleeves

This is my first completed item for the Mini-Wardrobe contest. Actually, I have the matching skirt completed except for the hem (on the agenda today!). Both the blouse and dress are about 1/3 finished. Yep, I'm cutting it very close. Will I finish by midnight Sunday? I'm going to try my best. If I don't have any major problems or unexpected events (like a Tropical Storm coming through), I probably will be done.

I like this jacket a lot and so does DH. He caught me trying it on and had lots of complimnets. I'll make this one again for Spring and Summer. It will be great to wear in those chilly restaurants. I used a lighter weight fabric than suggested. I simply have to use some stash fabric. I've had the tencel for a couple of years. With a cotton batiste underlining, it worked fine. Since I'll be taking it on and off frequently, I didn't want serged seams. The bound seams did the trick, but I plan to try french seams next time. I tried many different buttons and, finally, decided not to use any of them. If I want to dress it up a bit, I plan to use a decorative pin. I shortened the jacket 2 inches and another 1 inch in the back (not sure why it was longer in the back, but it just looked sloppy). That was the only alteration I made. Usually, I have a laundry list of changes, but this is one of the advantages of a loose fitting garment.

Parting Shot:

This picture of the backyard was taken on Sunday (2 days after Faye had left the area). Our property line ends at the grass at the back of the picture. We did have a "bit" of flooding. If you look closely, you can see the 3 ducks taking a swim in our yard lake. I'm glad that "lady" has left our area although we still have flooding. In some areas near the St John's River (about 20 miles from us), it is bad. I am grateful that our only problems are lost sewing time and a slightly warped boat dock. DH is unhappy about the latter problem

Slow Progress

At least there is some progress. The picture above shows my current WIP. I am a mood sewer (sew whatever I am in the mood to sew for the day rather than finished one project and moving on). This week I was really in the mood to finish my dress and jacket for the mini wardrobe "contest". With Faye coming, I figured I'd better get a number of garments prepared for work in case we lost electricity. That's my excuse for having all these projects started and I am sticking to it!!! We haven't lost electricity although Faye is not out of the way yet. We've had steady, heavy rain. There is a pretty large lake in the view from my sewing room today. Most of the garments above are for the mini wardrobe: a print blouse, white skirt, white jacket and the top of the dress trimmed to make the skirt of the dress. There is a pair of brown pants that I need for run-around time. I started thinking that my wardrobe is not the greatest wardrobe need that I have. I really need shorts, capis, and tops to wear everyday. Yet, I know the dressier wardrobe won't get done unless there is a deadline. When I have a need for something dressy, I usually don't have time to make it! I'm off to work on the jacket. It's the closest to being finished and I'm in the mood to finish something. We'll see how long that lasts!

Crying the Blues

Well, I didn't cry but I did scream a few choice words that I'd best not repeat here. Last week I decided to finish up some almost-done projects before starting on the Mini Wardrobe. First up, I just needed to hem a teal blue skirt - easy, huh? I pinned the hem, tried it on, and all looked good. Yea -- until I took off the skirt. The zipper head (or whatever you call the thingy that zips up and down) came flying off. There was no way I could get that thingy back on track. That means ripping out the zipper and replacing it - no longer a quick finish-up skirt. Moving along, I have blue embroidered blouse that needed the sleeves attached and hemmed. It is S2891. The sleeves are really puffy on top. I looked like a cross between a girl playing grown up and someone from a vampire movie. DH came in while I was trying it on and gave me one of his extremely disgusting looks. (Why doesn't he come into the sewing room when I try on something that looks good? I do have one of those occasionally.) Here's the blouse:

Actually, it looks better on the hanger than it does on me. There is no way I would model it on this blog. On me, the sleeves hang straight down. I really like the yoke and the fabric although blue is not my best color. The instructions state that the sleeve is eased between dots and the finished sleeve does look like the pattern envelope. I should have known!! Now, I have to rip the sleeves and ease it the normal way - between notches or finish it for the goodwill bag. Right now, the trash bin is looking pretty good, but it is definitely back to UFO status.

All right, time to start on the mini wardrobe. I did change the blue linen jacket to B5143 that I thought would look better with the cosmo dress.

I cut it out and just could not get motivated to fuse the interfacing on the collar and facings. I kept thinking something was wrong. I checked my cut pieces: They looked fine and on grain. Finally, it dawned on me. That beautiful 100% linen is just too heavy for the dress. So, I went with a white tencel jacket, S2938, that was originally planned for the June Capsule Contest and never got started. White is good. The wardrobe mojo is back. I'm about half finished with the jacket. Hopefully, I can post the finished jacket soon!

Mini Wardrobe 8/08

Here's my wardrobe plan for the Pattern Review Mini Wardrobe Contest! I actually got it uploaded!! Now all I have to do is finish sewing it, take photos, and post it by August 31!!! Hey, compared to learning to use Adobe, that should be easy (lol). The contest requires 4 different outfits. Mine are:

1. Dress

2. Dress + jacket

3. Pants + blouse

4. Pants + jacket

Now that I have gotten this far, I am thinking about changing the jacket. This boxy jacket doesn't quite have the "flow" that goes with my frolic theme. I'm thinking about using B5143, View A . I'll have to think about that!

A Dancing Day

Yesterday, I was dancing in my sewing room. Fortunately, DH Richard was absorbed in the Sunday paper and had no idea what I was doing. Now, what could be the cause of such joy? There were several things. First, the coat muslin finally fit without so many pull winkles that it looked like I slept in it. I let out a seam here and there and eventually it hung straight, seams in line, and all those wonderful things. Many thanks to NancyK and Mary OK who gave me the winning ideas for fixing it! Of course, the collar and sleeves weren't in yet but, hey, I'm making good progress. This afternoon I put the collar in. This was not a dancing day. I had clipped the neck seams and had all those big seam allowances. In the future, I betya I'll sew that collar in first rather than clipping the neck line and pressing it under first to check the neckline. Frankly, I'd rather rip collar basting if I have to adjust the neckline. Usually, I dread set-in sleeves, but I actually enjoyed doing anything other than trying to sew a collar/band on a lapel! It should be much easier with normal seam allowances when I do the real thing. O.K., back to yesterday and happier times. The second cause of joy was my Hot Pattern Cosmo Dress. The bodice muslin actually fit with only the flat pattern adjustments I did ahead of time. I thought I'd be working on it for Summer 2009. Take a look:

Now, I know the fabric is ugly, but it is a muslin. Poor Dolly is still wearing my old T Shirt from the day that I made her. BTW, she is crooked because I am, but not as much as the day of her birth. I've been working on my posture through Chi Walking. There was 1 inch difference when I made her. Now there is about 3/8" between sides. Now, that makes a lot of difference with fitting. That difference is the reason one side hangs a bit on Dolly. One of these days I'll have to fix her and make a new cover-outfit for her. There is a third reason for yesterday's dancing. I'd been itching to enter the Pattern Review Mini Wardrobe Contest. I just love participating in contests. Of course, I might as well be on a different sewing planet from the winners, but I love the sewing spirit that happens. Yep, I never seem to finish the wardrobes but I do get a lot more sewing done. Anyway, I was thinking that the Cosmo Dress could be an item in the wardrobe. I hopped on the internet and signed up for the contest. Then, reality set in. I have to have 3 garmets that go with the Cosmo Dress's mod floral print. Oh boy! There is a reason to have a stash! I have a piece of linen that is a perfect color match. Also, I have a floral crepe in the same shades of blue. That print has brown in it which is crying for a pair of brown pants. Naturally, I have brown pants fabric in my stash. I know that is a lot of "floral" but they are similar prints and look like they belong in the same closet. Never mind that I said no more contests until I learned how to do a storyboard. The storyboard will come after the coat sleeves are finished! Ahh... the joys of sewing!

Coat Muslin Burda 7855

Right Side

Obviously, this muslin needs work before I add the sleeves and collar. There is a half inch difference between my left and right side so that part is not my sewing. The left shoulder is lower and the right side is one half inch wider from the center. I'll appreciate any suggestions to get rid of those winkles. Thanks!!