She's Sew Crazy!

Recently, I have become obsessed with sewing.  This is funny because I vividly remember, not more than 5 years ago, making a New Years resolution that involved making myself and each of my daughters a dress.  It was a real struggle.  In the past couple of months, however, I have made myself 5 dresses, 1 shirt, 1 tunic (I guess that's a shirt, too, huh?) and a skirt.  Really.  I don't know what happened.  The bug bit, I started sewing, the kids started sewing ~ oh, forgot to mention: Hallie has made 2 dresses (1 for her little sister) and a skirt, Kaia made herself a dress and matching purse and Justice made herself 2 dresses.

I think it had something to do with being laid up for a time.  I get bored.  Really, really bored.  And then there is the fact that the clothing in stores either a) doesn't appeal to me, b) doesn't fit me or c) cost too much for me to consider.  So...sew!  

Now, I will admit that sewing doesn't always save me money.  However, I am not spending nearly what I would to have clothing custom made to suit my taste (and my body).  I try to hit the sales, shop the bargain tables and remnant bins and use coupons.  In the end, I get exactly the clothing I want, made to fit me.  So, that's awesome.  Sew awesome :)

So, it didn't take me long to stumble upon an excellent resource:  Pinterest.  Don't laugh.  I thought it sounded totally lame and weird and pointless when I first heard about it.  Turns out, it's a really good way to keep all of my resources organized.  And, as an added bonus, I get to see all of the things other people who have similar interests have "pinned."  This is where I first stumbled upon "Faith's Twenty Minute Dress."  Click here to find it.  And, BTW, HUGE thanx to Faith Towers for the tutorial, and for letting me link to it here.  Oh, you know, and for my new wardrobe.  Really, I am having way too much fun with this.

Now, let me preface (can you "preface" several paragraphs in?  I can.  Watch:) this by saying I am not a very accomplished seamstress.  I mean, I get by.  I have made some dresses, skirts, stuff for the kids, costumes, a few household items, but my skills are pretty basic.  So, when I saw a pattern for a "Twenty Minute Dress," I thought, "No way can I do that in 20 minutes!"  I was right.  It took me more than 20 minutes...but, the good news is ~ *drumroll!* ~ I did it!  And I liked it.  In fact, I liked it so much that I did it again.  And again.  And again...and again... In the end, I used Faith's instructions to make a total of 3 dresses, one blouse and one tunic (maybe it's a dress, maybe it's a top...I'm really not sure.  I like to wear it with leggings).  

Now, I will say this:  I did a lot more measuring and pinning than I think Faith did (really, I obsessively measured EVERYTHING), but that's because I have sewing-related anxiety.  Honestly, I have everything-related anxiety.  It's okay.  I just measure, pin, take notes, wash my hands, check the locks, look over my shoulder...  It's not surprising that it takes me more than 20 minutes to make this dress, come to think of it.  

On my first attempt, I decided to make the neckline a little higher, and, on most of my projects, I placed the waist a little higher than indicated in the original instructions as well.  I made my first dress a lot longer than the one Faith made.  

You know, lets just start with the pics, and I will explain what I did as we go along:  

This was my first:  

I love the hazy retro feel of this picture, but it's not very clear, so here's another:

 As you can see, I made this one a good bit longer than the one in Faith's pictures.  I think the length, the way the fabric falls and the neckline look just perfect with this pretty print.  It has an old-fashioned feel, which I like.

(this is the back)

I just fell in love with this fabric the second I saw it.  I mean, who wouldn't?  Just look at those butterflies!  It is a very lightweight polyester knit.  If I knew more about fabric, I could tell you more about it, but that's all I've got.  Sorry.  I bought 1 1/8 yards, because I wanted my dress to be a bit longer, and I think it worked out perfectly.   I love it!

In fact, I loved it so much, I decided to make another.  Or two.  The next time I happened to be at the fabric store, I spied two pieces of fabric I liked in the remnant bin, so I snapped them up.  It turned out  they were both a bit shorter than I though they would be (you know, because, apparently, I can't read the label, which states how long the remnant is), so I ended up with a blouse (which I quite like):

Super comfy and super easy to wear ~ true of all of these dresses and tops.  

...and a tunic:

(not a great pic ~ I could have used some sleep!)

This fabric is kind of sheer, so I thought it would be a bathing suit cover-up, but it's pretty cute with leggings and a cami underneath.  It also looks great with a wide belt, and I happen to have one that matches the leggings in this pic.  Wish I had a picture of it that way.  Use your imagination (while you're at it, use your imagination to make me look like I have slept, too).  Cute, right?

So, after all of these successes, I was feeling a bit adventurous.  When I saw this next fabric on the sale table, I thought, "You know what would look cute with that...?"  I decided I would make another little Twenty Minute Dress (thanx, Faith!!!!!), but this time, I'd mix it up a little.  I decided to tie it at the shoulder and add a big, industrial-looking metal zipper right down the front.

I cut the fabric and sewed it at the shoulder and sides, as directed, then attached the casing, ran the elastic through and secured it at each open end with a few stitches.  Next, I simply installed the zipper down the front.  And, when I say "simply," what I mean is, "installed the zipper very incorrectly, so the elastic didn't match up at the front; then, removed the zipper and painstakingly re-installed it correctly."  The advantage here was that I got to practice using some of my favourite colourful "sentence enhancers."  Oh, and I ended up with a pretty cute little play dress, too.  Yeah, I still play.  In dresses.

In the end, it looked a little like this:

No, wait...It looked EXACTLY like this:

I think it's a nice departure from the other dresses.  Sometimes, you need a little attitude, right?  And it goes nicely with the boots, which, frankly, are the most comfortable shoes for my pitiful little ankle at the moment.

Now, at about this time, I happened to be at the fabric/craft store picking up supplies for a project for one of the kids (it was a volcano.  Not the kid, the project.  Although there are times when arguments could be made in support of the "kid as volcano" scenario).  Anyway, I didn't think I was going to buy fabric.  I mean, what more could I possibly need, right?  But then I saw a particular fabric on the sale table.  It had caught my eye (in fact, I had even picked it up) before, but I just couldn't decide if I really liked it.  I mean, it didn't really seem like my style, and yet, there was something about it.  I just kept coming back to that fabric.  And now, here it was on the sale table.  I snapped it up.

Oh, I feel like I ought to mention:  When I buy my fabric for this project, I tend to just hold it up in front of myself and sort of guess how long I want the finished product to be.  Then, I add an inch or two, and that's how long I have the fabric cut.  Unless it is a remnant, in which case, it is already cut.  In that case, I misread the label and just get whatever I get and roll with it.  So far, so good.

So, I brought home my new fabric, and set it on the sewing machine.  It sat there for quite some time, until, on Mother's Day morning, while Justice was working on her sundress (I'll do another post about our sundresses), I decided to throw together my newest dress.  I placed the waistline closer to my natural waist on this one (I think I did that accidentally, but it worked out well, so let's pretend I meant to do that).  When it was finished, we all agreed it would be perfect with a wide belt, so I ran right out and bought one (they kind of wanted me out of the house, so they could prepare my Mother's Day tea).  I love it.  In fact, I wore it that day ~ to tea, to the Japanese Garden and, finally, bowling.  Every time I have worn it since (yes, there have been a couple) I have gotten compliments.  Are you curious?  

It looks like this:

And my husband looks like that.  Cute, huh?  The dress AND my husband :)

What I really love about this project is that by simply choosing a unique fabric, adjusting the length, placement of the waistline and/or neckline, tying the shoulders, adding a belt. etc, you get many different looks from one very simple pattern.  It really is very simple.  I am sure a more accomplished seamstress could whip one out much more quickly than I.  It has always taken me more than 20 minutes, but I don't think it has ever taken me more than an hour (even that time I totally messed up the zipper installation), which I think is pretty swift for making an entire dress that is presentable enough to wear in public.  You should definitely try it.  And, if you do, please share your pictures.