It's been awhile

I know it's been an inordinate amount of time but, in my defense, I've been inordinately busy/distracted. I just got back from a month-long trip back to the states, which was amazing. While there I made some new things:

a crinoline made from fabric I'd ordered from Mood

crossword puzzle skirt from Ebay fabric

the She-Ra dress, which I made from Vogue pattern v8074 (my first ever experiment with patterns, which went rather well, although I kind of invented the bodice myself, but the skirt is awesome)

a hat I made from a project idea on burdastyle.com

this apron for my sister

one of a number of dresses I made for my niece, but this is the only one with a matching (reversible!) hat

As usual I had loads of problems... with the crinoline, it was tough-going gathering the ridiculously long strips of tulle so it ended up a bit uneven. I made the hat way too big (another case of not trusting my measurements and being terrified things will end up too small) and the crossword puzzle too long. The She-Ra dress is supershort but it goes with the character...

I also went to JoAnn Fabrics (amazing) and Hobby Lobby more times than I can count. What I wouldn't give for one here in Moscow... 

Also, I got an issue of Threads (which is wonderful) and a new pattern to practice with:

Very exciting! I love the design of the pattern, which is like a little book, and it's so cute. Also, they respond very quickly to e-mails and are super nice. Can't wait to try it!

I didn't get a chance to make the Carmen Sandiego dress, but I brought the pattern back with me so hopefully I'll be able to.

I also brought back my physics fabric which I ordered from Spoonflower:

The plan is to make a skirt out of it, and then make the top from the Colette pattern above in either the blue or the purple. I can't decide which one I want to start with first... I'm leaning towards making some of those tops. Okay, that's all for now. When it stops being so damned hot in the country I'll write more!

Weekend Projects

Even though I had to train on Saturday and I had to examine and help out with the open house on Sunday, I still managed to make three (count 'em: three) new things this weekend.

First I took this H&M dress I bought in Stockholm, which I adore. 

The problem is the shirring on the bodice: it slips right between bits of flesh that do not need to be highlighted in hot pink with white polka dots. So I cut the top off:

Then I pinned down a casing for belting...

...which I stitched closed...

...then fed a black belt-like thing from another skirt through. Ta-da! Cute new skirt with none of the roll-enhancing qualities of the dress!

The next thing I made was a sandwich wrap, which I took from Sewing Green.  I used the two raincoat fabrics I'd bought last week at Season.

This is the bread I usually make my sandwiches out of, which I needed to use as a template.

I had forgotten to bring in the book into the office to photocopy the pattern, so I winged it a little while cutting the pieces out.

I hemmed up the bits...

...and connected them all, creating a maxi-pad looking thing.

Then I stitched on two bits of velcro...

...and wrapped up a sandwich! Supercute, right?

Of course it matches my lunch tote to a T. The last thing I made this weekend was another project from Sewing Green; a little girls' dress from an old pillowcase. I still had the pillowcase which matches the duvet cover I used to make the flamingo skirt so I thought I'd make a little dress for my darling niece Lorelei. Here are my materials:

First I cut off the top of the pillowcase and cut out the armholes...

...then I found my old stash of leftovers from the flamingo skirt to use as bias tape to bind said armholes...

...which I did.

Next came making the casing for the ribbon ties at the shoulders...

...and then threading the ribbon through. I think working with ribbon is my favourite thing in the world.

Then I sewed the rickrack along the bottom, to keep the flap used to cover the pillow flush against the dress and, voila, a little girl's dress! I love it.