Paint-Splatter Dress, M6886 Hack

"We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak with you. We urge you, as though Christ Himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!"

"For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

     

      Good morning my friends!:) This latest make is a McCalls 6886 hack. I wanted a faux wrap style so used this this tutorial on Youtube as a guide. I made my crossovers fronts a bit more rounded. This  print was meant to be a wearable muslin, since my original fabric was a gorgeous peacock print that I didn't want to ruin further (I unsuccessfully made two different attempts with two different patterns!). I figured a basic wrap style would show the print best. I'll tweak the pattern just a bit and show more detail on my altered pattern piece next dress. I'm currently working on a Sew Over It Heather dress but I think I can easily finish that dress and cut & sew my second faux wrap this week:)

The fabric is a pretty polyester spandex I picked up at Fabricville some time ago. It put me in mind of a dress I had when I was a kid. My mom took me to pick out a dress for a School concert I think. Not sure if it was Christmas or some other occasion. What I do remember though, is as soon as I laid my eyes on that particular "pinkish/purple paint splatter" dress, I wanted it. I wasn't much into fashion when I was a kid but this dress really stood out to me. 

   

       
   

    I had to cut out the front crossover a second time since it was way too plunging the first time, lol. I probably could have given more thought to how I laid out my pattern pieces and I may have had enough for a self-fabric belt. I do like this $2 white thrifted belt though! A self-belt may have been too busy, what do you think? I still may make or try find a belt in a navy, wasn't much at Fabricville when I went last time. There was a cool navy faux leather but it had a thick plush backing that I wasn't crazy about.

      Well thats all for today! I usually do a review on Patternreview.com after a blog post, but I think I'll wait till my next version is done and post both dresses together. I've done so many versions of McCalls 6886 already, lol. I noticed a review last week of another hack where the dress had an added gathered flounce on the skirt. It was a beautiful metallic scuba knit. I'll probably try that too at some point, lol!
     

European Holiday Sheath Dress:)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

          Good morning my sewing friends! I made this dress last month and took some photos but ended up tweaking it to improve the fit. There was gape around the armholes  and neckline. There's still some gape at the neckline but the fit at the shoulders is better and that make the most difference. Unfortunately adjusting the shoulders resulted in the armholes being higher and tighter. I can live with it though. I will make a few more adjustments in the future.

     The fabric I used is this colourful cotton sateen purchased ages ago from Fabricville. Its one of the first cuts of fabric I ever bought. I actually planned to make a dress with it last Summer but there was an Islamic terrorist attack in Italy at the time so I decided to set it aside. The print, with its leaning tower of Pisa & Eiffel towers printed all over it puts me in mind of a European holiday, hence the name:) Just realized "Hotel Negresco" is in Nice, France.

McCalls 8789

        I mentioned in my previous post that my first attempt at garment sewing was to try to make a fitted sheath with a square neckline. I had a similar RTW dress that I loved til it literally wore out. Needless to say I knew nothing about fitting a pattern or how to make adjustments and my dress was a major flop, lol. I recently purchased a Craftsy class on fitting (Joi Mahone) which was a good introduction. I've been trying to incorporate some of Nancy Zieman's techniques as well. Fitting is definitely a good skill to learn. I can understand why people draft their own patterns from scratch.

     I left the dress unlined but will probably wear either a full or half-slip underneath. Makes a big difference. I could have lined it but I wanted to work out the fit a bit without having to worry about the extra step. I made a small sway-back adjustment that I didn't make for my African print sheath but will do in the future.

 
       It was nice to finally use this print that has been marinating in my stash foreeever!! Lol. I was so afraid to ruin it, but in the end I suppose its only fabric. I really like the cotton sateen, a little stretch is nice!  How about you? Do you find it difficult to use certain pieces you've bought or do you just go for it? Any long-stashed items you've used recently or plan to use soon? What are you working on now?:) I just finished a faux wrap dress that I will hopefully get good photos for on Sunday and post about early next week:) I also purchased a Sew Over It Heather Dress pattern earlier this month. My dear husband will be printing it for me today and I'm planning to get started on it tonight!

Til next time! Have a wonderful day everybody!:)
   

African Print Sheath

"This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience, as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen."

1 Timothy 1:15-17

From Instagram, the filter in the belt pic dulls the dress fabric colours a bit but shows the details of the belt better:)

Colours are more like this (I think I did use a filter on this one too though!:)

        Hello my beautiful sewing friends!:) This African sheath dress has been a month in the making! My sewing group has monthly challenges and September was African print/Vintage. I really wanted to make an African style dress and was gifted this great cotton by a friend from my church! She often wears fab African style clothing so I asked her if she knew where I could get a nice African print (I wasn't crazy about anything I could find in my local stores). She offered me one of her head wraps since she doesn't wear them! It was a nice big piece of fabric that was large enough for me use for this sheath dress! I must keep that in mind for the future, ordering a head wrap to use for fabric for a project!:) I used this sheath dress pattern for my European Vacation dress as well (making a separate post for that one). I made two muslins to check the fit, so now I'm kind of sheath dressed out, lol. I do plan to make more of these dresses in the future though. A sheath dress is definitely a good staple pattern to have. I plan to perfect the fit and trace a sturdy copy on freezer paper. I'd like to do a rounded neckline as well.

Belted & unbelted.

     I was almost done when I realized I could probably use a belt to break up the busy "optical-illusion" print. I used an older Mimi G Obi Belt Tutorial/Pattern. I self-lined the belt instead of just turning the edges over and hemming. I used knit interfacing on the backs of both middle pieces (not the ties) since my fabric seemed a little too lightweight. The fabric was from my stash & has a velvety feel and doesn't fray. It was tricky to press, but I managed, lol. I topstitched to reduce puffiness. I'd love to make another in a nice leather or faux leather:) A denim would be cool too!:) Even with the extra steps I took, this is a quick project that can easily be done in an afternoon/evening (or during your child's nap time:)

     

      I found this pattern at a thrift store (image from Google). I had some issues with neck gape/ swayback which I will work out further. I found that an 8 up top and 10 at the hip seemed to work pretty good. I **looove** finding patterns and fabric at thrift stores!:D Its so exciting, lol!

I should mention that a square neck sheath dress (different pattern) was my first attempt at garment sewing years ago. My favourite RTW sheath had literally wore out and I wanted to recreate the look. I had no idea how to make fit adjustments then & it was a total flop, lol. Immediately I turned to sewing with knits which was much easier!

 

   

     I didn't really try to line up the print in the CB seam but I did attempt to at least make sure the darker border was positioned the same on both sides. I sheepishly admit that I discovered I still had pins in the back when I got to church Sunday! Lol. At least they didn't jab me too hard;) I was in the back area so I don't think anyone noticed me taking them out!

 Well thats it for today! I'm going to blog about my other dress soon & I already have another project cut out and ready to sew tonight! A knit this time:) So how about you? What was your first garment attempt and was it wearable?;) How long did it take to sew something you could confidently don in public?:) Sewing is a skill that definitely takes practice, but its not as difficult as some people think. If I can learn to sew anyone can!

Have a blessed day everyone! xo