Because I Needed an Apron...

Pattern: McCalls 6334 (out of print)

Like the title states: I made this because I needed an apron. Of course I decided to make one after I've already made the fried dumplings and had oil splash everywhere...

Let me just say that I only used the pattern for its base and did not care for any of the weird designs like the owl... or the tulip pocket. I'm not entirely sure to whom McCalls was catering to, but those additives are horrendous and nobody should ever use them. I'm not sorry.

For the apron, I used home decor fabric that I had leftover from this dress. The trim is white cotton that I made into bias tape. I honestly wasn't really trying too hard to make this apron look good (yay for half-assed projects!)--I just wanted it to have for next time I cook. I would definitely tackle this again with more effort to make an adorable apron much like the ones I see at Anthropologie (that's the whole reason I bought this particular pattern in the first place).

I made this as-is (e.g. with no alterations) and find it okay for now. There are a few things I don't like about this pattern and would need to change the next time I make it. First off, the instructions to making this particular set-up (e.g. the way I sewed it here) was somewhat confusing as I had to jump around steps since there wasn't a very straightforward way just to make a plain apron without any of the hideous designs. I managed to get through it all, but there was definitely some doubts along the way.

My biggest peeve is the gape at the neck; the front does not sit flat on my chest and often puffs out. This could be remedied by sewing the straps closer to the center, which I will probably try next time, or at an angle where they currently are (but then you'd need to make sure to get the angle correct).

Another thing I don't like is how high the neckline is. I like to tie the neck straps once and then just slip my head through the apron. For this pattern, I have to untie the neck then retie it to be able to hang it or put it on. All of that just seems unnecessary.

Other than those three things, I think the apron is still cute. The front makes it look like you're wearing a dress and the silhouette is just adorable.

Star Light Star Bright

Looking through my telescope

Top: Based on Butterick 4443

Skirt: McCalls 6707 with added pockets

Holy moly! I am almost done with traveling south for work--it's been 38 weeks and this week will be my last. Don't know what's going to happen afterwards, but I'm glad to go home soon and enjoy my home.

If this looks familiar at all, it is a copy cat of the Bea & Dot dress I saw on Modcloth. I'm always so wary of ordering stuff online, especially if I have to return by mail (mostly because I'm super lazy with mail returns). So I figured I'd make that dress myself and at least I'd know it would fit me.

I made this dress this past Saturday and can't wait to wear it out. The fabric is Michael Miller's Star Magic that I bought from fabric.com. It looks like they have a lot in stock now which is pretty cool. When I was looking for it a few months back, it seemed to be sold out everywhere and I could not find it in store. It was actually making me pretty anxious. Ha. I was able to score five yards when fabric.com got more in stock. IT GLOWS IN THE DARK! It's super cool!

It was difficult getting a good picture of it in the dark... This was the best I could get!

I thought I didn't have any plain lining fabric, so I ended up using this brown polka dot lining instead. Of course, once I actually attach the lining to the bodice did I realize I actually have plain black lining. The polka dot looks a bit odd on this dress, but it's whatever. No one is going to see the inside from the outside anyway!

If I had a go-to silhouette, it would definitely be this dress. I don't know how many dresses I've made with this look... At least four so far. I finally got around to making a new template for the bodice so I could stop making alterations every time I cut out the B4443 pattern as is. This seriously saved me so much time especially when I made my Halloween costume, but that'll be another post!

Sunshine and Summery Stripes

If you remember my recent post about taking inspiration from children's clothing, I went ahead and did just that and "copied" this simple piece from this girls dress from Janie and Jack. Of course, I made a few changes to make this more wearable for me (I think I look terrible in halters...), but the idea is still there!

This dress took a long while to make (I finished it last November!) since I wanted to start other projects and because I was moving places last year. Moreover, summer was basically ending and in my mind, I saw this as a summer dress and the colors seemed too out of place for fall and winter time. Needless to say, this often got put on the back burner.

Bodice: Butterick 4443

Skirt: Butterick 5285 (out of print)

The top is a white linen blend that I got from Joanns and the skirt is a yellow gold striped cotton that I got from the Fabric Place Basement. In real life, the color looks more like what's shown in the photo below. I don't particularly pay attention to certain "fabric brands", but I do remember that the striped one is by Michael Miller (I like a lot of his novelty prints!).

I had some trouble trying to figure out what type of fabric I wanted for the white portions of the dress... Joanns (at least the one near me) does not seem to have a great selection of cotton solids that aren't super stiff. I opted for white linen since it at least was soft and had nice movement, though I really would have preferred a flat white cotton...

I added a collar to the bodice using the same linen fabric. Unlike the original, I sewed the skirt directly to the waistband without the top of the skirt peeking out from behind the band. Am I the only one who does not really like the look with the tops of skirts at the waistline? Does this style have a name? I also opted out of the navy waistband since I normally wear belts with my dresses anyway and could just put on a navy belt...

On another note, I've been traveling a lot for work the last five months and have been rather busy. However, I finally got to taking photos for lots of stuff this past weekend, so I hope to actually get something up here once in a while! I also hope to be home for good within the next month or so... Of course, I've said I'd be home in April, then May, then June, then July... so who knows when I'll go home! At least I'm racking up a lot of miles and points!

Fully utilizing Pinterest & Inspiration Board

Yes, I am one of the millions of blobs who has a Pinterest account and yes, I still use it frequently. However, I am a horrible Pinterest user as I tend to pin and pin and never look back at anything I've pinned. Ever.

The whole point of this post isn't to tell you how sucky I am as a Pinterest user (though there's no denying how bad I am at fully utilizing this site), but to serve as a reminder to me that hey--I should look at this stuff more often so I can stop going on my weekly trips to Target or quarterly visits to IKEA and just forget everything and anything I wanted to get. (Yes, I do have weekly trips to Target--sometime twice a week. Is there a lot of stuff I need to get? Not particularly. Then why do I go so often? The best I can say is "just because.")

I've been at my current apartment since September of last year and the place is still what I consider "unlivable". Sure, everything works (at least as of now now that the heat is somewhat working), but it doesn't feel like home to me. Hopefully after this weekend, I will slowly start to fill it in with more furniture and make it more of a home than just a place where I sleep. I cleaned out a lot this past weekend and actually started sewing again after a long break (mainly because I am running low on zipper supply and have yet to replenish that stock).

Anyways, the thing I wanted to get to is my inspiration board:

Sewing Inspiration on Pinterest.


Every now and then, I see something or a technique I like and I pin it to serve as a reminder that I want to make something similar or try said technique out. I'm hoping to (again... deja vu, anyone?) get back in the swing of things and start making stuff again. However, it's going to be a little trickier to blog about stuff since my laptop crapped out. But hopefully something will come up soon, eh?