as i stated in my last post, my birthday is a month away. well… a month minus one day, to be exact. eee birthday! time to start working on my birthday dress!!
i’m using vogue 1227 & sewing it up out of this vintage barkcloth, the lining is super lightweight cotton muslin.
not really sure how i feel about this pattern… it’s been a pain from the get-go. my first muslin was absolutely horrible – way too big. i don’t trust vogue’s “suggested” measurements, so i cut by the finished measurements. according to the pattern, i should fit nicely into a 10… which as i just said, ended up several inches too big. i checked the measurements out of curiosity, and the finished bodice was a whopping 2″ bigger than the printed ‘finished garment measurements.’ wtf, vogue!
so i recut the bodice down to a 6, and ended up taking in extra at the bodice sides. it fits pretty nicely now:
yes, my muslin looks horrible. i sewed half of it inside-out figuring i didn’t care because, well, it’s a muslin. upon trying it on, it is actually kind of cute – mystery fabric & all – so maybe i’ll make a little crop top shirt out of it IDK.
muslin back. yep, still inside-out. whatever.
soo i’m pretty satisfied with the fit, although the boob cups are a little low… not that i am opposed to letting it all hang out, but half my bra is showing. i may sew some ruffles along the top of the bodice – i was originally thinking pink, like the roses, but maybe i could just use more barkcloth? opinions?
speaking of which – this is my barkcloth:
so pretty!
i cut out all the pattern pieces, which was a personal hell all in itself. i hate cutting out my fabric – i don’t really know anyone who enjoys it, come to think of it – and this pattern calls for lining & interfacing both the lining *and* the shell fabric. so i basically cut out the damn thing 4x. argh!
fusing that interfacing to all those pieces – there are 17 total, and 12 of them require interfacing both the shell & the lining – is going to be fun. not.
anyway, on a sidenote, i also did a little repairman man man man man work on a pair of pants that i destroyed last year… the waistband fabric ripped & the button tore right out. this felt almost as good as the time i was measuring my waist & my tape measure broke. LOL. anyway, i didn’t know what to do with them because there was a gigantic hole where the button had been.
here’s what i ended up doing: i cut two patches of sturdy fabric (in my case: leftover fabric from my sewing room curtains. ha!) to cover the hole and approximately 1/2″ on all four sides. i pressed the edges to the inside 1/4″ or so, and then fused a small piece of interfacing to the backs of the patches. i sandwiched them on either side of the hole & sewed around all four sides. then i stuck a jeans button in my new patch. check it out:
so glad i fixed these!
LLADYBIRD 
I have to put my hand up and confess, I like cutting out! I am currently doing a project which I am also cutting things out x4 and I am starting to find it tedious. I fuse pattern pieces then cut them out as then I cut down on the cutting by one and its more accurate sometimes.