yay another one done!!
ceylon by colette patterns
lladybird spring 2011
31 Mari had big plans for my ~spring launch~, but unfortunately, life got in the way (and when i say “life” i mean “my bad attitude”). you ever have one of those days when you feel like everything that could possibly go wrong has, well, gone wrong? that’s been pretty much my entire month, all focused on my sewing. i can’t even begin to tell y’all how much i’ve trashed and/or given up on. i have an entire box of UFOs that will probably remain like that forever.
not that all my sewing has been tragic – my projects for my personal wardrobe are looking AWESOME if i do say so myself. despite all the inspiration i’ve given myself and the good intentions i had for this line, the end result is not exactly what i had in mind (at least not quantity-wise). but that’s ok! i’m not beating myself up over it – i’ve got the rest of the year to cultivate something marvelous. in the meantime, i’ve squeezed out 7 pieces. haha, 7, so sad.
new look patterns are wtf
28 Mari’m in the process of making a dress for my sister. she wanted something simple – a white dress with a halter neckline that hit a little below the knee. we went to the fabric store & she picked out new look 6457, view D. the fabric is a linen-look polyester something from joann’s. pretty simple stuff.
ceylon progress
23 Mari’ve been lurking the ceylon pattern for months now… finally gave in a couple weeks ago and bought a copy. i initially planned on making it up in some navy polka dot voile or lawn, but searching has turned to be fruitless so i settled on blue pin dot shirting fabric from fabric.com (you just wait… my first choice will suddenly be fruitful and multiply. gah.). i’ve already made a bit of progress on the dress so i thought i would share with y’all!
first off, i will point out that i didn’t bother to make a muslin and just started cutting directly into the fabric. i like to live dangerously sometimes.
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lladybird for spring 2011: a sneak peek
11 Marlife got majorly busy and i haven’t been sewing much as of lately. and by “sewing,” i mean “sewing for myself” – i’ve been working up a frenzy in preparation for nashville fashion week. not because i have anything to do with *that* event, but local honey is throwing their annual spring premier the same weekend. so yay, spring clothes!!
i’ve been working on some new designs & some new color scenes… playing around with more details this time around, especially ruffles & pintucking & bias stripes. i’m still working the colorblocks… i tried to pull away from it, but i can’t help it, i love colorblocking too much! there are a few “classic” lladybird dresses in the mix, but i’ll also be introducing some half-circle skirts dresses. fun!
here is a sneak peek at what i’ve been cooking up:
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vogue 9668: a labor of love
1 Mari am calling this dress a labor of love because i don’t think i’ve ever put so much time & patience into a casual sundress. what started out as a simple v2.0 pattern turned into an episode of how-difficult-can-i-make-this-project. i am, however, extremely happy with the end result!
so here’s where we left off:
vogue 9668 v2.0 – progress
22 Febi’ve been working on my second v9668, aka the summer version. what should have been a fairly straight-forward project (i mean, i JUST finished the first one pretty recently, so the construction is very fresh in my mind) has turned into a huge headache and a lot of wow-i-sure-made-this-as-difficult-as-possible-huh.
this is the fabric i’m using.
it’s a lovely stretch cotton with a touch of sateen. GORGEOUS.
completed: vogue 1086 v2.0
15 Febi love this dress so much, i now have two of them!!
here’s a fabric refresher, in case you forgot!
mini-tutorial: bound seams
9 Feb
i just love bound seams – i think they are so pretty and neat and add a really nice touch to an otherwise simple garment.
i am currently slogging away at simplicity 2412 and, god, has this pattern been a lesson in patience. from the initial tracing, to decoding all the weird pinholes and perforations (verdict: unprinted patterns really aren’t that scary, but i wouldn’t recommend them to a total beginner), to the multiple pattern adjustments (taking 9″ off the bottom and the dang thing is STILL too long! and omggg so much unnecessary ease!)… at least the actual construction is going together fairly smoothly!
i decided to bind my seams for a few reasons:
– this dress is seersucker. who wants to line a seersucker anything? talk about defeating the purpose!
– out of all the garments i’ll be working on this spring, this one has very few seams and they are all straight – perfect for this kind of finish
– i have the most gorgeous lipstick red rayon seam binding. GORGEOUS. it was crying to be used!
western wear for 2011
3 Febhere is a sewing resolution i’ve had stored in the back of my mind for the last month or so: i want to make a western shirt. not just a “western shirt,” but a legit/gorgeous western shirt with the contrasting yoke outlined in piping, the (hand!)embroidery, the pearl snaps, and the welt pockets with little hand-sewn arrowheads. partially because a “real” western shirt is expensive (and they never seem to fit me properly 😦 ) and partially because they just look like so much fun to make!
i found this pattern today, and after about 20 minutes of deliberating (it was $15! i love how i will spend 5x that on fabric but not on a pattern), i snapped it up:
isn’t it perfect? look at those welt pockets! and that piped, scalloped yoke – with guitar embroidery transfers! it’s a smidge on the small side – my high bust is 34″ – but should be easy to grade up, plus i have to do a FBA anyway.
even the suggested materials & notions look fun: pattern back.
mine will probably end up similar to view A, minus the fringe (or should i keep the fringe? decisions, decisions!). i love the white + red, although maybe white isn’t the best idea for someone messy/careless like me. i want real pearl snaps instead of buttons. where can i buy pearl snaps?
i know, i know… i need another vintage pattern like i need another hole in my head.
don’t judge me.
LLADYBIRD 
