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Updated: Sequin Cat Hoodie

Y’all remember that Stella Hoodie dress I made last year?

It was real cute for sure, but I think I literally wore it twice after completion. The fabric was a little too heavy to be comfortable as a summer garment (and I’m sorry, but a mini / sleeveless dress *is* a summer garment, fight me), and it was also real, real fucking short. Like, butt-cheeks-peeking-out-to-say-hello-whenever-I-lifted-my-arms short. And while I think it would make a good swimsuit cover-up, still, I’m gonna be real with y’all and point out that I go swimming about twice a year. There is no room in my life for a swimsuit cover-up.

So, overall, this garment was pretty useless. I thought it might work as a shirt, though, so I kept it around waiting on inspiration. After announcing the 2019 OAL, I went through my UFO drawer and decided to see if I could salvage the dress into something I might actually wear.

Turns out all it needed was a little chop and some bling! And thank god I saved it, because this is seriously one of my favorite shirts now!

This was a really easy refashion. I removed the kangaroo pocket and tried on the dress to determine how long to make it, then cut about 2″ longer and used that as a hem allowance for a nice deep hem (I chose to make my hoodie cropped, as I’m really into the cropped shirt / high-waisted jeans look these days, but since the hem is so deep I can always un-crop it if I decide I want a longer shirt someday). I then stitched the hem with my coverstitch machine, same as the original dress hem. I was initially planning on sewing the pocket back on, so after hemming I tried the top on again to determine pocket placement, and that’s when this big ol’ blingy cat patch caught my eye…

Isn’t this patch AMAZING?! I bought it at Hai Trim in NYC when I was there over Christmas. Honestly there are loads of cool patches in all the shops around the NYC Garment District, but I think Hai Trim has the best selection (and most are $12-$18, which I think is a pretty reasonable price). I bought it without any idea what I’d do with it, and have had it hanging on my wall in the months since. When I held it up to the shirt, I couldn’t stop smiling. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a perfect match.

I sewed it to shirt using Invisible thread, which is a thin nylon thread that kind of looks like a spiderweb. Usually when I do this sort of sewing, I just use regular sew-all thread – but I had recently read a Threads Magazine article that mentioned using clear thread to applique and I thought it sounded like a fun experiment to try. You load your bobbin with standard polyester thread, and use the clear thread in the top. Then you zigzag around all the edges, being careful to position the needle so that it lands inside and outside the edge of the applique with each zigzag. I would show you a close-up – but it’s literally invisible lol. So hopefully that makes sense! It is definitely more forgiving than using colorful thread, since you can’t see it at all – so if your zigzag strays off course at all, it can just be your secret.

However, the thread is really delicate and prone to breaking. I found that I got a better experience by loading my thread in a thread stand so that the thread comes from the top of the spool, instead of out the side (whenever I loaded sideways, it would eventually twist around the spool pin and break).

So far, this has held up fine in the wash! I turn the shirt inside-out and then wash/dry as normal (cold, regular cycle, etc). The threads did pop in one small section, but I think that was because a dog jumped on me lol. I just stitched it back down and it’s fine! All good!

BTW if you’re wondering how the hell I got these BOMB-ASS PHOTOS (tbh the only reason this post is even warranted haha), we shot them in a professional photo studio in Portland, OR when I was up there earlier this year for a jeans workshop at Josephine’s Dry Goods! Since Josephine’s is such a small shop, we opted to move the workshop to this place so we’d have more space… and a great backdrop to take photos (which obviously I took full advantage of). I can’t take any credit for the quality of these photos as Bini’s husband set it all up- as well as let us use his equipment – but hey they are cool and I got some neat jumping shots!

I really like my hair in this one 🙂

On a final note – I was creeping on Gucci recently and I was surprised to see this cat all over their F/W 19 collection, but specifically these sneakers–

They call it “Mystic Cat” which I love but I think mine is better because it actually sparkles.

Tags: applique, completed, french terry, patch, refashion, stella hoodie

Comments 28 Comments
Categories completed projects - reconstructed

Completed: Pinnacle Sweatshirt

11 Dec

Have y’all seen the new Geo Collection from Papercut Patterns? It’s no big secret that I am a DIEHARD Papercut Fangirl, but this recent collection really blew me away more than usual (which is saying a lot!). I love everything that was released and have many plans!

To start, I wanted to try out the Pinnacle Top. I find this pattern really interesting as it can be made with either a woven or a knit, which really changes the finished look! I love the geometric design on the front, and the pattern itself has some crazy looking pieces that come together in a very origami-like fashion. Pretty standard of Papercut Patterns, which is part of what I find so appealing about them!

I really want to try the v-neck version of this pattern, in a soft linen or even a drapey silk – but for this time of year, the sweatshirt is king. I love that I can sew my own sweatshirts, which gives me the ability to add cool design features or use fancy fabrics. Nothing like the basic stuff I wore when I was a kid! And this pattern looked like it would be fun to put together, and I assumed correctly.

I had this super soft bamboo French Terry in my stash that I purchased from Mood Fabrics earlier this year… it comes in a load of amazing colors, and while I WANTED to stick with my TNT black/grey colorways, I went a little wild and ended up with 2 yards of Moroccan Blue. Almost more like a teal, this is a very deep, rich blue. I love it and I’m happy to report it’s seamlessly worked its way into coordinating with *most* of my wardrobe (unlike some colors that I try out and then realize I have nothing to wear them with!).

The fabric itself is amazing. Like I said, it is super soft on both sides, thanks to the bamboo. The terry loops are very fine and small, which means the fabric isn’t bulky – but it is dense and heavy. It also has a great amount of 4 way stretch, which makes me think this would be an ideal fabric for lounge pants (leggings, joggers, whatever keeps ya warm on the couch). At $20/yard, it certainly is not cheap – but it’s super fucking wide (I still have quite a bit left from my 2 yard cut after making this sweatshirt) and it washes and wears great. The only downside I have noticed is that it does wrinkle when you store it folded in the drawer – which is easily solved by tossing it in the dryer for a few minutes before wearing (and bonus, it’s like PUTTING ON A HUG! omg you guys why I am I so alone). Traveling or don’t have a dryer? Laying it out flat in the bathroom while taking a hot shower also does the trick!

I’m sorry, I don’t know how I ended up with so many of what is basically the same picture. It’s either feast or famine when it comes to me and my camera, deal with it.

So, the pattern piece for this shirt is really interesting! It’s GIGANTIC (which means you really do need to pay attention to the fabric requirements), and goes together in a way that makes a shirt with no shoulder seams. The pieces are assembled with center front seams (in the form of this cool-ass triangle) and a center back seam, then closed with side seams (which gives you the chance to tweak the fit a little if needed). I made mine with one piece of fabric, although the geometric design on the front would lend itself well to colorblocking. For a little added interest, I used the wrong side out on the top triangle of my shirt, so you can see the texture of the French terry there, but the shirt in general is pretty monochromatic otherwise.

I sewed a size XS based on my measurements, which gives a nice, roomy fit. For future makes, I may side down to the XXS as I feel like I’m swimming a little in this version.

Construction-wise, not much to report here. I sewed this almost entirely my serger, which made this a really fast and efficient make. My one tip is to be careful with where the seams intersect at the center front, and baste them in place (either by machine or by hand) before sewing them for real. The seamlines matching are pretty essential to this shirt looking good, and if you baste them first, you can rip them out if they don’t match up!

I’ve been wearing this sweatshirt a lot since I finished it – it’s perfect for staying cozy around the house, but also looks pulled-together if I need to step out or have an unexpected delivery. Secret pajamas are always a go in my world!

*Note: The fabrics used in this post were provided to me by Mood Fabrics, in exchange for my participation in the Mood Sewing Network. All opinions are my own!

Tags: completed, french terry, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, papercut patterns, pinnacle top, sweatshirt

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Categories completed projects - new, Mood Sewing Network

Completed: French Terry Stella Hoodie Dress

1 May

Here we have a tale of fabric bought wrong, then made right. Gather round, my children.

I bought this french terry from Mood Fabrics on a whim back in September. I usually swatch fabrics before ordering online – even with my knowledge of fabric and fibers, you can still be surprised by texture, hand, and color – but sometimes I get a little wild and order shit blindly. It usually works out fine, but every now and then it can backfire. Guess what happened here.

So, the french terry – it’s a glazed french terry from Helmut Lang (since sold out, yo’re welcome), which I figured would be great because 1. Helmut Lang is always expensive; and 2. It’s fucking french terry, how could you go wrong?

This, this is how you go wrong. This is one of the weirdest fabrics I’ve ever received from Mood. It was stiff and kind of scratchy, remarkably similar to how your bath towel feels when you dry it on a clothesline. I’m not going to sugarcoat this – I was really disappointed that I wasted part of my allowance buying it, because I absolutely hated it. The color was nice, but color doesn’t mean anything if the fabric itself scratches you when you touch it.

I did try washing the fabric multiple times to see if perhaps there was a sizing on it (or if the glaze has something to do with it?) that would be removed and thus soften it – but no matter what I did (hot water, cold water, different detergents, high dryer heat, etc), it didn’t change the hand of the fabric. I stuck it on my shelf and tried to figure out if there was something I could do with it. I don’t back down from a challenge, but sometimes I have to roll a problem around in my head for a minute before I come up with a solution.

During this time, I was sent an advance copy of Tilly’s newest book, Stretch! (hello, hi, that’s an affiliate link). I love most of the patterns and projects in that book, and the one that really stuck out the most to me was the Stella Hoodie pattern. I am not a huge fan of the athleisure trend, so the joggers were a bit lost on me (it’s fine if you wear them, but those are PJs are far as I’m concerned, and I don’t wear PJs in public), but I looooooved the pictures of the hoodie lengthened into a dress! I thought my weird french terry might work with that pattern – and, at the very least, it would probably function great as a swimsuit coverup.

I made the size 2 of this, based on my measurements and the suggested size from the book. I don’t remember how much length I added, whatever the book suggested (probably 8″ or 10″ – and then I cut some of it off when it came time for hemming). I did simplify mine a bit from the book – rather than line the hood and the pocket, I just turned under the seam allowances and stitched them down. The whole thing was sewn on my serger, other than the button holes (which my machine had no problem sewing, although I did back them with a little piece of fusible interfacing first), and the hems were done on my coverstitch machine. This fabric was very, very, very easy to work with – stable, not at all shifty of curly, and only shed a little bit when cut. It pressed nicely, which was great for getting those sharp hems.

I originally envisioned a black drawstring for the hood, but red was all I had on hand. I actually like it! It’s a nice little sporty pop of color. God, I sound annoying.

If you’re curious about my leggings – they are the Virginia leggings, made ages ago (in 2015, I think). My fabric is a wool knit from Paron in NYC. And those white lines are mock flatlocking done with my serger (where you sew the two layers together and pull them apart, or whatever it says to do in the instruction book I honestly I don’t remember haha) – which I 100% did because I didn’t have enough yardage to cut full length legs, so they had to be pieced. I added additional piecing so it would look intentional. It actually, in retrospect, looks kind of stupid, but honestly I usually wear these as long underwear so whatever I don’t care.

So that’s about it for this little dress! I actually quite like how it turned out – despite being apprehensive up until the very last minute of hemming. It’s cute and sporty and I feel cute in it. I think it will make for a good swimsuit coverup – but it also works as a cute little dress. As much as I didn’t like the fabric when receiving it, it works really well for this garment since it hold its structured shape. And since the garment is not close-fitting, the fabric isn’t scratchy or uncomfortable to wear. A very pleasant surprise!

In other news, if you’re still holding out for a good french terry, may I recommend this french terry from Mood Fabrics. I got a few yards of this and it is GREAT – super soft, super stretchy, super drapey, super bamboo (yas bamboo). Plus it comes in tons of colors!

**Note: The fabric used in this post was provided to me by Mood Fabrics, in exchange for my participation in the Mood Sewing Network. I also received the Stretch! book from Tilly & the Buttons as a gift, but was under no obligation to post a project from it (I just really like the book!). All opinions, as always, are my own!

Tags: completed, dress, french terry, hoodie, hoodie dress, knits, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, stella hoodie, stretch sewing book, Tilly and the Buttons

Comments 31 Comments
Categories completed projects - new, Mood Sewing Network

Completed: Jalie 2567

4 Oct

I know what you are thinking.

“don’t you already have a robe you made?”

Yes. Also, don’t tell me how to live my life.

Honestly, I like that plaid flannel robe in theory – but not so much in practice. One, the arm holes are low on me – which makes the whole thing a bit binding to move around in when it’s tied shut. And because of how the ties are attached the fronts, it’s not the sort of robe that you can leave hanging open (which is honestly how I prefer to wear my robes). As pretty as it is, it’s not terribly practical for my daily wear – as evidenced by how much I kept going back to the fleece robe (my Mamaw gave me a new one for Christmas that same year, so at least it was a fresh fleece amirite). Making a robe seems like a terribly boring thing – in terms of sourcing a pattern and supplies, then sewing it together… yawn. I suppose you could make it more interesting by using really nice materials or embellishing the pieces, but we’ve already established that pretty isn’t always practical for me.

So I made another one, and it’s boring, and it’s perfect. Yay!

The pattern is Jalie 2567, which is your classic oversized, cushy bathrobe. No lie – I compared the pattern pieces to my existing fleece robe and they are almost exactly the same, even down to the pocket size. If you are looking for a no-frills, classic style that wouldn’t be out of place on a rack in Macy’s during December, this is the pattern for you. If you want something fancier, tbh I have no idea why you are still reading this blog post get out now.

The robe features a giant shawl collar, set-in sleeves (that are super wide so you can wear layers underneath), gigantic pockets, and a tie that is totally separate (but is held in place with 2 belt loops). Exactly what I was looking for. The thing about Jalie patterns is that they are super cheap (this one is like $10) and they come in 27 fucking sizes. Forreal, you could make every single person on your Christmas list their own personal robe. I can’t, because I cut straight into that paper like the barbarian I am #noragrets

The downside to Jalie patterns is that the instructions are a bit sparse. However, we are talking about a simple bathrobe here. It’s pretty easy to figure out with the text instructions (and the smattering of illustrations that they include for certain steps), this certainly is not a difficult pattern.

After much much MUCH deliberation, I cut a size R, which is actually a little bigger than my measurements. The next size down dropped me into Kid’s sizes, which I was having a hard time getting my head around. In retrospect – I think the Q would have been a slightly better fit, but I’m happy with the oversize of the R. I live in an old house and we are expecting a crappier-than-usual winter this year, so I’ll likely be wearing a few layers underneath this thing anyway. As you can see in these pictures, the sleeves ended up a little long – so I cuffed them back for now; I am thinking I will probably want that extra length when it gets cold. If not, it’s easy to rip out the stitching and re-hem!

As I mentioned, I wanted a pretty basic bathrobe pattern – but I did opt to fancy it up a little with my fabric choice. I was originally considering another fleece (this grey cotton fleece to be exact. Like your favorite sweatshirt except even better!), but Kate at The Confident Stitch suggested I try one of their Soy French Terrys instead. I chose the wine French Terry, but there is also grey, black, and aubergine, FYI!

I don’t know what differentiates soy French terry from other fibers (other than, well, the literal fiber content haha), but this stuff is pretty awesome! It’s just as warm as your standard fleece, but a lot more luxurious. And heavy! Weight might be an issue if you are planning to lug this thing around on trips or whatever, but mine will be staying at home with me. It washed up super soft and the color has stayed nice and rich. The downside to having a wine red robe means I look like I’m trying to channel my inner Hugh Hefner, but, you know, maybe we can just agree that the man had good taste in robes.

This fabric was pretty thick, which made it a bear to cut – and the pattern pieces are large, which again added to the strain. Once that was all done, though, sewing it together was pretty fast and efficient. I serged all my seams (you don’t need to do this for this pattern, but I liked that it sewed and finished my seams in one go) and then topstitched as directed. The fabric took to pressing very well and show topstitching beautifully, which makes the finished piece look pretty good! I didn’t do any fancy seam finishing or stabilizing or whatever – just a basic cut and sew job. This is the type of project that is really simple, but a little elevated due to fabric choice.

I actually finished this a couple of months ago, and while it hasn’t gotten a ton of wear just yet – I did get to take it for a spin during our random post-Labor-Day-cold-snap. It’s so warm and snuggly, and much more comfortable than my last robe – I feel cozy, but not restrained. Even Amelia likes snuggling up to it 😉

Big thanks to The Confident Stitch for sponsoring this post, for which I might have never found my true love lies within that of a bathrobe. Guys, if you haven’t checked out the Confident Stitch, give them a holler – they have merino wool. Wouldn’t that make an AMAZING robe?! Damn, now I kind of wish I’d thought of that first haha.

Tags: completed, confident stitch, french terry, Jalie, jalie 2567, organic, robe

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: Augusta Hoodie // Anima Pants

22 Aug

I know it’s still like 8000 degrees here in the South, but I’m already thinking ahead to the next season! This year, I want to be ready when the cold starts creeping in – even though you & I both know that won’t realistically happen here until, like, December (if not later!).

With that being said, I started this project WAY THE FUCK back in May – you know, when summer was the creeper. Took me this long to finish it, but whatever!

Prepare yourselves. This is a two-part project, so there are a bunch of pictures.

First part – the one I started in May (or was it April? omg.) is this sweet-ass track jacket hoodie combo! The pattern is the Augusta Hoodie from Named. I don’t tend to sew a lot of patterns from this company – I find most of the styles a bit outside of my personal style preferences (like the Inari dress that everyone is going apeshit over and I JUST CAN’T GET BEHIND THAT SORRY), but occasionally I’ll come across something that makes *me* go apeshit (see: my beloved Jamie Jeans LOVE U). As was the case with this jacket! The pattern was given to me as a gift by my lovely friend Carla; it has taken me over a year to decide what to make it up with, but I think it was worth the wait!

The Augusta Hoodie is a combo track jacket/hoodie with welt pockets, front snaps, and seaming that is perfect for some crazy colorblocking (even though I totally went the boring route). I made a size 32, and adjusted the sleeve length as I found them a bit long (a normal alteration for me).

Pattern construction wasn’t too terribly difficult – Named has gotten much better with their pattern instructions (they used to be quite sparse) and I had no problems with any of the steps, including the welt pocket. The jacket is unlined, but there is a facing so you get a nice clean edge at the front. The hood is lined, which I left off because my fabric was so thick. I also added a drawstring to the hood, cos I liked the way it looked. Ideally, I would have done this before finishing the hood – and used my machine to sew grommets around where the drawstring goes. Instead, I decided to do it after the hoodie was completely finished, and thus just popped a couple holes in the hood with my scissors and hoped for the best, ha.

The fabric is a super thick, super heavy cotton French Terry from Organic Cotton Plus. I went with the Cranberry color, although they have tons of other color options for French Terry. This fabric is amazingly thick and soft and will be wonderful to wear when the temperatures start dropping. The piped sleeve seams are done with strips of rib knit fabric, just flat – there is no piping in there (only cos I didn’t have any on hand and I didn’t feel like waiting for any to ship). The ribbing at the bottom and cuffs is actually two different kinds of fabric – I originally planned to use the aforementioned rib fabric from OCP, to keep everything consistent, but it was way way WAY too lightweight to work with this thick fabric. I ended up painstakingly ripping off the bottom band (which was serged on) and replacing it with a sturdy rib knit from Mood Fabrics, which holds up much better with the thick French terry. Of course, I fucked up my measurements and didn’t buy enough, so the cuffs is an entirely different rib knit that is a lighter weight (but heavier than the rib fabric from OCP). I don’t remember where that rib came from as it was in my stash, but I’m sure it was also from Mood. If you look closely, you can see that they are two slightly different shades of white, but I am choosing to ignore that. Also, rib is a weird word when you type it over and over. RIB.

Sewing with this fabric wasn’t necessarily difficult, but it did require some finesse because it is SO THICK. Cutting was kind of awful – my scissors are still pretty dull (yup, haven’t gotten them sharpened yet. How long have I been meaning to do this? 2 years?), and they didn’t have the easiest time chopping through all that thickness. It actually hurt my hand to cut through double layers, but also I am a huge baby. I sewed the majority of this on my serger – French Terry sheds like crazy, and serging helps keep that at minimum – and there were a few sections of massively thick layers where I had to coax the handwheel to get things to keep moving. My snaps are set using an industrial snap-setter – again, I have access to this from my old job (in sewing production) – I have NO idea how you’d set snaps in this otherwise! I guess the pattern calls for a lighter fabric, which would certainly be easier to work with. Overall, I wouldn’t say it was hard – it just required being slower and more patient. Which is infinitely easier when you are sewing something way the fuck out of season and know you won’t be able to wear it for months regardless 🙂

This track jacket reminds me of the stuff we used to wear back in the early 2000s, which I was still super active in the Nashville Hardcore scene. We were ALL ABOUT track jackets and hoodies, which looked real good with our tight jeans and Saucony Jazz shoes 😉 I definitely had a baby blue track jacket for years, which I loved everything about except that the fit was just a little boxier than what I wanted. So, here I am reverting back to my 16 year old self. Maybe should buy some Sauconys and relive the memories of the mosh pit or some shit.

Anywayyyy, after I finished the jacket, I realized I had enough French terry left over to make a pair of pants. Sweet! Like I said, this fabric is really thick and cushy, and I figured it would make a nice and warm pair of pants for lounging around the house.

I used the Anima Pants pattern from Papercut Patterns, sewn in a size XXS with about 2″ of length taken off. This was a very easy and straightforward pattern – basically just a knit pant with pockets, cuffs at the hem, and an elastic waistband with a drawstring. I did have minor troubles getting the elastic waistband sewn in – I think mostly due to fabric choice, as again, SO THICK OMG – but it’s fine, just a bit wonky looking. Whatever! For the white ribbing, I used a white cotton interlock knit, also from Organic Cotton Plus, which I so happened to have in my stash (the knits I used on the hoodie didn’t have enough yardage for these pants). It is leftover from these tshirts, btw. I can’t believe that shit was still hanging around my stash, but I ain’t gonna argue with that!

I am quite happy with how the pants fit, as well as how comfy and cozy they are. I am not especially happy to see that I have basically made an unintentional pair of Santa pants, but, it is what it is. I wasn’t planning on wearing these out of the house anyway (sorry, the whole ~athleisure~ trend is another thing I just cannot get behind), so I’m not terribly concerned about it. At least I have the perfect outfit to wear this Christmas.

(Btw, in case you were wondering – I also made my top. It’s a Papercut Patterns SJ Tee, sewn in a lightweight jersey fabric and cropped.

I should add, another thing I had no intention of doing was actually wearing these two pieces together.

Because I definitely look more like a late 90s Puff Daddy in this ensemble HAHA

I will let y’all know when my rap album drops, ok? Holler.

**Note: The French terry was given to me by Organic Cotton Plus, in exchange for a review. All rap opportunities are 100% my own.

Tags: anima pants, augusta hoodie, completed, french terry, hoodie, jacket, named clothing, organic cotton plus, pants, papercut patterns, rib knit, santa, track jacket

Comments 46 Comments
Categories completed projects - new

Completed: A French Terry Lola Dress

11 Dec

Good morning, everyone! I guess I’m back to posting about sewing things… it was a nice hiatus, anyway! I had a lovely vacation, a very relaxing weekend at home, and now working on a new big sewing project (a coat for Landon!). In the meantime, I have a small backlog of projects that I’ve been meaning to post, so obviously I will start with the most recent one first, because it is my most favoritest.

LOLA LOLA, I LOVE LOLA.

Y’all remember the Lola sweatshirt dress, right? Gah, sometimes I feel like – with the influx of new patterns coming out at such a rapid pace (which is not necessarily a bad thing – but it can get overwhelming at times!), we forget about the really good ones that are just a little bit older. And by older – sometimes that’s as “old” as a few months! So I’ve made it a point to re-visit some of my favorites and make them up in new fabrics. I mean, they’re a favorite for a reason, yeah? 🙂 (but don’t worry – I’ll obviously still sew up new releases as well because, ooh, new and shiny!).

Anyway, Lola was always one of my favorites! A really fun and flattering twist on the sweatshirt – here’s a princess-seamed sweatshirt dress! I’ve made this pattern twice before (see: one and two), so I knew it was a winner. Side note: While version 1 gets worn aaaallll the time (love that dress!), version 2 is gone. The cheap fabric I used meant that the dress was constantly pilling and just looked old and shitty, so I removed it from my house. So that’s that. Also, wow, I sort of almost miss having brown hair now.

Since I’ve already made this pattern before, this was a very quick and satisfying sew. I sewed up the size 2, and then made further adjustments to get the fitted/streamlined look you see here. I started by using 5/8″ seam allowances (the pattern calls for 3/8″, but I’m a little bit smaller than the smallest measurements so this helped with sizing down a little), and then took in the waist another 1/2″ or so at every seam. Speaking of which, I really ought to adjust my pattern pieces for this shit because I go through this damn trying on/adjusting/trying on/adjusting rigamarole EVERY DAMN TIME I make this dress! Maybe that should be my New Year’s resolution – adjust my pattern pieces when I do fitting changes haha. That would save me a lot of trouble.

One thing to keep in mind if you’re making this pattern – if you want to adjust the fit at the waist, try on the dress before you attach the skirt. From there, you can pinch out the princess seams to get the fit you like (just remember to do the same to the skirt pieces so the seams match up!), but be careful not to overfit, as this really isn’t that type of dress.

Other changes I made to the pattern: I lengthened the sleeves to full-length (and redrafted the cuff piece accordingly), left off the hem band (and sewed a deep 2″ hem), and left off the pockets. Actually, those are the same changes I made to my last 2 dress. Whateverrr!

Also, wtf is going on with my hair in the last picture? And why do I look so… disgruntled?

The fabric that I used for this dress is pretty fabulous! I’ve mentioned before that I get fabric from Elizabeth Suzann’s wholesale orders (ah, the perks of working in sewing!) – that’s where this stuff came from. It’s French Terry, and it came with MATCHING RIB KNIT, which I used for the neckline and cuffs. The right side of the French Terry is a smooth knit with defined stitches, and the wrong side has the most beautiful, plush loops that make this shit SO FUCKING COZY. We use it at Elizabeth Suzann to make sweaters and sweater dresses – although there, we sew the fabric wrong-side out because it looks so cool (see the Billie Sweater). For me, though, I wanted my dress to be warm and cozy – so the loops stayed to the inside. Funny, after sewing all those sweaters – this side looks rather plain 🙂 It is, however, easier to see the cool seaming details this way, so that’s good!

Sewing this fabric was fine, if not a little messy (French Terry will shed like NO OTHER, so I would really hesitate to sew this without a serger – you need some way to finish the seams). Because the fabric is so thick, my serger had some difficulties at first with stitch tension – everything was super wavy. I just upped the differential feed to the max and tweaked the stitch size, and that spaced out the stitches enough so that the seams lie flat. Speaking of which, pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve ever had to tinker with the settings on my serger. For the most part, it does everything automatically without my input (it’s a BabyLock Imagine, in case you were curious. The queen of sergers!).

Sorry these pictures are kind of crappy/all over the place. I guess I’m out of habit at this point, ha!

Here’s an accidental picture that really showcases the fabric! I used the wrong side for the little sweatshirt V. And check out that ribbing! Love it when it matches 😀

I guess that’s it! Really glad to have another cozy winter dress to add to my arsenal – and this one is pretty freaking cozy (while still being cute!).

One last thing – ChatterBlossom (one of my sponsors + an all-around gorgeous gal) is currently having a holiday sale! Use the code LLADYBIRD15 for 15% off your purchase, good through 12/15 (so, soon!). Whether you need a last-minute gift for someone – or for yourself (I always buy myself Christmas gifts, because I always ALWAYS get myself the best presents! Such as this necklace, ahem) – definitely check her out! I love Jamie’s stuff, and the detail in some of the pieces (such as this elephant or this mosquito) is INSANE. Actually, that’s a ChatterBlossom piece I’m wearing in these photos – the navy anchor button 🙂 Love it!

Tags: ChatterBlossom, completed, dress, elizabeth suzann, french terry, knit, knit fabric, Lola, Victory Patterns