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Completed: Seren Dress

I am not one to apologize for a lack of posting, but HOLY SHIT Y’ALL has it seriously been a month since my last post!? My poor little neglected blog 😦 I don’t even have a good excuse… I’ve been sitting on these photos since August haha.

Look, a rare photo that does not involve the privacy of my own home / backyard! 🙂

This is the Seren Dress from Tilly & the Buttons, released earlier this summer. I loved this pattern the minute I saw it; I love that it’s a simple sundress with some fun details. While I personally don’t care for the ruffle version (again, not really a ruffle girl here), I was ALL ABOUT that little midriff slit! It’s hard to tell in the pattern photos, but this dress is actually one piece – not two. True story, I thought it was a two piece dress right up until I started sewing it haha. I think it would be easy to modify to be two pieces if that’s what you’d rather wear, but I had a lot of people comment that they’d never wear it because they don’t like to expose their midriff. As you can see in these photos, it certainly doesn’t expose very much!

Sewing this up, I made a size 2 which is based on my current measurements. I followed the instructions as written and made no adjustments to the sizing. Honestly I don’t remember much about making this dress, seeing as that I finished it back in JULY (sheesh), but I do recall it being really quick and satisfying to sew.

The fabric is a custom printed piece from Spoonflower, given to me by my favorite blue haired angel mermaid, Paula. Mine is printed on their fabulous lawn, which is sadly discontinued (sorry!). This might be one of my favorite fabrics I got this year – the colors are so happy, and I just love the print! I don’t typically wear pink, but I actually really like how it looks with the green. Like all lawns, this one was easy to work with and it also super easy to care for (wash & dry as normal with the rest of my clothes – no special treatment required). I do wash this dress pretty frequently and haven’t noticed any color fading.

Since finishing this dress, I’ve worn it a surprising amount – considering I don’t typically dress up, and it does feel a little dressy! This dress has taken me to the downtown Art Crawl, various parties and first dates, as well as to Canada and New Hampshire for nice dinners out! It’s easy to wear, but is also quite the statement dress. I’m happy I went a little out of my comfort zone with the fabric, because that’s definitely the best part!

Speaking of New Hampshire, that’s where these photos were taken! When I was up in Exeter back in August for my jeans workshop at Pintuck & Purl, Maggie took me out for a really nice dinner on the beach, and helped me get some photos right as the golden hour happened! It’s definitely a better backdrop than where I usually take my photos, ha! And in case anyone was wondering… I ordered the steak for my meal. I ALWAYS order the steak.

Unrelated to my dress, but we also got some photos of the white denim jacket I made (also earlier this year)!

This is the Hampton Jean Jacket, which I made after I finished my first jean jacket. It’s pretty similar to the first one, except I cropped about 4″ off the bottom, removed the inseam pockets (bc the jacket is now too short for them haha) and used a stretch denim for a little added comfort. All topstitching is white, so the gold buttons really pop! I have enjoyed wearing this over dresses and with skirts, the cropped length is perfect for anything with a high waistline.

Some photos of the dress:

I guess that’s all for this project! I have enjoyed wearing this dress all summer, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to busting out my beloved jeans and handknit sweaters as the weather cool down! JK we all know it’ll stay hot here through the end of November, ha! 🙂

Note: The Seren pattern was given to me by Tilly & the Buttons, with no obligation to post about it! And while my fabric was made by Spoonflower, it was given to me by my friend Paula!

Tags: completed, cotton lawn, dress, lawn, pintuck and purl, seren dress, spoonflower, sundress, Tilly and the Buttons

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Categories completed projects - new

Completed: McCall’s 6952

27 Jul

I think this summer will forever be known as the Summer of the Silk Sundress, well, for me, anyway. That seems to be all I want to sew/wear – not that I’m complaining!

So, here’s my newest addition to the closet – McCall’s 6952. I think this pattern is actually from last year, but I only just discovered it this year. As far as dress patterns go, it’s pretty basic – wide shoulder straps (aka BRA FRIENDLY STRAPS), princess seams, and an elastic waist. The dress doesn’t even require a zipper; you can just slip it over your head. And I don’t know what is with me and elastic waists lately, but it’s basically all I want to wear these days. I’m not pregnant or anything. I’m just constantly in search of comfort haha.

Simple is good, though, if you want a nice plain backdrop for showing off amazing fabrics. Or not even cool printed amazing fabrics – sometimes a luxe silk in an incredible color is amazing enough, you know?

The silk I used here is another fabric gift that I’ve been too terrified to actually use. Sunni sent it to me last year in a big grab box of fabrics – any of y’all who lurk her blog or perused her store (which I’m really bummed to hear about it’s closing!) know that woman has got some taste when it comes to fabric. I believe this silk crepe was actually dyed by her, even. Of course. And she sent me like 4 yards (or something generous like that) and here I’ve been too skeered to actually use it.

This pattern seemed like a good place to start. The dress isn’t super close-fitting, so I didn’t have to worry about fitting issues (other than the length of the straps, which were surprisingly almost perfect for me). I originally noticed the pattern because I really like view A – with the plain front and cut-out back – but I decided to make view B for this dress – with the cool little ruffled boobie flounce. My boobs need all the help they can get, y’all.

Construction-wise, I didn’t follow the instructions at all. The instructions have you line the dress, but I like wearing as few layers as possible when it comes to summer heat. So I just finished the neckline and arm holes with self bias binding (jeez, I sound like a broken record. I should rename this The Summer of Self Bias Binding haha). All hems are rolled by machine, and the inside is entirely finished with French seams. The elastic casing is a strip of bias binding, with the elastic threaded through.

And I totally prewashed/dried this silk in the machine so this is some shit that will never see the dry-cleaners. Machine washed silk FTW!

Fit-wise, I only needed a couple very minor adjustments (minor enough where I was able to fit them as I sewed). The shoulders were almost perfect, but I did raise them by about 1/4″. I also ended up taking about 2″ off the hem, as I think the shorter length is a bit more flattering on me.

I am thinking this will be a good pattern match for the cool fabric that I bought in Peru. The plain version with the cut-out back, I mean. Right?? I better do it before I change my damn mind again haha.