Sewing Month Project #2

We are over half way through National Sewing Month.  Here's one sewing project I have been working on in the last couple weeks and a good reminder that not every refashion goes as planned. You think you're going to make one thing and the sewing gods have other plans. This skirt started out as a very large shirt that I bought at the Goodwill last summer.

I took the sleeve cuffs and collar off and then ripped the sleeve and side seams.  I planned to make a dress using the same pattern as I had used for an earlier blue and white polka-dot dress.  I decided not to line the dress and that left me just enough fabric to cut out all the pieces. 

Here are the pieces I had to work with after disassembling the shirt.

A sleeve becomes bodice pieces

I did not follow the grainline when laying out the pieces.  I was just trying to fit them onto the fabric. When I got them all cut out, I spent about 2 hours trying to put the bodice together.  When I finally tried it on, the armholes were too small, there was not enough fabric to put a zipper in the back, and there was puckering in the yoke.  I didn't have any extra fabric to make changes or start over,  so I scrapped the top and just sewed the bottom into a skirt.  I had worked the original shirt front buttons into the front of the skirt, but I needed to add bias tape for the waist and then a fastener for the waist. It's not what I set out to make, but it was a good learning project.  How are your sewing projects coming along?

Finished skirt

Vintage Machine, Garage Sale Notions, New Dress

In honor of National Sewing Month, I completed a vintage and thrift themed sewing project.  I pulled together a $.99 pattern from Goodwill, $1 polka-dot fabric from a garage sale, and a free zipper found in an old sewing cabinet to create a new dress. I did all the machine sewing on my Pfaff 131 that I inherited from a neighbor.  I've had this machine for 8 years now, and it has worked on projects ranging from quilts to chair cushions and baby bibs to adult size clothes.  The Pfaff came in its own cabinet and sits near the patio doors in my dining room.  I have plenty of space to work and an inspiring view when I look up from my project.

This machine had only one owner prior to moving in with me.

I changed the covering on the seat and now it invites me to sew every time I walk past.

The pattern I chose was Burda 7951 style B with no sleeves.  I laid out the pattern pieces on my fabric and pinned them down.  It's a good thing I paused to take a pic because it allowed me to see that I had pinned patterns to the wrong side of the fabric.  A few minutes were spent repinning correctly.

Patterns pinned correctly

After cutting the pieces out, the dress went together quickly.  I opted not to put a lining in the dress and I did not put piping on the neckline or yoke.  I basted the zipper in and then machine sewed it. The zipper was large and is very prominent on the back of the finished dress.

Sewing over the hand basting

I'm a huge fan of polka-dots, so the finished dress delights me.  It fits well and and l like how it flows when I walk.  I paired it with wedges and some white jewelry.  Chalk this dress up as another success for my Pfaff 131. Better start looking for the next sewing project we can do together.

What have you been sewing this month?

A little squinting in the sun

Challenging to photograph polka-dots in the shade

Close-up on zipper

Senior picture