Off-the-Shoulder Dress | M6558

I don't know how the weather has been in your part of the country/world, but here in Central Virginia it seems like we have had more cloudy/rainy days than sunny and I could count on one hand the number of days the temperature has gotten above 75, which is completely atypical for this area. It's basically felt like March for 3 months now and I CAN.NOT.WAIT. to be complaining about how hot and humid it is. Seriously! Consequently, this dress that I finished at the beginning of April hasn't been worn except to snap these photos :( It looks so sad hanging in my closet being all but ignored as I try to find sweaters and jackets that I'm not sick of wearing since October. My hope is that by blogging about it, some warm, sunny weather will be encouraged to head this way and stay for a while. Summer will come. It has to, right? I really hope so.

As you can see, I have punched my ticket for the off-the-should-trend bandwagon and I am not even slightly sorry! I used McCall's 6558 View B a modified it a little to get the look I was going for in my head.

I made a quick muslin of the size 10 and decided not to make any alterations for fit, so even with the muslin step this was a really quick sew. I only made a couple of design changes, specifically shortening the length to mid-thigh (using my Southport dress as a guide) and also shortening the shoulder ruffle by about 1 inch. If/when I make another version, I might give the skirt more of an a-line shape to add a little fullness.

I picked up this fabric on my very last trip to Hancock Fabrics (R.I.P). I am super bummed to see them go as the only places in Richmond to buy apparel fabrics are Joann or Hancock and I have never been impressed with Joann's selection/pricing/quality of apparel fabrics. I guess that means a lot more online fabric shopping for me! I picked up a few different wovens on this trip, this one being a cotton/linen blend that was super soft even before washing it. It sort of has a mid-weight hand to it but because of the content I'm sure it will be nice and light and comfortable to wear if the weather ever decides to warm up.

Construction on this dress was really straight forward. The hardest part for me was feeding the elastic through the casings as it was a veryyy tight squeeze. The armholes are finished with bias binding leftover from my Easter dress (yet to be blogged). I serged the side seams, and the hems on the ruffle and skirt are double folded and topstitched. My favorite sewing hack as of late is using doubled sided tape (like this) for hems. I used the 1/4" wide version for the hem on the ruffle. Just place it along the raw edge of the fabric, pull off the paper, fold up the fabric the width of the tape, fold up again, and stitch in place. The result is neat and even and there is no measuring involved! Love it.

While I was cutting and sewing this dress, the thought of adding pockets came to mind more than once but was rejected each time out of sheer laziness. Of course, the first thing I said to myself when I put it on to go take these pictures was "Man, I wish I had some pockets." I guess I could do some unpicking and throw in some inseam pockets, or maybe patch pockets on the front would be easier? I don't know, the lazy voice in my head is telling me it's not that big of a deal. Perhaps I will wait until I can really get some wear out of the dress before I make a final decision.

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you about my favorite part, the tag! This is one of those garments where it is impossible to tell the front from the back, so I knew I needed to add something to help me differentiate between the two. I went a little computer nerd and designed this guy in Inkscape then converted it to a digital embroidery file. I used one of the embroidery machines at work to embroider him onto a piece of scrap fabric which I made into a tag and sewed into the dress. And then all of the heart-eye cat face emojis. I love him, I really do! I realize that when I'm wearing the dress, no one will know it is there (except for you guys if you see me wearing it, haha) but there is just something about it that makes me happy. Maybe thats weird, but I don't care.

Anywaysss, I think that's all I have to say about this pretty straight-forward make. I'm going to go savor these last little bits of sunshine before it rains all weekend (again).

---

Pattern:	M6558, View B by McCall Pattern Company
Fabric:	Striped Cotton/Linen Blend from Hancock Fabrics
Body Measurements:	Bust 36.5/Waist 27/Hip 37.5 (in inches)
Size:	10
Adjustments/Alterations:	shortened skirt to mid-thigh length, shortened shoulder ruffle 1 inch

Potential Project Tuesday, Vol. 1 // A Raincoat

Last week was pretty much all clouds and rain here, and as I was getting my things together to leave my Wednesday night class, I had this conversation with myself:

"Man, this lightweight, waterproof jacket is so functional."

"It really is ugly, though. I wish I had a cuter one."

"Oooh, I want a pink one! No, a printed one! A polka dot one! Better yet, plaid!"

"I could totally make one, I would just need the right pattern and fabric. I'm going to look into it when I get home."

Once I got home, I started searching through online pattern catalogs and trying to source fabrics, and I realize I do this all.the.time. I'll find inspiration from ready-to-wear clothes/accessories/decor or wandering thoughts like the ones above, I'll research everything I need to make it, sometimes I will even buy some of the supplies, and then I won't have time to get around to it for weeks/months/years, if at all. Then, if I do finally get around to working on the project, I have to track down the pattern and fabric sources AGAIN because it has been so long since I first found them. I waste all that time researching and sourcing and the idea just floats around in my head. So, I have decided to start a new blog series, Potential Project Tuesday, where I can get all of my ideas down on "paper" and have a resource when I do get around to the project. It may also serve as inspiration for you if you are looking for a new project and need ideas, making it a win-win for us both! Here are the ground rules:

• I might not have a potential project every Tuesday, but I'm aiming for at least bi-weekly
• The series will probably focus mostly on garments, but some accessories/decor items may creep in, too
• Each post will contain my inspiration, 3 potential patterns, and 3 potential fabrics. I feel like 3 is a good number that gives some different options, but limits me so it's not overwhelming (and when it comes to me and fabric, things can get out of hand very quickly, so I think it's good to have a place to make me stop).

Anyway, without further ado, the first Potential Project Tuesday, a lightweight, waterproof rain jacket!

Inspiration

Replacing my current ugly one (see above). My current jacket is a short, sporty one like the first image, but after looking around online at some other jackets I kinda like the idea of a longer, dressier, trench length one.

From left to right: Helly Hansen (via Nordstrom)
Ilse Jacobsen (via Nordstom)
French Connection (via Nordstrom)

Patterns

McCall's 6517: This is a more classic take on a raincoat. I don't love the button front, but I like the length, the sash (not pictured), and it has front pockets.

Sewaholic Minoru: I love that this pattern has a zip front and a hood, but I think my favorite part is that the hood can be hidden in that awesome wide collar! I also think the ruching would be very flattering. I would definitely have to figure out a way to add front pockets, though.

Jalie 2795: This is obviously a sporty, windbreaker style. The pattern is written for stretch fabrics, but I think with a few minor tweaks it could be easily made in a non-stretch fabric.

Fabrics

Sport Nylon in Royal Blue: If ya'll don't know by now, I have a serious soft spot for royal blue. I think the Minoru jacket would look uh-mazing in this color.

Polyurethane Laminate in Black: This is a more classic raincoat fabric and has a bit of a sheen in real life. While making it up in the McCall's pattern may be a bit on the boring side, it's sure to be a classic jacket that would never go out of style. 

Diagonal Waves Waterproof and Breathable Polyester: A jacket in this fabric would definitely be a statement piece! I know it's a little loud, but I love the colors and the abstract plaid print. I think this fabric would work for any of the patterns as long as you aren't scared to stand out in a crowd.

So are you feeling inspired?! Do you have a favorite raincoat pattern or one that you are dying to try out? I think that royal blue Minoru is calling my name, but I have a ton of projects in the line up that I need/want to get to first.

More Culottes! - McCall's 6965 Refashioned from a Skirt

When I moved from my mom's house into the house I'm living in now, a lot of my clothes and stuff ended up in big black trash bags. Coincidentally, so did some of my mom's old clothes that were headed to Goodwill, and by some stoke of luck a bag containing her old clothes and this skirt ended up with me:
I know you're probably thinking it was a stroke of BAD luck that made me the owner of this seriously dated number, and you can tell by the look on my face in that picture that I knew I had some work to do. BUT THAT FABRIC! I immediately fell in love with the print, and it's a rayon challis so it has a lovely drape and feel. However, the elastic waistband, drop waist, and midi-length were not doing it any favors. No worries, I knew I could make it into something fabulous that I would actually wear. Enter McCall's 6965.
It's no secret that I have a major clothes crush on culottes, and when I spotted this pattern in McCall's spring pattern line, I knew that skirt was destined to become a pair of cute and trendy culottes. First, I needed to deconstruct the skirt to see how much fabric I had to work with. It's hard to tell in the before pic, but the skirt is actually pleated along the drop waist so there was a bit more fabric hiding there. It had one front panel and two back panels with a center back seam (not sure why since it had an elastic waist??), so after I unpicked all the seams I had one larger panel, two smaller panels, and that whole elastic/drop waist thingy. I didn't take a picture of this step (boo) but the larger panel was about 30 x 30 inches and the two smaller panels were about 20 x 30 inches each.
The front and back princess seams on the McCall's pattern meant smaller pattern pieces that were easier to fit onto the smaller pieces of fabric, and I had just enough fabric to cut out all of the pieces including the waistband. I folded the larger piece in half and cut the side front and side back pieces from it, then placed the two smaller pieces wrong sides together and cut the front, back, and waistband with almost nothing left over. I didn't have nearly enough fabric to even attempt to pattern match, but with this print the seams and zipper pretty much disappear anyway.
The pattern directions were easy to follow, and since it is one of their Palmer/Pletsch patterns there are a bunch of tips for fixing fit issues and making pattern alterations. I sewed view B in a straight size 14 with no alterations (ironically not using any of those fit tips). I think this size actually sits a little lower on my waist that it is "supposed to" but it's very comfortable. And I'm going to go ahead and say what everyone is thinking: they are SHORT. If they actually sat on my waist where they were supposed to then they would be TOO short. I like short shorts so this length is fine for me, but if/when I make this pattern again I will probably add at least an inch to the hem, mostly for more butt coverage when I sit down.
As far as construction goes, I used french seams on all the seams except the center seam with the zipper. I really do wish french seams and zippers could learn to resolve their differences (haha), but in the meantime I finished that seam by simply folding under the seam allowance and stitching it in place. I followed the directions in the pattern for a standard lapped zipper, but next time I will probably use an invisible one. The zipper is far from my best, but again the print on this fabric is super forgiving so I didn't stress it too much. The pattern recommends a blind hem, but I used a 1/4 inch double fold hem. The blind hem just seemed like a lot of work for a fabric that you can't even see the hem stitching anyway.
Of course I had to steal a picture with little Lu.
Even with all the french seams this pattern sewed up pretty quickly, and I was able to succesfully take that dated skirt and make it into a modern pair of culottes that are now one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe! And one of my favorite parts of this project? The price! Since I got the pattern at Hancock Fabrics during one of their $1.99 sales, the zipper during one of their 50% off notions sales, and I had thread and black interfacing on hand, it only cost me about $3!!
I'm entering this project as part of the Summer 2014 Shorts on the Line Sewalong. Be sure to vote for my project, and all of your favorites, on Kollabora! Just click the little heart icon on the right hand side of the page to vote.