Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Summer's in Full Swing Now!



I loved my last paper bag waist pants so much I knew I had to make another pair when I saw this wonderful tropical print from Sew Much Fabric. Rayon poplin has the perfect weight and drape for pants with pleats, a full skirt or swishy dress. It's an amazing fabric that launders like a dream and barely needs the touch of an iron. These pants are from the custom trouser pattern drafted for me by Andrea of Sew To Fit.

I've topped off this summer duo with McCall's 7775 dress pattern which I shortened to be a top


and I used the Kiwi linen from SMF. This pattern is not for the faint of heart. As simple as it appears I found it to require some fairly major surgery to alleviate gaping around the under arm area. I estimate I removed a good 3" from each side in order for it to fit properly.

 
However, in the end, all of my dislike of fiddling with this pattern was made up by being able to look at this luscious green linen. I cinched the pant waist with a brown grosgrain ribbon belt that ties the two pieces together. The kiwi linen was the perfect topping for the island-y pants and I love the whole look!

 
Thanks for stopping by and until next time, happy sewing!


Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Molten Lava Tank Dress


My original thought for this yummy rayon knit called Lava from Sew Much Fabric was to make a top to go with the linen suit from my last blog post. However, it was nudging me in the direction of a dress instead because it wanted to be shown off. (Yes, I really do think my fabrics speak to me!) I chose the tank dress view of OOP McCall's 6355 that I've made SO many times and it's a pattern I dearly love because it's so versatile.
The colors in this fabric are all beautiful and it does look molten:


I lined my dress with beige performance knit and it worked great. I found a really helpful tutorial on how to machine finish the shoulder seams of a lined, sleeveless dress. I will definitely use this technique again. I was going to use my in progress photos using the technique on this dress but it's so narrow at the shoulders that the photos were more confusing than helpful.
This little tank will get lots of wear this summer. It was the perfect simple pattern to highlight this smokin' fabric!


Thanks for stopping by and until next time, happy sewing!