The Last of 2018

Here it is - the last thing I sewed in 2018.

I bought the floral fabric about 6 or 7 years ago, I think, at the quilt shop in the little town where my mother lived. There was only a little over a yard of it left. I wasn't sure what I wanted to make of it and, feeling sentimental about it, I wanted whatever I made to be perfect. I liked what I did with McCall's 9065 last January and it seemed like the perfect solution for the problem of what to do with just a little fabric.

I found the dark green fabric to go with it at another quilt shop, one near me. Here is a close-up of the two fabrics.

And it did turn out perfect. I love it. I made two minor changes: I made it slightly longer and I added side vents. Okay, maybe those aren't really perfect.

I love these fall colors and I'm a little sad that fall is past but I'm not strictly seasonal with the colors I wear so I will wear it again before next fall.

The Last Dress of Summer

I really hate that summer dress season is ending but here it is. Saturday is the official first day of fall so this will be the last dress I make in summer 2018.

I Frankenpatterned the heck out of this make and I absolutely freaking love it! The bodice is based on Simplicity 1803 but with no front seam and I laid pieces from Simplicity 1882 over it to get the neckline and I used the collar from that pattern and made it just a little bit wider. The skirt is a half circle. The pockets are from a very old skirt pattern. I traced and enlarged the pocket a long time ago and I haven't seen the original pattern in ages.

I love the colors in this fabric. It can work for fall too. There are several different color choices for cardigans to go with it, none of which I currently own. Yay, more shopping. The red shoes are Clark's Cloud Steppers.

I added this lovely vintagey looking button (new, not actually vintage) and darn it; it's not straight.

I love it but I think I might look for a round button to replace it.

Now take another look at that first picture. That open rectangle to my right, on the left side of the photo... that's the window of my future sewing room, looking out on our lovely front yard. (We are planning to move the old broken down glider chair to the back porch.)

Sewing the Wrong Season

Everything about this fabric says FALL! But it also kept saying "Sew me next! Sew me next!" I tried to resist. I spent lots of time going through my sizable stash trying to get inspired by something more appropriate for mid to late winter or even early spring but this burgundy leaf print is all I wanted to sew.

I used New Look 6963 view C with sleeves from a different pattern. I've sewed it like this a couple of times before and I really like it. It's comfortable to wear but has just a bit of shaping, thanks to back darts.

I love it but now I'm over fall and I'm getting interested in sewing for spring, the prettiest time of year.

Soon to be Useful

A year or two ago (maybe longer; I can't remember) when the Hancock Fabrics in Tulsa had their going out of business sale I bought 3 pieces of cotton interlock knit. I originally planned to make t-shirts and only bought one and a half yards of each but later I decided it was too heavy for summer wear. Mornings have been cool lately so I was inspired to get out that fabric and make this:

I used this Butterick pattern, view D.

I wasn't sure I had enough fabric but I decided to lay out the pieces and see and it was just enough. It was very fast and easy to make, only two pattern pieces since it has kimono sleeves. I didn't bother with the button and loop because I doubt I would use it. I faced the neckline and front edges with wide bias tape.

Here it is with jeans:

The other two pieces of knit fabric are pink and orange. I don't know if I will make exactly the same thing with them but I'm very tempted.

Something for Warm Fall Days

Just a really quick showing-off of my latest:

This was a two-yard piece I bought at a local store. I used New Look 6078 and modified the neckline and used sleeves from a different pattern. I love the colors in the fabric. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but it has a lot of gold metallic in the print. I like this pattern a lot too. I've used it at least a dozen times.

Two New Patterns

Bought these today.

I will almost certainly never make 8244 as shown. Narrow skirts are not my style at all. I bought it for that asymmetrical top detail. The other one, 8166... I'm thinking about fall tunics. I'll probably make changes to that one too. The collar looks uncomfortable. But anyway, there's a good chance I might be trying that one out soon.