OOP Vintage Simplicity 7813

Aloha Everyone!

I have had this Vintage Simplicity pattern for a very long time.  I am sure it is at least 20 years old or close to it.  How do I know?  It calls for shoulder pads!!!  LOL, I didn't include them in my finished version, and honestly, I'm not sure I will be keeping the dress.  It is a lot of print and feels old-fashioned, not vintage.  Ah well, you live and learn.  I have always admired this pattern, so I am glad I made it regardless.  Perhaps in a different print it would be a winner.  

As you can see, the dress has flutter sleeves, the option of a straight skirt or flared skirt (I made view 2 with the flared skirt), pullover styling with a center back button and loop closure, and elastic encased in the waistband.  The waist tie is sewn into the waist seam.  I changed a couple of things in the design.  I made the neck wider and finished it with self-fabric bias binding instead of facing.  I made the dress out of rayon purchased from Fashion Fabrics Club.  I was attracted to the print, because I thought it looked a little "art deco", and I was thinking it would look nice with the antique necklace I am wearing.

Without further ado, here is the final dress with some close-up shots of the details.  If you are interested in making the dress, beware, because it requires an amazing amount of fabric due to the skirt flare, (4 5/8 - 5 7/8 yds.).

Waist Tie Detail

Self-Fabric Bias Binding on Neckline
Narrow Hem on Sleeves and Dress

Button and Loop Closure

In other Maui news, the fair is this weekend!  We took our boys on Thursday night.  It was a humid drizzly evening, but we had lots of fun.  Here are a couple of photos.  As you can see, I do wear my creations!

Kwik Sew 3533

The Whales have Arrived!

Well maybe not the humpbacks from Alaska quite yet, but these cute little whales swam in from Michael Miller's "Thar She Blows" series and dragged with them a "Mini Mikes" diamond design pattern to coordinate. This fabric was purchased specifically for a pair of PJ bottoms.  I just couldn't resist how cute it was or how perfect it would be given my current location!  I've used New Look 6005, which is my tnt pattern for woven pj bottoms.  See another pair here.

I haven't felt terribly creative this past week, so hopefully this project will get the juices flowing again.  However, I think I will make one or two more pairs before I put the pattern away for a while.  It's that time of year where I like to make at least one pair of flannel pj bottoms too.  Thanks to all who stopped by to comment on my last dress!  I haven't worn it yet, but plan to this weekend.

Caroline asked if I would do a review on Fashion Sewing Supply's interfacing.  I have used and keep in stock the Pro-Weft fusible interfacing, the Pro-Sheer Elegance fusible interfacing, and most recently the Pro-Tricot fusible interfacing.  I love all of them.  I haven't had any problems with them shrinking or bubbling after I've washed my garment.  Keep in mind the Pro-Weft's texture will show through if you use it on a fabric that is too light-weight.  The instructions do say it is for mid to heavy-weight fabrics, but I tend to use it on all my wovens where I want a heavier feel like on skirt or pant waistbands.  I don't use any other kind of interfacing.  I am very satisfied with it.  Pam also runs sales from time to time, so it is good to get on the email list or Facebook.  Hope that helps!  

New Look 6097 Urban Delight

Aloha Online Ohana,
I hope your weekend is starting out beautifully.  I have just finished New Look 6097, a Project Runway pattern.  I love the combination of this pattern and this ITY knit from Gorgeous Fabrics.

The dress is an accurate representation of the pattern except for the sleeves.  I lengthened them and cut out about 3 inches from the width, so that they have a slim fit.  For the most part I am happy with how this turned out.  In the future however, I will shorten the length of the neckline so that there is not so much room in the bust.  I did have to shave 5/8" off each bodice front side seam so that the fit wasn't sloppy.  It still has a bit more room than I would prefer, but it won't stop me from wearing the dress.  I love this print!  I would love to make a cropped black jacket to go with it.  Maybe that will be my next project.  I will do a complete review at sewing.patternreview.com later today.  For now I will just share the pictures and details of the final look.

Neckline

Collar interfaced with Pro-Tricot Deluxe Fusible from FashionSewingSupply.com

Self Fabric Belt, Bodice Front Pleats, and Pockets

The toughest most time consuming part of making a dress like this is laying out the pattern pieces and cutting it out, in my opinion.  There are a lot of pieces for this dress.  I cut each piece individually so that I didn't have any distortion.

Mahalo to all of you all for sticking with me through my big hula dress project, and for the kind comments.  It's nice to be back with everyone!

Simplicity 1914 and Ku Mai Ka Hula 2012

Aloha Again!
Today I am excited to be able to share with you the project that kept me occupied for the last month.  I made dresses for a group of beautiful women to wear in their international hula competition that took place this past Saturday at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.  This annual event is called Ku Mai Ka Hula.  It features dancers from Japan and Hawaii.  Dancers perform traditional and modern hulas, individually and/or with a group.  Besides being impressed with the skill of the dancers, I was also amazed to see that each group or individual who danced had their own live music.  Sometimes it was just one person with their instrument and other times it was a small band.  What a lot of coordination and practice had to be employed to make this 5 hour event come together successfully.  These sweet gals blessed me with a ticket to attend.  Thank you!  I truly enjoyed watching you all perform, and wish I could have stayed for the entire event!

The dresses were based off of Simplicity 1914.

As you can see, this is an Amazing Fit pattern.  It features a princess seamed bodice (with different pattern pieces for different cup sizes), banded neckline (which I found to be the most difficult phase of the construction process, but when done right, does lay down flat), invisible zipper in the center back, raglan armhole sleeves, pleated a-line skirt, and lots of fitting tips in the instructions.  The separate pattern pieces for the different cup sizes were extremely helpful for the eight dresses I made.  With each new size, I began by constructing a muslin.  I was fortunate to only have to make 4 muslins in all.

We wanted these dresses to fit well in the bust and neckline, but they did need to have some room in the waist and hips so that when the dancer raised her arms, the dress would easily slide back down into position.  A dancer cannot be adjusting her dress while she is dancing.  Getting this part of the fitting right was my biggest challenge.  Even though there are three inverted pleats on the front of the dress, the overall skirt portion seemed to be cut too narrow for our purposes, so room was added on all the dresses in the width of the skirt, mostly at the side seam.  The pattern does come with three different skirts pieces (in the back) based on whether one is slim, average, or curvy.  The muslin also helped us to realize that the design of the dress has a short waist.  Nearly all of the dancers preferred that the front point of the bodice come down lower than the original design.  Therefore, the bodice was lengthened by 3 inches.  We also made two other changes including: lengthening and widening the sleeve on View B and lengthening the dress to mid-calf for each of the dancers.  

New Sleeve Shape

Example of lengthened bodice piece. 

And here are seven of the lovely ladies in their dresses!  Hopefully, I will be able to update the blog with a picture of them during the competition as soon as one becomes available.  Unfortunately, the program directors did not allow the audience to take pictures while they were performing.

   Congratulations to you all!!!

Kwik Sew 3533 A Favorite

Aloha Dear Readers,

Just popping in to say, "I'm still alive!"  I have fantastic news.  The big sewing project I've been working on is finished.  What a relief!  It was an amazing opportunity, especially because it allowed me to stretch myself with regards to fitting.  However, the big reveal will still have to wait a couple more days.

In the mean time, I was finally able to get back to some sewing for me.  I ordered this rayon knit from Marcy Tilton's website specifically for Kwik Sew 3533.  I had some leftover black rayon knit for the trim in my stash.

I have made this knit dress two times.  See the review here.  It is a quick and fairly easy sewing project.  I did most of the construction with my serger.

Close-up of front neckline.

This is such a quick post tonight, but I look forward to getting back to consistent blogging and sewing this month.  I'm also looking forward to catching up on so many of your sewing projects!  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!