McCalls’s M7120

I picked the McCall’s M7120 dress pattern for my summer sewing project collection. I picked this pattern because it is designed for beginners. It’s a pattern that is really easy to put together and the instructions are easy to follow.

There is no zipper since it’s a pullover dress. It also teaches you how to sew darts and make a fabric belt.  This dress has a semi fitted ease. The pattern is designed for medium weight woven fabrics such as linen, chambray, cotton blends and crepe de chine.

I picked view D. View D has a high-low skirt which I am not really fond of but figured it would be a good lesson in sewing. I used a lightweight chambray. It was my first time sewing chambray fabric and I realized very soon that it’s an easy fabric to sew. I opted to not make the fabric belt. Here’s how it turned out:

I ironed the dress a couple times with steam but it still came out pretty wrinkly. I guess the fabric itself wrinkles easily.

I figure wrinkled dresses are part of my style anyway. This is a great dress to wear for Spring or Summer.

I can’t wait to wear my new dress!

Gathered skirt using fabric with a border

I finally finished my gathered skirt! I found this beautiful fabric at Joann’s. It is from Gretchen Hirsch’s fabric line. I love the white polka dots against the yellow background and the pink roses with the green leaves are so pretty! The colors just POP! Most importantly, it has that vintage vibe that I love so much.

I found a tutorial on Gertie’s blog for better sewing on how to make a gathered skirt. (find it here: how to make a gathered skirt by blogforbettersewing.com). By the way, Gertie is Gretchen Hirsch. This fabric is from her fabric line! So following this tutorial with this fabric was perfect! I used this tutorial specifically because it works well for fabric with a border. Gertie also has another tutorial but for a wrap skirt. It uses this exact same fabric. You can find the tutorial here: Border print wrap skirt by Gretchen Hirsch. And now, I shall unveil my (eh-hem) masterpiece! Here it is! My finished gathered skirt!

Can’t wait to wear it!

DIY Zipper Pouch

My son needed a zipper pouch to hold all of his school supplies for summer school. Rather than going to the store for that one item, since we already have all the school supplies he needs on hand, I decided to sew a zipper pouch myself.

I saved a little money by using what I already have- fabric remnants and a zipper. A zipper pouch is a great way to use fabric remnants because you don’t need that much material. I found some fabric remnants and cut them to the size I wanted. I also did some upcycling by using a zipper from an old dress. I used my trusty seam ripper for that task and it did the job.

I went on a Pinterest search and found a zipper pouch tutorial by mellysews.com. It was a great tutorial. Her tutorial lists the supplies needed, which is a 9 inch zipper, two 9 x 7 outer fabric pieces and two 9 x 7 lining fabric pieces. However, you don’t have to use 9 x 7 fabric pieces or a 9 inch zipper. You can use your own size of fabric material and zipper length, which is what I did. Here’s how mine turned out.

What a fun and quick sewing project. Great for a beginner or someone who wants to learn how to sew in zippers.

“Americans make more trash than anyone else on the planet, throwing away about 7.1 pounds per person per day, 365 days a year. Across a lifetime that rate means, on average, we are each on track to generate 102 tons of trash. Each of our bodies may occupy only one cemetery plot when we’re done with this world, but a single person’s 102-ton trash legacy will require the equivalent of 1,100 graves. Much of that refuse will outlast any grave marker, pharaoh’s pyramid or modern skyscraper: One of the few relics of our civilization guaranteed to be recognizable twenty thousand years from now is the potato chip bag”.
–Edward Humes, Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash