Simplicity 8872- Ruffles at the Bottom

I finished my Simplicity 8872 dress recently. I used a silky type fabric that I purchased at Joanns. It was a doorbuster for only $4 a yard. I used about 3 yards for this dress. I like the color and the little flowers on the fabric.

I sewed up view C which is a mid length (for me) with ruffles at the bottom. It has a few modifications. I did not add the cord at the top which is used to tie the collar together. I had to shorten the sleeves due to my short height. Instead of adding elastic around the waist, I added a tie at the sides long enough so that it can be wrapped to the back and tied at the front. I like how it turned out:

And it has pockets!

I learned how important it is to clip the curves. Especially around the neck collar. If I had not clipped the curves (and corners) of the V neck around the collar, it would have stuck out. Clipping the curves really helped to lay the collar flat.

If I make this dress again, I would like to try either adding on the cording or the trim. Dresses with ruffles make me happy!

Happy sewing!

Simplicity 1693- A fluttery sleeve blouse

I finished Simplicity 1693 over the weekend. It was a fast and easy sew since it only required to cut three pattern pieces, the front bodice, back bodice and the sleeves. I made my own bias binding for the collar, which was fun to do. I used a bias tape maker to do this task. It was my first time using this tool and it was really easy. What a great way to use your leftover scraps or fat quarters. I watched a very helpful YouTube video on how to make continuous bias binding tape.

I used this pattern many times over and over in the summer of 2016 to make summer tanks. I forgot that there are also options for short sleeves and long sleeves. There is also an option for a Peter Pan collar with short, elasticized sleeves.

I used some leftover fabric from a dress that I recently made. It’s a polyester crepe. I think I had a yard and a half leftover and it was the perfect amount! I made View B. I didn’t try to match my diagonals. I like how my short fluttery sleeved blouse turned out!

Can’t wait to wear this. Happy Sewing!

Simplicity 8926- A Checkered Gingham Dress

I finished a project this weekend. It’s a checkered gingham dress that I made for my daughter as part of her Christmas gift. I bought a black and white checkered gingham fabric from Fabric.com awhile back. I thought it was perfect for this dress. I had some practice with this pattern already since I made a top using this pattern before- Simplicity 8926. Here is my finished product:

I like how the top turned out. I chose View C but I lengthened it to make it a dress. I wanted to make View A which is a long sleeved dress, but I didn’t have enough fabric.

Since it was my second time using this pattern, I was able to breeze through and finish this project over the weekend. The only issues I had was with my serger. My lower looper thread kept breaking. I had to read through the Brother 1034D handbook, watch some YouTube videos and do some research on the internet and let’s just say I learned a lot about my serger this weekend. Which is not a bad thing.

I can’t wait to give this to my daughter. I hope she likes it.

Until then, happy sewing!