Saturday, April 27, 2013

Patchwork Twirl Dress. McCall's M6497

Last summer my daughter was with me on a pattern shopping trip and found this sweet dress.  I told her  it would be no problem to whip up.  (I was thinking about what a clever way to use up some scraps.)

McCall's M6497


I did make this at the end of last summer, but it was so large (size 8) I put it away for this spring.


McCall's M6497

A few notes about this dress if you have a cutie that wants a patchwork dress:

1.  It doesn't take a few scraps to make this dress, but almost 6 yards of fabric.
2.  It runs VERY large.
3.  The directions for putting together the patchwork skirt are "interesting."  
4.  It doesn't have a placket in the back.  The back bodice is sewn to the skirt.  Since it is so large, I doubt anyone will have problems with trying to get it onto a little body.





Back view of McCall's 6497


This skirt make a girl twirl!


Can you see the 6 yards of fabric?



Saturday, April 20, 2013

Looking Good Jacket by MacPhee Workshop

Looking Good Jacket by MacPhee Workshop

Every few sewing projects need to be easy to keep some variety in your sewing life.  This is one of those simple projects and I love the results.

Pattern:  Looking Good Jacket by MacPhee Workshop

Fabric:  black bamboo jersey knit

Lessons learned:  
This is a great fitting pattern.
With a ravel-free knit, you don't even have to finish all the hems!
You only need your serger to make the whole jacket.
I used my coverstitch machine and was not super pleased with the stitching over a few layers of thin knit.  It would be better to self-line the jacket and save the topstitching.
It takes a fair amount of fabric to make the circles for the flounces, but they look great.
After making it the first time, it would take me about 2 hours tops to make another.  

True to its title, it is a Good Looking Jacket!

Back View

Friday, April 12, 2013

AG Rebecca costume and look alike contest!

 1914
Rebecca costume from Med Welch and Children's Corner patterns

 April brings my daughter's lit club to the time period of Rebecca, 1914.  

So, here is the costume:


Rebecca Costume based on Children's Corner patterns.

Doll Dress Details:

1890 Hi/Low Waist Dress from Med Welch on Etsy.

I made the high waist dress with the wide round collar.  Easy pattern to follow the directions and make a great dress.  My only fault with the pattern in putting 18" doll set-in sleeves.  I always set in clothing sleeves, but doll sleeves make my fingers cramp.

1890 Hi/Low Waist Dress

Back view of dresses and even the girl and doll's hair match!




Close-up of bodice


This dress was tough to photograph.  The small print drives your auto focus nuts.

Love the full skirt with side pleats to match the doll.

The Girl's Dress:

Pattern:  
Bodice and Sleeves:  Children's Corner Lily with an A-line modification at the bottom of the bodice
Collar:  Children's Corner Louise
Skirt:  Children's Corner Sassy Skirt

Fabric:
OLD navy blue quilting cotton from my stash
(My daughter dislikes the fabric, so she dislikes this dress.  Her comment after seeing the dress was something like this: "How about we collaborate on the fabric selection next time?" )

Construction:
NOT ALL PATTERNS FROM THE SAME COMPANY WILL FIT TOGETHER, but Children's Corner patterns are made that way.  Such a breeze to put this dress together with the many different design choices from multiple patterns.  After sewing up the doll dress, I could easily pick the pattern pieces from a few Children's Corner patterns and come up with this dress.


Children's Corner Sassy Skirt, Louise, and Lily.
Lily bodice piece that was angled into an A-line for the flounce effect.



Yeah!  Only one more dress to go!

Full Skirt.

Close-up of doll.

Happy smile!


The dog joined the photo shot.


Big brother joined the photo shot.

Instead of a Just Like Me doll, Rebecca matches my daughter to a T.

Next month is the last lit club and will be in honor of Kit.