Nightgown from New Look 6096

I am still trying to perfect my nightgown pattern.  This is a close winner (New Look 6096), but it does have some excessive puffiness under the arms.  The shoulder straps are done in a unique way on this dress.  Fabric is used where it shows and then it is attached to elastic through the sides and back.  I have not complaints with sizing or fit.  The fabric is a lawn from the Lisette line at Joann's Fabrics.

The dress below is my muslin of McCall's M6073.  I shortened the length of the bodice at the shoulders and split the back into two panels to allow me to serge the neck binding on to the dress.  This is a winner of a dress.  The fit is great and it looks great.

It has been a very busy June at my house.  We have partially redone our house after a small flood in May.  A planned trip by my husband's company took us to Maui for a week. We returned home to 10 days of dirty clothes and linens (the kids went to camp).  That is 60 shirts, 60 underwear, and 60 shorts.  What pushed me over the edge was the 60 pairs of socks!  

The bicycle trip down Haleakala on Maui that left me with a death grip on the handlebars.

My daughter is getting crafty as the big age of 8.  We made this handbag yesterday from old ribbons.  I used Steam a Seam 2 and ironed on the ribbons.  It was a cute and easy project for her.

I am looking forward to a relaxing July and spending time around the house!

McCall's M6074...yes, my serger has black thread in it.

This is another dress I whipped out before my house was in a total mess with construction.  My serger and coverstitch machine were loaded with black thread and I was sewing for a deadline.

McCall's M6074 is supposed to be a one hour dress.  I spent one hour trying to get the elastic in under the bust with my coverstitch machine.  I dumped the extra placket for the elastic and thought I would sew clear elastic in its place.  Next time I will use regular elastic.  This is a very easy dress to sew and hangs beautifully.  Wonderful summer dress.

For those of you interested in a house transformation, this is the start of new floors.

There is more dust in my house than one could imagine.

The area in my kitchen that started this whole mess!

I get to put my sewing room back together this weekend!  YEAH!

McCall's M6073

I am determined to master knit jersey.  I am almost there with this dress, McCall's M6073.  I made a muslin for this dress (not pictured yet) and was so pleased that instead ending up a nightgown it will also be a dress to wear.  M6073 is written for a sewing machine to use in construction, but I was using my serger and cover-stitch machine.  So, that V-neck binding in the back was impossible to sew on with a serger.  On this dress, I used a lining for the front and back to make the stitching easier on my coverstitch machine using a single needle.  The muslin helped me decide to take out an inch at the shoulder, it was causing gaps in the front.  I used clear elastic on the shoulders and in the skirt seam, leaving off McCall's elastic casing in the waist.  The fabric for this dress is a poly jersey from Helen Enox in Oklahoma City.  (I shop on my vacations.)

I am super pleased with the dress.  My teenage son gave me a compliment about how great it looked.  I must be doing something right!

I spent the end of last week sewing up a storm.  Our house got a little water in it from a storm in early May.  This is a picture of my kitchen with a section of the wood floor gone.  

This is my sewing room, completely packed and moved to get new floors this week.  I have spent my time catching up on other projects and smocking.

When the dust settles, I will post my new kitchen.  (And there is A LOT of dust.)