16. Inspired - DKNY Vogue 1407 | #sew16in2016

This post has been a LOOOONNNGGG time coming. I first posted a picture of this pattern and fabric match on my instagram May2015. It wasn't until Sept2015 that I posted a picture of me actually CUTTING the fabric. And here we are, over a year later finally getting to the actual sewing of the dress! I think what took me so long was that I didn't want to cut out the lining pieces because my tricot is so shifty. But I'll get to that in a minute.

This dress is Vogue 1407, a DKNY designer pattern. I love the silhouette of the pattern and if you've been reading for a while,  you know I love wrap and v-necklines. I was also drawn to this pattern because I am always looking for multi-purpose garments. Things I can wear to work, church, or even dressier events. This one definitely fit the bill.

I'm in love with Variegated Sweater Knit....

**This is NOT a sponsored post... I wish lol

I have this T-shirt that I got from Ross. The brand is "Free Kisses" and it is the softest most comfortable and chic looking t-shirt I've ever had. It's one of my most favorite pieces in my wardrobe and it's all because of the fabric. The fabric is soft and fluid, with 4 way stretch and it has an interesting look about it. It's white, speckled with black and it coordinated with ALOT of things in my closet. It could be dressed up or down and it was the epitome of secret pajamas. After failing in my search, online and in-store, for more of the same shirt, I stumbled across a green v-neck-ish top of the same brand and fabric! In South Carolina no less. lol As soon as I saw it on the racked I picked it up with a quickness!

I then became obsessed with finding out 1) what sorcery fabric is this?! and 2) could I get some to make my own tops?? Well a few weeks later Carolyn was celebrating National Sewing Month with a number of discounts from different companies and StyleMaker Fabrics was one of them. They actually had been doing a blog tour for their new Fall line of fabrics I believe. Well... quiet as it's kept, I've been on a fabric fast since March and I had been doing a really great job with not buying anymore fabric. I just told myself that I would just BROWSE the site and MAYBE I would stumble across my beloved textile.

10. Aliens Out - Burda 6829 and friends | #sew16in2016

What do you call a dress started April 2015, worn unfinished, and put back in the pile to be finished at a later date? A UFO. That's what you call it. Last April, my Uncle was having a 50th Bday Bash and his the theme colors were black and gold. I knew I had some black and gold fabric so I went through some patterns with my mom and she voted on Burda 6829 as the party dress for me. I think I had about a week to make the dress but of course I cut it out the night before and started sewing the day of.... Let's not forget I sew like a snail.

I sewed all day and I got to putting the sleeves on but I was contemplating on how to finish sleeveless or whether I should add sleeves. I messed up bad and had to unpick ALOT and had to walk out of the door with no sleeves, unfinished armholes, and a cropped jacket over it all because it was atrocious.

You're probably thinking "That doesn't sound that bad. Unfinished armholes on a knit are basically finished. And isn't this on of the 'easy' Burdas?"... Everything would have been fine but I had decided to flatline the entire dress... before reading the instructions lol.

Striped Scrap Skirt - Simplicity 1812

Earlier this summer when I was trying to figure out what style of skirt I was going to make my fringe suede remnant into, I went through all of my patterns to search for skirt patterns. I came across Simplicity 1812 as an option but I wasn't sold. So I thought "Well I can just make up a muslin real quick with some scrap fabric". I pulled out what was left from my Ankara shirtdress fabric and cut out the pattern. THEN I decided, "ehhh, I'll just make up my own pattern!" lol So here I had fabric cut out for a skirt pattern that, honestly, I wasn't feeling from the envelope. To a plastic baggy and the UFO basket it went. For MONTHS.

Once I decided I was trying to clean up my space and really get rid of UFOs so I could start new projects guilt-free, I came cross the baggy again. I felt like just scrapping it all to the trash. I really wasn't too fond of the pattern for whatever reason. Most of it being that they had a seam down the center front and the center back was on the fold. A small thing (and an EXTREMELY easy fix lol) but it annoyed me to no end. I am also not a fan of skirts with elastic waists so I try to avoid patterns like that. Finally I decided "ehh.. I'll just make it. It'll be quick". And quick it was.