Like the Rising Sun - McCall's 6887

Hello everyone! It's been quiet around here this month but it's only because I've been busy making and crafting and enjoying it! :-D That also means that I have quite a few posts coming in the next couple of weeks ;-) (also, this post is pic heavy but it also has some fit questions :-))


Today I have a dress that I made by force of the one that gave birth to me lol I had a different project in mind at the time with completely different fabric but after I let her in to what was in my recent fabric purchase, she "insisted" that the yellow fabric in the box would be what I was making next. Why you ask? Because SHE had a yellow dress that she was planning to wear and of course I needed to properly coordinate. I love her.

After submitting to her suggestion (lol) I set off to find a pattern that would go with the Thred&Needles challenge for March which was Michelle Obama inspired fashion. I went through a long google search of the FLOTUS in yellow dresses and I found one that I thought I could pull off. Usher in McCall's 6887. I made View C which is better know as "business in the front and party in the back" LOL. The front had all of the design elements that I wanted to pull off the imitation dress (scoop neck, princess seams in bodice and skirt, sleeveless, straight skirt... ). I cut a combination of the size 12 and 14. I cut a 12 D in the bodice. On both center skirt pieces (front and back) I cut a 12, on accident really. I was supposed to grade out to a 14 in the skirt so I just cut a 14 in the side skirt pieces (front and back) and added the SA back to the side bodice pieces that would make them match up with the skirt. I cut a 12 at the top of the bodice back and graded out the a 14 at the skirt join. Are you still with me?

New "Challenges" Page!

I've been slowly cleaning up my blog and decided I'd clean up my sidebar. I put all of the blog buttons of challenges I've participated in over the years on their own page. When you click on it, you will see the challenges separated by year. All you have to do is click on the picture of the button and you will be directed to my blog post or the label of that particular challenge. I think it'll make it easier to keep up with now and as the years go by.

:-)

xoxo, Tasha

4. Four Seasons - Light Overcoat | #sew16in2016

When I first started my blog in 2013, one of the main focuses of it was to take clothes that I had that no longer fit me (due to weight loss) and upcycle them in ways that would benefit my wardrobe. This was before I actually knew what a pattern was or even how to buy fabric. Once I got a taste of the ability to make things from scratch, I basically fell off of the upcycle train. I think that last thing that I transformed or updated was December of 2013. I've been on a roll since then.

At the beginning of January, I really went through my bags and boxes of old clothes that I had plans for and did a REAL purge to decide what things I am really going to do something with and what things just needed to go into the donation pile. I am making a dedicated effort this year to at least FINISH what I started with the pieces that I had plans for at the inception of the blog with while I continue to make new and shiny things.

With that said, I revisited a transformation that I had actually STARTED in 2013 but left as a UFO for 2.5 years lol smh. Back in this post I introduced you to this dress that I had had since sophomore or junior year of high school (circa 2005).

  

 

It had turned very matrix-esque and it definitely was not my style anymore.  Back in '13 I had removed the lining with my seam ripper and just had it sitting like that for this long. ALL I HAD TO DO was separate that top part near the neck that joined together. Yes, it took me almost 3 YEARS to rip a 1 inch seam! *blank stare* I feel you judging.

The result is so simple but so.... PERFECT!

I don't normally do this butttt... McCall's Spring Patterns!

I don't sice pattern releases. I normally just take a look, quietly take my notes (add the ones I like to my neverending "buy" list) and move on. Idk what it is about THIS release in particular of the New Spring Patterns but McCall's put in some good work. I'm not intrigued by too many of them but the ones I like, I REALLY like. A lot. So here are my picks:




M7367: This photo is so beautiful and inspiring to me! I love the drape of the skirt and I rave enough about wrap-style tops. I have about 3 different combinations to make in my mind!

M7366: I know that I have been a big antagonist to jumpsuits but this bodice is bomb! lol Even just having the bodice to mix and match with different skirts is worth buying this pattern to me even if I never make a jumpsuit. The back is also unique so that lends to the mix factor

M7358: Another wrap style top. I think it's absolutely cute and classy with so many opportunities for variety. I have already thought of some in-seam tie hacks. I like the topstitched yoke as well. I'm interested to see what it would look like in a more drapey fabric and not just cotton.

M7363: And this is my FAVORITE of the whole release! I don't by any means make a lot of skirts. I think I have probably made 5 skirts total in the 2.5 years I have been sewing. But babbbyyyyyyyyy! This skirt is FIRE! I'm in love! I think it's the drape that's getting me. I can't quite put my finger on it. I'll probably make 3 of the 4 variations of the pattern.

 

THIS view is what sold me! That side shot is BEAUTIFUL! I need that in my life!

 

 That's it. Those are my picks. Did you check out the release? Which ones have you??

 xoxo, Tasha

13. One and Only - Named Nuna Hood Scarf | #sew16in2016

Sad to report, it's still freezing over here on the East coast. It got REALLY bad last week. I'm feeling like "Why am I living in a place where the air hurts my face?!"

So my latest make has been really helping out. I've been alternating between my last scarf and this Nuna Hood Scarf by Named Patterns.

Say 'Hello!' to my new friend Elly! - Elna Supermatic

A couple of weeks ago, I was reading BareThread's blog about being a Sewing Machine hoarder. I was so fascinated at the way she was explaining she came into a few of her machines. I see on the blogs quite a bit how people find vintage machines in thrift stores and estate sales and I'm always so.... confused (?) because I have never not once seen a sewing machine in thrift stores around my way. And I usually search through estate sales and have never found anything sewing related. She reassured me by saying that the path to discovery isn't usually disclosed and these things happen over time.... a long time lol and lots of rummaging.

So the day I read her blog, I decided to hit Craigslist to see what was really what. Lo and behold! I come across an ad selling an Elna Supermatic with accessories and original instruction manual included! *Wahhhhhh*!

I wish I could find the post that I saw maybe a month or two ago by another blogger showing off her vintage Elna. I didn't even know that "Elna" existed before her post. My eyes lit up at her case-to-table transformation! I thought it was SO COOL. I can't believe that I have one now!

Meet Elly!

5. Quick Sew - Selvage trim Scarf | #sew16in2016

I finally managed to sit down at my machines for the first time ini 2016. I got rid of all of my small alterations projects and felt comfortable enough to start some new things. The first thing I'm going to share was a quick project to get my sewing juices flowing.

I've been holding on to the scraps from my cape project back in Nov2014. It has a black selvage trim. The scraps I've been holding onto on have one side of the selvage left. I had 1 big rectangle of the fabric with the trim on one long edge.