Upcoming sewing.

Sew Be It Studio has a Sew Green contest going that I want to enter. (The prizes are nice... I'm a sucker for free stuff.)

The garment I'm reusing for this project is an old salwar kameez. Once upon a long, long time ago, my aunt had bought this (or maybe had it made?) for my cousin. Either my cousin wore it, or most likely, she didn't. She then proceeded to give it to my mother.

My mother decided this salwar looked dreadful on her, but she didn't want to take it to India to recycle, like she normally does, incase my aunt saw it and was hurt (or mad at my cousin.) So, it sat at the back of my mom's closet...

Until I came along. I wanted to make something for Halloween. I decided a Renaissance dress was what I wanted to make.

Here are some before pictures.

Me, wearing the dress (I've already ripped a sleeve out) I'm literally drowning in fabric.



And the pattern I want to make:



The contest ends this week, I think. I have a skirt, shirt and vest to make. Hmm. I think I should start this NOW.

Butterick 5030. View D.

Finally, a picture of a dress. I've been making this dress for weeks now. Not the fault of the dress, just not finding much time to sew. I like this dress, though. I've been wanting to make a wrap dress, and this one feels easy and summery. (And I do realize its fall. Ah well. I can wear it next year.)

The pictures make my waist look enormous. I didn't think the dress did, but I'll wear it with a belt to give my waist more definition.



Here's my pattern review.

Pattern Description:

Misses Dress, Belt and Sash. Flared, wrapped dress, below mid-knee has semi-fitted bodice, front band or collar, sleeve variations.

Pattern Sizing:
8,10,12,14. I made View D - made an 8 on top, and graded to a 12 at waist and hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Sort of. The neckline on my bodice was a lot lower, so much so I have to wear a t-shirt under. However, I am petite, so maybe that's why?

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I thought the pattern fit together well.

Fabric Used:
Striped shirting fabric bought on sale at Bou-clair (its a cotton blend, I think.) It was very easy to work with.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
Since I'm petite, I took inches off the skirt obviously. I also took an inch off the bodice. Now that I'm thinking about it though, I think this made my neckline that much lower.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would definitely recommend this. I might sew it again in a very different fabric.

Conclusion
I really like this dress, and think I might actually wear it outside the house. (But with a belt, I think the dress really needs one.)




And finally, I need to learn to take better pics. Bleah.

While I'm still to take any clothing pictures, I do actually have a couple of pictures to share. Around Canadian Thanksgiving, my mom decided that she wanted to make a couple of baby quilts for a friend's kids. I got drafted into this project (why?) and helped pick out colors, patterns, etc. And then, I got suckered into actually quilting. (I hate quilting.)

I used the birthing method for binding that I first found out about on Lady Havratine's blog I do love this method of binding, I think its way easier than binding, and the results ended up neater. I also used the simplest quilting design in the world...

The little boy's quilt was just pinwheels alternated with solids. I've done this before, I like this layout a lot, and it helps use up triangle blocks that are lying around.



The little girl's quilt - both my mom and me absolutely loved Amanda's the future's so bright quilt. Since she was kind enough to post measurements, our decision to make this was even easier. As with the other quilt, my mom pieced and I quilted.



I'm currently working on a wraparound dress made with some of my ridiculously large Bou-clair haul. Its cotton, which is silly, since its freezing in Toronto. Ah well. I'm almost done with this dress though, so I'll post pics later this week.

My public service announcement...

For those who live in the GTA, Bouclair is getting rid of its apparel fabric, and has most stuff discounted to 90% off. I loaded up big-time, but when you can get 100% cotton fabric for $1 a meter, its all good.

I should post this in Pattern Review, shouldn't I? That would be a good thing to do.

I'm really upset that they are closing out their apparel fabric though. Its hard to find reasonably priced fabric, and Bouclair had some good deals. I'm not too sold on Fabricland yet, either. Perhaps I should just go downtown?