Cherry Embroidered High Waist Shorts

I saw an adorable pair of shorts with cherries embroidered on them on Etsy the other day and decided that I must have a pair. They are cute but for the price of $57, I am definitely going to make my own. I did change a few things. I made them fully fitted instead of having the elastic at the back of the waist. I also skipped the pocket and put the cherries on the leg instead. I used my embroidery machine because I don't have the patience to embroider by hand.

Close up of cherries. Plus you can see where I used the really shiny 

polyester embroidery thread to do a little contrast top stitching around the legs.

Inside view- I am a bit obsessed with no having raw edges showing. 

Details

• Pattern: McCalls 6331 View A (from stash), Self drafted waistband - $1
• Pattern Changes: I lengthened both the front and back darts for a smoother fit. I also added a waistband.
• Fabric: About 1 yard light weight denim from my stash, a gift from Nanan - free
• Notions: Invisible Zipper - $2, Thread from stash - 50¢
• Time: I worked on them over a 3 day period. It would have been faster if I did not have to set up and take down my machines to switch between embroidery and sewing.
• Total Cost: about $4 (I saved $53 by making them myself)

The Happy Accident Skirt

After spending the summer in Hawaii, I came home and started sewing like crazy. I had so much inspiration I needed to get out. I tried to make New Look 6699 but the bodice did not fit correctly. I cut off the bottom and made it into a skirt. More to come later. Sorry the picture is not so good.

Victorian Dress Complete!

No, the hat is not actually part of the costume...

I have finally finished my dress for Rose's Victorian birthday party. This is the most labor intensive project I have ever done but I definitely enjoyed every minute of it! I unintentionally picked a project that forced me to use many new techniques. I have never added trim to anything so that was an adventure, especially in the quantity that this dress required. I also had never made the bunched type overskirt and it to a bit of fiddling to get the folds to look nice. All in all I am pleased with the result.

For this dress I used a heavily modified Vogue 8615 bodice. I used McCall's 4090, View C for the skirt. I just made up the pattern for the bustle/apron thing (I am not really sure what to call the maroon part.) Sorry I don't have a better shot of the details and the apron in the back. I used the pink fabric with the floral print from my stash, so this one counts towards stash busting!

Sunday Strategy # 6

This week:

• The Thanksgiving dress. 

• I am using Vogue 8664 from my stash. 
• Both my main and lining fabrics are from my stash also! 
• Hooray for Stash Busting. 
• Also counts toward 52 Dresses Project. I am not sure what number it is, but I know I am not close to finished.

Last Week Recap:

1. Finish my dress for Rose's birthday party. 
• Blogged here.

       

Victorian Dress So Far

Rose is having a Victorian Musical Soiree to celebrate her 18th birthday. We are all supposed to come in costume. I am making a beautiful ball gown for myself! I have never done a project that has embellishments on it. I am not sure why I waited so long to try. They add such dimension to the piece.

Here is the basic dress before so you can see the silhouette. I have a 6 hoop underskirt underneath to give the dress volume. The pink fabric is a light weight home dec fabric that was given to me by a lady at a curtain shop in Philadelphia. They just throw all the fabric that people leave there in the trash so the woman loaded up a few trash bags and sent me on my way. This was about 5 years ago and I am still working my way through all of it. This counts towards my Stash Busting and also my 52 Dresses. I am so going to wear this dress after the party!

Front view (and Punkin.)

Back view

Front view with ribbon flowers pinned on. I am not sure I really like the flowers on the skirt. 

What do you think? Is it just to much?

I do like the flowers on the bodice though. Maybe I will just do this part with the embellishments.

The ribbon flowers and scallops around the bottom of the dress. 

Should I add some lace to the bottom hem?

     

Cherry and White Dress

I finished my dress for the Summer Spark Sew Along, Vogue 8615 a month ago but never got photos in time to post for the sew along. The construction didn't take long at all. I made the muslin in a day and the final dress in just 2 days (with many baby breaks.) This pattern is great because it comes with Custom Fit pattern pieces for A/B/C/D cup sizes. The only alteration I had to make to the pattern was to curve the darts a little at the apex to get rid of a bit of pointiness. Other than that, it fit perfectly right out of the envelope. I am so happy with this dress! It is a breeze to put together. Since it has french darts on the front, there are only 4 darts use to get this nice fitted bodice! (8 if you count the ones on the lining.)

The fabric is quilting cotton from JoAnn's. It drapes quite nicely. Since the fabric is just a tiny bit see through, I wear a nylon slip. I think I might buy a petticoat to give it more volume.

I lined the bodice but not the skirt as the pattern calls for. I don't want to use that much fabric =) I also   cut the front bodice pieces as 1 piece instead of 2 halves with a seam down the middle. They only drafted it that way to cut down on the length of fabric needed as the 2 half panels can be cut between all the skirt pieces. I finished the hem with bias tape instead of a regular hem because I wanted it to pop.

I bought the cherry print fabric specifically for this project. The white on white floral print lining fabric and the pattern were from my stash. The fabric I used for my muslin was also from my stash so this project definitely counts towards my Stash Busting Project. It also goes toward my 13 by 13 goal of using stuff from my stash. Apparently I really need to use stuff from my collection because I keep coming back to that...

Summer Spark Sew Along

Hosted by The Wardrobe, Reimagined

The Premise:

1 MONTH: 
In the month of June, sew one fabulous garment that you plan on strutting all summer.

1 GARMENT: 

Your choice! What's the most wonderful thing you'd like to wear again and again this summer? A pair of linen palazzo pants? A shoulder-bearing sundress? A swishy skirt? A floaty top? Why not make it now and flaunt it 'til the days get shorter?

1 GREAT LIST: 

We'll be posting photos of our finished garments in a Flickr group and, at the end of the month, we'll tally up all the fabulous patterns in a list to serve as inspiration to all. One person's amazing garment could spark another's summer sewing—in July, the season's still young, after all! 

1 FABULOUS PRIZE: 

All folks who have uploaded a photo of their finished garment by July 4 (a few extra days for good measure!) will be entered into a giveaway for ONE INDIE SEWING PATTERN OF THEIR CHOICE, to be shipped worldwide. Can't resist those Colette Iris Shorts? That Sewaholic Cambie? The Christine Haynes Derby Dress? It's a thank you for sewing along with us. 

I am going to make Vogue 8615 in a white cherry print cotton! I already have the pattern and the lining in my stash so this counts toward my Stash Busting Project. Also counts towards 13 by 13: using things from my stash!