My First Chantilly!

Okay, my newest dress is totally awesome!   So modest, right?  ;P    

"I am a girl who likes a challenge and I love excitement!" Is something some other girl might say.  I however, hate roller coasters favoring spinning rides that don't make me feel like I am plummeting to my death.  I  read the end of books before I am finished with them so that I can be sure that I will like where things are going before I commit.  Not a big adrenalin junkie over here.  I like to feel comfortable and safe.

So to the surprise of no one, I'm not too interested in challenging myself when it comes to sewing either.  I like to attempt projects that I can finish in a day and that I feel pretty confident are going to come out looking pretty close to how I see them in my head. I am not a perfectionist by any means, but I get easily frustrated if a sewing project gets too hard.  That is basically why I stoped sewing for so many years!  I couldn't stand to not be instantly awesome at it. 

However, I recognize that this dislike I have for pushing myself isn't my most endearing quality, nor does it promote personal growth which I do value quite highly.

SO- I drove on the freeway for the first time in years last week and lived (yay!) AND I decided to try my first intermediate sewing pattern.

It took more than a few days to get this puppy looking like more than scraps of fabric being sewn together randomly, but I am so proud of myself for sticking with it, even after I made some pretty hefty mistakes that seemed impossible to fix. 

Introducing my first Chantilly!  keep in mind, these are not Glamour Shots of me- no makeup and no shower for me yesterday (when I got my husband to take them), but I was too excited to wait to show this dress off!



"Hidden" side zipper.



Despite the fact that I made a ton of mistakes throughout the process, I think that it turned out great!  I won't go into all of the mistake I made because that would take too long, but every mistake became a challenge I put in front of myself and I concurred them all!  I had to be pretty creative a few times, but it taught me a lot about how to adjust without giving up.  Yay-growth! I am especially pleased with the fit of this dress, since that is one thing that can go horribly wrong in even a project that you have completed many times before. 

I used some old green fabric with tiny white flowers that I had saved from high school for the shell, and used some grey fabric with tiny white flowers that my friend Rachel Browne gave me from her stash last time I visited her.

The inside of the dress.

The dress is fully lined, has a side zipper, and one pocket (kind of messed up and made it too hard to put in the other).  I didn't have quite enough of the gray and white material to fully line it in grey, but I had just enough of the green and white to finish off the inside with that.  I used every scrap of both to make this dress. 

Since this dress is fully lined, I think that the next time I attempt it I am going to make it reversible.  Wouldn't that be cool?  The way the pattern is constructed, it is possible to make the inside of this dress as lovely as the outside.  I already can't wait to make it again, even though I am already a little bit grumpy about the amount of time it will take me.  What can I say?  Laziness runs deep!

Wrap Dress Success!

Here is the finished Goat Dress. It turned out great, right? This is my husbands new favorite dress I have made so far, and I have to say, I am very proud of it myself!

I think the thick fabric gives it a really interesting structured shape, which is a little unusual for a wrap dress. I feel that this dress is very representative of my style as a whole because it is whimsical and fun, but still modern enough to wear out without looking like I am in costume.  I can't wait to make another one in a softer fabric with a bit more drape next time.  It is really fun to use the same pattern to make two completely different dresses. :)

Back of dress.

Front of dress.  This is such a weird stance I am doing-it looks like my legs are backwards! I had to add this photo to the post! ;P  

Part Two: The Party Dress

The second dress I wanted to post about today is my little party dress I am attempting.  I also got this fabric in Portland, and finally figured out how I wanted to use it.

Cutting into beautiful fabric can be super nerve racking because if you make a mistake, it isn't always possible to salvage the garment.  However, sometimes you have to just go for it!  I went for it on this one, and even though it isn't going to be the dress I saw in my head, it is looking pretty awesome and I have learned a lot in the process (which I probably wwouldn't have, had it turned out perfectly). 
I was trying to make a simple shift dress, but the back somehow came out all wrong.  I'm not sure what happened exactly, but I think that I had cut the back of the shoulder pieces too short.  Sooooo, I decided to make a cut, and then another, and this is what came out of it- a partially backless, half-finished, party dress! I still have to add snaps and bias tape, but so far I think it is looking really cool!

I do wish that I had more of this material so I could try again at making it into a simple slinky shift, but I am happy (so far) with how my backless dress is turning out.  And hey, it just reminds me that if you never make any mistakes, you never learn anything new!

The gaping at the top of where my butt will be is solved by the fact that I have a much bigger butt than my mannequin.  So, no, I don't think that the top of my butt will show when the dress is done.  Hopefully.  Tee hee!

Front of dress. 

Back of dress. 

Part One: The Goat Dress

I used to think it was best to start a sewing project and see it through to the end.  Then I realized that forcing myself to finish a project that was frustrating me lead to mistakes, rushed finished products and sewing becoming a chore.  I sew for fun, it is not a job, so when a project starts being less than fun, I put it away and start a new one until the mood strikes me to start up on it again.  Having fresh eyes can help a lot!

This has lead to me having a lot of half started projects, but that is okay.  I put all of the pieces of the unfinished items in freezer bags so that I don't lose anything, and put them out of site until I am ready to try again.  This is my process, and I'm not saying it is the best way to do it, it is just my way of doing it.  There is no right or wrong way to execute a hobby, which is part of the fun!

Right now, I am in the middle of several projects, but the most promising ones that I have started (for myself-I have a few started for other people too) are my first pair of pants (gasp!), my first non-beginner, "intermediate" level dress (double gasp!), a wrap dress (the Goat Dress), and a crazy party dress that I am designing myself (mostly).  I am excited about all of them, but I wanted to blog about the last two today.

First, here is my third attempt at Colette Patterns Crepe dress. It is still a work in progress- but it is really coming along nicely.  :)

Front of dress- the funny red and gold peaking out of the top is my new Party Dress underneath the Goat Dress on the dress form.  

Back of dress.  

My first attempt at the Crepe was a purple muslin I made out of broadcloth (gave it to my little sister this summer).  I blogged about it here: http://notyouraverageaverage.blogspot.com/2012/05/here-is-my-newest-creation-these.html

It came out great, but I wasn't super inspired to try another one until I tried making one for my friend Willow this summer.  I tried using stretch material for the first time, and made it way too big for her. She lives in NY, so fitting was a little difficult, but really the problem was my inexperience using stretch fabrics.  I was pretty disappointed and it made me want to give up on the pattern for the time being. I blogged about that dress here: http://notyouraverageaverage.blogspot.com/2012/05/blue-crepe.html

Since then, I haven't been super inspired to try using this pattern again...until now.

I got this fabric at an amazing fabric sale the last time I was in my home town of Portland Oregon, and it has been waiting for a project to come along that was worthy of it ever since.  When I got the idea to use it for this wrap dress, I was skeptical  but decided to go for it.  The results (so far) are awesome!  This cotton fabric is very stiff and heavy which creates a completely different look than any of my other attempts.  I also shortened the dress quite a bit, which I feel makes it more wearable for my not so super tall frame.  It isn't quite done yet, but so far, I am very proud of how it is turning out.  It is actually inspiring me to try this pattern again, when I thought that it might be retired after my last failure in fitting.

P.S.- I named it the Goat Dress because the pattern has all of these little lambs and goats on it.  So cute!

Jasmine number three!

After not really feeling creative for a while, I am back in the grove and sewing up a storm!  I have been making a couple of dresses for other people lately ( a Hazel for my sis-finished!; a Peony for my step-mom- nearly done; and a wiggle dress for my sister in law- basically just conceptualized), but I am trying to make time for my own projects too.  Right now, I am in the middle of several in fact, but today I want to show you my newest Jasmine, because that is the one that is finished!  Here it is!

Even though this is my third Jasmine, I learned a lot from this project.  For one thing, I figured out why the interfacing at the neck is always funky on these tops- I have been putting them in upside down!  I did it again on this one before figuring it out, but I for sure wont next time!

I have no plans to use this pattern again for a while, unless I happen upon the perfect fabric.  I'd love to finally try the Jasmine in a nice light fabric for once.

All in all, I am pretty happy with how it turned out, although I did make it a little too big (as I have done on all three).

I am excited to share my next few projects soon.  I am trying some new stuff, so wish me luck!    

Paris shirt revisited

This morning I wanted to show the shirt I made this weekend one more time up close so you can see the awesome print on the fabric.  Enjoy!  :)

Front

Back

Snaps

The curse is broken!

I made this shirt today in just a few hours! I used the Sencha pattern form Colette Patterns for the first time, though I'm sure it wont be the last. This pattern is really cool, because you can use it three different ways. Because the fabric was so lovely, I used the most simple version of the pattern so as not to distract from the material. I made some adjustments to the pattern, for a number of reasons. One, I added snaps rather than button because, well, I don't know how to make button holes. I also ran out of fabric, so I made the back slightly shorter than the pattern called for, but it really doesn't show. Lastly, I extended the middle darts on the front of the shirt quite a bit so that it was a bit more flattering. I also changed the sleeves a little. I am happy with all of my choices and adjustments on this shirt, and felt very comfortable wearing it to dinner at my friends house tonight.

I was especially excited to be able to wear this over to my friends house tonight because my friend Kimmi gave me the fabric for this shirt a few weeks ago out of the blue. It was such a nice sweet surprise! I couldn't wait to get started using this beautiful cotton Paris print, as well as my new Sencha pattern, and it turns out they were a match made it heaven!

So, it seems that my curse is broken and my creativity and love of sewing are back! Yay!

I had my husband take these photos of me before we went out tonight to show how I wore this shirt. I also finally found a box hair color without bleach in it that I really like and wanted to show that off too. The clips in my hair came as a free gift from Modcloth, something they do quite often when you order from them. Such sweet little hearts! I will show you the dresses that I bought when I got these in a post soon.

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you all are ready for a beautiful week. :)