Vogue 1460 by Badgley Mischka

Well, this dress has been on my "to-sew" list for quite a while, and I'm glad I finally got to it!  The pattern is Vogue 1460 by Badgley Mischka.  I think it came out fall 2014 but am not positive.

 I love the blousey top with the pencil skirt bottom.  This dress really calls for a thick knit fabric, like a ponte or doubleknit.  I used an RPL from JoAnn's that has tiny stripes that you really can't see unless you get super close.  It might be this fabric, but I'm not positive.  I decided on charcoal gray because I love wearing that color, and I also wanted another "funeral dress."  I play music and sing at funerals at my church from time to time, and I'm always looking for nice, comfortable, dark dresses for these occasions.

 My husband told me that the neckline looks like I put my dress on backwards.  Whatever.  I think it's chic.  :-)

 This dress is soooo comfortable!  It's basically a thick t-shirt in dress form.  I left out the zipper.  I didn't need it, but depending on the stretchiness of each fabric, you might.

 I  have finally made the perfect funeral dress.  :-)

Simplicity 2215 - Cynthia Rowley Collection

This is Simplicity 2215, a Cynthia Rowley pattern from 2010.  Of course, I am just now getting around to sewing it.  I decided to sew the skirt, but I do like the dress and blouse in the pattern also.

 The fabric is another score from Gorgeous Fabrics, the same order as this and this.  The fabric is a cotton/linen twill that is out of stock.  It looks and feels like a heavy-weight linen.

 This skirt has uneven pleats.  It even mentions in the directions that this is a designer detail.  As a home seamstress, though, I just hope it reads as "designer detail" and not "she needs to go back to home ec."

The heavy fabric combined with the pleats make the skirt swingier than I prefer - as in, it seems to stand away from the body a lot.  I hope the fabric softens up with some more washing and relaxing to hand more straight.

 The pockets and fringed hem make this skirt fun and casual.  This skirt will see lots of wear this spring, especially with my new t-shirt shown here..

 Here are the pockets.  I used a coordinating quilting cotton from my stash for the pocket bags.  It is neat how the pattern incorporates side pockets with a side zipper.  You can also see the fringed trim in this photo.  I made a row of straight stitches about 1/4 inch from the edge to prevent more fraying.

Gioielli Gloves from Textured Stitches book.

Textured Stitches has been a great book in my knitting library.  This is my fourth project from its pages.  I have made the Professoressa Cardigan, the Raindrop Cardigan, and the Starflower Hat.

So anyway, here are my Gioielli Gloves.  These are actually probably a year old, and before that, they sat around for at least six months, completed and waiting for me to weave in their ends.

 If it looks like it would be a pain to knit all those tiny tubes for each finger, it's because it IS a pain.  However, there is a huge sense of accomplishment once they are complete - as in, Wait, did I really just knit myself gloves?

 These have a cute smocked detail on the cuff, which is really unique and prettier than plain old ribbing.

These have already seen quite a bit of wear, as you can tell from the fuzzies on the fingers.  They go perfectly with my gray Pepernoot coat.  I don't remember the name of the yarn I used, but it is very luxurious.  If I remember it is mostly merino with some possum hair thrown in.  It was a gift from my parents-in-law from a trip they took to Australia.  I  probably have enough left over for a headband - perhaps even the Bianca Headband from Textured Stitches.   :-)

McCalls 6886 shortened to a T-shirt

I bought 2 yards of this lightweight striped wool/cotton jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I had a vision in my head of a striped wrap dress, but it is so lightweight that I would have had to line it, and I was concerned that the tiny stripes would be too much on a whole dress, so I decided to make a simple tee instead.  I already had McCalls 6886 out from making my recent Breton dress, so I decided to give it a go in t-shirt form.

This fabric is Heaven.  So soft and not at all scratchy, despite the wool.  It feels like the comfiest, luxurious t-shirt.  The pattern worked splendidly, too.  I made it very long and  gave it a slight shirt-tail hem.

There's not really anything left to say.  This dress pattern also makes a great little top.  I still have a bunch of this fabric left over, and I think the soft drapiness of it would lend well for another version of McCalls 7186, this one shortened to a top also, and probably sleeveless.  This is definitely McCalls week.

Pattern Picks: McCalls Spring 2016

The Spring McCalls patterns just came out, and I'm super excited about them!  Lots of separates, especially woven tops, are calling to me.  There were other good ones, but they are similar to something I already have.  These are the ones I'd love to get into my hands:

I love McCalls 7350.  It reminds me a lot of OOP McCalls 5752, which I made ages ago in purple and loved until it basically fell apart.  I will definitely be getting this one.

There are a lot of shirt-dress patterns out right now, and McCalls 7351 is a very nice option.  I like the shirttail option, the pleat at the back, and the perfect swing-iness of the skirt,

I like the gathered bodice on McCalls 7367.  I'll probably wait to see this made up a few times to see how I like the gathered top with the straight skirt.  However, if I think a gathered skirt would look better, that is easy to fix!

McCalls 7358 is a really cute woven wrap blouse.  I like the sleeveless version and the one with the little fold-back collar.  I like it in the gingham fabric shown, too.

McCalls 7360 is another cute woven top.  I already have Itch to Stitch's Mila Shirt, though, which is similar and has a collar option.

Yet another cute woven top - McCalls 7357.  I can see this lengthened to a really nice swim cover-up.

I almost passed over McCalls 7364 because of the drawstring waist, which is silly because some of my favorite pants have drawstrings. I like the pockets and all the different options.  These could be some really cute casual shorts and pants.  On the model, they look like they hit at a nice spot below the waist.

Finally, McCalls 7354.  I think the fabrics used in the sample don't show this dress off very well.  It's definitely playing off the vintage vibe, but I think this could work nicely in a solid or an updated print without the gigantic patch pockets and with a different finishing technique than bias tape.  This is basically another version of the infamous Walkaway dress, and I really like the waist tab closure.

This is the only pattern release I've seen this spring that really excited me.  What about you?  Did I miss your favorites?  Is there a different company that got your attention?

Ottomon Breton Dress hybrid: Simplicity 1609 and McCalls 6886

A lot of times, I'll have a pattern I want to make, and I'll find a good fabric shopping or in my stash to make it with, and that's that.  Sometimes, though, I'll have a vision in my head of what I want to make - usually just trying to recreate something I've seen - and then I have to find the right fabric AND the right pattern.  These can be kind of hit or miss with whether my results approximate the look I was going for.

This one, though, is a 100% success!

I am sooooo happy with this dress.  I want to wear it every day.  It hits that sweet spot of dressiness and weather flexibility that I can wear it with boots and sweater now:

and I can wear it with a necklace and sandals when summer arrives... you know, next month.  I can wear it to church with some heels or running errands with flats.  It can go anywhere!

I wanted something easy wear, but not shapeless.  I originally thought of McCalls 6886, a very popular basic t-shirt dress pattern, but I wanted to add bust darts.  Then I remembered this pink dress, made from Simplicity 1609, that I made last summer, and how it fit perfectly.  And then I thought, how awesome would it be to pop some pockets in those diagonal seams??  So, I tried on the pink dress to check if the seam placement was good for pockets (it is) and went for it!

I didn't want a sleeveless dress, though, so I meshed together the two patterns to use the sleeves, and armscyes from the McCalls pattern with the neckline and rest of the dress from the Simplicity pattern.  I like how the back darts add some shape to the back that you won't get in a plain t-shirt dress. There are also little darts at the beck neck that you can see in the pic below.  They make sure that the neckline doesn't gape.  Love them!

I was careful to match stripes wherever possible.  My magic method for this is... lots of pins.  Pin at every stripe.

 The fabric is wonderfully beefy!  It is this RPL Ottoman stripe from Gorgeous Fabrics.

Outfit Remix

I am still getting caught up on posting new garments.  I am planning to roll them out one every second day. 

I took a photo of my outfit today, though, since I'm trying to do some remixing in my outfits.  I tend to wear the exact same outfits over and over.  I don't think I have every done this combo before, though, not that it's earth-shattering.  :-)  

The pants are Simplicity 1696 and the blouse is Simplicity 3789.

Cusp Poncho by Olga Buraya-Kafelian for Brooklyn Tweed in Shelter / Capsule Fall 2015

Ok, there are a LOT of photos in this post, so feel free to click away whenever you've had enough.  I'm including a lot of photos because this is such a unique design and before I knit it, I wanted to see as many pics as possible, so maybe there are others out there feeling the same way.

 Anyway, this is the Cusp Poncho by Oga Buraya-Kafelian, aka Olgajazzy.  It is included in Brooklyn Tweed's first printed book, Capsule.  I used the recommended yarn, Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter, in the Woodsmoke color.

This is basically two big hexagons with slits in the front for armholes.

 I didn't re-block after knitting on the bottom ribbing (bad Jenny!) so that's why it is curling in at the hem.

 This is just so fun and unique, and I agree with the pattern description that it is surprisingly flattering.  Above, I'm sticking out my elbows to show the strong hexagon shape, but below is how it looks relaxed.

 The fabric produced with this yarn is drapey enough that it finds your curves.  I was afraid this would look like a tent, but I don't think it does.

 Some people on Ravelry have modified this for a V-neckline, but I prefer it as designed, showing off that hexagon shape.

 Here are some closer pics of the texture.

I am really pleased with how this turned out.  It felt like it took forever to knit, but well worth it!  I am wearing it over a turtleneck that I sewed eons ago.  I can't find it on my old blog to link to, but yeah, it's a brown turtleneck.

My next project from this book will either be Ebb or Apex, but I need to finish some things on the needles first!

Vogue 1439 pants in RED

These pants are my favorite ever!!  Between the zippered pockets and the awesome fabric that does NOT bag out at the end of the day, they are my best yet.

 The pattern is Vogue 1439.

I was drawn to the fun little zippered pocket on the front.  I made the zipper exposed on my version in keeping with my more casual fabric, and I'm really pleased with how it came out.

 ...so pleased in fact, that I used zippers on the back welt pockets as well,even though the pattern includes regular single welt pockets.

 I am happy with the fit of these also.  I have documented my own personal challenges with fitting pant legs for my "protruding thighs." Ugh I hate that fitting term.

Overall, a great pattern I may make again.  The fabric is from Pennie Fabrics in Sarasota and it is really fantastic.  Nassir (the owner) kept telling me how great this pants fabric is, so I finally bought some, and yes, he was right!  It has some stretch but doesn't bag out.  The recovery lasts all day.  I would love to get some in white or a pale tan, but I think he only had bright colors last time I was there.

 I must sheepishly admit that I bought this top at Target a week ago.  I even have a couple of striped knit  fabrics waiting to become tees, but I saw this and couldn't not succumb.  I have a slight stripe infatuation.