A Nova with Short Sleeves

Originally I had an idea to make the Style Arc Nova but adding a "Bridgerton" slant to it.  I wanted a small piping at a deepened neckline with puffy short sleeves. As you can see below that DID NOT happen!

Instead I got a dress with a deeper neckline without binding and sleeves that were added but with much trial and tribulation.  See this was the first make after not having sewn in almost a full year. I was still finding my footing. I made a new pattern piece for the front adding to the shoulder width for the short sleeve. However, I DID NOT do the same to the back pieces.  Can we say drama?

I figured it out and got a sleeve on the dress but it's not a process I will share...because too messy and I would never do that again.  Also because IF I make this dress again, I would do it differently.

Here are the materials:

4 yards of a black floral & polka dot cotton lawn purchased in July from Mood Fabrics online

1 yard of 5/8" wide elastic

I made this dress during the July heatwave here on the East Coast. I wanted this to take with me to Chicago and luckily my daughter took some pictures while we were at Millenium Park. I have no construction information to share with this dress.  The tiers were sewn using the Style Arc instructions. It was just the bodice I deviated from the pattern. Good thing, it did work out so...

A Few Photos...

I loved the flow of this dress when seated.  

Probably why there's 2 photos of it that way!

I'm happy I made it even with it's challenges.  It's a comfortable, flowy dress to wear in the summer heat. Will I make another Nova next summer?  Who knows.  But I do love the pattern!

...as always more later!

The Sunflower Dress

This pattern was featured in one of Closet Core's weekly emails. Now I'm not that enthralled with 70s styles since I lived it as a skinny teenager. A teenager who also sewed so I made quite a few patterns from that era.  However, this one hit me a little differently now.

Probably because I saw it as a cross between the Style Arc Hope that I recently made. So I would use that bodice. Then using the Style Arc Nova tiers for the dress' skirt. Once it became a must make, I went looking for a piece of fabric from the collection.  Of course, I had the perfect one...this crepe-like linen blend purchased from Mood in April 2023.

I used the Hope bodice with the tie neckline and the huge sleeves from my second Hope.  

My only other change was to add a fourth tier to the skirt bottom to emulate the tiers of the inspiration dress. I did this by using the pattern's first tier pattern piece. I cut 3" off the width to make it slightly shorter than the second tier.  I wanted to add a tier but not a lot of volume near the top of the dress.  If you've ever made the Nova, you know those tiers hold a lot of fabric giving it a lot of volume.  

Please note: 

1. While I added another tier it did not have any gathers because I added the second tier exactly like the first tier. If I was to make this again, I would add a little more length to those pieces to give it a more gathered effect.

2. By adding four tiers the dress was extra long. I needed to remove 2" from the hem before I sewed a 1.5" wide hem.

The neckline ties were cut almost double the original length. One to match the inspiration photo and two because I felt the ties from my Rifle & Co Hope were too short. I also used the same construction technique as my last one to apply the neck tie. Except for the Tetris I did to cut out the tiers (cause again this pattern requires ALOT of fabric) there were no more alterations.

Here's the dress.  Did I get a good copy?

These photos were taken while I was on vacation in Chicago.  I spent the day with Carol and Cennetta fabric shopping. They took me to The Textile Warehouse - 3 floors of fabric in an un-air conditioned space! But I found some amazing pieces that will be sewn sooner rather than later. Our next stop was Rainbow Fabrics. We ended up at Joann's for the Simplicity pattern sale. Those adventures will be a separate blog post.  However, Cennetta was kind enough to take a few photos for me to share here! 

I'm loving this combination and convincing myself that I don't need a second version cause assembling those tiers are not for the weak hearted. Seriously!!!

The supplies used:

5 yards of a crepe linen blend 

2 yards of 3/4" elastic

...as always more later!

Rifle & Co. Hope Dress

Okay so I'm back for a minute.  I woke up a couple of days ago and thought I want to sew. I sat down at my sewing machine, turned it on and thought, "YES!"  Honestly, it's been almost a year but yeah, I want to sew.  I think there are several reasons why.  I recently found a church I like and have been going pretty regularly.  Which means I have a new place to go and a new reason to sew pretty things.  

Also, my daughter, granddaughters and I are headed to Chicago next month.  It would be nice to pack a few new pieces to wear...and I still think sew first instead of buy! So, I'm thinking of a few outfits for the trip too.  We will see what actually ends up being made.

This is my third dress from the Hope Dress extension pack.  To say I liked this extension pack is an understatement. 

Materials:

4 yards of rayon Rifle & Co fabric purchased from my local fabric store, Urban Sewciety in September 2022.

1/2 yard of 1/2" wide elastic

Construction:

Since this is my third version, I made no pattern alterations since this fits me. I chose this tie version with the banded sleeves because I haven't made it and I didn't want to make buttons and buttonholes which seem to be my kryptonite lately.  I seem to get stuck there and the garment sits unfinished.

Two things to note about my bodice:

1. I made the banded sleeves with the bodice and struggled to get it on when I tried the top on. Ummmm that's a no for me. So I removed the bands (which was a process) and added a 1" casing.  Then I inserted 1/2" elastic in the casing.

2.  The bodice tie gave me pause.  The way the instructions tell you to sew it to the bodice seemed fiddly.  Then I realized that I could use my bias binding tool to make the tie which made the process make sense to me.  Once I made it as bias binding, it was much easier to add it to the neckline.  I did cut mine with a few extra inches and I made a knot at the finished ends.

Otherwise, adding the bodice to the skirt and hemming it was the same as my other versions.  As always, fabric affects how the dress wears.  Since I used a rayon, it seems to fit a little closer but with more drape.

Here are a few photos:

This was my second completed garment.  I've several more in the queue.  Mostly items that were unfinished but I still wanted or cut out and remaining in my cut out/waiting to be sewn pile. It's been an easy way to transition back into sewing. I don't have to complete a project from start to finish. I can finish a garment that I've already dreamed up that just needs a few steps to be completed.

I've also have a few more ideas floating around that I'd like to make.  We shall see what actually makes it from ideas to my wardrobe.

...as always more later!

Sewing Room Update

In my December 2023 post, I discussed wanting to update my sewing space.  Not so much the sewing loft but the area I sew in.  As I explained, the work/sewing space was overcrowded and had lost much of it's function.  Here is the post that showed my last sewing studio update.

Over the Christmas break, my daughter and I moved everything out of the room.  Then she assembled the desk in the area...

                          We moved the cutting table to another place in the room.

                                                ...added some curtains...

The storage was changed around because the original bookshelf fell apart. So, I salvaged the bottom part for additional space.  Can never have too much storage.

Changed out the tray table for a smaller table to set up the serger station.  Having it catty cornered to the sewing machine really helps with the ease of sewing. 

...but left the sewing machine area the same.  Here's a short video of the updated room. 

More photos of the updated room in use.  Cause pretty clean pictures are nice but "in use" photos are realistic.

And now I'm FINALLY creating in it again.  I have a few completed garments to share with you soon.  Well as soon as it's not so blasted hot and I can get my daughter over to take a few photos! Hopefully will share soon...

...as always more later!

Well it's been a minute!

I recently looked at my blog and realized that my last post was December 2023!  Wow that was a long minute away wasn't it.  My absence can be chalked up to the fact that I'm just not sewing.  Every time I get an itch, I think why?  I've spent so many years (at least 20) sewing 30-75+ garments a year that I have no need of anything at this moment. Special occasion, yes there's something in the closet. Need a summer dress, it's there. A special shirt or t-shirt, yes I'm covered.

I'm sure it doesn't help that I work in NYC maybe two days a week.  NJTransit is giving me such anxiety at the moment, that I've gone back to the required 4 days a month my company asks of me.  Getting stuck in NYC is no longer fun for me!  So, what have I been up to?

Reading:

Reading has become my safe space from the world.  As of January 1st, I've read 125 books.  I spend a lot of time reading! 

My Birthday:

I turned 65 this year.  I decided it was the perfect time to celebrate so I did.  

However, I had two parties that day.  Before the main celebration, I decided to have a pre-party with local sewing friends. I've talked about this before, the need to divest myself of some of my fabric. I mean I'm not really sewing much and I'd rather it go to sewing friends who will use it now instead of having my daughters have to dispose of it when I pass.  So I'm sharing pieces from my vast fabric collection.

I did have rules.  No wool crepe was to be taken.  It took too long to collect and I paid some amazing prices for most of it.  Prices that are way cheaper than what it's presently going for.  I have two tables of recent purchases.  They were also off limits. Also I had right of first refusal. Even with that 10 women rambling around in the collection and taking huge shopping bags away, there is still a lot of fabric remaining in the sewing loft.

A few photos from the pre-party and of the sewing friends who attended:

Lastly, I've recently gotten the desire to travel by train! My daughter, granddaughters and I have a trip planned to Chicago via Amtrak and I'm so thrilled. I have other trips planned in my mind traveling via Amtrak also.  I can't wait!

So there's my update. I want to say that I will update more frequently but honestly I don't know.  I don't want this to turn into a book blog but I have sewn so little recently that it will probably be more like drop ins when I have something to share.  I do post sparingly to Instagram still so you can follow me there.

Hope you're all well...