fitting the SweeTarts dress

Two posts in less than a week, that's unprecedented!  I really do mean to keep up with this blog better, because I'm sewing quite a lot and getting better at it all the time.

I finished up the purple dress and wore it to work the other day.  But as the day went on I felt that there were problems with the way it fit.  It sort of sagged in the front above the bust, and when I sort of pulled and pinched at it in different ways I concluded that it could maybe be fixed by adjusting the sleeves. 

I had to take up the sleeves where the sleeve cap meets the shoulder in another dress I made recently, a tiki themed thing with a mandarin collar (here's a picture of me in it at the Tonga Room; it was made for that occasion in particular and I really like it even though people thought I was a waitress!). 

I'm starting to think that it may be the kind of alteration that I'm going to have to make regularly.  I haven't had the time yet to see if it helps with the purple thing though because there was another big issue that I'm working out first.

That issue is with the pleats in the skirt.  I've decided, pleats are not for me. 

 They are not flattering on me at all.  They pulled weirdly to the sides, and pooched out right where I need poochiness the least: over my belly, ugh.  I felt good about the dress in general, but the pleats were a dealbreaker, and in fact I'm never going to made anything with skirt pleats like that again for myself, they never work out right.

So I needed to do something else with the front skirt, and I undid the side seams and detached the bodice from the top of the skirt piece and took the pleats out.  Then I got the skirt front piece out of another dress pattern that I thought would work ok and recut the purple skirt front to match it.

I think it's going to work out all right except that I haven't yet gotten the dart placement quite right--the darts need to line up with the curved seams on the bodice.  As soon as I make that happen, I have high hopes for the fit, especially because I'm really loving the collar.  It's kind of mod and surprisingly comfortable for being so wide.

This last picture is of my next project.  I have this stretch cotton camouflage print with the camo shaped like flowers that I love, and I finally decided to use it for this cute Vogue 8319 dress.  

I really like the idea of using casual looking fabrics on dressier looking dresses, or using traditionally dressier fabrics on casual looking designs.  Doing this gives a good mix of elements that is really wearable for me, because I'm hardly ever actually required to dress up for anything but I love to wear dresses.  This way I get to dress up a little without being overdressed.  I don't generally mind being overdressed a little bit, and I like being different, but it would be overdoing it if I didn't do something to make my clothing more everyday suitable. 

As soon as the purple thing is done, I'll get started on this, probably later tonight. I already cut it out and I've got some ideas on how to sew it up without the lining that the pattern calls for.  I almost never feel like I need a lining and I didn't think to buy lining fabric to go with this camo print anyhow.

Getting down to the wire

As per usual, I have been procrastinating. On lots of things, but this blog concerns sewing and knitting and such so that's what I mean here. I still want to make a lot of the stuff I'm going to wear in NYC, but we leave in a week so I better get crackin'.

Again as usual I've started to doubt myself as it gets closer to time to do something. I'm no longer sure about the items I posted earlier being the ones I definitely want or need for the trip. Now I'm leaning toward some other stuff, but I think posting it all would jinx it and just make me change my mind again so I won't go into detail until I'm actually packing--or totally back from the trip--and therefore must commit.

I do still plan to take the grey jersey dress, because it's long-sleeved and I think it may be chilly in NY next week. So that's what I'm going to make tonight. Or at least get started on. It's cut and ready to go so I don't think it will take terribly long.

As for the tunic top, I tried it on on Easter and don't like it after all. It fits weird, and I don't think I can fix it. So that's out. I don't want to make another one at least yet for fear of facing the same problems. So I need to decide what to make and take instead.

The shirt dress is also cut and ready, but I don't have all the buttons I need and I think I'm putting it off simply out of my buttonhole phobia. I need to just get over it already. There are at least 4 other things I want to sew but can't until I learn buttonholes. So I guess it's time, but I can't seem to sit down and MAKE myself do it.

I know, I'm being super-obsessive about all this. It's just my nature.

This morning I went through the enormous pile of laundry N. promised to do tomorrow, and used it as an opportunity to kind of check on my wardrobe, see if there are some things I should get rid of, and some holes I need to fill. Naturally there are lots of both. I'm having trouble letting go of things that I've been keeping with the intention of altering to fit. Maybe tonight instead of making the grey jersey, or at least over the weekend, I need to spend some quality time with my box labeled "alter these" and decide what I'm just not ever going to get to, and get to the ones that I AM going to alter right away. I should just have a big alter fest, and whatever doesn't get altered over the weekend I'll get rid of.

But altering's much less fun than making! We'll see how far these good intentions get me over the next few days.