red scout tee

I’ve been itching to get back to my sewing machine. Sewing seems to come in phases for me, sometimes I can’t get enough and have a hundred ideas playing ping pong in my head and sometimes I’m just frustrated with whatever I come up with.
This Scout tee was actually made months ago, but with a little collar that looked very cute in my head and decidedly less cute on the actual shirt.


So it sat there, unloved, unworn for a while until I finally worked up the motivation to rip the collar out and finish it with bias tape. The fabric is a red voile, soft and nearly sheer.


A simple but versatile little tee that will hopefully see lots of wear this summer.

Advertisement

the drop-drapey dress

Interrupting the Norway series for a big announcement: I sewed a dress. No, really. Sat down, got out my pattern box and paper, drafted, cut and sewed all in one weekend. This hasn’t happened for about…6 months? Way too long a time to be away from the sewing machine!

(Here’s a tip:don’t bend one knee while being photographed straight on. It’ll make it look as if you had two different length legs…)
I’m still hopelessly into 1920’s drop-waist fashion. The Great Gatsby hasn’t helped in getting me out of it. Also I’ve been admiring the lovely shift dresses from Ruche but then the real inspiration for this dress came from Zara’s red drape dress. So beautiful (if only it weren’t in polyester!).
Then Lauren posted a series of gorgeous Scout Tee’s and that got me going. I pulled out the Scout pattern and got to work making it into a dress and adding some drape detail.

My cat helped with the cutting (not). Um, yes, I use CD’s as pattern weights. Beatles and Gianna Nannini rock.

The fabric is a lovely flowy rayon. I had two rayons in my stash and I love how fluid and silky they are. And such a pleasure to sew. While my last sewing attempts in winter had me frustrated, this little dress came together so effortlessly and easily.

I’ll be the first to admit it doesn’t look like much on a hanger. You can’t really see the shape and the drape detail.

I love how it looks worn though! It’s just what I envisioned, though the drapey part is a lot less pronounced than in the original.

I have very few florals but this versatile little dress will be a great addition to my wardrobe. It will be perfect both for cooler summer days as well as spring and fall with tights and a cardi.

scout woven tee

Apparently once you start sewing clothing again you can’t stop…my next project was the Scout Woven Tee by Grainline Studio.

A nice, basic tee that sewed up pretty quickly.
I finally managed to clean my second sewing machine, a 1965 full-metal Singer, so now I can use this for its zigzag seam to finish raw edges. I still do french seams wherever possible, but need the zigzag for the set-in sleeves.

I liked the way this top was constructed simply but neatly. The hems are narrower than I was used to, so you do have to concentrate on getting everything done neatly, but the result looks very nice.
I had a lot of trouble with the sleeves this time though…I’ve done set in sleeves before, but I felt the sleeves had too much ease in this pattern. I redid them a couple of times, even handsewing them together first and finally did get them done without puckers. Next time I’ll cut the sleeves a size smaller though.

I cut a size 2, which fits well, though I could probably have got a way with one size smaller as well.

I like the way it turned out, but it might be a tad too basic for me to wear a lot. Time will tell. I do wish I had chosen a lighter fabric with more drape, but again I’m hoping the cotton will soften with the wash. That seems to be my number one sewing lesson in 2012 – always to buy fabric more lightweight than I think I need.
I’ve got a lot of sewing projects in my head and just ordered fabric swatches and some patterns online, so I’m hoping to make much of my summer wardrobe myself this year. Like apparently everyone else in the blogosphere I’ve been sucked into watching Downton Abbey, so my sewing theme for 2012 will be modern with a vintage twist 🙂