Advance 8898- A World of Plaiditude

Pattern: Advance 8898 from the late 1950s

 Fabric: 3 yards of Jo-Ann's "Plaiditude" fabric in a green and grey plaid. It is very soft cotton.

 Notions: I used the last of my dark grey thread and then switched to black, five fabric covered buttons and 2 hooks and eyes for the waist above and below the button.

 Cost: About $24

Time: This was much more time-intensive than most of my projects. Matching the plaid made cutting take longer, I followed the instructions carefully, and I hand sewed the hem, the sleeves, the buttons and the hooks and eyes. I hate hooks and eyes. I think I will replace them with the ones that are meant for pants at every opportunity. So fiddly and annoying and look, they kept poking out! Now I have to move them again!! I would say this took 7-8 hours to make.

 This was my first real attempt at matching plaid. I am quite pleased. It has a nice look and the stripes matched up on all sides. It has that same giant stand-up collar that my bathrobe has. I think it requires the hair to be pulled up, or it gets in the way.

 The back is the part I really like. It has a slim skirt and a fitted waist, but the bodice back is very gathered and looks very full. Um, that's the wind also. It's not that grippy in the back!

 You can see the volume from the side.

 Plaid alignment!

 Changes:
I shortened the sleeves and bodice my typical 1". I shortened the skirt to my knee, prob 4-6 ". I cut the waist pieces on the bias to show off the awesome plaid. They are heavily interfaced, so they do not stretch out.

I am really happy with this dress! Yay!

Happy dog says "Have a good weekend!"

Next up: Advance 8898 with plaiditude!

My next project is this pattern, Advance 8898 from the late 50s. It is! I looked it up online! It has the same stand-up collar as my bathrobe that I just finished. 

I have also liked looking at some new fabric at JoAnn, which they have decided to call Plaiditudes. LOL! That is such a dorky name! I will make sure my pictures are full of plaid and attitude! I chose this grey and green plaid. They all look like wool, but are in fact cotton and feel like flannel or something equally soft. 

I'm excited and so far I have been making a real effort to match up the lines. I hope this looks nice!

Plaid Dress with Pictures

This is my pattern, Simplicity 4531, from my estate sale loot (25 cents!). I made view 2, the black and white, but without the detachable collar and cuffs.

Here is the dress, made of a madras my mom gave me.

It has pockets, which is nice.

Close-up of the collar and the buttons. The buttons were given to me by my aunt. I added a snap on the waist below the second button, since it was trying to pull open.

The shoes came from the same estate sale- only 1 buck!!

I did an okay job of matching the plaid on the skirt, but where it meets the bodice is all wonky. I might make a red belt to wear with it, which would help disguise that.

It was quick and easy, and made a nice dress, that is also colorful and comfortable. It took a few hours to make, and I did the buttonholes and buttons on the second day. I hemmed it on the machine.

Ha, i guess this whole outfit was $1.25, since the fabric and buttons were a gift. That's cool!

Now I am making a navy blue dress out of rayon. I'll finish it tomorrow or Wednesday.... stay tuned!

An improved automobile

I finally remembered to take before and after pictures of a project!

My car is 14 years old, and has spent many years in the sun, so there are some giant spots where the paint is giving up.

You can see where I covered up the spots a year or two ago.
This is the panel that started peeling off after a trip to the car wash. Andrew did all the painting, since he thinks I am incompetent at painting with spray paint. All because at an old rental the dog had scratched the paint off of part of a door, so I spray painted it white again, but I got some on the white carpet because I didn't put down any paper. This was literally 3 years ago, but he won't ever forget!!!
Ta da! No more yellow!
All shiny and nice!
Here's my dress I'm working on. It needs buttons down the front and a hem, but I did most of it yesterday. Now to go buy more fabric!