My Final Maternity Dress- Simplicity 1360 Again

As I am now 39 weeks pregnant, this will be my final contribution to my maternity "wardrobe" of things I made. I really only ended up making five dresses and three skirts. I was feeling fairly peppy until January, when my favorite thing became taking a nap after work. So not a whole lot going on around here sewing-wise. 

Since it was my third attempt, the knot looks the best on this one. 

I made this from that same pattern, Simplicity 1360, as my other two (floral print here and green one here). This one is a knit from Jo-Ann and it is really static-clingy. I wore this over leggings and with a slip and it still spends all day trying to climb my legs, which you can see in some of the pictures. The floral wrinkles insanely when it is washed, but the print is busy enough to hide it. The green one doesn't have any major problems, maybe since that is the bamboo rayon I bought from fabrics.com?

My only tip for making these is to try it on after you sew the front to the back and really pull and tug on the knot. Most of the time, pulling will open up some kind of gap either above or below the knot that you then need to sew up. Otherwise you end up with a hole directly between the boobs... unless that's what you're going for ;)

 It is great for its expansion capabilities- I can still wear it at nine months and it still has some drape in the front. Less on the sides.

Static cling on the sides. 

 Look at my big baby!

 A little bit squishier from the back, but what do you expect? I have gained 35 lbs, which is still in my target range.

The last few weeks have been really busy and hectic. The baby decided to turn breech about 3 weeks ago and we were trying everything to get him to turn head-down again. Went to a chiropractor, did acupuncture, the moxibustion where you burn incense next to your little toe, laying in all the weird positions from the spinningbabies website, talking to him, flashlight on where you want his head to go, and so on.

 Finally we tried the external version on Tuesday, where the doctor pushes on your stomach to try and physically turn the baby head down. That was really painful, but unsuccessful. So unless he magically turns before his due date, we will be scheduling a cesarean soon. Not quite what I had in mind, but I am getting used to the idea.


I have one more week of work (or less, depending on the baby's agenda) and now I am moving on to sewing baby things finally.

I will post a few more things this week, hopefully, but then I might fall off the earth for awhile!! Wish us luck with our new baby!

A nice green dress for Xmas- Simplicity 1360

 I wanted to make another version of Simplicity 1360, which I made over Thanksgiving break. I wanted to make a green one, both for general wearing and to have a holiday dress that fits. Jo-Ann of course had no green knits that were nice or the right shade of green. I ended up buying this from fabrics.com with some baby fabric; it is a hunter green bamboo rayon.

 But they had my old credit card number saved, and I was forced to get a new number with the Home Depot data breach. Then I had to fix the number after getting an email like five days later and I didn't think I would get the fabric in time to make the dress. Luckily, I got the fabric on Wednesday and I was able to cut it out on Wednesday night and then sew it up on Thursday.

Sadly, I couldn't find my Santa hat, but I got to have a reasonably festive outfit for our class party on the last day before winter break!

I did a much better job on the knot the second time around!

 This is from mid-December and I am much bigger now.

 Nice and simple back.

 I always blink. I still have quite a few pairs of tights that fit and can be pulled up over my belly (these are from Forever 21) so that's good. This week has been super cold and I am LOVING my fleece lined leggings I bought from Charlotte Russe. How did I not own any last winter?!? They are so warm and comfy and they have no elastic in the waist, so I will be able to wear them until the baby is born.

I cut out the same dress in a purple knit when I cut out the green, so I will whip that up soon and then I will have three! Perfect! They are great dresses and I will be able to wear them post-birth as my stomach (hopefully) resumes its previous shape.

Simplicity 1360: A Stylish Maternity Dress?

I knew I wanted to get some sewing done over Thanksgiving break, as I had five days off! I used Simplicity 1360, which is a maternity dress pattern with a twist under the boobs, and gathers in the center front for expansion capabilities. I bought the knit at Jo-Ann previously, and the pattern when it was on sale for 1.00, so I was ready to sew.

 Don't worry, I don't actually wear heels! All of my black flats are in a closet in my classroom, because I walk to school in sneakers and then change.

 The only part of the pattern that gave me trouble (which actually made me rage-quit on Wednesday and pick it back up on Friday) was the bodice part that forms the center-bottom part of the twist. All of these girls on the envelope are wearing solid colors, the pattern never says anything different for a print, but the back of my fabric is a whitish grey color. So when you pull it through the holes, it actually flips backwards and the white backing was showing. So I had to take it apart, cut out a second bodice piece to make it reversible, and then re-sew it back together. That solved it, but it was an unnecessary frustration. In part because I had never made any top or dress with a twist like that.

 From the back, I still look the same!

 From the side, not so much!! I am due March 3rd, so exactly three months from today! Exciting!

It's pretty and flattering and I am really happy with this dress! I had originally been looking for Vogue 1027, a mock wrap dress, from Kat's recommendation a few months ago. Of course, my Jo-Ann was sold out, but I thought this pattern was similar and it is!

I have one hideous failure to show you later this week, and I am working on my winter coat, which is about half done! Just in time, as I am on my largest coat right now and it barely closes! While I have had it for three years (?!?) I hardly ever wear it because the fur feels really over-the-top, but now I have no choice!!

Soon, soon....

Simplicity 1810- Transition Dress

As I stared to gain weight, I looked through my patterns for something loose, or with an elastic waist. I found Simplicity 1810A, particularly view B with the knee-length skirt and no sleeves. I thought it had an elastic waist, until I looked over the instructions and realized it is basically a sack with a waist tie. Perfect!

Simplicity 1810A

I cut out my normal size, XS, since these patterns have a huge amount of ease. And I was correct. Even up 10+ lbs and with new, 2x as big boobs, it is pretty huge and nearly too low-cut to wear!

My fabric is from my spring trip to Mood, it is a cotton knit with a brown and off-white giraffe-ish print. It is thin, but not translucent. It has served me well for the last month or so, being perfect for the hot weather yet also cute with a little cardigan. 

Unfortunately, the fabric had these black marks on it. They were right in the center in two places, but I didn't notice that until I had cut out the dress. Of course they ended up about waist-high, dead center on both of the main body pieces. Luckily the print is busy and with the waist tied, the blend in for the most part. 

Mood fabric with marks

Here it is on my beautiful assistant, untied. It has little tucks on the shoulder below the yoke. Otherwise, potato sack.

Ties not tied

The only mildly interesting thing about the pattern is that the ties are sewn into the back darts. This is because the back is cut on the fold, and it is only one piece. It looks nice and then I can't lose the matching sash, like I am always doing with my Alma blouses.

I wore it to estate sales last Saturday, in hopes that we would happen upon a cool place to take pictures. We drove by this mosaic mural and I yelled STOP!! We took some pictures and then I looked across the street and saw the fox; I love foxes!

The ties give it some shape, although I am rapidly losing mine

I like how the dress' print kind of mimics the man to the right.

  Sorry for the bra straps, I know you are deeply offended! :) I am busting (hahaha pun) out of all of my bras and that is one of the few that fit.

Thanks for looking and I am happy with this dress on many levels. It will help me transition from summer to fall, from secretly pregnant to huge-belly pregnant and I can wear it causally or at work. Yay!

Casual sundress for Italy

I bought some random clothes at Target right before we left for our trip to France and Italy. I bought the blue/green print dress and really liked it. It is super simple, as it is strapless with an elastic waist and neckline. On a whim, I made a twin for it out of 1 1/2 yards of a black and white knit print I bought at Jo-Ann sometime last summer. 

It was very easy to make, I just measured the top, waist and hem with the elastic stretched out and then traced the shape onto my black fabric with chalk. I cut it out, put in the elastics, and hemmed it. The only difference is that I only had 1/4 elastic and the original has more like 1/2 in elastic. Also the original has a useless drawstring tie over the waist elastic, so I eliminated that to save some time.

Cost: I think the fabric was about $15. I already had thread and elastic on hand.

Time: Probably around 2-3 hours.

We went to France to visit Andrew's family. We flew from Chicago to Paris, stayed in Paris for 2-3 days, flew to Florence and visited Pompeii, then drove to the Amalfi Coast for 3 days. All of these pictures were taken in Positano and Amalfi.

Positano:

Original dress

 Near our hotel in Priano:

A very simple dress, but it still looks nice.

 In Amalfi at the church:

Black and white dress for the black and white stone. The wind was blowing it up a little on the right.

Simple, but very comfortable and perfect for vacation. 

This was a simple make, but I am very happy with it. It doesn't wrinkle, and it is lightweight and comfortable; it was perfect for vacation.


In other news, I finally found out that my former school decided to eliminate the French program, and a teacher with more seniority will finish up the last French II classes this year. That was sad to hear, but it is better to know for sure than to keep hoping. Tomorrow I'm going to school to pack up all of my stuff.

On a positive note, I am going to take the two classes for my middle school endorsement, and take two science classes to get both my Social Studies and Science middle school endorsements. I really loved teaching middle school and science is in fairly high demand. So hopefully next spring, I will be in a more successful place in the job market! It's nice to feel like I have some direction, too.

I have some other things I have made, and I will try to post more of them this week!

Butterick 5889: Summer delight!

Don't forget to Enter June's Double Giveaway that ends on Wednesday!!

I went a few weeks ago and bought six patterns at Jo-Anns on sale. I though about what I wear all summer and it basically boils down to little cheap-o dresses from Forever 21 or Target that are all comfy and loose and casual. However, I never sew things like that for the summer and I need to change that. I picked up this knit there too; it is lightweight and stretchy with a cool print. The pattern is Butterick 5889 cut out in a small. The envelope made it look super meh, but I thought it had potential.

The back is just nice and drapey and the waist tie is super long. You can wrap it once with a big bow, or twice with a small bow. I made some sort of crazy braid bun for the restaurant.

 I think the combination of the hair and the sandals make it look very Ancient Greece, but it is very comfortable and delightful. I see this getting a ton of wear this summer!

I swear the hem is even, I just bunched it up in a weird way. 

The pattern itself is super easy to make with only four pieces. I cut the back off the fold because I didn't buy enough fabric, but I did everything else as directed. I don't have a zig-zag or serger though, so everything is just done "old school" with a ball point needle. 

Yay to summer, with only five days of school left!

I spent the whole year substituting at the public high school near my house. While it is sad that I still haven't found a permanent teaching job after two (!!) years here in Chicago, whatever, such is life. I'm happy I can pay my bills and my student loans and I have my restaurant job to fill in the gaps. Subbing at the same place every day is probably the best possible situation. Once you're not new, the kids treat you better and don't get really excited that they have a sub to torment, plus I get to walk to work and that is delightful!. So, if I don't find a permanent job this summer, I will definitely keep doing it next year as it's better than working a the restaurant! (That is for you, lady who gobbled down a whole order of calimari with her family and then complained to get it for free, which I did, and then left me a shitty tip. )

My BFF Stephanie and her husband are visiting, so I doubt I will have much more to post this week! Happy Summer!

Vogue 1183- Sexy Winter Suit Set

This is my pattern, Vogue 1183 for a fitted, lined dress with an interesting waist seam detail. I made it out of leftover beige wool from Mood, which I used for my cape and the same extra cape lining, a pale pink Bemberg rayon. 

I cut out a 6, which I really need to stop doing. My ass does NOT fit in a 6. It does not. So it's a little snug through the hips. The waist and top is fine. My V on the neck does NOT look like the lady on the envelope, but I lined up the marks where I was supposed to...

Close-up of the front. I forgot to put on makeup, but my skin looks so much better than Xmas, when I was having the breakout to top all breakouts. My mommy bought me one of those Clairisonic face scrubbers and poof, I no longer look like a troll!

 The back is nice. The zipper is a smidge darker than the fabric, but it was the only one I had that was long enough. Oh well, I can live with it!

 From the side:

Now, it makes the perfect outfit with my cape. It's like sexy, retro business lady off to be important in my wool suit!

Open, to show the lining a little. Light pink for cape and dress.

Back looks good, with my cool sideways braid I made.

Pretending to be a T-Rex with my tiny armholes on the cape.

I found my car key in the pocket of the cape I wear rarely. So dumb, that would have been a screamingly frantic search before work...

 So, I am pretty happy with this outfit. I think I might wear it to school on Monday and see if the kids are feeling nice or mean.

I am going to revise my one item a week for the whole year to 52 items for the year and not be rigid about when they actually happen. I am getting married in less than two months and need to make that a priority. Making one item a week just won't happen sometimes. Though this fully lined dress did take longer than most things. Plus, I am taking a pottery class for the next five weeks learning how to use the wheel, so that will also take up some time. We shall see, but I am going to try!

Vogue Dress Meh... V 1287

This dress is just so meh. The fabric is cool, but on my skin it looks so gross. I need to stop buying fabric with a beige background. I thought the pleat detail would be cool, but it just looks like a shapeless bundle of crap. I finished this at least two weeks ago, but was unmotivated to take pictures.

 The front: meh. The back: meh. Meh!

 Close-up? Meh. You can't even see the details. Also, it has no closures and is meant to just pull over your head, but it is like trying to crawl through a small tube.

The sketch looks nice though. Oh Vogue and your false promises! It is nicely made, though. Maybe I will sell it on etsy.

A summer to fall transition dress

I bought another piece of fabric along with the one I wanted advice on last week. It is a nice fabric in fall colors, but I wanted to make a summer dress that could make the transition to fall. The weather is still nice here and I hope to fit in more beach days, but soon it will be getting cold. 

I used Simplicity 7689, with the middle view. It is two pieces and two facings. Including cutting time, it maybe took a hour to make. Jiffy, like it says!

The fabric is peacock feathers, but in shades of off-white, tan, burgundy, green and blue. I really like it.

 I hemmed it on the machine and added an Alma style waist tie, since the pattern doesn't include one. It looks very tent-like without the sash. The shoulder tie is rayon seam binding to match the blue in the peacock eyes.

It was fun and easy to make; I am happy with it. I can add tights and a cardigan and wear it into fall as well. 

A dress for a spring evening wedding

Perhaps you thought I didn't finish my dress in time for the wedding? Well, you would be nearly correct! I decided the night before we left that I had put it off for too long, but I gave it a shot anyways and I made it pretty quickly.

I wanted to have a very simple style because the fabric is so intense alone. It is a pale pink-grey poly tulle with tulle rosettes sewn all over it. I bought it at Jo-Ann when it was half off. I went up to Vogue fabrics in Evanston to find the right shade of Bemberg lining. One of the saleswomen was really helpful; we determined that none of the shades really matched, but she suggested going with the closest to my skin tone after I told her the style dress I was going to make. She was definitely right and it is a good match.

At the wedding

For the actual sewing, I made a strapless bodice from the lining using the front bodice of my Cambie pattern and the back bodice of my Lonsdale pattern, so that was easy. Then for the overlay, I used the back bodice from the Cambie pattern and just trimmed off the cap sleeves. I sewed the shoulder seams and then shaped the sides to fit without darts, since they would show through the sheer fabric. This only worked because I am so flat chested now. 

I am standing oddly, it doesn't have a big fold down the middle.

The skirt and the lining are just one piece cut lengthwise from the fabric to avoid seams. I sewed the lining and tulle together in the side seams and attaching the skirt so it wouldn't show through. I put in a side zipper by hand on the left side and whip stitched the neckline and armholes by hand. I hemmed it on the machine and it's really not noticeable. 

Add caption

So even with the crazy fabric, overall it is fairly neutral and subdued. I wore these skin colored shoes. The wedding was in Manhattan at a Greek Orthodox church and the reception was there too. It was fun and we got to see two friends from college get married; actually they started dating just a few months before we did when we were all studying abroad in Paris! At this wedding at least we could say we're engaged finally. At the last few weddings so many people were asking and it was awkward. I mean we have been dating for seven years, but what's the rush?

Here is a close-up of the fabric and you can just see the lining underneath. 

Anyways, it was a fun wedding and I am happy with the dress, though I don't know when I would wear it again!

Interview ME! II Dress

Last summer I made my Interview ME! dress, which is a nice-looking, looking-for-work dress. However, as I am job hunting again one year later, I thought "Why not make a new dress?" After making my first Cambie dress for pattern testing, I was so pleased with it/myself that I wanted to make the other view.

I went off to Jo-Ann and found a nice, spring-like blue striped linen blend. It has blue and white and grey stripes. I lined it with Bemberg in off-white, so it can breathe. Or my skin can breathe.  

 I folded the fabric so that the selvages met, but I didn't think about where the stripes would be centered. Derp. So the dark stripe is slightly off center, reminding me slightly of the ribbon on a gift.

 Again, the stripes so not match in the back at all. If you make this in stripes, you need to be more thoughtful and deliberate than I was!

 From the side it looks fine.

 When I robot-dance it looks nice!

And with my interview jacket on, it looks perfectly fine! Also, I am really happy I bought a pair of nude heels. They are so neutral! Oh la la.

Anyways, it's not as awesome as my first Cambie dress, but it is nice too! Is this teaching interview appropriate or should I stick with my grey dress? Or this blue dress? Oh, yeah, it's a purely academic question until I get an actual interview!