Flower Chantilly Dress

YES, I finally have a finished project I can show off. I've been working on a lot of things lately, but just haven't gotten very far. This is the chantilly dress from Colette Patterns, made up in this gorgeous peony print cotton gauze.I think it's a peony, but it also looks like a hydrangea. I can't decide.  I also lined it in a thicker cotton gauze. 

I've been eyeing this fabric up at Fabricland, since I started teaching there. I knew it would be a perfect chantilly dress, but they had just under the amount of fabric required. I decided to take the risk and see if I could squeeze the dress even though I had about a half yard less. I don't know how I did it, but as you can see I did it! 

This cotton gauze is SO lightweight, it was really difficult to hem. I wanted to use my new narrow hem presser foot, but the gauze wouldn't fold, and the the weave is so loose it would just unravel. So then I tried the rolled hem on the serger, which didn't work either, any time the hem was off the straight grain the roll wouldn't catch the edge. It was super annoying, I had to do it so many times I was afraid it was going to have a mini dress. I finally sprayed it with some press starch, ironed it and then it worked. PHEW. 

The only tricky part about this pattern is topstitching the neckband down while evenly catching the lining neckband. Other than that, it went very smoothly, and now I have the springtime dress! 

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Me-Made-May Week 3

It's week three, we are in the home stretch! Are you ready for more of my outfits?! 

Day 15 - Wednesday
Me made Colette Clover pants- so comfortable I can jump and kick in them!

Day 16 - Thursday
Me Made cherry dress

Day 17- Friday
Me Made Portrait Blouse

Day 18- Saturday
Me Made audrey in unst sweater

Day 19 - Sunday (cleaning day)
Me Made Clovers again

Day 20-  Monday
Me made starlet suit jacket

Day 21 - Tuesday
Me Made cropped sweater

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Me-Made-May week 2

Ready for another week of me-me-me?! 

I've completed another week of Me-Made-May! 

Thursday, Day 9
Me Made Sweater

Friday, Day 10
Me Made Colette Violet blouse

Saturday, Day 11
Me-Made Vintage Robe 

Sunday, Mother's Day! day 12
Me-Made dress
prepping Mother's Day brunch

Monday, Day 13
Me-Made Scarlet Suit Jacket

Tuesday, Day 14
Me-Made Colette Sorbetto tank top

I'll be back in a couple days to show you the new dress I've been working on! Just the hem to go, going to attempt to use my new narrow hem foot. Pin It Now!

Me-Made-May Week 1

Wednesday Day 1
Me Made Colette Beignet Skirt

                             

Thursday- May 2
Me Made Miette Sweater
Me Made Bug dress

 

                    

Friday -Day 3
Me Made Sweater
Me made pants colette clover

Saturday Day 4
Me Made embroidered sweater

Sunday- Day 5
Me made purple tea dress

Monday Day 6
Me Made Audrey in Unst

Ok so day 7 didn't happen, and either did day 8. My grandma got sick, so I was in no mood to prance around in a pretty dress. She is doing better, so MMMay'13 is back on.  How did everyone else do?

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Me-Made-May 2013!

I'm in!

"I, Erika, of ErikaMadeIt, sign up as a participant in Me-Made-May '13. I endeavor to wear at least handmade garment each day for the duration of May 2013. Also I pledge to finish and wear two new items, with the fabric from my stash."


I can't even remember how many of these I have participated in but I'm in again. It's always a good challenge and it's great to wear some of the things I've forgotten about. I always come out of the month realizing how far I've come with garment making and how much I've really done. I have plenty of outfits already lined up, and can't wait for Wednesday!

Who else has signed up? Any reservations?
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Jiffy Dress: Simplicity 1609

When the new simplicity books came into the store (I work at Fabricland) and I flipped the page to this new re-released Jiffy dress, I gasped. "OMG we have to make this".  So I whipped up a sample for a summer camp class. When I first saw this pattern, it looked like the dresses from Moonlight Kingdom, but now in this color it's reading as Megan from season 4 of Mad Men. Perfect for the Mad Men challenge! (My second entry!)

The fabric is a cotton, with a bit of spandex in this BRIGHT coral color, I just love it. The collar is in a white cotton pique, with some covered buttons also in white. This pattern is an excellent reprint. It has french darts in the front, and one piece facing. I LOVE one piece facings. It makes such a clean finish. This dress was so easy to put together, It took me a little more than a morning. Good thing too because I have to teach this class to teenagers this summer!

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Cherry Print Vogue

Don't you love it when a pattern and fabric come together perfectly? This is my second version of the vintage reprint Vogue 8728, I love how flattering the gathered bust and how easy it is to put together. The last version I made was too big (even though I followed the finished measurements) so I made this one two sizes smaller. I measured the actual pattern and it was 2 inches bigger than it said it was. This is not the kind of pattern that you would want too much ease!

For this version I used a lightweight rayon with some stretch in a cherry print, from Mood in NYC. I love this Fabric! It's lightweight and silky, but was easy to sew. I used a ballpoint needle in the smallest size I could find, the only difficult part was sewing the skirt to the bodice, it kept wiggling around. 

I made this dress for Easter, and it felt very springy. I even ordered a matching belt from Pat's Custom Buttons and Belts. This dress is the perfect blend of vintage and modern, I could even make a third version! 

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