June 2018 projects- What I’ve been up to

Hello, my lovely sewing ladies! I promised a while ago that I will update you every month so here are my June 2018 projects- What I’ve been up to 🙂

The weather in Norway has been amaaaaazing since May, so I am in a frenzy of dressmaking! I am in love with the 1950’s style summer dresses. They charmed me with their well-fitted bodices and flared skirts. I can’t get enough of them!

Seersucker turned out to be my favorite type of summer fabric, with gingham following hard on its heels.

Project 1 – The Blue Gingham Dress

If you follow my Pinterest board – Vintage dresses, you may have noticed a minor obsession with gingham going on there.

I couldn’t wait to make one for myself! Please let me know in the comments if gingham is a “yay” or “nay” for you. I know that some people see gingham and think “tablecloths”. I see it and think “sunny summer of 1958”.

The skirt is just a simple, gathered dress with two panels. I made it super easy by placing the zipper on the side. It makes the dress very comfortable, the zipper is completely invisible and you don’t have to make two separate back panels.

Would you like to get a tutorial on how to make this dress? Please let me know in the comments below. 🙂

Project 2 – The Pink Cotton Day Dress

This simple dress was made with my garden in mind. I don’t have one here in Norway, but once I move, I will need some super comfy cotton dresses to hang out barefoot in the garden. I need something that I won’t mind wearing while sitting on a grass or picking the strawberries in. This is it.

I used (almost) the same pattern as with my green seersucker dress (you can see it here. Scroll down to Project 4) The only difference being no buttons placket in the front and a covered up zipper at the back. Oh, and I also used a pleated skirt for the bottom instead of a gathered skirt.

The dress is *a bit* too tight for my current waist circumference (damn all the salted caramel ice-cream!!!). Therefore, the covered up zipper opens up a bit at the top and the zipper head is sticking out. So annoying.

The solution to it, however, is the cutest part of this dress. I extended the bias tape, sewn a bow onto it and attach it to the other side with a clasp. This way, the zipper stays more or less in place and the plain dress got a little zing to it. Big thanks to Jennifer from Jennifer Lauren Handmade for giving me this sweet idea!

Project 3 – The Pink Gingham Dress

When I was shopping for summer fabrics I was torn between blue gingham and the “antique pink” gingham. I chose blue… and then saw 2 m of the pink gingham on the -40% pile. It was destiny!

Unfortunately, out of all my summery creations, this is the one I like the least. I have no idea how come my muslin was so far off the mark. The bodice doesn’t fit me well at all. I tried to close up the gaping neck hole with two darts which came out off and looks horrible with the checkered pattern. The waistline comes up too high. It is quite possible that I forgot to add a bottom seam allowance on the front bodice. How many times do I have to ruin a project before I learn not to sew when tired??? Ehh…

This dress is made out of full circle skirt, exceedingly sucky bodice (wrrr) and a peter pan collar. I opted for the bias binding on the armholes (again). I find the contrast of the white bias tape refreshing on materials with a pattern AND it allows me to skip the dreaded facings. Win-win situation.

Fun fact: Brigitte Bardot wore a pink gingham dress on her wedding day in 1959, which caused a shortage of gingham fabric in France. She was gorgeous, what can you do!

Project 4 – The Secret Red Dress 

Yes, my darlings, I’m going to keep a secret from you for a (hopefully not too long) while. Little clues – it’s based on an original pattern from the 1950’s, it is RED and it is gorgeous… I can’t wait to present it to you! Ok, I can’t help it – THE LAST CLUE – this will be the first ever post I make in cooperation with The Vintage Pattern Shop!

 

I’m sorry to end this post with a suspense (well… it feels like that to me, at least 😛 ), but I will be back with some more pictures of beautiful dresses pretty soon.

July is going to be an exciting month. I am planning to have a 1-week sewing frenzy and I can’t wait to see the fruits of it! I truly wonder just how many dresses can I sew from scratch in a week (we’re talking making the patterns from the ground up, muslins, alterations and all…).

Oh! I almost forgot! Please let me know in the comments below if you would like to see a tutorial for any of the dresses above! I would be happy to make it for you. <3 

Stay tuned to see The Secret Red Dress and more.

Love,