Found Box of pattern

I've been meaning to write this post a long time ago. A few weeks back, on the way home from church as I was in the car with my mum as she was driving, I was staring out the window and saw a whole box of sewing patterns (just around the corner from the church) and sewing stuff being thrown out. My automatic reaction was "Mum! Stop! Stop!", which freaked her out (of course), I picked up the box and took it :) When I got home I checked out all the patterns, there are some many patterns from all different decades but mostly from the 90s. I have listed some onto etsy that I thought I wouldn't use. Here they are below:

Christmas Time = Time for a new {Dress}

Christmas Time is near and for Christmas very one needs a new outfit to wear for the special occasion.  So I have decided (well it was my Mum's idea) to finish off the dress that I had started earlier this year and add on some extras features to make it look much better :)

On the left is how the dress looked before (found in the previous post here) and the image on the right shows that the dress has been hemmed. To be honest I have been so confused and afraid of hemming because I have never hemmed before, I did so much research and everything I found overwhelmed me. So in the end I found a very simple tutorial which I adjusted to myself (found here). Although the waist gathers didn't work too well, only because I self-drafted the skirt pattern and obviously made it too small to make big gathers in the skirt to fit the bodice.

There (above) you can see the difference, it has become shorter and I am very happy with my end result. All I did for the dress and lining raw edges was finish it off with zigzag stitch because I don't have an over locker yet....hahahaha (evil laugh) nah only kidding, anyway for the lining I

2 ideas - Box Pleats or Knife Pleats (formal dress progress)

As the title says 'Box pleats or Knife pleats'? I have had to take out the gathers from the dress because the Dutch Satin is very thick and the gathers are looking very uneven. So I went to my textiles teacher and asked her opinion and I know that gathers are very 50s, I wasn't sure what to replace it with, so she gave me the suggestion of box or knife pleats, or a box pleat in the middle at the front and middle at the back, while the rest around the waist is done with knife pleats. I don't know what to choose because I want to maintain the 1950s look. How close/far should I make the pleats to each other? Box pleats or Knife pleats? So many questions in my mind.

Box Pleats

Knife Pleats

What do you think???

This is what my dress currently looks like:

Progress on my formal dress

Well here's the thing, I was meant to start making my official formal dress last weekend but got stuck when I didn't know what to use to transfer my pattern markings to my fabric. But lucky for me, my friend helped me with that and gave me the solution. So here it is, I had transfered all my pattern pieces onto interfacing and because I had done so, all I needed to do was go over the markings (pressing hard) with tailors chalk and the markings should go through. And it was as simple as that :)

Update!

I did some more work tonight and here is the progress:

Buy One Get One FREE! Spotlight Special

Yesterday I took a trip to Spotlight (said so simply, I actually begged the heck out of my mum until she took me) and bought a few things which I needed for the making of my formal dress and found some excellent patterns; McCall's 6547 (for my sister) and New Look 6723 (my pattern) and material for $1, which I'm unsure what exactly it is.

Finished Butterick 5607

Everything happens eventually happens in time. Patience is the key and unfortunately I do not have this, but how I sew without patience is unanswerable. My butterick 5607 dress took me a week to make and half an hour to hem and iron 2 months later. I couldn't believe I finished it. The point I am getting at is I finally finished my dress that I never thought I would finish, but I finally have. I am going to review the pattern the pattern, so keep reading below. My first official dress finished and wearable in public.

Here is the result: 

 

Pattern Review

Practice Version of Butterick Retro 5708

While on holidays I was able to make a practice version of my formal dress 'Butterick Retro 5708', although as I mentioned earlier I found many bad reviews I actually got the calico version finished in 2 days, with no problems exept the easestitching part, which I now realised why I had the problem, I forgot that I cut the bodice piece smaller than the midriff, duh! Stupid me (Slap head with hand, Gently of course :P). If I do say so myself, I found this pattern to be much easier than the Butterick 5607, not only because you only line the bodice but the instructions were much easier to understand. Anyway here are the preview images, and by the way this dress has so much gathering it is no even funny, I couldn't even get the seams to meet up.

Front

Back

Ahead of Time- Making of Formal Dress- Butterick Retro 5607

 Very Very Very... light purple (The material for the dress)




I know my formal is still well ahead of time but I don't think I will have anytime to make my dress during year 12, so I have decided to make it in the next 2 weeks- WHICH ARE COMPLETELY FREE FOR ME! Now for the special dress and theme I have chosen the time era of the 1950's, in fact the pattern I have chosen is Butterick Retro 5708 ('53), which is one dress but the bodice may be worn in numerous variations. Today I took a trip to Spotlight and purchased this pattern and without realising the pattern was $21.00, it sure was a real shock for me but no way was I going to reject buying it.

 But for me I absolutely love view A. Usually the pattern packet is thick and weighs a little but the packet for this pattern is as light as a feather. Although I am not to fond of the 50s hair, I may level out a hairstyle of the 50's and 60's, but on the other hand now looking in google for '50's hairstyles of long wavy hair', I actually have chosen some I like. The only thing I'm worried about in making this dress is inserting the 14" invisible zipper. (scary)

Don't stop click to see more hairstyles and info...

A Bad Addiction (I can't help it)

Some of us obsessions/addictions to all sorts of things, I'm pretty sure everyone does. Just like my obsession with buying endless numbers of dresses and shoes at a consistent rate (that being every time we go shopping), my new addiction is buying sewing patterns. I recently found some really great stores at ArtFire; Sewinghappyplace (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/sewinghappyplace) and TodaysTreasure (http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/TodaysTreasure), I couldn't limit myself to buying just one instead I bought 6 vintage patterns (and I don't think I'm finished). Here they are, I couldn't decide which one to buy, so I bought them all:

Vintage 60s Straight Flared Dress Pattern Size 12 Simplicity 5036

Dress Slip Overdress Pattern McCalls 8992 Size 12 Vintage 1960s

Misses Shirtwaist Dress Pattern Size 14.5 Mail Order 4627

Sewing Floral 60s: UPDATE! Part #1

So it has been almost a month since I have been on, I have very busy again. Although coming to the bright side I have found time to show my new dresses I have been working on. Recently I had a textiles assignment and I had to create  a futuristic gown for a ball in the year 2040, however I was unable to finish it. I only got the dress done but not the accessories. As previously stated I had bought the pattern Butterick 5607 and made my first dress to test the pattern out and later on I had to use the pattern for my school assignment but had to make adjustments. So here is the dress I first worked on, I didn't end up buying floral material for the dress because this satin material was meant for my assignment but I changed my mind. Although I did buy some vintage floral sateen recently at Spotlight for a great deal. Anyway here is my first one (I haven't done the hems yet):

Front

Back

Sewing Floral 60s

I love the 60s and find it as a very inspirational fashion era, everything of the 60s was lovely. Have you wanted to go back in time just to wear the fashion of a particular decade? Well I have and do. I bought a sewing pattern, 'Butterick b5607', recently from spotlight and because I am still learning in sewing I bought an easy one, which specifically had easy labelled on the back, I read through the pattern instructions and when they said easy they really mean it. I collaged a source of inspiration for my self, I really want to create a bright and colourful dress which can be worn to any occasion. Well here is all the designs the pattern offer, it's really only two style of dresses but with extra features on each one:

Floral 60s by lovalafashion featuring clutch handbags

Lace up oxford
$29 - owntherunway.com

Clutch handbag
$39 - modcloth.com




I really like the bag, it is so pretty! I am going to make one, soon I hope and then it will be up on my etsy store.

 Well here is all the designs the pattern offer, it's really only two style of dresses but with extra features on each one:

I want to create dress B with feature G, the girl in the right top corner is the one wearing the design. The colour and use of this satin as