celebratory sewing

I passed my prelim exam! Yay! To celebrate (yeah, this girl knows how to party!) I did some sewing - I worked on Advance 9427. I had an issue on the bodice in the front and the back, where the center seams meet the facing - what a mess. I'm not too good at seam intersections like that. I have enough fabric to cut out another bodice if I need to, though I may move on to another pattern; those little kimono sleeves built into the bodice may not be the best choice for a full figure.

It's Hard Work

Wow - I've just spent some time setting up a store on Etsy for my extra sewing patterns. It's not easy, even when you are listing unused ones. There's research to see what the going price is (if you can even find the pattern elsewhere on the Google), you have to photograph it and scale the photo, type in the description... Sheesh!

So, after putting all that work in and seeing the effort it takes to sell patterns on-line, I don't feel so bad paying for extra-special vintage patterns like this:



Found that little gem over on Grandma's Patterns. Can't wait to make it!

Maybe I have some patterns you need?

Adventures in the A-Line Zone

I recently completed a dress using my first vintage pattern - Butterick 5681, an A-line dress from the late 60s or early 70s. It's not an exaggerated A-line, that's for sure, it nips in nicely at the waist and the darts are flattering too. It does need a belt though for optimum effect. It went together easily, except for the fact that my serger came unthreaded, which is always a major sewing heartache, though one that really can't be blamed on the pattern. The other snafu concerns the zipper. It's been a while since I've installed one, and forgot that there's a real good reason the directions specify that you sew in one direction only. Yeah - a bit wobbly on the top. But that's fixable.

The fabric is a Tracy Porter design I spotted on clearance at Jo-Anne's. I'm not sure why it called to me, but it did. It was one of fabrics that you see and instantly adore, even though it's nothing like what you usually gravitate toward. (What? I'm the only person who does that? Never mind then.)

I prefer more of a scoop neckline, so I'm not sure if I will use this pattern again. I would give it three out of four thimbles.