fancy party dress

for a friend's birthday party, the theme was to dress up. it was the perfect occasion to make a new dress.

i re-used a pattern that was bought previously to make my convocation dress, mccall's 5881. this time, i went for view a, a halter dress with a contrast band.

in mom's sewing closet, i found a floral pattern fabric. for the contrast band, i used some burgundy-coloured fabric. i also found an invisible zipper of the same colour. i'm glad i didn't have to buy any supplies for this dress.

the pattern size 4 fit me, except the bodice was too tight. i wonder if it's because i did not follow the grain of the interfacing; after ironing, the bodice pieces seemed to have shrunk. my mom was able to alter the bodice front by playing with the seam allowances. but i had to re-cut the bodice back, adding 1 inch on the top and bottom edge, when the pattern piece was placed on the fold (so an addition of 2 inches total, on each edge). this means that the contrast band had to be lengthened (by about 3 inches, just to be safe).

when putting the skirt pieces together, we realized that the dress fit so much better when we switched the front side and back side pieces. not sure if this is a mistake in the pattern, or if my body is shaped weird or something.

anyway, it took my mom two nights to make this dress (since we had to re-do the bodice, and it took us a while to figure out that the front and back side pieces should be switched). by the end of the second night, when i tried it on, i found that the top of the bodice was too loose. now i know that i should have altered the bodice back piece to add half-inch to the top edge, and 1 inch to the bottom edge. but there was no time to make these alterations that night. in a 'make it work' moment, my mom sewed an elastic along the top edge of the bodice, which resulted in some unwanted shirring. fortunately, the contrast band along the top edge hid most of this.

the party ended up being a lot of fun. at least the dress was held together. some day, when my mom will have some free time, she'll have to rip apart the bodice, and remake it to have it fit me properly.

[photo to come, maybe.]

pointy kitty

i had found this pointy kitty pattern a long time ago:
http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/pointykitty.html
but i never had a reason to make it.

recently, my mom got a puppy. finally, i can make her a toy!

in my mom's fabric closet, i found some stretch velour, in beige colour. when cutting the pieces, i thought this fabric may be hard to work with. but when sewing, i realized that this fabric was a good choice: the stretch meant that i had some play when two pieces did not match up perfectly, and the fuzz of the velour hid my imperfect stitching.

since i do not have a sewing machine myself, i sewed the whole thing by hand. it was simple enough that it only took a couple of hours. i used some pink felt for the stripes. and since i was lazy, i left the kitty faceless.



it's so cute.

my dad is concerned that the fabric does not seem tough enough. the puppy will surely destroy the toy. but that's okay. it'll give me a reason to make more.

convocation dress #2

for my second convocation, mom made my dress again. the pattern used was mccall 5881 view d.

we used some fabric that had been sitting in mom's sewing closet for years; she had gotten it for free from her boss. the zipper was also found in her closet. aside from the time spent on cutting the fabric pieces and sewing this together, the total cost of this dress was on the pattern, for only $7.

cropped action shot:


we added some thin straps, because a strapless dress is totally unsafe for me.

the pattern was designed in misses' sizes. since i am petite, i had shortened the hem, but did not think to place the slit higher as well. in the end, i had some difficulty walking in this dress, especially when i had to walk up the steps of some stairs.

convocation dress

again, using simplicity 5112, mom made my convocation dress, with a heavier print fabric. i quite like the way it turned out.



the shrug was made following a fitz pattern, with some stretchy lacy material.

striped halter dress

when mom and i went shopping for a dress to wear at convocation, it was disappointing. we saw some nice dresses, but those were pricey. we found some simpler dresses, but the material looked and felt cheap. finally, we bought a pattern instead: simplicity 5112. it is a simple halter dress.

but before making the convocation dress with nice material, mom found some cheaper material in her sewing closet. it is a cotton, with a striped print; it makes me think of bedsheets. we tried the pattern with the cotton, to make sure that the sizing is correct, and that the style would suit me.

i was happy enough with the result, but found the dress a bit too short. so mom added a lace trim at the hemline. i find that this added detail makes the dress nicer.

i hadn't planned on actually wearing the dress; it was more just to try out the pattern. but i love it so much now; it is perfect for summer. i can't wait until the temperature rises so that i can wear it.

bad quality pic taken with camera-phone:

peach-colored clutch

a while ago, i found a link with a pattern and tutorial for this clutch. i finally made it recently.

it's entirely handsewn since i didn't have access to a sewing machine that day. it was a quick project, done in one evening, while watching tv. all materials were scraps that i found in mom's sewing closet.

outside:


showing lining:

grey bookbag

this is my first completed project, so i made it as simple as possible. i use it to carry extra textbooks that are too heavy for my backpack.

here it is:


close-up of the flower: