Life has been feeling a little hectic around here lately, and I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t already written and scheduled a blog post for this week until Wednesday had come and gone! So I scrambled a bit yesterday and today to take some photos and prepare a little sewing update for this month.
Last month, when I found out that Joann’s Fabric stores across the US would be closing, I decided to go ahead and see if I could find any fabrics I wanted there before the option was no longer available. My daughter and I went together and perused the clearance and sale shelves, and we brought home a few fabrics that we both thought would make nice summer dresses.
Having new fabric in the house is always inspirational, but especially when you happen to score just exactly the right thing for a pattern you were already planning to make. When I spied this pink striped seersucker, I knew it had to come home with me. The McCalls 5606 70s shirt dress pattern that I shared in my “Make 9” post is constructed in an unusual way that is particularly designed for a striped fabric or distinctly directional print. Almost as soon as I got the fabric washed and ironed, I was cutting out the pattern and fabric, and the “Candy Stripe Summer Shirt Dress” was born. I hunted down some vintage covered button kits on Etsy so that I could complete the look with perfectly matching buttons. Now that I have used them, I know I am going to have to make more and more fabric covered buttons in the future. So fun!
I still have to hem this dress and make button holes, so it is definitely still a work in progress. I have yet to decide whether I will use my modern Singer machine that makes button holes, but quite poorly, or if I will opt to hand stitch all eight button holes instead. I know they will turn out better and be more secure if I do them by hand, but it is a decidedly slow and tedious process. However, with all the other attention to detail I have given this dress, I probably should do it right!
Above you see the three other fabrics we picked out for spring and summer sewing. The top two are for Miss A, and we will be tweaking the same little prairie dress pattern for both projects. The sunflower print will become a dress like view A, but probably without the pin tucks at the bottom because we most likely don’t have enough yardage for that. I also will not be following the pattern instructions to a T as we have made this pattern before and found some of the construction to be unnecessarily fiddly. The berry print fabric was a remnant she picked up, and there was just enough yardage there to cut out a summer peasant top using the basic shape from the pattern view B but much shorter.
The lemon print will become a dress for me, and this McCalls pattern is the one I am leaning toward as I think it will just turn out so cute. Since the “gingham” background of the print is small and somewhat irregular, I certainly won’t be bothered to match the print, which will make pattern layout very straightforward. This dress may also give me the push I need to whip up a cotton petticoat for summer so that it will get more of that proper “New Look” 50s shape.
The little collection of vintage notions in the bottom left photo are ones I snagged in the same Etsy shop where I picked up the covered button kits, The Bee Lee Company. They had everything listed at their original 1980s prices, which I found delightful! Shipping wasn’t immediate, but their prices made up for that. According their shop description, it is a family company that has been in business since the 1950s, and I do like to support a small American-based shop that mostly carries new old stock.
Well, I guess that’s a wrap for this week! I will be sure and return with updates on finished projects as soon as I can. This coming week a break week for us, so maybe Miss A and I will have time to sew together and finish up some of what we have started.
Until next time, happy stitching, friends!
Kiel
