Thursday, April 30, 2015

Ottobre 02/2009-5: Vibrant Color stashbusting theme

The April theme for the Stashbusting Sewalong is Vibrant Color, and I got in right under the wire with this top!
I actually hadn't really planned to do the color theme this month, although I do love bright colors and I have plenty in my stash. I was just kinda sewing along, and I made a dress out of this fabric for Barbie. It was still sitting out on my cutting table and I decided to go for it, but for me! Barbie can't have all my fabric.
Choosing a pattern was more of a challenge than usual though. I could not decide what I wanted! I even had a Burda partly traced then changed my mind. In the end, I went with Ottobre 02/2009-5, the Waterfall blouse. I've been looking for a cowl neck top that wasn't super low cut, and I think I've found it!
This cowl drapes gracefully, but is high up enough that people in front of me don't get a view of my bellybutton when I bend over.
The feature that keeps the cowl in place is the shoulder seams, which are rotated slightly toward the back. That way the cowl is draping from behind the shoulder, rather than down from the neck. It really works well. The back neckline is finished with a facing, I topstitched it down. Rayon jersey tends to roll out.
I'm so glad I jumped on the Vibrant Color bandwagon! I really love this top. The fabric and pattern are both great, and I know I will wear it a ton, and definitely use this pattern again.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Ottobre 03/2008-19, Rainbow polka dot unicorn style

Myra personal style has experienced some evolution lately. She still loves pink, princesses, and all thing frou-frou, but she's expressing that love in a more understated way. Princess printed tops with skinny jeans or a high-low tunic with ruffle detail and bermuda shorts are much more likely to get worn than a fluffy dress.
But it's Spring, and I always make Myra a fancy dress for Easter, and she's been crushing on unicorns lately, so I decided to try for this pretty but not too fluffy style, made up in unicorn themed coordinating prints by Riley Blake Designs. Which fortunately, she loves, Whew! The pattern is from the 03/2008 issue of Ottobre, style #19. It's a sweet dress that I've wanted to make her for some time.
The skirt is a gathered half circle and the band at the bottom is nicely shaped for fullness. She might be growing up, but she still loves a dress with some twirl! She's been favoring longer skirts lately, so this length is about perfect. Functional when she wants to run and climb, but still long and girly.
The dress closes with a back invisible zipper. I love how the back band isn't broken up by the center back seam. It meant the construction was a bit less intuitive, but it still went together well with typical great Ottobre drafting.
Ottobre's instructions called for a lined bodice, but a separate petticoat in lieu of a skirt lining. I elected to line the entire dress with white satin. The bodice is lined with a lighter charmeuse weight satin and the skirt is lined with heavy bridal satin to give it more body. I finished the lining with a serger rolled hem in pink to tie it together.
I was really worried that this dress was going to be a flop, since she really hasn't been wearing dresses much, but she truly loves it and I've had to fight to get it off her since I finished it. What a relief!