trying to clear the UFO dress projects

I've realised that as well as making costumes for JAFK & CoCo I need to finish some UFO dresses so I can pack them to wear in the states as it'll be summer there (and midwinter here at home).

One that isn't the oldest unfinished dress is the martini print, and it's unfinished because when I packed (like a drunken sailor) to move house somehow the front bodice pattern piece+cut out piece ended up not with the rest, and haven't been found so far. There's one tea-chest that's still unpacked and it will stay that way cos I'm still trying to downsize all sorts of things. Once I've got room to unpack the teachest, then I'll explore the contents.

On Sunday it finally dawned on me that I don't need to wait any longer if I change my pattern idea - and I have enough fabric for 2 dresses so I can still use the original bodice pieces on a second dress.

I've decided to use this half size Simplicity pattern and get the dress done.

My next problem is getting buttons - I didn't make any notes about where I got them and will have to try all the button options again. Including going to a button shop that relocated closer to Town Hall Station.

Insomnia resulting in etsy searches and another chance for half size pattern 4936

In May last year I was so disappointed when an Etsy seller contacted me to say the pattern I'd ordered was missing and refunded my purchase.

The last couple of days my brain has woken me at 5:30 am (horrible, foolish brain) and yesterday I used the extra time to start folding laundry and clearing up my sewing mess on the table/sofa so that it's neat & tidy before starting sewing again.

Today I wasn't as productive and instead got my tablet out and looked up vintage mail order patterns on Etsy again.  I found another copy of 4936 and made myself think hard about buying it.  Yes, I did.

More half size patterns added to my stash/collection

It's been a while since I updated my half size pattern stash, and here's two of my most recent purchases.

This Marian Martin  9137 arrived in the post a couple of months ago - a sop to my desire to sew.  Once I use it I should get a photo of me posing like the cover.

Today I ordered this Simplicity

February dress plan: Lost at Sea nautical print + 4803

Hopefully I'm back on track to making a new dress each month this year. My easy choice for February - because I committed to sewing it for Canberra is the vintage nautical print cotton, and the bodice from the half size pattern 4803.

I could do yet another FBA directly on [a copy of] this pattern, but as I've just done one for my January lobster dress so I'll morph the collar & yoke details onto #4866

January dress plan: rocking the lobster print

The B-52s concert is only 2 weeks away, so I need to start the dress this weekend, as the following Saturday I have a baby shower to go to, and I don't want to be finishing this dress the day before I need it - I've done that far too many times and it's no longer an exciting buzz but a dread of not finishing.

Last year a mid 20th century vintage button stash was passed on to me by historical costume friends who thought I could use it. At least one of the buttons in these will be perfect for this fabric. As I can't remember pre-shrinking the lobster print - thinking I did isn't certain enough - I'll try to do that tomorrow, and hope the predicted showers don't interfere with it drying.

Hopefully I can squeak this dress in as finished before the month ends, but at least it's not going to add to my UFO list.

I'm fairly sure that I'm going to use this bodice, and the multi pleated skirt of my Strawberry Dress. I really like all that fabric in a skirt.

Another vintage half size pattern for my collection

I'm counting down the work days until I can catch up with friends, relax and get some sewing done in my 2.5 weeks off work.

I took the reins off my impulse control for another half size vintage pattern from Etsy. I like the neckline and hope to use it for one of my dress-a-months ... I've now more choices to make me dither when it comes time to cut out the lobster or any of the other fabrics.

First step is to finish the August martini print dress first, and the last steps on the extremely overdue March dress.

Then I need to use the nautical tattoo fabric, as it had a must-use-by December concept attached to it's purchase, still an achievable goal. I had played with the idea of using a sailor collar pattern, but realise that style is more youthful than myself.

After that the lobster fabric, so it's finished well ahead of the concert. Then the mermaids, and I want to wear the aqua/blue dress to work the first day after our unit moves to head office next year. Deferred to March, and if it's pushed back I'll wear it anyway. It goes with the colours selected by the project design team and someone else joked that we should co-ordinate our clothes. The mermaid print is an equally good choice, but it's not really suitable for the office.

Another new-to-me half size vintage patternpattern

I'm continuing to pace myself with the unpacking and have finally passed the point where it felt like it would never end.

I've found even more fabric to go into the cupboards. Fabric that I knew I had but was still in plastic tubs somehow, and last night I opened a box of books (I knew I had it!) that was still unpacked from when I moved into my previous home ... back in 1997.  I discarded all but two of them, one that I kept was a prize for coming 1st in 7th Form Accounting for my school.

The pattern drawers are in place, and the tea chest of patterns unpacked into it. I'm sure that I have more patterns in another box but I'll get to them soon.

I got the nautical/tattoo print and the lobster print fabrics out to remind me why I need to keep turtling my way to unpacked. Slow & steady will get there soon enough, and I've taken a rest day each weekend due to exhaustion.

I've bought a couple more vintage patterns, including this Marian Martin #9056 - a half size.

This Anne Adams pattern #4973 isn't half size but I like the bodice detail and can frankenmorph it onto bodice pieces that already fit me.

A sewing increment and another half-size vintage pattern

I'm counting down the days (or big sleeps) until I get my iron injection and it's 3 to go.  I'm hoping that it kicks in as quickly as the previous ones did and that the unpacking gets solidly kicked along as a result.  My unpacking has reached as far as my current/summer sewing boxes of stuff, which was timely as I was rescued by a good friend on Saturday. The sewing guild group I'd usually have gone to was cancelled as the venue wasn't available so instead I took a load of laundry and a couple of sewing projects to my friend's place.

I made a very very casual pair of shorts for around the house wear - cotton rugby jersy in a wine red with an elastic waist and unhemmed.  Summer has arrived and I wore out my previous house-shorts when I moved. I'll possibly add a photo soon - they're purely functional so I've something cool to wear when I go hang out the laundry or take out the rubbish.

I also took the March dress, that has been neglected since I realised that I'd also need to make a slip or half slip before I wear it. However, it was easy to reach and so achievable in the circumstances.  As my friend Colleen said on the day, I am unlikely to get around to making the slip until the dress is finished and I want to wear it. She's right.

Unpacking the tote bag I realised that the bodice wasn't with the skirt & sleeve pieces so I wasn't able to get much further than cutting out the shaped band for the sleeve hem. I'm fairly sure that the bodice is in my sewing machine trolley from my last sewing guild day, where I made the new collar/facing. It must have been in September, as I got the microdot fabric at the end of August.

Because unpacking the stash has made it even more real that I need to shop the stash first, I've used vintage pattern buying as a substitute for sewing during the moving process. I bought this one on ebay AU last week, even through I could draft the collar myself this way I don't need to.  The button on each collar is a simple way to draw the eye up the body ... I hope.

Buying pattern as a sewing substitute

I have succumbed to the lure of vintage patterns in lieu of actually being able to sew. A bit foolish, as they were from the USA and I had moments of paranoia that they would end up at the old address having been missed by my mail redirection. Thankfully not & here they are.

First another half size pattern

With a plus size Anne Adams pattern, mainly for the collar

Other half size patterns in my stash

The lobster fabric arrived so quickly from the east coast of the USA, despite oddly being tracked going to/from Jamaica.  I could afford to let that amuse me as the deadline for needing this fabric isn't until February next year.  I pre-shrank it today, so whenever I'm ready to sew, it is too.  The crays (crayfish/lobster) are more orange and less red than I expected, but shopping online has this risk and it's not going to stop me from using it - though I'll need to be very careful to make sure I wear the right makeup when I wear the dress. I think I'll make this version button through the front rather than just the bodice.

I have other half size mail order patterns in my stash that I had to pick from when planning the next 9 months dresses.  All of these I bought at affordable prices - I find most mail order pattern designs to be great every day styles. Not the cutting edge of fashion from the day, but they suit my sewing purposes well.

These are the ones that haven't been selected so far.



and these aren't half size but over time I added these to the stash because they appealed.


and a couple of larger size petticoat/slip patterns - I need to make one of these soon

an outline for nine months of dress a month

In my mind I've got a loose plan for the order I think I'll use the fabrics, and the pattern I'll use with each.  Except for me plan sounds too close to rules and as said by Captain Barbossa of the Pirate Code these are more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules.

I do have some self imposed deadlines for a couple of fabrics.  The retro nautical print slated for December has to be used before I go to Canberra in late Dec/Jan to see the Versailles exhibition. That was the actual rule I imposed so that I could buy it (photo below). I don't want it stashed and I promised a bestie that I'd use it by then. This week I ordered a 5 yard piece of large scale red lobsters on black cotton to make a dress that I'll wear to see the B-52s in concert later this summer (can't remember the February date right now).  I'm looking forward to wearing it long before the concert though so I picked November because right now the mermaid, martini and vintage blue/green cotton have an emotional priority.

In brackets after the month, print & pattern are fabric amounts and when I bought them. EG 13Q3 was bought in the 3rd quarter of 2013 (between July-Sept).

August - Inky Martini, frankenpattern B9796 bodice with AA4571 (8m of 150cm, 14Q2)


September - Mermaids, AA4571 (4.5m of 112cm, 16Q1)


October - vintage green/blue abstract, AA4843 collar on AA4571 (5.5m of  90cm, 16Q2)


November - red lobsters on black, AA4571 (4.5m of 112cm, 16Q3)


December  - retro nautical, bodice 4803+skirt4571 (4.5m of 112cm, 16Q3)


January - brown with mint, NY 1930s wrap dress (4.0m of 150cm, 14Q4)


February - vintage maroon floral, AA2163 (5.5m of 90cm, 16Q2)


March - grape/purple splodges, AA4483 (4.0m of 112cm, 13Q3)


April - teal flowers on black, MO 9030 (5.5m of 112cm, 13Q4)


Most of my dress lengths are more recent purchases - recent compared to the bulk of my stash. Partly because when I first thought about making a couple of dresses I realised that I didn't have much in the way of dress lengths in the stash. In fact at the time, I literally had hundreds of metres of fabric but only two pieces long enough for a non-costume dress. Plus the long in progress before being tossed Lilly Rose dress. I'm sad about having to toss that but it didn't fit and was a series of one mistake after another. I think that even if it had fit, wearing it would only be a reminder of them.

Back on topic, I gave myself the option to buy a couple more pieces and the impulse to buy was under pretty good control until I got my Dress a Month idea. Of course I  then had a couple more purchases to replace those I'd cut out and *boom*. My job uncertainty hit and the mojo did a runner.

If I include (and I should) this year's January dress that is barely started, then I have 10 dresses to make from fabrics I already own.  No more buying dress lengths until I've 3 more dresses in my wardrobe.

Stashing another half size mail order pattern - 9030

Despite my foot issue, yesterday I managed to change the overlocker threads without resorting to profanity or alcohol.  Given past thread changes I view that as a definite victory.

I also unpicked the side seams, side bust darts and repinned the first of the two that it's being split into.  From my training & books I know that my decision to not have an arm extending all the way between the dart ends to side seam isn't technically correct, but I'm fixing it in progress not during drafting. If it works, it works.

I've also added another half size vintage mail order dress pattern to my stash - #9030 dating to the late 50s or 60s.

I'm fairly sure that this will be used this year, but I'm trying to decide which fabric will best work with it.  I'm wondering if the rayon print I got *cough* years ago from the states would be good.

Cutting out the March dress in March

Inching my way to productivity, I also got my March dress selected and cut out in March.



I selected the Anne Adams 4843 and the red/black vintage print and will use the contrast black for the lapel collar.  I compared the bodice of AA4571 with the AA4843 and although the pattern size is 22.5 & 26.5 respectively there was a change in size numbering so that there's 1 size difference.  Other than being one size larger and having neck not shoulder darts on teh back there wasn't any difference between the two bodices in regards to size so I simply used the 4571 bodice with the 4843 skirt pieces. I cut the hips wider as I'm concerned about sitting ease, better to need to take in than be faced with too small. Especially after my Lilly Rose disaster.



Oh and I'm going to stitch darts under the bust not leave them as tucks. I need skimming under the giant boobs of doom, not extra fabric fluffing out to resemble a potato. I'm going to make three-quarter sleeves and stitch a shaped cuff in black on it (no extra volume) to work with the black revere. And zero pockets.  Me and pockets aren't a thing.

Cutting out the February Dress in March

I got to the point of having to do the intitial fit alterations  height + FBA (full bust alteration) on my January dress pattern and balked.  Doing it properly is the only way it's going to work and I just wanted something simpler to sew. So in March I finally got my February dress patternwork done and the dress cut out.

I'm using Anne Adams 4571 with my strawberry print fabric and a green undercollar.  I tried navy or raspberry and it just looked drab. The pale green and yellow would make me look ill, so I went for the green.  I might even have buttons in stash, once I find some old shirts that I was going to patchwork a throw blanket from. If I can't find them quickly then I'll buy some new ones tomorrow. Done is better than procrastinating.


I added 1cm at the side seam cos it seemed like a snug fit, added a 4cm FBA and made the mock up.  I ended up having to do a square shoulder alteration, adding 2cm at the shoulder edge (1.5cm on the back, 0.5cm on front) tapering to zero a the neck. I also had to do a narrow shoulder alteration of 1.5cm and raise the underarm by 1cm. Plus lower the bust point and shorten the dart as it finished far too close to bust point.  It looked better to move the underdart ending too, but not  necessarily shift the darts closer to the side seam.