Pattern review: McCall's 6781

Joann's had a super sale on patterns.  75 cents each for Mccalls patterns!  Wow!  I am not a big fan of them, because they're always a bit like reading a foreign language and you can't just follow them step by step, but for that price I folded.  Plus, I had some really cute corduroy in my stash that was begging to be used.  I sewed up a tunic in a size 2 with a little extra length (although I had to shorten the sleeves a little). 

 

 

Here are some more details on the pattern: 

Pattern:  McCall's 6781.  I sewed up view c. 

Size I sewed:  Size 2, but added an inch in length, and shortened the sleeves slightly.  Still a little big even though the size chart said I should sew a 2. 

Material used:  Corduroy from Joann's (Maybe part of their doodles collection?  I think I've seen it there lately) and muslin for the contrast (bad choice there, but it was in my stash and it worked). 

Notions needed:  A zipper, and I added buttons on the front for cuteness. 

Appropriately rated:  No.  It said it was easy, but the pattern called for a lot of handsewing, and it had a zipper with very little explanation of how to put it in.  Maybe I'm just annoyed because it was my first zipper and it didn't turn out very well, but I wouldn't call it easy.  Certainly not fast. 

Time to make it:  Including cutting it out, it probably took 8 hours altogether, but I'm pretty slow. 

 Comments:  I swear, whoever wrote the pattern didn't actually sew it.  I think I'll sew it again, but I'll sew the one with the square neck, and use a smaller seam allowance in order to make sewing on the sleeves a little easier.  The pattern doesn't mention that the sleeves need to be gathered a little in order to fit (maybe that was my fault, though).   For the price, I would recommend it with reservations, but not to a beginner. 


Hope this helps!  Happy sewing!

 

 

 

 

 



Pattern review: Oliver + s ice cream social dress and tunic

So, the little girl needed a new dress to wear to Aunt Roommate and Uncle Tom's wedding.  Right?  And I really wanted to make one because I'm crazy and didn't have anything else to do.  Haha.  I looked through my patterns and decided to finally try one of the Oliver + s patterns I picked up on clearance at Creative Crafts last year.  They were only $4.50 each (normally around $15)!  I'm kicking myself for not buying more, but oh well.  I only had the larger sizes pattern, so I guessed on sizing it down to around a 2T, and made a tunic to check the sizing first.  I love, love, love the tunic.  I used some leftover fabric of some dresses and bloomers I made last year, and it is really adorable with some jeggings.  Little girl will wear this one a lot she looks so darn cute in it.  I adjusted the pattern a little with the dress, and tried color-blocking with a couple Kona solids (tangerine and pomegranate maybe?) and a print I got from Joann's.  I had made some bloomers last year out of the same pink, so we lucked out there.  Little girl loved her dress!  She calls it her "aunt roommate uncle tom wedding dress".  Bit of a mouthful.  I wish I had pictures of the little girl wearing the dress, but I don't think it would ever get blogged about if I waited for that.  Plus, it gets a few more berry and watermelon stains on them every time she wears it...

 

 

Stella wore the tunic in family pictures (the day before Charlotte was born), so I have some terrific photos of it.  We love Marci for family photos.  She can get real smiles and personality out of kids like no one's business.  And she has a fun blog.  Here's a few photos from that session:

Oh, the cuteness.  It's a bit overwhelming at times. 



Here are some more details on the pattern: 

Pattern:  Oliver + s ice cream dress sizes 5-12.  Blouse and dress with a button and loop closure and sweet v-notched neck. 

Size I sewed:  About a size 2

Material used:  Fabrics from my stash for the blouse and from Joann's for the dress (sorry, I don't remember what the dress print was called.)

Notions needed:  A button. 

Appropriately rated:  Rated advanced beginner, but I had no trouble at all with it, and I would consider myself a beginner. 

Comments: This was the first Oliver + s pattern I made and I've fallen in love!  I felt like I could learn how to sew from this pattern.  It turned out terrific, and I learned a few techniques from it that I'll apply in other projects.  I'd only sewed with Butterick and McCall patterns up to this point, and it felt like angels were singing the whole time I was sewing.   I would definitely recommend this pattern!

Christmas treats...

I love baking.  It is so rewarding to take the individual ingredients and blend them together in just the right ratios so that the end product is worthy of savoring.  And I really love the savoring.  A welcome break from school and my favorite holiday (Christmas!) is the perfect excuse to get the kitchen nice and messy.

First, we celebrated my husband's birthday with pizza and cake.  Pizza dough recipe was from the smitten kitchen, and Lt. Dan's Truffle Cake was from my first cookbook. My aunt gave it to me when I was maybe twelve, and every recipe I've tried from it has been a success. 

Don't worry, my husband isn't 14.  I didn't want to burn the house down :)

make sumthin' sunday - shopping cart cover

(I made and wrote this a couple months ago, I just kept on forgetting to take a picture of it.  Oops!)

Shopping cart / High chair cover

This has been on my short list of projects ever since Fuzz got hand, foot and mouth disease after grocery shopping.  The month before that it was fifth disease!  I'm glad she's getting these diseases now while her immune system is working so well, but I could use a break.  Especially since my immune system is a little rundown from a year (plus the last trimester of pregnancy) without eight solid hours of sleep (update-I often get eight hours of sleep now, finally), and I keep catching everything she gets.  I thought I'd miss out on the fifth disease since I had it in first grade, but sadly, I was wrong.  Maybe protecting Fuzz from shopping carts and restaurant high chairs will help!

The finished product -- no smiles for the camera today!

I used a couple tutorials.  Mostly this one from sewing chick studio, but also this one from lil blue boo.  It's two layers of fabric -- corduroy next to the shopping cart for durability and fleece next to Fuzz for cushiness.  I also made the pockets out of the corduroy for contrast.  I really liked the fleece (from Joann's), and the corduroy has been in my stash for awhile (originally stolen from my mom's stash -- it's probably from the early '80s).  Don't worry, I'll still have enough of the corduroy to make these pants from Shwin & Shwin for Fuzz when she's a little older.

The cover does its job well, and is easily big enough for any cart.   It was a fast project and I think there would be room for a couple more leg holes if I wanted it to fit two kiddos like you can in those big Costco carts.  Of course, then I should probably get another kid and a Costco membership.  I'll get right on that.  I added a large elasticized pocket for toys and a smaller pocket for cheerios along with a couple loops out of bias tape for more toys. 

Both of the tutorials were good.  The only changes I made were bias tape around the leg holes because I didn't have any foldover elastic, and 1/2" elastic around the top (because that's what I had).  If I make another one for a shower gift, the only thing I would change is making the leg holes an inch or so shorter and the pockets shorter so they could be more functional.  As they are they sit on the handle, and I haven't taken the time to fix them.  Honestly, I probably won't. Oh well.  Fuzz can still get her hand into the snack pocket.  All things considered, I love it.  I spent less money on it than if I had bought one on sale, it's unique and should last awhile! 

What did you make lately?  This week I plan on tailoring some scrubs to fit me a little better, so nothing to write home about.  Have fun being creative this week!