A Bit of Cake

A few weeks ago Tasia had a great post on sewing "frosting" (fun, often patterned, not necessarily everyday items) versus sewing "cake" (basics, everyday wear). Like most sewists, I definitely fall on the side of being drawn to frosting projects over cake projects - personally, I would be happy sewing nothing but pretty dresses, even if I wear a dress maybe once a week. But recently I've been finding a bit more balance between projects like my houndstooth dress, which I enjoyed sewing, think is awesome, but only wear occasionally:

and my slew of School House Tunics that I wear practically every time they're clean enough to wear.

This weekend, I focused on some serious cake.

But that isn't to say cake can't be fun too.

Sure it's a basic black skirt, but have you seen the inside??

In typical Leah fashion, I took a simple project (Colette Patterns Ginger, a total of four pieces), and made it 100% more complicated by adding pockets and finishing all the seams with home-made bias binding.

That said, I'm pretty pleased with the finished product, even if the fabric seems to spontaneously generate lint. If I had to make any changes I would have 1) used a stiffer interfacing in the waistband 2) gone a size down in the waist and 3) done the recommended hem length (I did a bit deeper hem).

(Might still do that last one).

I'm fairly certain this basic will get heaps of wear, especially since it looks so fantastic with my saddle shoes. :)

Oh and I should say that I'm not abandoning the pursuit of frosting, because my next project may very well prove to be the most fantastic, least practical thing I've sewn since my Halloween costume. (Still wondering where I can wear that).

Fall Palette Challenge: the Houndstooth Dress

  Even with a trip to the Botanic Gardens, I managed to finish two of my Fall Palette Challenge pieces this weekend, which I'll cover in two separate posts this week.

First up: The Houndstooth Dress

As I said in my original palette post. I saw this dress done up as a sample in JoAnns and knew I had to make it. The pattern is New Look 6909,View C and while I debated about doing the pockets,fearing they'd "poof out" I eventually decided to the pattern as is.

The seams were finished with a zigzag stitch for exposed seams and pinking for covered seams, as the fabric tended to be rather fray-prone (as I find is often the case with woolens). Though it tends to wrinkle a bit more than I like (!!), and the curvy fit makes me feel as if I should be wearing control top pantyhouse, I love this fabric as this dress.

I'm particularly found of the details on this one, the funnel collar, the bow, the pleated cap sleeves, yes, even the pockets and while it took a bit of time nothing was particularly difficult to put together. A declare this one a win!! (especially with the red shoes)

Oh and according to Wordpress, this is my 300th post! So yay for that too!

Fall Palette Challenge

Although historically my sewing tapers off after summer, I've decided this year to participate in Colette Patterns Fall Palette Challenge. The goal - make a unified palette of items within 8 weeks! I'm going to be overly ambitious here with my challenge projects, but here we go!

For the challenge, I'm using all fabrics from my stash. They are (clockwise from top left corner): super pale peach silk charmeuse from Denver Fabrics, large check gingham shirting (source unknown), green stretch twill from Denver Fabrics, and blue/black wool houndstooth from Fabric Row in Philly.

My first project up will be New Look 6909,View C. I saw this dress in a display at JoAnn's and knew I had to make it. The fabric will work perfectly, as it's both warm and work appropriate!

Second up, Clover from Colette Patterns in the green twill. I was so excited to see Colette do a pants pattern, especially since pedal pushers/clamdiggers/capris have been on my to-sew list for ages. If I have time, I'd love to do a pair in black as well.

Thirdly, Sew Liberated's School House tunic in the gingham. This is a pattern that's been on my wish-list for ages and I think the fabric will be a great fit. I'm leaning toward the shirt length version.

If I have time (and I assuredly won't) I'm aiming to use the silk charmeuse for a Cinnamon Slip.

So there's my pieces for the Fall Palette Challenge. I'll keep ya'll updated as I go along, and let me know if you're playing too!