Sailor dress - Vogue 8649

   This is the 6th project from the Vogue 8649 collection and by far my favorite. Nautical inspired garments are one of my favorites and this fabric print was so perfect. It was a beautiful cotton knit in white, navy and read. Half of the fabric had circles print and a wide border of stripes on both sides. I really loved how the ruffles shaped the owl dress skirt so I went for ruffles again. I wasn't planing to use circles of the waist  but I had some limitations using the fabric and that was fortunate in the end. This way it looks like the dress has some belt and the change of print in the bodice make it look a little like a princess seam dress. But is not, it is just the same easy pattern. The collar is just a simple strait scarf sewed in the neck line and This time I added a small facing at the neck just to hide the collar seam.  I also sewed the front pieces together like I did for the jersey leaves top instead of overlapping them. I am so happy to be able to finish it in time for this extended weekend to the beach.

The pattern lines and the seams are more obvious on the back:

Fall leaves top - Vogue 8649

As you may know I just did 2 t-shirts and 2 dresses out of Vogue 8649 and I thought I am done with the pattern for now but then I got an idea : "What if I don't overlap the front but instead cut a center front line and sew the 2 front bodice pieces together ?".

I just could not wait to try this and see if it works. I was not sure if I wanted to risk any "good" fabric on this idea so I just used some left over thick jersey knit from a dress I did in the beginning of this year ( Vogue 8630):

Except for the shape of my new neck line I am really pleased with my new pattern and I will probably sew it quite a lot in this new form as well.  I can probably make a better neck line next time but this time was to afraid it will be to deep that I sewn it a little to high. It is like a totally new design now, unless you eye catches the gatherings at the shoulder and the back that are a quite distinctive to me ( or maybe I just haven't seen enough patterns).
My DH was not in the best mood to take pictures tonight but I think you can still see the result:

As you may have noticed I added an embroidery band to the neck line, bust and sleeves:

Owls dress - Vogue 8649

I needed 4 garments for the TNT Tee contest so this is probably the last one of this series. And my favorite. I was not really planning on making another dress but I liked the butterflies one so much and I felt so well in it that I thought that maybe I do want to try another dress. I still have tons of this fabric so that was not an issue. I am so glad I did the dress because I simply love it. I feel so girly in it. I borrowed the ruffles idea from the 2 dresses I sewed for little girls in the same fabric. I added a small ruffle to the neck line as well and I stabilized the seam on the inside. I initially added ruffles to the sleeves as well but was looking awkward so I cut them in the end.

I think I will let my pictures show you how much I love being in this dress.

I am also very proud of the inside of the dress:

This dress is so fun to wear.

Pink tee - Vogue 8649

The journey of the Vogue 8649 pattern continues with a failure. I was very exited when I started the pink tee. I love pink and when I managed to do the keyholes in the back so nice I was sure this was a home run... Being the 3rd tee on this pattern I didn't do any attempt to try it while sewing. Not sure if that would have helped. When the tee was ready it seemed OK and I am happy I was able to take some pictures before everything fell apart. After wearing it for half an our it already started to feel lose and after wearing it for half a day around the house now it feels like is 3 numbers to big. It just stretched and stretched and never bounced back. Damn you cheap fabric. I for sure will be more selective when buying knits after this. I really wanted to love this tee but after all this all under bust seam is a mess and the front crossing is off .... I don't think it is worth the effort to try and fix it. So if you want to do this pattern please try a high quality knit that bounce back nicely. Is really important for getting a nice drape on the bust and a firm seam under the bust.