Easy burda beach dress and a gathered skirt

There were many beach dresses in burda I wanted to try over the years but never go around to trace any of them... probably because the big pattern pieces and huge fabric requirements were scarry. This summer I finally bought 2 burda issues after a long break and seen this design made and looking spectacular on others so decided to give it a try:

It was nowhere near as glamorous on me. I made the smallest version but was still drowning in it.I didn't had enough fabric so I made it shorter out of necessity but because the dress was designed for tall people it didn't looked shorter on me. Maybe for the same reason I hate that the bat sleeves end on my hip rather then my waist as I think it should. I cut down a bit of the sleeves fullness and added a patch pocket. I had to really push myself to finish it as the 1st try out was a big let down.

When we returned from the seaside I had the inspired thought to ask my mother in law if the wants to try it and even if the is several numbers bigger then me the dress was fitting her and looking way better then on me. So in the end I was quite happy to have someone wanting it.
  I had so little time in energy lately for sewing but when my sister was visiting me one evening and said she wanted a simple gathered skirt I could not resist the temptation to get rid of one my stash fabrics:

I used zig zag over the elastic waistband to make sure skirt will stay even spread at all times. I used the waistband only large enough to pass the hip not the full hem size to reduce the bulk. That took a bit of extra time to first and sew the 2 pieces together. The skirt has 2 panels but I managed to make the side seams pretty invisible!
  I also got a picture of a simple Lekala 4177 white top i made my mother in law this spring:

I could not resist some fabric shopping lately so Sewing 126 - Shopping 112.

Sewing bee - Round 1 - pencil skirt & music - Lekala 4255 in stripes

So the craziness of the PR sewing bee started once again. I really contemplated staying out of it specially after seeing the 1st challenge -  a pencil skirt that is really not my thing or what I should be sewing right now. But once you had a taste of it can you really pass it ?!? What I loved about this contest was the push you got out of the your comfort zone. The need to explore new ways. And the fact that I had no plan on sewing anything like the 1st challenge was the 1st indication that I should do it. And as if the pencil skirt was not enough they had to request a musical or musician inspiration for it. Now that was really hard. Because for me music is all about feelings and emotions . How to render all that in seams...
     I all started this time with a song. the 1st song i could think of the moment I read the rules was Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat - Lucky :

  It is a lovely song that both me and my husband love. We are far from the perfect couple with the perfect clicking in every way ... but we love each other and we are each other's best friend. And now the hard part... How could I put all this in a "pencil skirt"?!?
     I browsed my fabrics and my patterns... I looked at random skirts on the internet... I sketched skirts with my 5 years old ... waiting for something to click...

The 1st think I decided is that nothing can tell a story better then a stripes printed fabric. I wanted to go for dualism by using a coordinated polka dots fabric but I could not  find anything suitable. So I choose a black and white irregular stripes fabric for my skirt and polka dots for lining.

Then I picked my starting pattern in Lekala 4255.  It had interesting lines and twists that I felt i could work with and they generally give a decent fit and my waist/hip ratio is not standard so any standard pattern might have required to much work.

After having a general plan I did a very very quick muslin to get a feeling of the pattern and help decide how to tell my story on that white canvas  skirt ...

 It was a really good thing I did that. It was way to long for me and there is no way I could have fixed that after sewing it without ruing all the fun in the back. There were some pull lines and fabric excess that needed to be addressed. And on top of everything else I still hadn't told my story yet....
   But the morning I finally had some time to actually work on it not just imagine it all things finally got together and clicked. I would eliminate the side seams. Side seams are for me a symbol of separation between different entities. I wanted those lines burred and I wanted the front and back to go together in their own way. To have their own story. And more then anything I wanted harmony. And because this was a love story after all I thought I could create a heart shape over my bottom from two different pieces coming together the right way.
   And now the result:

   Did I got it? Did I manage to render my feelings and my song? Or it was just me going crazy ... This is the bee after all. Crazy is part of the game.

Blue sky summer wardrobe - Lekala & McCall's

I skipped the PR wardrobe for myself this year - working on one for each of my children. So I could not miss the small one as well. One of the most wonderful tricks I learned on Pattern Review was to pick on theme and color scheme each season and try to sew & shop with it in mind. Each time I've done that I ended with easy to coordinate outfits. My favorite one so far was the pregnancy wardrobe I did in 2015 in blues and teal.

In 2016 it was black and white and while the combo is timeless I somehow did not felt myself in it as much as the previous one. There were a few items that I really loved there - like the V tee and the cardigan but it did not felt like a huge hit to me.

So this year I am back to blues and I love it. Being a summer wardrobe this time I went from royal blues to white and pink and I love the results.
    I all started somehow with the dress I did for a may wedding:

Even if it was not an elegant evening dress I felt really well in it and unique. One comment my husband had on it was why I did not used the inverse colors - the answer would have been the fabric structure and to much white would not have been OK for a wedding but that got me thinking and what come out of it was a new top - McCalls 7538:

I used the same technique of making my own striped fabric for the bigger cross panel and this time using 5 stripes rather then 3 and just contrast for the smaller diagonal parts. I really loved the effect. I felt in love with the tee right way and it just set the tone for the rest of my wardrobe:

I always include the latest patterns I worked with good results in the wardrobes and this year was the turn or Lekala 4177 peplum top to join the fun.

After 2 attempts that didn't quite coordinated with the tone set by the tee I finally found a new fabric for in in a white/blue plaid. It was a bit to stiff for this pattern but somehow I love how it played out. I used white lace applique for a few neckline and white crochet lace to highlight the sleeve hem and waist.

A long time ago I sort of promised myself to have one McCall's peplum cardigan each season and all my previous entries  had one after I discovered the pattern. So this year will be no surprise here. Another McCall's 6844 just the way I like it - round collar and larger sleeve, straight in the front and flounce in the back- this time in white:

On a moment impulse I also did a very fast Lekala 3050 skirt to give the wardrobe some new looks. I went with the modified version I did for last year with front flounce as well:

The last item was the hardest to pick and I ended up doing 4 of them and choosing the muslin...
It is all bout the popular McCall's 7542. I had it on my mind and table for quite some time but never having the right time of fabric for it until now:

Taking many of my stash fabrics out I found this light pink floral fabric and at 1st I thought of using it as muslin fabric and try the most dramatic sleeve first - view B. I was quite impressed with how the top fitted right after the 1st try. I often get really odd darts placement. I also liked how pink worked with my other colors and decided it would be a good addition to the collection.

I liked the pink so much that the next one was also a light pink one with more comfy sleeves and a twist for the neckline:

This also coordinates nice with a dress I made in this fabric last fall:

The next one is in the skirt fabric. I initially purchased the fabric for this top and I am so happy I managed to get the skirt and top out of it without having to buy more.

The last one was just for fun with a stray fabric from stash and I am pleased how it somehow worked inside the theme as well:

Also since the last time I counted I bought 2 new fabrics from aliexpress - one arrived and one is scheduled for Friday and 2 new fabrics from local stores - 1 knit to stash and the blue fabric I used for this post in skirt and top so my debt is up to 94 items but I sewed 9 items as well and that got it down to 85 ( just one item less but still a step in the right direction maybe).