Pink zig zag

Perhaps a logical way of catching up on the backlog of projects is to post the first few in terms of fabric use. Shortly after I started tackling my fears of knits in January, I bought 1.5 yards of pink zig zag from Patty Young's knit line.  The pictures online had a more purple look to them but it ended up being pink when it showed up.  

This week I finally got around to using the fabric.  Using her favorite Hopscotch pattern from Oliver and S, she now has a short sleeved version.  Like the Wonderland dress, this dress is hemmed a bit shorter after the picture.  It didn't quite pass the running test.  But look, I managed to sort of pattern match on the right side of the picture.  The light pinks are pretty good I think and it was an accident.  Wait, it was totally intentional....

Since this is quite a memorable print, I figured that I couldn't really get away with saving the leftovers and using it for another size t-shirt for my own child.  Lucky niece I hope.  Using the School Bus pattern from Oliver and S, her cousin now has a "twin" outfit.  Assembly line sewing did make it possible to get two shirts and the dress sewn before 1pm that day.

I made the mistake of attaching the neckline seam to the front and not noticing until I was hemming the bottom of the shirt.  No way was I unpicking my topstitched neckline with seam finishing and everything.  Instead we picked a lovely ribbon out of my mother's ribbon collection and sewed a bow on the center front of the neckline just like a shirt I had when I was growing up.  Hopefully it works.

I'm dreaming of acquiring a coverstitch machine.  Hems of knits are not my favorite.  Other than speed, I can mostly manage my normal machine for the parts that would be easier/faster with a serger.  

So, continuing the cost analysis.... $12.75 for the 1.5 yards and about $2 for Hopscotch and $3 for School Bus (which I've just recently acquired and have only used that sizing three times so far).   About $18 for the shirt and dress.  And I'm not counting shipping charges or sales tax.  That's not so easy to keep track of.

Wonderland dress

Sewing is still happening around here but a lot of it is revolving around clothing.  Today I sewed a Wonderland dress from Make it Perfect patterns (link below).  The fabric was purchased more than a year ago with the intention of making something for myself.  Alas that did not happen.  It was more than enough fabric to make a dress for the seven year old.  

 I experimented with using Wonder Tape to help make the pleats around the top of the skirt but it did not work as I envisioned.  Not recommended.  Exposed Wonder Tape and the presser foot are not friends.  I've never added the ribbon detail that the pattern has.  This time I considered it as I had yellow ribbon for the purpose but it didn't quite match.

 I found clear sparkly buttons for the bodice but I think it may be helpful to get some blue ones to break up the pattern.  The auto buttonhole feature worked for 1.5 of the 3 buttonholes.  The last one does not look so good .  Luckily it is the bottom button and won't be used often if at all.  Since taking the picture, the dress has been shortened by 1 more inch.  I made a size 8 because the size 7 is getting too short and a little snug.  The bodice is pretty loose and the dress seems to have quite a lot of room to grow.  Looking back this one is not far off the previous one in terms of fit.  And that one lasted for 2 years.

I do love the style of dress, but it is not my favorite dress to make.  The sleeves require a lot of slow sewing and sometimes some unpicking and trying again.  I manage to fold over little bits of the sleeve and have to redo it.  The pleats are a nice detail but also not my favorite part to sew.  Overall I do love the dress, and next time it should be one of the first items I make in the middle of the summer so I can take multiple days.

I've been attempting to calculate and inventory the stash because I've sewn quilts for charities more this past year and need to know the value of the donations.  (Labor is not factored in as part of that calculation so I only calculate materials).  It does make tracking the approximate cost of sewing clothes a bit easier.  I did not measure exactly how much fabric was left as I didn't have a starting yardage amount (and I used the amount required on the pattern envelope for this calculation).  I also had to estimate what I paid for the fabric by using the receipt from another fabric of the same line.  This is about a $25 dress when I add in the cost of the pattern and adjust it for the number or times the pattern is used (5 times so far).   Not a perfect calculation but it gives me a sense of how much it took to make the dress.

fabric Alegria by geninne  Blooms by Cloud 9 Fabrics
Wonderland dress by Make it Perfect

I'll slowly start to work through blogging my finished projects.  I wish I took before pictures of my other summer project.  Lots of blackberry, brush and ivy removal at my parents' house this summer.

And who is shooting off fireworks this evening?  It's the end of August.