Sewing and lifestyle blog of a wannabe "full-time vixen"

Category Archives: finished sewing project

Presenting…The Tulip Dress!

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So I know I have been teasing you all with hints of the dress I’ve been working on for the last few weeks. I finished it last week and then my friend Victor Ngo helped me take some photos. Here is the dress!

Now the reason I call it the “Tulip Dress” is because I was inspired by the shapes of the petals on the tulip flower. My dress is a bit of an upside-down tulip really. As you will see from the photos below, I also wanted to experiment a bit with colour blocking. The back is in pink to give it a visual contrast with the red. I used cotton voile in red and pink, underlining with white because voile is a sheer fabric. I sewed two trims on the edges of the red layers — a pink lace from Dressew layered on top of eyelet trim that I dyed myself.

I didn’t make any pattern changes but while sewing the dress I realized the armholes were too tight and had to trim away 1/4 of an inch all around. I have realized now that I have narrow shoulders and should be making the adjustment on all patterns from here on out. I took in one cm in total at the back seam, I might take in a bit more next time. I also should have done a small bust adjustment but it’s not too problematic on this dress which has a loose fit anyways. I do intend to use this pattern again, it’s a great “blank slate” for all sorts of designs!

A cute outtake!

Here are a couple of interior shots. I used bias trim to finish the neckline and armholes. I hand sewed the bias trim and hem with an uneven slipstitch for an invisible finish. I adore uneven slipstitch (because I adore invisible finishes!) and use it wherever I can.

This project is also my submission to the Colette Patterns Laurel Contest. The sewing pattern I used is from the company Colette Patterns and the pattern name is “Laurel”. The only contest requirement was to use this pattern, which is a simple and versatile shift pattern. We were allowed to modify the pattern and envision our own version of the dress however we saw fit. There is a Flickr group for the company and you are free to peruse all the other entries!

I have no idea if I will even win any of the runner up prizes. The prizes are various gift certificates to various sewing related companies or gift certificates to Colette Patterns. But I don’t care! The goal was never to win a prize but to challenge myself and also to pull myself out of the low energy funk I’ve been in for several months. The goal was to complete a sewing project. I have achieved all these goals so I feel quite proud of myself. I also made a new online friend!

Her name is Gema and she’s from London, here’s a link to her blog. She saw my dress in the Flickr group and featured it in her blog. This is what she wrote about me and my dress:

I think this Laurel creation shows real imagination; Caroline shows a unique approach to taking a simple shift, and making the lines run in an entirely different way. It’s almost like her playful design is saying ‘Look at my face! I’m just as adorable as my clothes!’; really cute and playful :) AND she dyed the trim herself. *extra Brownie points*

Caroline’s website made me think she’s probably many men’s ideal woman; she works in a library by day, also as a scientist in a CSI looky-likey lab, makes gorgeous clothing in her spare time, and her website’s called http://fulltimevixen.blogspot.ca/. Enough said!

Haha! You have no idea how much I blushed from reading that. Sufficed it to say, I had a fun time working on this project and now I have an adorable dress to prance around in. Win-win!

[Outfit details: Shoes are Chelsea Crew from Ruche and tights are from American Apparel.]

A Dainty Floral Skirt – Butterick 5285

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Here is a skirt I made last spring that I finished just a bit before my birthday. The pattern is Butterick 5285, I sewed up view B with the pleats. Cut a size 12 but I should have cut a size 10 as it’s a bit loose around the waist. The fabric is a cotton voile I bought from Dressew which I’ve lined with black acetate. I’ve worn it a bajillion time already as it is just lovely. And it has pockets!

Action shot! The skirt is so swingy because of the light fabric and pleats.

Side seam pockets, so simple but so awesome.

Fully lined skirts are just such a luxury!

This is a lovely and simple pattern to work with. I will definitely be using it again some time. The only thing about it that is a bit troublesome is that the pattern utilizes a fair amount of fabric for a skirt pattern so that you can only purchase fabric that is in the 150cm width range. The back of the pattern envelope does not give you an option for 115cm fabric widths.

Outfit details: Blouse from Urban Behaviour, green wedge shoes from Ruche!

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I am hoping to start blogging weekly or biweekly again! Probably biweekly now as I keep re-evaluating how much blogging I really care to do in my schedule and I have night classes on Fridays for the next 7 weeks. I keep losing the habit as it’s a bit of work taking photos, going through the photos, doing possible retouches in terms of lighting, and then writing a post. Also, the summer was just so hectic, I spent a lot of time frolicking in the sun rather than cooped up inside my baking 3rd floor apartment that faces south.

I might need to find a better spot in or outside my apartment for photo taking. Still not satisfied with the type of photos I am getting. It’s all a lighting challenge!

If you’re wondering what happened to that yellow polka dot project I was working on…well I’m still working on it. I have to turn the dress into a skirt now as I botched the bodice. D’oh! Everything is a learning process.

Blue Polka Dot Shirt – New Look 6407

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Sorry for a late blog post, I will update again on Thursday to make up for it. Canada Day weekend and poor weather threw my photo taking schedule off.

Here is a shirt I made last year which I’ve finally taken proper photos of. I am using my dress form Audrey to help out because the shirt is too big for me! It is the New Look 6407 pattern cut in a size 10, which was the smallest size. I made this during a class and didn’t feel like making a muslin since I used cheap quilting fabric anyways (I had a feeling the shirt would be too big, so much ease!). It looks lovely on Audrey but it’s about one or two sizes too large for me, at least in the torso area. The sleeves are fine.

I also just don’t think the cut of the design is right for me either so I won’t be attempting this pattern again. I’m curious as to whether I can make this work in my wardrobe somehow, by wearing the shirt open. If you have any suggestions for styling this shirt, let me know! I would appreciate hearing them. I will definitely attempt to make another garment with this colour palette though! I love polka dots and contrasting details.

The Chic Blazer – Simplicity 2446

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I finally took photos of this blazer jacket I made last fall! Yay for catching up on project photos! This blazer was made during one of my night classes and was a total labour of love, although it wasn’t too difficult. Only the collar was the difficult part really because I had never done a jacket collar before. This pattern is Simplicity 2446, which is part of their Amazing Fit series. Oh my god, I love this pattern. There is an option to cut for an A-cup! I’m totally putting this into my TNT (Tried and True, for my friends not in the know) pattern stash.

It’s fully lined! I feel so good about that. I lined it with a awesome satin fabric I found at Fabricland. All the fabric was from Fabricland actually. Jacket shell is made with a wool blend. It’s perfect for these cool early summer nights in Vancouver right now and will be perfect for late summer in September too.

I loved doing the contrast details in the same satin I used for my lining. Gives it such a pop! I have to confess that these are fake pockets though, I was too lazy to make real ones. Those are also fake sleeve vents (which were super fun to sew). Real ones next time!

In terms of outfit details, the jeans are from Urban Planet, blouse is from Urban Behaviour, and the shoes are Vans ballet flats.

The Belle Dress – Simplicity 3620

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I can’t think of any other name to describe this dress that I made last August/September for my Aunt Lil’s wedding…it’s made of bright yellow crepe-back satin that I got from Our Social Fabric at one of their earliest sales. The fabric reminds me of Belle’s yellow gown from Beauty and the Beast. It’s not in the same style but the fabric is such a sunshiney and shimmering yellow. The pattern is Simplicity 3620 and the dress is lined except for the puff sleeves. I cut the smallest size, so a size 6, because I noticed how much ease was in the pattern!

I was pretty happy with how this turned out! Other than some very minor details I would fix if I made a second one, such as the neckline gapes just slightly and the armholes are a smidgen tight, I love this dress! It’s sooooo satiny though that it’s definitely a special occasion dress. Needs a good steaming too if I were to take it out for another outing.

Fabric covered buttons!

I’ve got a few more old projects that still need photo taking. And my isn’t my hair getting long? Till next week lovelies!
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