Mexican Hearts

I just can't seem to get enough of McCalls 6346 - I'm on peasant style overload now - but it's such a cute look and I've now got this pattern down to a fine art, I can practically make it in my sleep.

This time I made the dress using View A. I cut a size 8 grading to size 10 at the hips. For some reason the back was still a little big and I needed to take off 1.5cm from each side. I also made a small swayback adjustment which is fairly usual for me.

The bodice is made from a bright and bold Alexander Henry Corazone print cotton and I used a stretch drill in black for the skirt. I did need to take in the side seams of the skirt a little further and lengthen the darts to get it really fitted.

I'm pleased with the end result, I love the bodice fabric and think it works really well with the black skirt and even though I've made this pattern a few times now, each variation has it's own character and looks quite different.

For my previous takes on McCalls 6346 see my Crazy Cat Peasant Blouse and my Bandana Blouse. But that's it - peasants be gone - I'm going cold turkey on McCalls 6346 (for now, anyway!)

Bandana Blouse

Ah bandanas - remember them? I know they're still around but the eighties really was the bandana decade -  the perfect accessory for all that big hair!

Some wore it well, others not so (I'll let you be the judge of that)

Of course I tried to emulate some of my idols back in the day but my bandana wearing days are long gone - until now that is! The bandana has made a reappearance in my wardrobe only this time in the form of a blouse.

I used the same dress pattern (McCalls 6346) that I had adapted for my Crazy Cat Peasant Blouse.

I picked this fabric up in Tokyo last year. It came as 2 fat quarters, each with 2 squares of different designs. I used one design for the front and back.

I then made contrasting sleeves using the other design. I like the red flowers wrapping around the puffed sleeves.

This top is a really easy make, the shirring and elastic takes a bit of time but it's a great pattern and I do love a pretty peasant blouse.

Soundtrack: Down in Mexico by The Coasters ("he wears a red bandana, plays a blues pianna" - what a rhyme!)

Crazy Cat Peasant Blouse

So why was this one of the most fun sewing makes ever? Well, just look at that fabric - guaranteed to put a smile on your face anytime!

Look at him!

Thanks to Miss Crayola Creepy and her Crazy Cat Lady Sewing Challenge, I am now the proud wearer of a crazy cat peasant blouse. I bought this fabric in Tokyo last year with the idea of making a knitting bag but never got around to it and when Erin announced her Sewing Challenge it got me thinking - could I make something so that I could actually get away with wearing this ridiculously cute fabric?

I used McCall's 6346 dress pattern and hacked it into a blouse using a top I already had for reference. I had made the dress version before so I knew my size - yay, no need to toile! All I did was square the side seams from under the arms down to the length I wanted.

I shirred 6 rows 1 1/4 inch apart as this was how my reference top was done. If you're a newbie to shirring as I was - I used this tutorial and it was really easy. I had been wondering how much fabric one has to allow for shirring and everything I had read said to double the amount. Well, I certainly didn't do that and if I had done, it would have ended up enormous. Maybe this was because my rows were quite far apart, I'm not sure. Initially I thought the shirring may not be tight enough but all you do is steam over it with an iron and it soon pulls in.

I whipped it up in an afternoon at my friend Karen's house which is the other reason this was so much fun to make. She has the most amazing new sewing room which I'm very jealous of but also super pleased she's willing to share it! It's great sewing with a friend, we had a good laugh and both ended up with something new to wear!

Thanks Erin for hosting this sewalong that I couldn't resist, be sure to check out what some of the other crazy cat ladies have made. I had a big smile on my face the whole time working with this fabric (though it was a little weird sewing over some of those cute little faces when I was shirring).

Of course they're not as cute as you, Koko!

I'm off to Japan again next week where I'll definitely be picking up some more fabric - I could do a whole collection of crazy cat blouses - how awesome would that be?

The Brocade Betty Dress

 

I can't believe we're up to Madmen Challenge No. 3!  Back in 2012, I had just discovered the wonderful online sewing community and came across Julia Bobbin's blog. I was totally inspired by her amazing creations and boundless enthusiasm. When she posted about the Madmen Challenge this was so exciting to me. One, how could anyone not be inspired by the fabulous Madmen wardrobe and two, I couldn't wait to see what other creations people would come up with. It was so much fun.

Since then, I've been thinking about doing a sewing blog of my own and finally, two years later I've finally got around to it. So, it only seems fitting that my first post features my Madmen Challenge dress.

For the previous two sewalongs my makes were inspired by Joan Holloway.

               

This time I chose Betty Draper as my muse.

I used McCall's 2401 with this black brocade which is really pretty but boy, brocade is a such a bitch to sew!  It's super slippery and frays like crazy. I mean, turn around for a second and half your fabric's floating around the room! I did some research and followed a suggestion to zigzag all the edges as soon as the pieces have been cut. This was really great advice and helped immensely. You do have to bear in mind that this decreases your seam allowance and brocade has no give in it whatsoever.

I used view F for this make and pretty much stuck to the pattern except I used bias binding for the armhole facing and followed Lladybird's tutorial for this which was really helpful.

I had made this pattern before with different views and used the same sizing. Silly me, my last 2 dresses had quite a bit of give in the fabric and I really should have taken this into account. I ended up having to re-do the side seams with the smallest amount of seam allowance possible and it just fitted.

And if that wasn't annoying enough, ironing it seemed to actually shrink it even more! So, while I can get the dress on, I don't think I'll be wearing it out anywhere soon unless I lose a few inches from my butt - I live in hope!

Soundtrack: Betty Baby by Lanie Lane