Cool Hot Summer Dress: Simplicity 9002

I made this dress actually last August.  That's right, August, 2014. I considered it to be a flop, so it remained unblogged. 

Beautiful high grade vintage cotton I received from someone who was giving away her late mother's sewing supplies. I absolutely loved this cotton (feels like a premium Japanese cotton) and I wanted to be sure I made something that I could enjoy for a long time with it.  I can't remember where the white fabric came from, but was in my stash, and a perfect match for the main brown fabric.

Sewed with a tiny narrow orange ribbon for the skirt portion of the dress.

The pattern I used was a vintage-ish (believe it's from the 80's or the 70's. Can't believe 80's almost qualifies as vintage. Agh!)

I really like the way these two fabrics worked out well together.

No zipper closure.  Just slip on and off. 

Nice deep pockets.  Very practical. Since I've mainly been sewing knits, I'd forgotten how nice and easy to sew with 100% cotton woven fabric. Also, it feels SOOOOOO nice against my skin. 100% natural fiber next to my skin on a hot summer day is like heaven, freedom, and simply delicious. 

I made size 10 based on the measurements on the pattern instructions, however, it was way too big and I had to adjust the bodice a bit to fit me better.  It is meant to be loose-fitting but it just felt so huge that I made a little adjustment/embellishment on the back.

A cute vintage button with a little loop, hoping that it will make the dress look a little more 'fitted'. But it didn't do much for that.  Nevertheless, it is a darling button and I love it!

Here is the close-up shot of this adorable button!

On the photos, it doesn't look so huge, but trust me. It looks ginormous on me. Especially from the back. I've gone back and forth about just cutting it and making the skirt part narrower, but since I've cut and adjusted the bodice a couple of times, it couldn't be any shorter than how it is now.  I only wore it two times last summer. It sat in my closet for a year.

Seattle has been experiencing unusually HOT summer this year. (Really. Usually, summer for us doesn't arrive until at least July 5. This year, it came in mid June!!) So, I took it out and wore it.  I decided that I really like this dress.  It is so comfortable.  The fabric feels so nice.  I will definitely make another version, and this time I will make the skirt less wide. (so it won't end up looking like a maternity dress!)

Do you have a project that you considered to be a flop, and later liking it? 

What are you all sewing this summer?

Periwinkle "Estelle" Cardi, Done

OMG, it is finally done.

I mainly knit only when I have to have the privilege to wait. Doctor's appointment, my son's guitar lesson, at the airport, etc. So it usually takes forever for me to finish a decent size knitting project. But I am NEVER frustrated when I have to wait so as long as I have my knitting project with me. Love waiting!

I started this project back in November, 2013. This was the first top down cardigan I've ever knit.  In fact, I didn't even know there was such method. I LOVE this method. It makes good sense to me. You only need to cast on a small number of stitches to begin with, you can try on as you knit and see how long you want your piece to be.

The lace pattern was fun to do.

I found the pattern on Ravelry (what a great resource for knitters) and bought it from here.

The finishing took some time. Isn't it always the case?! It is 98% done, and then the long, long homestretch begins. First, I couldn't decide how long the sleeves should be. I must have undone and redone at least three times on each sleeve!

I decided to put a pretty ribbon button band. Found just the thing at a nearby fabric store, Pacific Fabrics!

Color matchy thread found in my cool (vs. warm) color threads bin. 

Pin the ribbon on the button side first. 

Found the perfect buttons in my vintage button stash. They photographed more yellow than the actual color. They are plastic, and they are more clear than yellow in color. 

Line both sides up and mark where buttons should be against the already knitted buttonhole.

Sewed  the buttons on through the ribbon button band. Now pin another ribbon strip on the buttonhole side. 

Uh oh. I must not have been paying close attention when blocking. The buttonhole side is slightly longer than the button side!! The ribbon band is already sewn on the button side so the knitted material can no longer be stretched and manipulated. I decided to steam shrink the buttonhole side just a tiny bit. Now the difference is hardly noticeable. If you examine it closely, you can tell. Otherwise, fine. So, stand back! (I'm not going to undo the sewn buttons and the hand-stitched ribbon!!) 

Now make buttonholes on the ribbon. Once I marked where each buttonhole should be, unpin the ribbon. Go to a sewing machine. I'm going with a lighter lavender color thread for buttonholes. 

Hey, whoa. The ribbon was barely wide enough. The buttons are small in diameter but they are chunky fat! (By the way, thanks to my Bernina 1230 automatic buttonholes. M.E.M.O.R.Y!)

The embroidery scissors Wadiyah from the Rocketeer date gave me came in handy in snipping off little thread ends off buttonholes. 

Wow. One issue. The back of the ribbon is white. I also used white bobbin thread to match the color of the back of the ribbon.  What was I thinking?! The bright white shows through the knitted buttonhole of the cardi which is periwinkle purple in color.  Well.  The answer was a purple sharpie. Love sharpies!

See. Now hardly visible. 

There. It's all done!

I finished this on the Super Bowl Sunday morning and wore it to a Super Bowl Party. (Although I was supposed to wear blue and green for our Seattle Seahawkes - now the champion!!!) 

I really love the cardi! Yeah, Go Seahawkes!