Confessions of a Pattern Hoarder

I buy.......Ugly Patterns.  Yup, it happens.  I have three boxes full that I consider ugly.  I seriously need to get these out of my sewing area.  The boxes are currently the table for my sewing lamp to sit on so it doesn't take up an space on my sewing desk.  Most of these patterns are from the 80's.  I'm just not an 80's fan, even being a child of that decade.  Is it vintage pattern sacrilege to sell these at a yard sale?  

And We Have Fold-Over Elastic!

I am putting said elastic on as I'm typing this (in between using the sewing machine of course).  It's fairly easy to work with.  I tried taking pictures but my camera is not picking up the details or taking a clear shot of it.  A hook and eye on the ends and Alexis should have her slip before dinner.  I'll start work on the crinoline tomorrow probably.  I've been resizing a Butterick Pattern from the 50's this weekend while waiting on the elastic to come in.  I've never sized anything before.  I surprised myself.  I'm now on to the alteration phase of the project for the bodice.  I still have to size the skirt up which will be a massive undertaking since it is not cut in sections just one huge half circle that is supposed to be cut on a fold.  This dress will bring alot of firsts for me.  This will also be the first time I took on a project with so many buttonholes.  Usually one buttonhole is more than enough for me.  

The Slip for Alexis' Dress

I had to grade the slip up from a size 6 to a semi size 8 for the slip.  I added and 1 inch to the sides and two in length to fit the dress.  It is sized perfectly.  I am waiting on some fold over elastic to come in the mail to finish the slip.  I have all of the crinoline parts graded and cut out, just waiting on the foldover elastic for that too.  I'm making both the slip and the crinoline, you know how finicky ten year old girls can be.  This way she has the option to wear either or both underneath.  I added ruffles to the slip just for extra cuteness.

Blogger Buddy Award

I'm reciprocating the award I got from Sew ducky!. I'm also sending this out to Dolly from The Dolly Blogge. Both have been great and I look forward to getting to know both of them better.

Alexis' Dress

I'm taking a break from my Vogue Dress for now.  Yesterday I worked on a dress for my daughter, Alexis.  I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  I used a McCall's pattern from 1959, #5264, for a simple dress.  My daughter is VERY petite for her age, she will be 10 in July, this pattern is a size 7, I did not grade this pattern in any way and it fit perfectly with a little extra room to move.  I swear I DO feed my children very well and they are kept clean and healthy, shortness just runs in the family.  I used the cherry fabric I ended up with a few weeks back.  She has a cherry printed headband that she is wearing in her hair that you can't see very well in the photo.  Of course being herself, she added her own touches to the ensemble with the tights.  I will be making a crinoline for her out of white organza and possibly satin(?), I'll have to see what I have in my stash for the yoke and slip portion.  I should begin work on the crinoline tonight or tomorrow.  She and her brother were clowning around so I decided to use the time for a photo op for my personal collection.  We are also introducing Alley, the Australian Cattle Dog and perpetual puppy. 

Confessions of a Pattern Hoarder

After much soul searching while trying to come up with my next confession I discovered that I'm really in love with the 1950's circle skirt dresses.  I'm short and round but I still like to imagine myself in any of these dresses.  I think the look is versatile enough to be worn for any occasion depending on the fabric the dress is made out of.  While looking through my stash I realized that most of my stash is the aforementioned patterns.  Alot of them needing to be graded.....up, way up.

Fab Finds at Estate Auction, Part 2

To finish up my finds from this week.  I saved the best for last, a nice collection of Vogue Special Design patterns.  I'm in love with every one of these.

I guess this can be added to my vintage pattern porn stash for whenever I get the urge....lol

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Fab Finds at Estate Auction, Part 1

I'm gonna post some of these finds today and some tomorrow due to the high picture content.  I was very happy with my finds this week.  I got a kick out of the dress shield pouch.  The guarantee was great.  The company promised to not only refund the money for the product for disfunctioning shields but also pay for any damage caused to the dress due to the shields not performing.  Where can you find a guarantee like that today?  This is one of the best groups of patterns I've found.

The Couturier Pattern is Vogue #106 from 1958.  There is also Vogue #8907, 9124, 9104, 9536, 5366, 9047, 9107, 8759, 7597, 9967, 4991; Butterick #5327, 7098, 7986, 8221, 2543.  I have a strong suspicion that # 2543 is from the early 40's.  

  Check back tomorrow for the rest of the pictures.

I Passed My Stats Class!

YAY!  Elementary Statistics is no fun, I'm not a math person to begin with.  This is one class I will never look back at.  I actually stalked the professor down after the test was finished and asked him to grade my test and figure my average.  I made it by two points into the GPA range I needed.

A Previous Finished Project

Yeah, it's filler, I like to think of it as seamstress porn.  Here's a project I finished a few weeks ago.  It's a Simplicity Project Runway Pattern that I made with some quilter's cotton from Hobby Lobby.  With my curves, I have to have a belt with this dress.  I have some extra fabric that I'm gonna make a simple belt with.  The only question left with this one is which shoes would look good with it.  The darker color is actually a brown with strong purple undertones to it.  

Progress on My Vogue Project

I got really lazy for about a week and a half and haven't been near my sewing machine until tonight.  I'm posting some pictures of the progress of my Vogue dress.  I've got the front panels together and one set of the pleats made.  I'm fixing to start on the back panels as soon as I complete my post for the day.  Please keep in mind when looking at this that this is the first time I have ever come close to attempting matching a fabric pattern before.  There has to be a trick to it on a curved seam.  Any tips or hints?