Flowers on a Winter Day – Vogue 8633 Pattern Review

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

How about flowers on a “winter” day?  It’s February in Louisiana and the high for today is 83 degrees so I decided to take the opportunity to wear one of the dresses I made this month to work.  (By the way, more blog posts are to come, it’s been too cold and rainy to get things photographed).    The floral fabric you see was advertised as peachskin on Fabric.com.  It has a nice hand and is soft, however it’s not as soft as other peachskin fabrics I’ve sewn with from other places.  The bodice is lined with a royal blue crepe back satin from Hancock Fabrics.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

As a pattern review, I made View E in a size 6ish.  I say “ish” because since the darts and neckline fell in the right place on my bodice muslin, I decided to add 1/2″ to the side seams of the front pieces so that the side seam could be sewn and fell in the correct place.  I didn’t go up a size, so my fit is quite exact, which is how I prefer it.

KODAK Digital Still Camera

KODAK Digital Still Camera

The shaping darts are interesting and a detail completely disguised by the pattern of my fabric. 🙂 I really like the shaped collar on this, however the darts were unusual.  They aren’t all your ordinary triangle shapes, and there are four of them for each of your front pieces (bodice and lining).   In conclusion, I’ll leave you with a little twirl picture 🙂 Look at that skirt get up and go!

KODAK Digital Still Camera

Snuggly Robes for Winter – Simplicity 7417 Pattern Review

Winter in Louisiana may not be as cold as other parts of the nation, but it still gets colder than I would like.  So, why not make some snuggly robes to stay warm?   I found Simplicity 7417 in my Mom’s pattern stash and appropriated it for my own use.

I made View E in an XS as my muslin, and it is totally wearable.  View E has a hood, belt, patch pockets and cuffed sleeves in the shorter length. I used a black and white Cotton Flannel with music notes all over it.  I did not have enough fabric, so I made the pieces fit by shortening the sleeve and hemming it, instead of having the cuffs.  The pockets blend in on the picture (yay, pattern matching), but they are there and they are a good size.

I decided that I liked it and purchased Red Double sided Fleece to make a View F version.  View F has the same features as E.  It has  the hood, belt, and cuffed sleeves all in a full length version.

For both versions, instead of purchased bias tape, I made matching ties of the designated length from the remaining fabric pieces.  I also used organza as interfacing for the facings instead of fusible. The instructions were pretty simple.  In conclusion, I like both of them and the hoods  are deep enough for all my hair, which is a major plus. 🙂  

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