sewing memories...

I find my (not so) obligatory bed rest and excellent time to organize and reorganize all of my laptop content. I’ve meant to brag a little about my sewing experiments ages ago, but with all that’s been going on, I simply forgot…

I was reasonably pleased with how everything turned out and I do have many more things planned (and few unfinished). For now I’m longing for a dress form, but since we decided to move, packing takes priority over everything else. From the other hand, once we move…. there will be no end to crafting! This house really needs love! Our landlord had some rather unconventional decorating ideas (not in the good sense), and I’m determined to turn it into a perfect pad until we move to our target apartment.

But returning to the topic of my sewing adventures… I raided Pinterest for some cute, easy projects and came up with few ideas that I than adjusted to my needs. I wouldn’t be me if I actually follow instructions to the letter, but here is what I ended up with so far.

 I started very simple, with knife pleated skirt with invisible zipper. It's kind of summery and playful. I especially like the hem trimmed with the same fabric as a waistband. It makes it look less simple than it actually is... this is a nice tutorial for similar skirt.

For the second project (equally simple) I used this kids skirt idea and reworked it in my size. I see it more with fall accessories, so didn't have a chance to wear it yet...

 I made this dress following this tutorial. I really liked the ModCloth version so I added few alterations to make mine look similar. I extended the waist part a bit and secured the pleats with a belt. Then I added the actual belt with belt-loops on top of that. It gives it better structure and makes the top look less sloppy. I made it with quite stiff fabric so the bottom part is really puffy. I think I will remake it with a bit more drape friendly cloth at some point...

 After skirts, I moved to shorts. I followed this tutorial pretty closely, but decided to go with the belt instead of the sash. they are very comfy and would be cute for the beach, though i mostly use them as pajama bottom.  

This shirtwaist dress is the most complicated project I've attempted so far. I copied pattern from one of my shirts till the natural waist level and added A-line skirt to it. While the pattern part was pretty straight forward, i had a bit of trouble with the sleeves. It looks good from outside and drapes well, but it could be better from the inside. I discovered mock serged seam on my machine way too late. This looks like a nice "how to" and a pattern for a similar dress.

This is my absolute favorite at the moment. I barely take it off! i made it with the bodice from the previous dress by simply extending center front at the waist towards side seam and adding some roll collar. The skirt part is just wrapped rectangle - it could be fuller, but I used virtually the whole fabric i had - till the last scrap.It is super comfy and extremely versatile. this is somewhat similar project with pattern and instructions.