Tie Dye Elisalex

When I was living in my grandparents house I had a pretty set routine when it came to sewing and blogging. With ready access to a washer and dryer I could wash fabric as soon as I bought it and get straight to work sewing, and easily work on special dye projects. Once I made something new I would just head out to the back porch with my tripod and camera for some blog photos. 

My new apartment has made a change in my routine. I have to wait patiently for our trips to the laundromat in order to prepare my fabric for sewing, it's torture! But on the other hand, I'm finding that having to search for a special spot for photos is rather enjoyable. Yesterday while we were out on an evening run I spotted these hydrangeas and knew they would make the perfect backdrop for my latest Elisalex dress!

I recently purchased the book "Tie Dye: Dye It, Wear It, Share It," by Shabd Simon-Alexander. I've been in awe of her work for quite some time, so I was excited when I found out about her book. This dress is made from an out of use curtain that I tie dyed using a technique from the book that involves folding like a fan, binding with string, and then dyeing. Once the dye process was complete, I reached for my Elisalex Dress Pattern from By Hand London. I love the bodice of this pattern, but yet again my fabric didn't lend itself to the structured skirt so I substituted a simple gathered skirt. This finished dress is exactly what I imagined for the fabric, so I'm one happy camper.

PS: Any of you other lovely sewing bloggers have tips for feeling comfortable taking project photos out in public? I'm still feeling a bit shy!

Watercolor Elisalex Dress

This post is rather overdue! I made this dress long ago and absolutely love wearing it, both during the day while running errands as well as out for date night with a pair of heels. The shape of the bodice is gorgeous the way it sweeps out over the shoulders and dips down in the back! However, as much as I enjoy wearing it, the light colored fabric hasn't enjoyed my attempts at photography until now.

My By Hand London Elisalex Dress has the original bodice from the pattern and a simple gathered skirt since my fabric was too flimsy for the tulip shape. To make the skirt a bit more interesting, I added pleats just above the hem.

Is anyone else excited to get their paws on the new Victoria Blazer Pattern from By Hand London? I'm super into the idea of a sleeveless version and especially love the one they sewed up in plaid!

Elizabeth II

Trips to the fabric store are mostly for zippers and thread since I have a pretty big fabric stash that needs attention. However, my favorite local shop keeps bringing in woven fabrics that I just can't resist! After buying a few yards of this gorgeous stuff, I decided to create another variation of the Elizabeth Gathered Waist Dress from BurdaStyle's Sewing Vintage Modern. Remember the first one I made?

This Elizabeth has split shoulders with button closures, one side seam pocket, invisible side zip, and an altered neckline in the front and the back. Once again, I enjoyed working with this pattern. The fit is wonderful and flattering, yet simple enough to make all sorts of fun variations. I definitely recommend trying it out!

These photos were taken with my cow friends outside the Denver Art Museum. I was in Colorado this past week with my family for my big sister's graduation from CU Boulder. I'm so proud of my sister, Dr. Clare!

A sneak peek at my By Hand London Elisalex Dress

I've been busy lately... searching for housing, crossing my fingers that I get the job I was recently interviewed for, and finding a few spare moments to work on some sewing. 

Although I haven't taken any photos with this dress on yet, I thought I would drop by to share this and encourage you all to join the Elisalex Dress Sewalong over on the By Hand London Blog! They are kicking things off today, so head on over and check it out! The pattern was really fun to work with, and I especially love the way that the back scoops down. Unfortunately, my fabric choice was a bit too flimsy for the tulip skirt of the dress, so I changed it up a bit. I'm on the lookout for tulip-worthy fabric now so I can make a second Elisalex Dress following the pattern directly, in all of it's flowery glory!

Check it out! My Elizabeth Gathered-Waist dress is featured on BurdaStyle!

Hello Again!

Hello! I'm back and hopefully this time it will stick! 

So let's dive right in, shall we?

Late last year I got an email from the lovely Jamie Lau of BurdaStyle, who is one of the authors of the new BurdaStyle book, Sewing Vintage Modern. In her email she asked me if I would like to try out one of the patterns from the book. I happen to be a sucker for dresses, especially when they are styled with a 1950s aesthetic, so of course I asked to do the Elizabeth Gathered-Waist Dress.

Awhile back, my mom gave me a set of vintage bandanas that she found while thrifting. I have been meaning to use them in a sewing project ever since, and the simple bodice of this dress pattern seemed like the perfect opportunity. To incorporate the bandana, I started by rounding off the square neckline of the pattern. Once the pattern pieces were cut in the main fabric, I positioned the bandana to my liking and cut it to match the pattern. Last I basted the neckline and straight stitched along the edges. 

After attaching the skirt to the bodice, I decided to add some pleats above the hem to make it a bit more interesting. I will admit that I wasn't very precise with this part and just eyeballed it as I sewed. Surprisingly it didn't turn into a disaster, and I'm super happy with the result!

I would definitely recommend this dress pattern. It is simple with a flattering fit, plus it is easy to alter and sew. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other variations for this pattern that are in the book, including the adorable Lillian Blouse.

BurdaStyle's new book was released back in December and they had a party at Britex Fabrics in San Francisco that I was lucky to attend. I wore this dress, purchased a copy of the book, and got to meet Jamie!

Mission Maxi Plus the Color

 I've been wearing my Mission Maxi dress nonstop since I put it together, and now I finally took pictures to share on my blog!

My Mission Maxi was made from white cotton jersey which I tie dyed after the sewing was complete. For the tie dye I used two shades of black, plus pearl gray. I'm pretty happy with how the dye turned out, but I wish there weren't so many white spots.

My cousin and I also did the ombre dyeing for her dress, but she just took off to medical school in New Orleans, so I'll have to get her to send me some photos of her dress when she gets a chance. Do you like our ombre dyeing setup? Liz likes to follow directions when doing projects like this, but I made her get straight to it without measuring things out precisely. Her dress turned out great and we both had blue hands when we went to work the next day. Oops!

NattyJane's BurdaStyle Book Dress Variation

 

 The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook was released back in November, but I didn't get my dress variation back until a month or two ago. Since then I've had it on display on my dress form, which was a silly thing to do when I should have taken photos of it straight away to share with all of you!

When I first received the fabric for this dress from BurdaStyle, I was a bit disappointed. In the sketches I submitted for the project I had asked for a blue cotton voile and this fabric was entirely different, quilters cotton and such a bright color! After I got over the initial bit of disappointment, I realized the bright color they sent me was way better since it challenged me and broke me away from my usual color choices. I'm still haunted by the fact that it's quilters cotton because it made the dress pretty heavy.

The designs on the fabric form a striped pattern which I played around with on the bodice of the dress. For my variation, I added a button front and a collar, plus pleats on the skirt. I also added frills of fabric around the arm holes and across the back yoke.

I'm so happy that I got to be a part of The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook, and I am especially proud of my work on this dress. I hope you all enjoy it!

 If you would like to make this dress, check out the tutorial section of the blog.

If you have already made a dress following the tutorial, please share with me. I'd love to see your work!

Green Apple Slices

 Here it is! My dress made following the tutorial for my BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook dress variation. Doesn't the color combination look like slices of green apple?

If you want to make your own, be sure to check out the tutorial in my brand new tutorials page of my blog!

Two tone

About a week ago my best friend told me to update my blog. Well after dragging my feet, here it is! I've been working on a few sewing projects lately, but hadn't been too excited about any of them, until now!

This two tone dress is my practice version of a children's dress pattern by Figgy's that I found on pinterest a while back.

The best part about this dress is the pockets! The worst part is the back because it is so plain.

This practice round turned out to be wearable, plus I know what to change for my final version. Win, win.

I'm thinking this fabric will be used for my next go at my pattern.
It feels wonderful to be excited about a project!