Finished: Regina Mills / Once Upon a Time Inspired Dress

My obsession with the wardrobe on Once Upon a Time continues!

And it's even better this time around because I've been taking draping/drafting classes at a local university, so obviously once of the dresses I needed to make immediately was this red dress.

I've been teasing pictures of this dress on instagram for a few months now, mostly because I've been ridiculously busy with work/class/knitting designs, but I'm so happy I found time to make this dress.

When I say I made this dress, here's what I mean:

1. I studied the scenes to make sure I knew exactly how the dress was shaped, cut, and moved. I say this like it was hard work, but it was quite enjoyable research.

2. Once I had a sense of the different elements that went into it, I decided what I liked and didn't like and how I wanted mine to look. I changed out the fabric, as it looks like the skirt is jersey. I have a few ideas about what the top is made of, but either way I figured a woven fabric would be more flattering, at least for me. Then I modified the pleats near the shoulder, changed the sleeves (not that you can tell, as this version is sleeveless), and added a waistband.  Then I sketched all this out.

3. I drafted the pattern, which meant some draping but a lot of math and rulers. I had some help from my amazing teacher (because drafting collars isn't fun), but I did it all proper-like, and I did not wing it like I usually do. Guys, I cannot tell you how simultaneously annoying and rewarding it is to do things by the book. If you're new here, I typically hold something up and decide it looks close enough so to constantly iron and measure and do math is a bit of a challenge for me... but then, of course, it comes out perfectly the first time, so I suppose it's worth it.

Yes, that's right. Everything matched up exactly, and it took only ONE time sewing. No seam ripping. Ever. It's like magic.

4. I cut up my ruffled maxi skirt I made a year or so ago (because I decided I hated it, mostly because it's cut on the grain) and I really had to get creative at times to make this work since I didn't have enough fabric to make it exactly how I wanted - but I think it's perfect for a working muslin / summer dress.

And let's be honest, this dress is pretty amazing, right?

I want to make the next version with sleeves, and perhaps just a touch longer. Any longer than its current length, and it will need a vent in the back - which is cool, as long as I'm not cutting up old skirts and have plenty of fabric on hand.

I'm also considering making the neckline a bit higher... but I feel like it's pretty perfect as is. And I mean, maybe I'll just buy a bra that dips down really low in the center front so it's not an issue like it is now.

Okay, things!

So since I AM designing and drafting patterns, I really want to be able to share them with you guys, but I have no idea how to get them into the computer. Any recommendations or experience with sewing software?

Assuming I get the whole computer part figured out, I'll need testers for the dress. Sign up here to get more information (probably this fall!) if you're willing to test this out for me.

I know I put up a quick tutorial, but you may or may not have noticed that my lazy 30s gown has a few design issues. Luckily, I now know how to get around those problems, but again, I can't put the pattern in the computer just yet. So sign up if you want to pattern test that.

Finished: Simplicity 8013 (Or Something Like It)

Have I mentioned my love of robes on here before? I think there's something incredibly romantic about walking around the house with a flowing gown trailing after you. I don't know if i made a post about Downton Abbey and the robes on that show (and I'm too lazy to look), but I've wanted one ever since I saw the first season of that show!

But robes were never really feasible when I lived in NYC. Now I live in a rather chilly house (thanks to central air and a low thermostat) so I figured what better time to make a robe than now?!

I first saw this pattern, Simplicity 8013 on Allie's blog, and I became obsessed, and I even made the poor sales girl at the store dig through boxes of patterns to find it in my size. It calls for 10 yards of fabric, by the way!

I decided to go for flannel fabric because it's not as bulky as fleece, and I decided to go for the roses because I'm currently obsessed with Once Upon a Time so it seemed close enough to the fairy tale world for me!

The fabric was kind of an issue. I didn't want to order 10 yards because holy cow, that's a lot. So I tried ordering 8 yards, but then after 2 weeks, Joann's canceled the order and said they didn't have enough. I re-ordered with 6 yards, and it came a few weeks later, and it's perfect and wonderful.

Except it wasn't enough. Especially since it's a patterned fabric. Oops.

I probably would have gone back to buy more if I bought it at a fabric store, but ordering fabric online is SUCH a hassle that I decided to make it work.

Which brings me to the alterations I made:

Obviously I converted this into a robe so it opens in the front. No zipper.
I added pockets.
I added darts in the back bodice to bring in the shoulders a bit.
I only cut out the back skirt, the front skirt, and one side skirt, which I then cut in half, so the skirt is not as full as it should be. Additionally, there was no room to gather the back skirt so it's a bit flat, but I think it looks fine.
I put bias tape around the bodice instead of lining it.

The length, somehow is perfect. The sleeves, also somehow, are perfect. The top is a little large, though I knew it would be from the pictures. I might try to add a bit of coverage there (if this weren't a robe, of course).

I cannot wait to sew up something else with this pattern (and maybe get the yardage correct!).

(Anddd maybe next time I'll get better pictures. It's super hard using a tripod and the timer!)

Finished: Fall Hats!

Um, are you guys tired of me posting about knitting stuff here instead of sewing? Because I'm tired of it. I'm sorry.

But this is the last knitting post for awhile, and I know I have some knitters on here so I just wanted to share.

I designed 4 different hats over the last month or so, and I'm super proud of them. They all use Lion Brand Wool-Ease yarn and they all use US size 11-15 needles, depending on the pattern.

It hadn't even started to cool off when I started thinking about these, so I was instead imagining what my idealized fall is like: bonfires, back to school shopping, apple picking, and lots of cables.

So with each of those things in mind, I designed hats around those themes, and I just love them.

Arosa Slouchy Lace Hat

Chutes and Ladders Hat

Wild Bramble Hat

Adirondack Basket Hat

AND I mostly wanted to post now because I'm hosting a Knit Along for the Arosa Slouchy Lace Hat. Like it? Want to make it? Want to make it with me?

Check out my post here for all the details, grab your supplies, and sign up to be a part of it. We're starting Monday, September 28th, and all level of beginners are welcome. (I'm even doing some video tutorials for the newbies!)

Otherwise, go favorite the hats on ravelry or add them to your queue. I hope you guys love them as much as I loved making them!

(Also, for the non-knitters, I also make these on etsy!)

Finished: Rockaway Cardigan!

So I'm officially all moved out of NYC. I still have a few things back there, and I plan on visiting, of course, but it's really great to be out of the city. It's not so great to everything on boxes, but hopefully unpacking won't take me too long.

Earlier this year, I came up with the Rockaway Cardigan, and it's one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe!  It's cotton, so I wear it all the time in the summer and even more now that the temperature is starting to dip. I really love it.

I took these pictures on Coney Island, right before I left and I think they turned out so beautifully. Remember when I used to only model things on the roof? Haha, I really like branching out and finding (unpopulated) locations.

Here's the ravelry page if you want to heart it or queue it up. And if you buy it before the end of tomorrow, you can get 30% off with the coupon code 30FOR30.

OH, so I'm offering the 30% off coupon because I turned 30 a few weeks ago. I've just been so busy that I didn't really have time to celebrate and I kind of forgot about it until just now haha. So the code works for everything in my shop.

Anyway, if you're not into knitting, you can buy it finished in my etsy shop. The 30FOR30 works there as well!

Finished: Siren Seafoam Beach Top

I finished this when it was still chilly out, but the weather is (almost) perfect now!

So in the spirit of stashbusting, I went through my yarn to see what new projects I could begin working on, and I found a large stash of Wool and the Gang cotton. It's been hanging out in my stash for over a year now because I couldn't see the point of cotton yarn... I mean, how is it supposed to keep you warm if it's cotton?

Then I remembered a season called summer (that's been getting rarer and rarer around these parts), and so I decided to make a fun top for the beach.

One of the things I dislike about summer tops is all the skin showing. I know, I KNOW. I just made a top with holes in it. But I'm rather self-conscious about my body so I love that this top has some structure and the skin peeking through is more of a peek-a-boo type thing rather than large cut-outs.

The top is cropped, which is perfect since I wear it with high-waisted skirts. I'm still a little shocked that cropped tops are a thing because I never thought I'd see them come back into style after the 90s - but I also never thought the 90s style would come back either. I now understand what my mother meant when she said, "I refuse to wear bell bottoms again. Once you live through it, there's no going back."

But I digress. :)

On a side note: You might think it's cute to pose with ice cream on a boardwalk, but it's not. Ice cream melts everywhere, and it's horrible. Also, dudes think ice cream resembles something phallic. Get your mind out of the gutter!

You can read more about it here, and my ravelry page is here.

Are you working on any summer knit projects?  I have one more that I hope to finish soon!

Finished: Simplicity 1801

In the nick of time!! As host of April's Stashbusting Sew Along, it would be quite in embarrassing not to make anything, right? I thought I could knock out two projects pretty quickly: a jacket that's bright and beautiful and just needs cuffs, a lining, and some buttons and this dress. Both proved challenging in their own ways, but mostly I've just been way too busy to concentrate on sewing.

I sewed up Cynthia Rowley Simplicity 1801, view C. I really love the pattern, I love the lines and the gathers, but I hate that it's for woven fabrics. I mean, doesn't it just look perfect in a jersey knit?!

Anyway, easy enough to remedy. I cut it out a two sizes too small and used my serger to stitch everything up.

 I don't typically wear maxi dresses, but this one is just so comfortable and perfect to throw on when I'm feeling lazy this spring/summer.  Plus, I'm excited to have more colors in my wardrobe. :D

While I tried to make the top look super nice, I didn't bother hemming the bottom. I know jersey tends to stretch over time so I'll just hack it off as it grows.

I did use black thread on a hot pink dress, which could have been bad, but I don't think it's super noticeable.

Look at the gathers in the back!! I think it's one of my favorite projects just for the design.

I spent the day at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and it was just so lovely. I still ache from all the walking I did, but it was one of the nicest days so far this year, and the scenery was just incredible.

Is anyone else making vibrant, spring projects from their stash?

Finished: Colette Zinnia

 I've been secretly hating on the bloggers who are all, "I see signs of spring and I LOVE IT," but only because I'm jealous and I can't wait for spring.

The temperature has gotten a bit warmer so surely that implies that spring is on the way; however these photos are a lie. It is still really cold, and it snowed the day after I took these pictures.

Anyway, onto the skirt.

I've wanted to make a wool skirt for awhile, probably since last winter. So it makes perfect sense that at the end of February, when the season is almost over, I pulled out my stash and set about making one.

Guys, I am so excited to say that I made this in an afternoon. Typically, I'd get distracted by my phone or computer, or discouraged when I'd have to rip something out... But I just started out by going, "Just cut out the PDF. You don't have to finish." Followed quickly by, "Just cut out the pattern pieces. You don't have to finish."

Anyway, I did it all at once, which is something I have never been able to say.

The skirt is made well, and it's my first finished Colette piece ever.

I feel a little weird about the skirt though because it seems a bit dowdy... but still fashionable. I feel very much like a hip mom in this - not in a bad way. Just like a should be carrying my children to fencing class or whatever it is moms do.

I really want to make another one in a lighter fabric to see if the dowdy factor is still there or if I created it.

Anyway, the boyfriend told me I looked like I just stepped out of a Young Republicans boating event, which means at least he doesn't see the dowdy! ;-)

Skirt: Zinnia by Colette Patterns
Top: The Gap
Cardigan: Banana Republic

Finished: Knit Totoro Scarf and Hood

So two things for the die-hard Totoro fans before we even begin:

1. I know the leaf is on backwards. It was actually on correctly before we started and while I was ON THE ROOF, I was all, "Hm, I think this should be the other way." Of course, I was wrong.

2. The ears are no longer floppy! I thought I fixed them, and my lovely photographer had no idea that they weren't supposed to be floppy. As this was a gift, I had to fix the ears and ship them off with no time for a re-shoot.

Here's proof that everything is better:

That is my incredibly happy sister, who says she has not stopped wearing this since Christmas. Woohoo.

My sister had been dropping hints the last few months that she wanted an animal cowl hood type thing, and I didn't really get the hint until I was all, "Oh my gosh, I have no idea what to get her for Christmas."

Apparently, she wanted an animal cowl hood type thing.

I thought she was joking and continued shopping for her, but then one day I realized making a Totoro hat would be perfect for her.

(Good thing, too, because when I half-apologized on Christmas she said she only wanted me to make her something.)

For those who don't know, Totoro is a loveable forest spirit that, in the words of my boyfriend, looks like a scary monster. It's a really cute kid's movie. Think of Winnie the Pooh in terms of his loveability.

I decided to make a scarf and hood combo rather than a cowl and hood combo because I tend to overheat with things wrapped around my neck. Plus, they can be itchy so it was a no go.

The scarf ends each have a bit of Totoro's fuzzy chest and design.

The ears were fairly simple to construct. I used an I-cord combined with increases and decreases to  shape them.

I really hated the point on the hood at first and I tried to figure out a way to get rid of it, but then I realized it was perfect for balancing the leaf and holding it up.

 The leaf was a variation of a few different leaf designs I found on ravelry. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the leaf isn't permanently attached, but I safety pinned it on in case she wants to take it off.

Overall, I'm super happy with this construct, and I can't believe how relatively simple it was to design.