In the works

I've started working on a new dress, and I've decided to do things right this time by making a muslin of the bodice to check the fit before cutting my fashion fabric.  I have enough large scraps of other fabric that I don't feel guilty "wasting" fabric for this.  And really, for New Look 6723, there isn't too much fabric required if you don't cut out the skirt.



It's a good thing I decided to make a muslin before running off and cutting up my fabric because my first bodice muslin had a terrible fit!  Some of the issues I expected - such as the gaping back neckline.  But my big surprise here (something that probably should not have been a surprise) is that I needed to do a FBA.  I don't think of myself as being particularly well endowed, but apparently my bust is a bit on the large size for my small frame, at least according to The Standard Size.  So I did my first ever FBA following the directions in Fast Fit by Sandra Betzina and changing the B cup to a C cup.  It was really easy for this princess seam bodice.  I also took in the back neckline on each side by 3/4" and the front neckline by 3/8" on each side and tweaked the side and back princess seams.  When I was mostly happy, I pulled apart my muslin and used it to create new pattern pieces, then cut out a 2nd muslin.

I finished the 2nd muslin today and the fit is significantly improved.  I only had a few small changes to make --- evening out the waistline because it was still dipping down lower in the back than the front, and tweaking the front armhole after my major changes to the front princess seams.  So I'm all ready to cut out my fashion fabric now.  I picked up 2 yards of the green leaf cotton lawn (shown above) from Fashion Fabrics Club a couple of months ago after eyeing it every time I browsed their selection.  Good thing I got it when I did, because they don't seem to have it anymore.  The background is a fairly sheer ivory, so I'll line it with some nude-colored cotton lawn from my stash.

I'm hoping it all goes fairly quickly now that I've fixed my major fit issues, because I can't wait to make a Cambie dress!  And I have the perfect fabric for it too, also a cotton lawn from Fashion Fabric Club, but with really cute purple and pink polka dots!  I'm going to make the full skirt version first with a straight neckline (see Tasia's tutorial here).


I'm pretty sure I'll need to check the fit on the Cambie dress bodice too, but I'm planning to make several versions, so the time will be well spent.  I can't wait to have some fun new summer dresses!

Cute stuff

We're currently in the process of buying this house (adorable, no?).  Our inspection is scheduled for Tuesday morning, and we're hoping there are no hidden surprises waiting for us.

It will be so great to finally have our own home!  I realized the other day that I have moved 12 times in the last 14 years (moving in to this house will be move #13).   Eek! Because of my apparent nomadic existence, and the fact that I have spent 12 of the last 14 years living in dorms and 1-2 bedroom apartments, with the last 2 years spent "temporarily" living in a rental house, we actually have very little furniture and not many housewares. We didn't even register for china or any of the typical registry items when we got married because we had no idea how long it would be before we were able to have our own place with enough room for more than 4 plates and bowls. So now that it looks like we'll actually be living like adults in a 3300 square foot house (that will be extremely empty after we move in due to our lack of furniture and housewares), I've started browsing around for some nesting ideas.  Here are some items that caught my eye this afternoon:

kate spade new york Market Street in Pink (surprisingly, my husband really likes these too!)

image source

That's it for housewares (ha!).  The following items are all ones that I would like for my sewing room (i.e., the formal dining room).

Garbo Chaise - because who doesn't need a fainting couch in their sewing room??

image source

Apothecary Chest - all those little drawers would be great for storing notions and trims!

image source

Sewing-related artwork for the walls:

image source

As you can see, I didn't get too far past finding things for my sewing room, but there will be plenty of time for the rest later.  Luckily, I don't have a terribly large amount of time for online window-shopping because furnishing a home seems like a good way to go broke quickly.  So we'll try for the one-item-at-a-time method instead.