Catch Up

Hello readers! Welcome back to a much delayed blog post about all the dresses I’ve sewn in the last couple of weeks. To start off this blog, I wanted to say that I finally got a children’s librarian job and that has been the reason why my blog has not been updated. I have a full time children’s librarian job! I did it! It's been a transition from being a part-time library assistant to a full-time librarian! I have enjoyed this adjustment period and I am so happy! That being said, my blog posts may be few and far in between due to this promotion until I get settled in.

The last blog post I wrote hinted at my completion of a Navy Blue Constellation dress that glows in the dark! But I have actually finished this dress along with two others in the past two weeks. The first one I finished was the Constellation dress, followed by a purple sugar skull dress, and then a black lightning bolt dress. The skull and lightning bolt dresses I was able to sew up fairly quickly and they are so pretty!

I had issues all around with the zippers on each dress. Particularly, with the lightning bolt dress, I had to pick and redo the zipper and it still wasn't perfect. I got pricked a couple of times with constellation dress. Each dress is a different bodice style. Constellation is New Look 6262 with my self drafted skirt pattern. Skully (purple sugar skulls) is Simplicity 1873, with an altered V-neck style and my self drafted skirt pattern. Finally, the lighnting bolt dress, which I've named Rebel Rebel due to my love for David Bowie, is my tried and true Butterick 5748b bodice with my self drafted skirt pattern (as you can tell, I always use my created skirt pattern, I have yet to find a skirt pattern I like more).

Prepare yourself for all of the dress spam!

I am so thrilled that I am able to wear my dresses to my new job. I wore Skully and Rebel Rebel dresses this week. Most of my coworkers are extremely crafty and creative, which is a fun fun environment! The Rebel Rebel I wore for a Harry Potter Party program that I planned as my last program at my old library. I hand painted and crafted wands to give out to the children, I selected Harry Potter books that I thought the children would like. I had a lot of fun and I miss all the children I've worked with there. Thanks for catching up with me this week! Sorrynotsorry for all of the dress spam!

Until next time,

Nikki

We can't stop here, this is bat country

Hello readers and welcome back to another blog post about my completed sewing projects! This week I will be talking about my third completed Halloween themed dress - the bat dress!

The fabric is from Joanns and I found it in my local store about three weeks ago. The fabric is a lightweight cotton fabric and it's one of my favorite bat fabrics I’ve seen this year. When I saw it in the store, I had to have it all. I bought the whole bolt, which consisted of 4.25 yards of fabric. Originally, I wanted to make a circle skirt dress but I decided against it because of how the bats ran down along the fabric. I followed my same process for preparing the fabric: washing, drying and ironing.

I choose to sew my tried and true dress pattern, the combination of a self drafted skirt pattern and Butterick b5748 bodice pattern. I cut out and sew together the dress in a week. The construction was an easy task, I was able to complete each section carefully. The only problem I had was creating the gathers in the skirt pieces. This process had to be done over again because of the thread I selected. The grey thread was too fine and slipped off of the fabric when pushed closer together to create gathers. When I did this, I ended up holding on the thread and the fabric fell to the floor! Haha. No injuries to report also, I was able to sew slowly and carefully.

When I went to a library function over the weekend, some of the librarians I know wanted to see what my current project was and I was able to show them the bat dress. The librarians I showed the picture to adored the fabric and thought it was perfect for Halloween. Fueled by their love of the fabric, I finished the dress last Saturday and was able to wear it this week to work for a Teen Program. I paired the bat dress with plum shimmer tights and a plum cardigan. I wore my new cult revival spooky brooch and black platform penny loafers.

Next, week I will be writing about the navy, glow-in-the-dark constellation dress I have been working on this week. Thank you readers! Xoxo

Shimmer

Hello readers and welcome back to another blog post about self made clothing! This week is all about my new dress, Shimmer! Shimmer is made with Michael Miller Sarah Jane Magic Metallic Magic Folk Navy (direct link to fabric.com) that I purchased in the beginning of September. I have been obsessed with wanting to make a unicorn dress since I first started sewing but I never found a fabric I liked. Unicorn fabrics can either range from really pink and girly to child-like and immature. When I saw this Michael Miller unicorn fabric on sale for a bulk price, I took the plunge and haven’t regretted it since! I am so in love.

For this sewing project, I choose a new pattern that has been in my stash since May of this year. I choose New Look 6262 as the dress pattern due to its multiple bodice options and easy gathered skirt.

I choose style A/B to sew so I had to prepare the pattern pieces. I cut out the swoop neck/ high neckline pattern pieces two weeks ago, ironed them and traced them onto wrapping paper. I did not cut out the skirt pattern pieces, substituting it for my own self drafted skirt pattern. Meanwhile, I washed, dried, ironed and prepared my fabric to be cut and sewed. I choose a 22” teal zipper and some leftover royal blue fabric with small rose buds on it as the lining fabric. Finally, I choose some super special rainbow thread to use for most of the dress’ construction and simple navy thread for installing the zipper and the finishing hem.

The sewing process for Shimmer was somewhat painful. I did not sew my finger again, but I pricked myself a couple of times. I actually managed to prick my arm and wore a unicorn band aide all day until the bleeding stopped. HAH, all the unicorn things! I have been wearing a thimble on my index finger to make sure I don’t sew it again. Remember to always wear protection!

Shimmer was an easy sew  and nothing major happened. I didn’t make any mistakes which is nice. That means I am gaining the skills and learning from my past sewing mistakes. I installed the zipper well by taking my time and paying attention. It's a lovely dress that reminds me of a retro style dress I would see at Lindy Bop or Mod Cloth because of its swoop/high neckline. Here's a pic of the finished dress that I shared on Instagram.

Due to its metallic elements, I decided I couldn’t wear simple shoes with this dress. They too had to be metallic! I purchased metallic oxfords from Wanted Angel Metallic Oxfords - DSW using a 20% off coupon and rewards. I was able to get the shoes for $20 and the shipping was fast! I got them in 4 days. GO DSW! I can’t wait to wear these metallic oxfords with other self made dresses like Boo Charms or Ghost Kitties for Halloween!

Thank you for catching up with my this week. Join me next week for more sewing updates!

xoxo