Vogue 8605 for A Retro Print and a Lounging Garment

I've had a long standing love affair with Vogue 8605 which is now out of print.

The first time I  made it about 8 years ago, I found it to have way too much ease so the versions I made subsequently were much closer fitting. I also changed the collar on most of them to a wing collar. Want to see all my versions? Click here.

Recently made jackets look like this linen one I made for my Fashion Show as the silent auction piece. My sister bought it because she loves everything I make and I wish I had taken a photo of her wearing it at the time !!! the fabric is a linen tweed which after washing and drying three times on a hot setting doesn't wrinkle at all. Thank you Sandra Betzina for that valuable hint many years ago.

This is all to show you my latest version of this favorite pattern  Voila ! A retro print housecoat ! I love it !!! Isn't it pretty ?

I added a front facing because this pattern requires a two sided fabric.

The fabric is a quilted look polyester from Fabricville.. I know ! It will be hot to wear but I couldn't resist it.It reminded me of a robe I had in 1968. Those were the days of the mini skirt and it was a mini.That was a long time ago and minis are no longer for me, LOL.

I really love the pockets in this pattern and I've used them on many fashion pieces through the years.
For this one I faced the inside of the pocket in a bright pink for interest.

 I hoped to find the same pink for buttons but that was not meant to be. I settled for these lovely clear ones .

I serged the seams on this piece rather than doing my usual Hong Kong finishes to save time.The whole thing was machine sewn including hems. It was a quick make and I absolutely love my new lounger. We're having a fairly cool summer here in the Maritimes so I've already worn it. It feels wonderful on.

This week I plan on making a new dress because I gave many of my old ones away to make room for new ones. i plan to use my Surefit Designs sloper to create it. i love doing pattern work so it will be a fun project.
 i hope you found time to sew and that you'll stop by to see me again.
More later from

Wraps, Cover Ups and Ponchos

Hi Everyone. Happy 150th birthday to Canada and 4th of July to Americans !

It's very hard to believe that 50 years have gone by since our grand celebration of Canada's 100th birthday in 1967. I was 19 years old ,in college, and working for the summer in Montreal. There was the World 's Fair called Expo 67 in Montreal and we were so proud to be Canadians. It was just before Pierre Elliot Trudeau became our Prime Minister and today , his son Justin Trudeau is our PM.
Life was good then and it is now . The only difference for me is that I was young then and am just about to be considered old now. (Sigh )  LOL.

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I've never sewn so much in my life as I have for the past three months.

 I mentioned I was putting on my second Fashion Show in early June and it was a huge success. I sewed over 100 pieces and they are pretty much all gone. With the help of my Sewing Group, we raised $1200 I took out $300 for my expenses and the rest went to the Food Bank and a local school Breakfast Program.

I no sooner finished that event   when it was suggested  I make stuff to sell to raise money for our church. That was yesterday and last week , with the help of my trusty White Superlock Electronic Serger  and my wonderful Janome DC6030 sewing machine    , I created another 45 pieces.  I've become a one woman assembly line !! I know. That doesn't make sense. But I've gotten so I can make 8 or 9 pieces a day.

I have many pics of my various pieces on my Flicker site but here are a few of my favorites.

The Five Way Wrap  (look here for a tutorial )

The Floaty Topper

My brand new Twisted Wrap  ( I got this idea from Peggy Sagers' June 19th Webcast ).

Bathing Suit Cover Ups

                                                                             

 Ponchos

                     

Diana's Tops so named because I discovered this style in Vancouver and copied it On the left is the original, on the right my own copy and here , a folder of some of the ones I made for the Show. At Diana's Sewing Lessons, I have the complete directions for making this top prepared for a Worhshop I held for 8 ladies who all made their own versions.

         

My Diana's Top has been a big seller and I can't make enough of them.

Kacy's Wrap by Silhouette Patterns using this Let's Sew Video.

For my Fashion Show I made one special door prize. This time it was this caftan

I used an OOp pattern for this.

For each of my shows I carefully sewed a special item for a silent auction . This time it was this linen jacket using my all time favorite pattern V8065.

 Look here for detailed views and close-ups of finishes.
My jacket went for $110.

I raised anther 500 dollars on my latest venture and now I need a break  . My neck is hurting and my Sewing is going to be slow sewing for myself in the next little while. I need a new summer housecoat and a nightie. I also want to make Sandra Betzina's new jacket pattern V1549 in white linen I bought in Paris last year.

i hope to blog more regularly in the next little while so please come back to see me and enjoy the summer weather

Vogue in Green

The Fashion Show for which I sewed 100 items !!! and which my Sewing Group helped me put on was a huge success. We made a whopping $1200 dollars, $1000 of it going to charity, the rest I kept for my expenses. I'll sort through my photos and show you some of the items next time.

Today, I'm showing you the muslin (but very wearable ) of V9240

You may have seen my first version here.  This green version was made to test adding a bust dart to the pattern. After I found that to work well ,I put this one aside until it was time to wear summer clothes.

The sizing description for this pattern was fitted so I cut a size larger and that worked well for me.

The fabric is ponte knit from my stash but bought at Fabricville.. I had smaller quantity of the prints and because I cut the back piece all in one instead of the way the pattern showed,

,  I had to do this at the back hem .

And it doesn't look too bad, I think. I added that little wedge for added interest ????

I had a hard time to get these pics done. I think I need a new camera. Most of them were blurred for some reason. These were the only ones that weren't.

I'm every bit as tired as I look in these photos. I battled mosquitoes half the night ! Ugh !!!!  

Come back later and I'll post some of the things I made for my fashion show. They were all easy makes but very popular  !

First though I'm off to Quebec City with my sister for a few days . Yeah !

More later from

A New Dress at Last

Blogging has taken a backseat to my charity sewing of late. I'm very busy sewing up a storm for my Summer Fashion Show / Sale so not much sewing for me . However , I did manage to eek out a new dress  that was suppose to be for Mother's Day.

Isn't it pretty !

The fabric is a stretch cotton sateen from Fabricville and the pattern is Diane's Wrap Dress by Silhouette Patterns.

 After watching Peggy'S Webcast of April.3rd , I was inspired to make my second dress using that pattern.

Since I had already made the pattern but in a knit,I cut this dress by adding 1/4" to the seam allowances and that worked out fine I think I achieved a really good fit. Thanks Peggy !

Now for the details  The only changes I made to the pattern happened by accident. I didn't have enough fabric to cut whole sleeves but I did mange to cut them in half. That gave me the idea to join them together with zippers and voila ! Aren't they so cute ?

I tried a zipper closure instead of the ties but I didn't like the result. I didn't like the ties either so I got the idea of using these buckles from my stash and I think that added just the contrast that this print needed. What do you think ?

On the inside , I used a frig-a-ma-jig  cut from a belt or something and that worked really well as well.

Oh . I changed the collar. I cut away the faux band that is part of the pattern and made it a couple of inches longer for this look.

It's a beautiful day here in the Maritimes and we haven't had many of those this spring so outdoor shots seemed the  way to go.

 I think this is the perfect church dress. I feel very prim and proper in it. Lol.

I have another dress to show you soon as well as some of my Fashion Show creations so do stop by again ! Have a great week  . I wish you fine weather.

Little Girl Dresses

I just got back from Ottawa where My son Jeff and my daughter Tamara both live. Jeff is the father of two dear little girls. You may remember Riley because I featured her several times in posts when she was a baby ,

She stole my heart big time right from the start and although I love her little sister Poppy dearly ,Riley and I are particularly close..Riley is always devastated when I leave for home or when she leaves here to go to her home. It's heartbreaking and I'm still sad after a week of being back.

I always make my little girls dresses when I go to Ottawa . This time, I made them slopers with My Surefit Designs Children's kits . Then I used those slopers to check the fit of this McCall's pattern that I used for my first GD Jessica when she was little.

I changed that design and this is what I ended up with.

The fabric is a beautiful cotton knit from Fabricville.I  bought a piece of coordinating stripe and used a green stripe for the neck and sleeve trim.

I decided on maxi dresses and the little girls loved them. Riley said the exact same thing Jessica said about this dress ,10 years ago.. " I feel like a princess ! "

My little cuties in their Nana made dresses.

Isn't Poppy photogenic !!

Poppy didn't want anything to do with special poses !!

I've been very busy sewing for my Fashion Show which takes place this Thursday. I've made 80 pieces and will chose the best to show you afterward. I still haven't finished my Mother's Day dress ! Lol. I really want it finished by next Sunday.

Sorry to be so sporadic in my blogging but please don't give up on me . i will be back as soon as i get the Charity sewing out of my system.