V8379 & B5546 Candy-Button Wrap Dress

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

First off, I keep forgetting to thank everyone for their response to my post on the old McCall’s building a couple months ago. Thank you! It’s especially exciting to see others excited about that post, considering historic building research is my other (full-time) passion. :)

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Speaking of forgetting (and historic buildings), here’s a dress I made the weekend before Labor Day…that I’ve continued to wear after Labor Day. You know how many random fashions there are in New York City (which is what I love about it)? I think I can get away with wearing a white dress, thank you very much! Actually, I’ve seen a number of people wearing white post-Labor Day. A bunch of rebels we’ve got going up here in the Big Apps!

I really love this fabric and how it sewed up. It’s 2 yards of sturdy double knit I bought down in Virginia on a somewhat recent trip. Even though it’s white, the fabric is thick enough that I didn’t need to line it. Perfect because who wants that if it can be avoided during the summer? Me, that’s who! I used the bodice of Vogue 8379 and the skirt and ties of Butterick 5546 in my attempt to create a classic “summer in 1950s Rome” look (AKA Roman Holiday). I’d love to do this again in a vibrant solid color.

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Pool Table Southport Dress

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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When I told friends I was making a pool table dress, they thought I meant a dress for a pool table. Some fancy covering or other. Nope! Just a green shot cotton dress with some 8-ball buttons I picked up along the way. All I’m missing is a cue stick necklace.

In any case, another Southport Dress by True Bias! I finished it earlier this month and have worn it a few times already. It’s so easy to slip on and go about my day, which unfortunately doesn’t consist of shooting endless rounds of pool (I’m not so good at it anyway).

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Tropical Colette Chantilly

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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Hi, everyone! Here we go again, another summer zooming by and I haven’t gotten through all the projects I wanted to tackle this season. Still haven’t made the shift to fall sewing though, so you’ll probably be seeing a few more summer outfits before I finally face reality. :)

In any case, here’s my latest creation: a tropical Chantilly dress by Colette Patterns. These photos were actually taken a few weeks ago, the day after I left my job. Then I left town for a bit before starting my next super awesome gig this month. Things have been busy, but happiness abounds.

I realized this isn’t a hard blog post to write because I already reviewed the Chantilly in this post from 2014. So…no more delays – write that post, Amanda!

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I Found the Old McCall Building!

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I spend a good amount of time in my day job as an architectural historian using old photos to help tell the stories of historic buildings and the people who lived, worked or otherwise spent time in them. So one day I took on a personal project and searched for sewing-related images.

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You know what first clued me in to searching for photos of the old McCall Building? I was about to head into Mood when I happened to spot faded “ghost signs” across 37th Street. See them in the photo above? Windows have since been punched into this side wall, but at one time the sign was very hard to miss. Scroll to the very end of this post to see what the building looked like over a century ago.

So, yep, at one time, McCall’s was right in the thick of things in the Garment District!

All photos and captions are from the Museum of the City of New York‘s digital collection. These were taken by the Byron Company in 1913.

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Gathered Butterfly Skirt

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I loved this silk chiffon fabric the second I spotted it at Mood here in the city. Maybe because it was back in cold and snowy January, and this looked happy and springy to me.

Even though I bought two yards (60″ wide), I could’ve easily gotten away with buying just one yard for this gathered skirt. And, honestly, I really only used two-thirds of a yard anyway. Kind of kicking myself now because the fabric was a bit pricey, but maybe I’ll turn the remainder into a dress…

I cut two pieces that were 24″ long and about 28″ wide (including seam allowances). I used the gathered skirt of the Sewaholic Cambie dress as a guide, but I ended up going with 1/2″ seam allowances instead of 5/8″. I feel like gathered skirts can be somewhat tricky for rectangular figures, at least on me. It’s a comfortable design for summer though, so why not?

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