Some Dresses Just Look Better the Second Time Around - A Dotted Scirocco!

Sooooo happy with this version of the Figgy's Scirocco!  I have NO idea what happened with the silk dupioni version I made during the summer of 2012, but it turned into a hot mess when I started attaching skirt pieces together; one section refused to line up, and I ended up calling it quits on trying to fix it - long story short, if you DON'T look underneath the top skirt flounce, you'd never know ;)  It was for Camden's aunt's wedding, though, so, I was a bit miffed at the whole situation.

Also, please love on the only decent shot I happen to have of the dress, aha!  One where she is eating....

Anyway, the chance to sew today was bestowed upon me like a fine gift - and I full finished this lovely number in Moda quilting cotton:

Testing the direction of the wind

Don't mind the mediocre photos - my life story revolves around taking pictures SUPER fast so I can get back inside to a sad baby.

The pattern itself is quite lovely, and it does have errata - the skirt lining doesn't include the seam allowance, and you need to make sure to add it on the piece, which I thankfully remembered to do BEFORE cutting the fabric - though after tracing the pattern.

The bodice is fiddly, only in that you have to do the sewing in parts because of the way the back attaches and how the shoulders are sew - which is okay for the effect, in my humble opinion!

After that, the skirt goes together semi-quickly....depends on how you hem the skirt - rolled hem or regular hem.  As with the first time I sewed this pattern, I did a rolled hem for the skirt pieces, as there are four of them to hem, and I was working with the time I had today (of course, because it's ME, I hemmed all SIX pieces before remembering I made that same mistake the last time I sewed the dress, LOL).

Stray threads, of course!

I like how the casing for the elastic is hidden underneath the top flounce, so, you get the lovely gathered look, but you don't see the casing for it:

The lining side

Also, don't mind if I pretty much copied the version I had seen at Bolt, my favorite fabric store in Portland.  I used the same fabric and then white trim at the bodice, which is quite lovely.

Just have to say, though - so happy to sew today, as it had been quite a while, it seems - well....since the last blog post, aha!  Camden loves the dress but clearly wasn't enthused about photos, as always lately.

And these crazy kids chilled with their dad today - thanks soooooo much to him!  I have been telling him our daughter will soon be nekkid if I don't get to sew!

DMK Cape Dress or Where Is My Kid Hiding???

My long-awaited (awaited by MYSELF, if you must know) cape dress is alllllll done.  Well, Camden's, though I clearly put in all the hard work.

Looks innocent and NOT HUGELY GIANT here, LOL

And by hard work, I mean that I cut the outer cape pieces a couple months back, and they've been sitting, gathering dust, as I had no lining fabric to match, and I must have some sort of silk/cotton-silk as a lining in this sort of project.  As lack of luck would have it, Mill End had NO cotton-silk blends in stock that were wide enough for this pattern - as you can see, it's QUITE voluminous (let's not beat around the bush here, people).  Granted, I cut a size 5, for some reason, but I do wish the pattern had overall better shaping, including in the neckline.  A size 3 would fit better, as long as the neckline was lower and the chest was big enough around.  The top of the back, though, seems quite snug, so, I don't think the size 3 would have fit well in that department.

Snugaroo, eh???

The pattern is the Cape Dress (not sure of exact name - too lazy to go look!) by DMKeasywear (Dear My Kids) on Etsy.  I'd link the exact pattern, but I haven't seen that particular one in the shop for a while.  (Is there a reason for that????)  I HAVE done one other DMK pattern at this point - this one, and I do love it:

Anyway, it's generally a quick sew, though I naturally made it take longer by not using my cabeza and sewing the hem in a way such that I couldn't turn it right side out.  No idea what I was thinking there - so...had to take out the 3853976 stitches and re-do it.  The wool didn't press too badly, and the silk was lovely enough to work with, so, all was well.  I'm not normally a HUGE BOW person, as many know, but eh - it'll work for this.  If I'd known THEN what I know NOW, I would have done a size 4, for REALZ, and I would have scooped out that neckline a bit more.  It's intensely high/tight.  I'm not sure that doing a size 3 would have worked - not sure if the chest circumference would have fit Camden.

The pattern itself, besides being quick, is written well and is super easy to understand!  I also think the pattern pieces are done well - that is something I appreciate, as I'm not a huge pdf person.

Here it is in all its gloriousness ;)

Don't be toooo afraid of this volume, y'all!

And how about this cuteness after story time yesterday???  This is Camden's friend, and they were racing around, getting a bit more energy out, naturally :)