I wanna "Polka" dot dress

This has definitely been my go to pattern- My 1950's/60's Simplicity 4298

I've made a few dresses now with this pattern and I'm sure I'll be making more! 

I added a bow to the center of the top of the bodice and some matching olive green vintage ric-rac that I found for .25 cents around the neckline to tie in the colors of the skirt. I feel it draws the eye more up now, and looks less plain. 

I also made a bow to add to my hair out of the same fabric, because why not?

I bought the fabric at Joanns, I've been having a hard time with finding vintage fabrics around town that I would like to invest a lot of time and work in and I loved the colors of these two fabrics together! I hate having to buy new, but I know that sometimes you have to just break down and spend the extra money if its worth having. But by all means I use every single coupon and discount that I possibly can when buying new, fabric is ridiculously expensive and we can all use the savings.

Till next time...

1950's Simplicity 4298 Dress

In my previous post I wrote that I needed to finish the current project that I was on, but well that didn't happen...

So for this dress I used a vintage 1950's Simplicity 4298 pattern. I chose the #1 featured pattern minus the belt and the jacket. I also added a peter-pan collar, buttons, and shortened the dress. I have made this dress in the past both the slimmer and with the full skirt, so it went a lot easier this time around. Though not lacking the challenges. To make the collar I used a different pattern of mine and had to add 4" to the length of it to fit around the neckline of the bodice on this dress. I also shortened the length of the dress by about 6.5" and added a few buttons down the center of the bodice to compliment the collar. 

The zipper was infuriating, I think mostly because I was sewing while exhausted. Which is never a good idea for any kind of project. But I also lack a zipper foot so I have to really plan out how to properly install the zipper prior to sewing. So due to being tired and the lack of a proper zipper foot I was finding myself getting pretty frustrated. But after a few times around with the ol' seam ripper I was able to install the zipper successfully! 

I also for whatever reason changed the seam length to 1/2" instead of the 5/8" thinking it may loosen up the dress a bit which it did. The dress I've made with this same pattern in the past fits me a bit snug so I wanted it to be a bit larger. It did loosen up however, but a bit too much for my liking. And considering that the fabric that I used was a light cotton vintage bed sheet and seemed to have stretched a bit during the sewing process didn't help either. The dress still fits great but not as great as I would like for it to be, just a tad bit loose around the breast and arms. 

Babz bein all kinds of cute. You know the usual!

So happy with my seams and gathers! I love my Serger, $50 via Craigslist, totally worth it!

So lets break down the cost:

Pattern: $0, already owned

Fabric: $2

Notions: $3.75

Time: Roughly 2 days, on and off

Total Cost= $5.75

Not too bad!

I don't count my time as a means of cost, because I enjoy sewing. It's not work for me, I'm not doing this for someone else but simply because I enjoy it. 

The work is always worth it in the end. It always seems to take forever and that I'll never get it done but when I do its very rewarding and I forget about all of the things that can drive one mad while sewing. I love the dress, and I'm very much looking forward to the next one...

A few things I'm looking forward too...

Just received this 1960's Mccalls 7603 pattern in the mail yesterday. I love that mustard color, I have a cotton fabric in the same color but I'd rather find some fabric that won't crease and hangs better for it. I won't be able to get started on any new projects till I finish the one that I'm currently working on: 

Dress 2 to be specific. I keep telling myself one at a time, though I'm more excited at the moment to work on something new, the double breasted part of this dress is flustering.

Also I will shortly be getting this very easy vintage A-line Simplicity 8189 dress in the mail. I'm a sucker for peter-pan collars, big bows and buttons. I have a few fabrics that I've been fortunate to come across while out thrifting, a polyester double knit, and a lovely pink candy stripe cotton piece that I can't wait to start sewing with. 

And finally a pair of Bass saddle shoes via Ebay for- wait for it....

$30

So excited!!!

Christmas Eye Candy

A few of my favorite Christmas pieces around my home.

Of course our tree, I adore it, down to every pokey branch and bulb!

Some of my thrifted bulb collection.

My hand crafted wreath.

Too cute, lil fawn vintage Christmas card.

Silly elves thats not syrup!

Our hand crafted wood burned ornaments via: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RuberickCreations

Vintage Santa nesting dolls.

And finally my googly eyed reindeer sock puppet...

Lil' gingerbread cookie clouds

This was a great recipe from http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com/ that I added a few changes to. If your in the mood for gingerbread and want a softer version of this Christmas classic then this is your kinda recipe...

Gingerbread Cookie Clouds

3 cups flour
2 tsp. Ginger, Ground
1 tsp. Cinnamon, Ground
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg, Ground
1/4 tap salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Mix flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in large bowl.

Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. 

Add molasses, egg and vanilla; beat well. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. 

Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight, Or if your in a hurry like me you can place dough in freezer for about 45min. long enough for the butter to harden.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 2-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until edges of cookies just begin to brown. Remove to wire racks; cool completely. Store cookies in airtight container up to 5 days.

Vintage Costume Jewelry Christmas Trees!!!

A surprise find today at Goodwill, two vintage costume jewelry Christmas tree wall hangings! Both only for $4, compared to the $40 or more that I've seen similar ones go for. I rarely ever and I mean ever go into Goodwill its a bit too clean for me and organized. I prefer to hunt for my treasures. But I just had a feeling that I should stop and take a look around and I'm so glad that I did. I love my new finds and they are something that I have been looking for and wanting for a long time now. They were just never in my price range when I came across them. Perhaps Someday I will make my very own with my own family, so maybe I need to start collecting some costume jewelry of my own. 

DIY Felt Christmas Light Garland

I was inspired to make these via: http://hrrrthrrr.com/ she had a great tutorial about the how to.

Ingredients:

+Felt squares

+Scissors

+Ribbon

+Marker

+And you could either sew these by hand or through your sewing machine, which is what I did.

Start off by making a template for yourself of the light and also of the connector piece to copy onto the felt squares with your marker. 

Cut out all pieces and line up two pieces of the light felt and one strip of the connector piece folded over and simply get to sewing. 

If you wish you could stuff these to make them appear even fuller but I found that it wasn't necessary and took a lot more extra time. 

I also sewed the outer edge of the connector piece to show stitching, again not necessary but I think it makes them stand out a bit more. 

Lastly string your ribbon through a needle (a large needle) and thread it through the connector piece of the lights so that they don't all bunch towards the center. 

And Voila!

Like hrrrthrrr  says its a bit time consuming but worth it in the end and would make a great family project with the kiddos.