A cozy interlude: Christmas dressing gown

As you will begin to notice, there is no particular order in which I'll be posting my backlog of projects. They're all old, some are really old, some are completely seasonally inappropriate for the current weather, but there you go. Case in point:

The project I have to share today is one from WAY back in December. It's one of the few things I actually got finished in the latter half of 2015, as dealing with a 2 year old, newborn, moving, finding tenants for our old (now rental) property, and keeping managing to keep myself fed, etc took up a ridiculous amount of time. Go figure. I did finally set myself with a couple of goals towards the end of the year, however. My husband has had this wretched, threadbare, stolen from a theater department, too small, satin smoking jacket for eons, and he loved it. For three years I'd been telling him I'd make him a new one. This past year I did. That is, however, for another post. The point is, when I got to work on his new smoking jacket, I started to feel a little bit left out. Of course, I needed to make myself a warm dressing gown as well. I couldn't have him looking all fashionable in a new lounge jacket and not even own a robe myself, let along a fabulous one. So, I dug through my patterns and found one that was pretty close to perfect. 

I really didn't make any changes to it, other than lengthening it from tea to floor length, and I also changed the construction a tad, as mine is fully lined, where the pattern only calls for facings. 

The pattern is Simplicity 4056, for which I do not have the actual envelope, just the pieces; and I can't seem to find a picture of the pattern on the internet for the life of me, so you'll just have to take my word for it. It's a street length brunch coat pattern with two views. The first has a scalloped neckline, and the second (the one I used) has faced lapels and large pockets.

I used a checked rayon suiting for the outer, and it's lined in a buttery soft Kaffe Fassett cotton flannel that feels like heaven. It's also super warm, which is nice, because our living room is the furthest room from the furnace, and as the fireplace is not in working order it gets pretty chilly in there when I'm hanging out after the boys have gone to bed. The most difficult thing about it was cutting it out, as there is really not anywhere in my house that's very conducive to cutting such large pieces. I wound up doing it in the hallway. Assembly was pretty quick and easy. It's heavy, but it feels SO amazing and snuggly on, and it makes me feel really glamorous at the same time. You just can't beat comfy glamour. 

You'll have to pardon the mess, as these were taken in the midst of our Christmas mess, which gets pretty out of control when you've got small children. 

It buttons all the way down the front, has a tie tie belt, a BIG patch pockets. I'm pretty proud of how well I managed to get the plaid to match at my center front/back, too, since cutting it was such a massive pain.

I must admit, I'm really looking forward to being able to futz around the house in this all of the time again once it cools down. I'm not looking forward to inevitably getting stuck in the house because of the weather, but if you're going to be stuck, you should at least have a fab dressing gown to sit around in. 

Anne Adams 4811 Redux

I didn't set out to make myself an Easter dress, but that's just how this one ended up. I finished it about two days before Easter, so the first time I wore it was to Easter brunch with some my mom's extended family. This is the second version of Anne Adams 4811 that I've made. The first version I made is one of my absolute favorite dresses, so springy and colorful, not to mention super light and comfortable in our sweltering Ohio Valley summers. A second one (and maybe eventually a third) was definitely in order, and in my book it's really hard to go wrong with a floral print challis, so floral challis it is...again.

Now, about half way through construction, I started thinking about the neckline. I wasn't sure I wanted two absolutely identical dresses, and I was kind of liking how the v-neckline was looking at this point. I decided to leave off the collar on this version, just to make it a little bit different, and faced the neckline edge with self bias tape. The buttons that I used for this dress are also vintage buttons that came from the big stash I inherited. It's been fun digging through and finding matching sets of buttons, interesting buckles, and other odds and ends, although it's such a huge box it takes ages to find things, and I'm never quite sure I have all of one kind. I've been very slowly trying to sort things out into color families at least, to make my searches a little simpler. I'm no where near having them organized though. 

I made the same alterations to this that I made on the first version, shifting the bust gathers up about 1.5 inches, grading in at the waist, and taking in the bust seams ever so slightly. It fits a bit differently now, since my son has weaned, but if anything it's improved the fit in the bust, which was what I had planned for. These pictures were rushed after we got home from brunch, I was tired and the sun was in my eyes, and therefore not in the mood for my husband playing photog. You get the idea though. 

Both of these dresses are on regular rotation for me this summer, and it's been nice having something super comfortable to throw on that looks like I put in some effort. It goes a long way to making you feel a little bit more human when you're stuck in the house with small children all of the time. It goes perfectly with my ReMix Sydneys, too, which are some of my favorite shoes. Always a plus. 

Well, hello again!

I can't believe it's been a year since I wrote a post! I've been sewing and knitting plenty, but just haven't had time, with two wild little boys, for more than the occasional quickie Facebook post of projects. I've been thinking about trying to post some of the backlog of projects from the past year, but just haven't quite had the push I needed. After suddenly being reminded my Debi of how absent I've been on here, I am working on getting some of these things posted. Now, you'll have to bear with the iPhone photos and the occasional toddler/baby photo bomb and mess, as taking nice pictures just takes too much time and effort these days, but maybe one of these days I'll be able to find the time again. Haha!

Now, without further ado, the first project I'd like to share with you is the completed McCall 3610 that I had cut out a little over a year ago, just before we moved into the new house.

I used a rayon challis that I got from Denver Fabrics, and the drape was perfect for this. The print obscures some of the bodice detailing, but that was alright for a first go around with this pattern (as I was bad and didn't muslin first). The dress came out nearly perfect, however. I graded up one size, and the fit is spot on. I didn't have much chance to wear it before the weather got too warm, as I was still nursing when I finished it and was never without a hungry baby, but I'm really looking forward to wearing this fall. I think it's definitely going to be a go-to dress for me. The sleeves feel SO good, too! I adore bishop sleeves anyway, but in this soft, drapey challis they just feel so light and decadent. I would really love to make this dress again, perhaps in a solid crepe, so that the detailing will really show up. I don't have many cooler weather dresses, so it would fill a wardrobe gap for me as well. 

The self fabric belt is backed in black cotton and finished with hand stitched eyelets and a vintage shell buckle. The buttons I used at the neckline and cuffs are also vintage, and came from a HUGE stash of vintage buttons and things that I was given by a friend of ours. He also gifted me with his aunt's 1947 Singer 66-16, which I've just gotten back from my mechanic and am starting to play around with some. 

I also finally have something that I can wear my Irish lace jabot with! I love it, and am pretty proud of it (as it was my first, and as of this point only attempt at crocheted lace), but I just don't have anything with an appropriate neckline for it. It really looks fabulous with this, though, and I think completes the look perfectly; especially with a little black hat. Maybe I'll finally make the lace cuffs that match the jabot, too. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend!