Back With a Finished Project! Spoonflower Print Simplicity 1872

Ladies (and gentleman), I've been regretting every day how little I have contributed to the online sewing community in recent months. As Peter so aptly noted in his post yesterday about Lost Bloggers, sometimes life just gets in the way, and we have to juggle our priorities. My little community of three needed me these past few months, and though I have been sewing, I haven't had the time to document, discuss, or leave doting comments on those of you whose blogs I also adore. But my husband has almost certainly found himself a job (knock on virtual wood that he won't be gone 16 hours a day throughout the fall like he had been during the summer months), and my kid is in daily pre-Kindergarten now, which leaves me a little more time. I'm working from home, but only am taking on enough assignments to leave me mildly concerned for my deadlines and not thoroughly consumed with anxiety. 

I do miss blogging — and reading others' blogs (which I find to be an important part of blogging). I don't have any close friends who sew, and though I've met a few New Yorkers who make their own clothes (thanks to Peter, again, with his meet-ups!), I don't see them regularly. So when I drop off the virtual map, I can feel like I am sewing in a vacuum. 

Anyway, on to the sewing projects! 

I need a new belt, I know.

So this dress is Simplicity 1872's Option C. It's fraught with guilt because the gals at Kollabora asked me to make it, and even allowed me the opportunity to choose fabric from Spoonflower.com, that incredible company that allows you to produce your own prints.  (I've coveted Spoonflower fabric since I first learned of the site, but never made a purchase because it's a little pricey for a lady on a budget. So thank you, Kollabora!)

The print is Wheat (Slate) by Phillip Markel and the fabric is cotton voile, which is very gauzy (a little tricky to sew in that you have to be careful not to pull and stretch it, but I love the look nonetheless). With that double-layered flared skirt, I was going for a Prairie Girl kind of look, and loved this muted wheat print. The pattern, Simplicity 1872 by Cynthia Rowley, was also from Kollabora. I've now made three different iterations of this dress (one with short sleeves and a simple gathered skirt, and another with no sleeves, and this one is by far my favorite.

I'm quite excited to layer this for fall — thick tights and a cardigan sweater. I cut the smallest size because this pattern gives you A LOT of ease. It should be noted I am short, but pear-shaped. Generously pear-shaped. Here I am on my street:

The thing about this pattern, it should also be noted, is that the pieces are cut crosswise to the grain — an important consideration if you hope to use printed fabric.(The reason for this is the skirt has a lot of flare, and the pattern pieces would not fit on the fabric when cut with the straight grain.) 

So I made some handy jpegs to illustrate the importance of visualizing before committing to a print (using Photoshop and this tutorial from The Curious Kiwi. I highly recommend using a little technology to save yourself the grief of finding out your print looks silly when turned on its side).

Florals generally look just as good when cut on the cross grain. I love this cherry blossom from Spoonflower

Be careful, however, with stripes, plaid, chevron and the like. 

And this tree pattern is a good example of something that looks off when tilted 90 degrees.

Ahhh, my wheat print. Love it.

I've got so much more to update about, but will leave that for future posts. Happy to be back!