EvaDress Contest!

Well, it came down to the wire again, but I managed to get my entries for the EvaDress contest in on time! I entered two garments this year:

The first was made from this beautiful evening dress pattern.


The bodice is made with a striped rayon fabric, which I love; I made a skirt with it a few years ago, and I still have about four yards waiting for the perfect pattern. I lined it with a sheer black material so as not to weigh it down. When I first saw the pattern piece for the bodice, I thought, "Hmm; where's the rest of it?!" It has a little less fabric on the top than I'm accustomed to, but it's so beautiful!

The skirt is also rayon, and cut on the bias, which allowed me to eliminate a zipper. Hooray! I think the back is the best part. I found this vintage buckle that matched perfectly.


I'm hoping to wear it to a wedding in August. I love this pattern, and I'd really like to make a shortened version for a summer daytime dress.

My second entry is this blouse. I found this beautiful herringbone wool on sale, and decided to use it to make up this pattern. Don't you love the sleeves?!


I had to grade it down to my size, which was a little challenging. It's hard to tell from the photos, but I made the herringbone pattern run vertically on the sleeves and lower bodice, and horizontally on the upper bodice and belt. It's much more noticeable in person. I made the skirt and gloves last summer and never got to share them; I'll show some more of them later.


I'm so glad that I got a chance to enter the contest this year; if you have a chance, you should visit the site and take a look at all of the other wonderful entries. Of course, I would never attempt to influence your vote (please vote for me) in any way! :)

Hello, Sailor!

Another unseasonably warm day! Although I had so many fall and winter projects planned that didn't come to fruition, I must say that I am ready for spring! Here is Henry's outfit for Easter (if he doesn't outgrow it before then)!

He had a store-bought sailor suit just like this one last year, and I loved it so much that I decided to make another one just like it for this year, using the old one as a pattern. It's made from a navy cotton blend fabric. It was one of the rare times when I bought a fabric that wasn't on sale, but that's the beauty of these tiny outfits: they don't require very much fabric!


Here is a picture of the old one; I took this photo before I hacked it to pieces. Just kidding! I just took apart all of the seams and used the pieces to make a pattern, adding a few inches to make it larger. It was actually easier than I expected it to be; easier even than working with an actual pattern, because I could see exactly how it all went together. My trim is a little bit simpler, and I added pockets in the front, because he is currently obsessed with them and now refuses to wear anything without pockets. The old one was also polyester. Aside from these small alterations, I really just copied the original.


I used some anchor buttons, which I thought were cute, but now I'm thinking that they look less vintage than the pearl buttons on the original. What do you think?

I found the wool sailor's cap at a thrift store at the beginning of winter, and the shirt came from a resale shop. The sash is just a satin ribbon. Those cute little white shoes are vintage from ebay. I love them so much...if only he would stop growing!

Sorry about the blurry pictures; it's difficult for a two year-old to stand still for long! I also took some pictures of my newest completed outfit, which I'll be sharing soon!