Sharon Sews

Summer loving!  This is McCall's 7465 and I am in L-O-V-E. I know, I know, you might be thinking "What's the big deals? It's just another pullover knit dress." First of all, can we talk about this fabric?  Those bold colors and Ikat print! As soon as I saw it on Fabric Mart's website I knew I wanted to use it to sew myself a summer dress.  And lucky me, I happened to discover this ITY knit during a sale so I only paid $4/yard (it's now sold out). I think the shirring along the left side of the dress (only) elevates the status of this dress from "ho-hum" to "wow".   It's created by gathering the left side of the skirt and attaching it to the skirt lining.  I do like that there is a lining.  It helps camouflage lumps and bumps without the need to wear restricting suck-you-in-undergarments which make me want to pass out when combined with high heat and humidity! Only the skirt portion is lined.  I choose to use a

This may the season of the sleeve, but this HotPattern t-shirt design hit the trend a decade before it became a big, big trend! (Like my photobomber in the bottom corner? LOL) I'm wearing the ruffle sleeve version from the HP 105, Riviera Once, Twice, Three Times a T-shirt pattern. It doesn't appear to be available any longer ( on their website ). The copyright date is 2005. While I think the sleeves on this top are fun, fun, fun, there's a few things about the pattern I wasn't fond of. First of all, there is only one piece that is used for both the front and the back.  I sewed it as is this first time, just so I could get a feel for the design and fit.  Next time, I'll make a new front pattern piece and do an small FBA. Next, the neckline. Ugh. Do Not Like It At All. It's designed rather wide, as you can see on my dressform - GiGi, in case you haven't met :-) After seeing how wide it was, I removed the facing, narrowed the neckline and restitch