Making a Muslin for New Look 6557

I've decided to make a muslin of my first dress, since I really want the finished product to be perfecct. I started on the muslin for the blue dress today. I traced the pattern (I don't cut into my patterns, because I'd like someone else to be able to use them later), cut the pieces out of an old sheet stained with ink that I saved for just this purpose, and started stitching the bodice together. This dress seems to just sort of fall together. I'll probably finish the muslin tomorrow and see how it fits.

I thought about lining the dress, but I'm wondering if I can't just finish the seams nicely (I just looked up a tutorial for French seams, and they seem pretty easy). That way, the dress will be lighter for the hot weather. If the muslin fits and I have time, I'll start cutting out the fabric for the dress tomorrow too. So excited!

Building a Small Stash

I spent this weekend collecting the beginnings of my new wardrobe. I went to the PTO Thrift Shop and bought a blue flowered queen flat sheet, a white flowered full flat sheet, over 2 yards of charcoal gray lining, over 2 yards of blue and tan plaid wool, and an irregularly-shaped piece of thin yellow cotton with little raised white dots, all for $18. I also spent $38 at JoAnn's Memorial Day sale for five Simplicity patterns (2176, 2250, 3877, 2886, and 3823), New Look pattern 6557, nine skeins of DMC embroidery floss, two yards of a gorgeous silky gray fabric with white, lavender, and rose dot bursts, two spools of pink thread, and an invisible zipper.

I'm so excited about all of it! I think the first pattern I'm going to make is New Look, view B, in the blue flowered queen sheet. It'll be a more casual sundress-type dress, and it would be really cute paired with a white cardigan. Something I'll actually need to purchase ready-made. Ah, well. Can't make everything. :)

First Post

If my clothing situation continues as it is, I'll be naked within the next two years. I don't have many articles of clothing at all, and about three quarters of those items I do have are stained, have holes, are inappropriate for work (or even dinner out!), or are not flattering colors or cuts. As I'm typing this, the nicest think I'm wearing is a gray skirt that I bought at Old Navy for $3 a couple months ago, and it's paired with a six-year-old white tank with green flowers and underarm stains, and a pair of last year's black Target sandals, whose soles are falling off. Writing that makes me a little embarrassed at the state of things.

This is a picture of the inside of my closet so you can see how bare it is.

And a close-up of the shoes, because they're the best things in my closet at the moment:

My biggest problem is that I'm working on paying off my credit card bills, and I don't have spare money to spend on updating my wardrobe. My second biggest problem is that, as I was told by the saleswoman at the wedding gown boutique, my bust is a size 2, my waist is a size 4, and my hips are a size 8. I'm also a D cup, which makes sizing even more complicated.

I sewed a dress for myself once before, and I've been getting more and more interested in the possibilities of stitching my own wardrobe. It will all fit perfectly, the fabric will all be flattering, and I don't have to spend months searching for the perfect lbd only to end up taking home something not-quite-perfect.

This blog will document my adventures in sewing and creating a new wardrobe I can feel confident in.