Sew Selfish Sunday: Sew Sweet

It is absolute NO SECRET how in love I am with my new bralette pattern.
I posted the progress with one of them last Sunday, and I was SO EXCITED to finish it and throw it up here as well, but alas, I am a big ol’ dummy and accidentally snipped a seam too close. Let’s just say it is no longer wearable, but I do have plenty of the fabric leftover, so there will be another.

Though of course, I did make another.
I was walking through the fabric shop the other day on my way out from getting some more black thread, and I saw it.
Floral Knit Stretch in all it’s glory. RIGHT NEXT TO SOME BEAUTIFUL MIDNIGHT BLACK STRETCH VELVET. Mmmmm.

So of course I HAD to. Two yards of the sweet, soft velvet, and a yard of the floral.

The lighting in my house is absolutely awful, so I don’t take many progress photos whilst sewing at 1am.
Deal with it, I do.

Here is my new favorite Angel. Soft, stretchy, and perfectly comfortable.
I made some slight adjustments to the original pattern, by adding some inches to the underbust and back, so that it will hit closer to my waist. It’s not quite there, I could probably stand to add another inch and a half to it.
I’ve finally gotten to the point where I know exactly how much tension to have on the elastic while stitching.

Not only is the lighting not very good in my house, well, ever, but I use my phone to take my pictures. This was the best way to get a decent shot without a dress form or mannequin.

Last week I mentioned my first version of this was in a luscious hunter green velvet, and that I wouldn’t post it until I was more confident in my later versions. Well, here I am, confident as hell, willing to post the tester.

This was obviously the first time I had ever sewn with FOE, hence the slight ruffle look of the bottom. Instead of curving in, it definitely bells out. I have to admit, though, it’s pretty cute like that on.

Looking at this picture I think two things.
1) I REALLY need a body form.
2) R.I.P. the zipper in that skirt.

I fell in love with this skirt at Forever 21, the same day I got my sewing mojo back. That, though, is a story for another post.

Sew Selfish Sundays: a WIP

I think it’s about time for me to introduce a segment into my blog. I sure am a fan of consistency!

So here we go, the inaugural post to Amity Island’s Sew Selfish Sundays!

Let’s be real. I pretty much try to sew only for myself these days. Saying no to people does sometimes become hard, though, usually because once your friends find out you are a sewing machine wizard (sort of), suddenly they all want a BILLION things sewn for them, pretty much on the house. Sometimes, I don’t mind. Really. I am actually sort of itching to sew my roommates daughter a dress out of some leftover Star Wars comic fabric I have left in my enormous stash. But, that’s another post in itself.

A few days ago, I posted about my pretty largely ambitious sewing goals for the year. So far, I have found the perfect bralette and undies patterns, and ordered a dress pattern as well. I can confidently cross those off the list of patterns to source. I mentioned Ohhh Lulu as being a previous source, and again, she did not disappoint.

This is her Longline Bralette. It’s pretty much perfect. I’ve made one already, as a mock up. I found some beautiful hunter green velvet on sale at Joann’s, so I thought it would be the perfect “wearable muslin if it doesn’t suck” fabric. I was right. It’s so great. It definitely isn’t perfect, but being that it was my first time sewing with fold over elastic (FOE), I did pretty well.

I also picked out her High Waist Panties as well. Can’t wait to lounge around in these beauties.

SO! On to my current WIP.
As I mentioned before, I already made one. After I perfect them, I will post it so I can laugh at myself. For now, I will just wear it around, feeling like the Vintage Velvet Princess I know I should be.

Once again, I found this fabric on super sale at Joann’s, because I refuse to buy the good stuff until I’m ready. It’s a super soft cotton knit with the cutest tiny flowers all over.

So teeny tiny, I love them.

I was very impressed with myself on how the bust turned out at their meeting point. So perfect and precise. I really love the cream satin FOE I picked up yesterday from the Sewing Studio.

I think my breasts are a little larger than the pattern is intended for, so I may need to size up to get better coverage. I may also want to elongate the bottom band down to my waist, for a more tank-topy vibe. After I finally sew up the bottoms, I will make that decision.

I am having so much fun binding these edges with elastic. I once used bias tape on the outside of a potholder I made my dad for Christmas a few years ago, and I hated it. Maybe I will give it another shot.

I just checked the tracking for my dress patterns arrival date, and I think it will be here tomorrow! I AM SO EXCITED.