Buzzmills

A Maxi Skirt to A Dress...

A couple of months ago I did some major purging of old clothes, both of mine and the kids.  Many of my clothes from years past no longer fit after I've lost weight.  Some fit, "kind of" but in an ill fitting way...those clothes I tossed into a pile to potentially update at a later date...

One of the pieces in the pile was a foldover waistband maxi skirt that I bought on clearance last Spring.  It was a bit too big when I bought it in the first place, but the price was right, so...This Spring it didn't stay up on my waist, but I loved the color and stripes and the knit is so soft and cozy.  So, back in May as a part of "Me Made May" I turned it into a dress...

It was crazy simple to do, and I'd imagine you could do the same with a sewn maxi as well such as the Syrah skirt from Selvage Designs as I'm hoping to try this summer...But for now, here's how I changed my RTW maxi skirt into an easy summer dress...

To start, sew about 1 1/4" or so below the top of the skirt to create a casing.  Then pick open the side seam at the top of the skirt, wrap a piece of 1" elastic around your chest, above your bustline/under armpits make sure it is snug, so it doesn't fall down, but not too snug, cut elastic.  Feed the elastic through the casing along the top of the skirt starting and ending at the small picked side seam.  Overlap elastic ends about 1", sew together (make sure the elastic is not twisted).  Stitch side seam closed with coordinating thread. 

Next, I used elastic thread to create a little runching at center front of my dress in the same way I did with my Skippy "hack"...by sewing a line down the center from the top all the way down to the foldover "waistband" (when it had been a skirt).  I stitched two lines about a 1/8" apart (you might need three even) using elastic thread along the waistband seam as well to create a bustline...

And, along the back I added several lines of elastic shirring as well to ensure that the dress would stay put...

For the back shirring I used elastic thread again and, beginning at the top, I stitched lines from side seam to side seam about every 5/8" all the way down to the foldover waistband seam.  

And that's it!  With the addition of some elastic and a few lines of elastic thread, I've now got a super simple and easy to toss on summer dress...

Perfect super hot days or for the pool or post pool...or barefoot walks in the backyard...

That's one salvaged item from the clothing bin!

Chambray and Rae...

Last month my mother-in-law passed away after a long battle with cancer.  We had known the moment would come for over a year and knew that it was imminent for the past three months.  But still, it's hard to fully imagine what that means to us all as we begin to return to our normal daily routine and lives.  Even as the moment grew nearer it was hard to for us to imagine life without her and instead we busied ourselves with routine and logistics.  That is not to say that we didn't make time for special moments, memories and visits.  That is not to say that we all weren't thinking about her and my father-in-law daily.  It is simply to say that routine is sometimes the easiest way to manage grief. 

Routine and what I know is why I found myself reaching out to my friend Rachael days before the funeral and asking how soon she thought she could send me some fabric.  Routine and the ease of sewing is why I found myself sewing a dress for myself, a dress for Violet and a pair of pants for Henry all the night before the viewing. 

And, routine and what I know is why I found myself once again reaching for two classic patterns that I know well...Rae's Geranium dress and Parsley pants ...

It might seem silly to some, the idea of sewing new clothes for a funeral, but for me it was a way for me to show my respect and honor my mother-in-law.  I so often sew up new outfits for "special occasions" and simply going out to buy something somehow didn't seem quite right. 

The other side of it is also, that my mother-in-law and I had made a plan last Spring to make this dress for Violet together, she do the crochet and I the sewing.  She crocheted a few pieces for it, but none worked quite right and then planning my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary became our primary summer goal so the dress was pushed aside.  Until recently when I was tidying up my sewing room and came across the pieces again and thought that using some of the crochet in a dress would be perfect! 

The little bit of crochet was a small but sweet and sentimental touch to the Swiss Dot Chambray dress. 

Such a nice way to keep someone you love close to your heart.

For Henry, while his didn't have the sentimentality it did have functionality...

Amazingly light weight Pin Dot Chambray pants, perfect for a child who needs to wear dress clothes on a hot day!

With pockets to store "what nots" in, because there is always something to pick up!  I really couldn't bring myself to buy a pair of pants that Henry would only wear once especially knowing that I could sew him something that would work equally as well and that he would actually wear over and over again.  

These pictures, in fact, were taken weeks after the services thus the tank top and sandals...

This fabric is so fluid and soft and and lightweight and lovely! And the little dots...I love!

These are the moments where I truly appreciate the fact that I've taught myself to sew.  Those moments where you find that you are able to make something special and well suited for something specific, but also, that those clothes are well suited to the person who will be wearing them as well...

Because being able to do cartwheels in dress clothes is important to kids...

And dresses are meant for swings...

And where there are kids, there is also silliness...

no matter what the situation...

My mother-in-law was a creative, kind and caring person, and an amazing baker (with a major award!)!  She is missed and loved and I know she would have appreciated and completely understood my desire and "need" to make these mama mades.

30 Days of Sundresses, Woven Skirt Skippy & Joey Sundresses...

I'm so excited to be a part of 30 Days of Sundresses this year! First, it gives me a reason to make something for myself and second, well...sundresses! 

I mean, summer and sundresses what could be a more perfect pair?  Here in Maryland our summers are mostly hot, sticky and humid...downright miserable, in fact, some days.  Those miserable days where you feel like you are melting onto the sidewalk need something soft, comfy and a little bit flowy...

Something to keep you looking cool and calm and collected, even if you aren't necessarily any of those things. 

When I think sundress I think, sleeveless, colorful and easy to slip on.  For this dress these dresses I started with the "easy to slip on" part and went from there...

You might remember my love for the Skippy and Joey dress patterns...In fact, after making the first dresses I instantly knew I wanted to try them as sleeveless summer dresses, so I started with the bodice for the Skippy 

and Joey and moved on from there...

and then, because sundresses should be a little bit "flowy"  I switched out the knit skirt for a woven one instead...

And the combination of the two is perfect!  Comfy top, flowy bottom!

Here are the modifications I made to the bodice of the Skippy and Joey...First I skipped the pockets all together, next...

For Violet's dress she wanted simple, no runching or "frills" so I simply used neck binding pattern piece to make my arm binding and finish the arms. 

I sewed the top as the pattern says to, but omitted the sleeves.  After sewing up the side seems and attaching the neck band, I carefully (without stretching the material) measured around the arm opening and subtracted about an inch from the measurement.  After measuring, I cut my binding piece to size and then sewed the two short ends together (right sides facing).  Next, fold the binding wrong sides together and press, mark the center of the binding opposite from the seam.  Align the raw edges of the binding with the raw edge of the sleeve (right sides together) pin in place with the sleeve binding seam aligned with the side seam and the opposite side aligned with the shoulder seam.  Sew binding onto the sleeve with 1/2" seam allowance stretching slightly as you sew.  Flip the raw edge of the binding toward the inside of the bodice, press and edgestitch. 

For my bodice, I used the long sleeve binding pattern piece (instead of the neck) as my arm binding and followed the same steps as above, however after adding the arm binding to my bodice I added some runching as well.  At the shoulders I stitched along the seam line from the neck binding to the sleeve binding and a 1/4" on either side of the seam as well with elastic thread in my bobbin to give the shoulders a nice runched finish.  I added some runching at the neck as well to add some detail to the neckline.  To do this I first folded my bodice in half and marked a line that was about 4"-5" long starting at the neckline.  Sew along the center line using elastic thread again, depending on the weight of your fabric you might want to sew with two passes to get the proper amount of runching. 

After sewing the bodice attach the waist band as instructed in the pattern and then add the woven skirt...

Each of the three dresses have slightly different skirts in that their widths are different thus giving them a different fullness.  Violet didn't want a very full skirt so her skirt is 44/45" wide (selvedge to selvedge).  My blue and white skirt is a little more full and the width is ~56" (also selvedge to selvedge).  The yellow skirt is the fullest and is two selvedge to selvedge widths of fabric (~43" each) wide sewn together.  For the length of each skirt, first try on the finished bodice with waistband attached to see where on your waist/hips it hits, then decide how long you want the skirt to be taking placement of the bottom of the waistband into consideration.  Add 1 1/2" to the length for hemming and seam allowance. 

Once you've figured out the proper length and width you want your skirt, sew pieces (right sides together) with 1/2" SA (finished seam allowances if necessary, although I didn't need to because I was using my selvedges).  Next, finish the raw edge of the top of your skirt with a zig zag stitch.  Now, gather the skirt...sew basting stitches with 1/4" SA, pull threads and gather so that your skirt is the same width of half of your waist measurements.  Sew, gathers in place with 3/8" SA.  Next, fold skirt and waist band into quarters and mark.  Flip bodice inside out, place skirt inside the bodice with right sides facing, align raw edges.  Pin at side seams and centers.  Stitch together with a 1/2" SA, stretching the waist band slightly as needed.  Turn dress right side out and press.  Hem the skirt by folding bottom edge 1/2" toward the wrong side and then again 1/2" toward the wrong side and edgestitch. 

For my dresses I also opted to stitch in the ditch along the top seam of my waistband using elastic thread to keep the waist band on my hips as I found that the woven skirt pulled the waist band down a little...

And doing this gives it a blouse-like look...

And you are done!  A simple, yet comfortable and cool summer sundress...

Perfect for twirling...

Or picking flowers...

Or simply for enjoying the joys of summertime...

Thanks to Melly for asking me to be a part of the 30 Days of Sundresses!  You can find all of the tutorials featured daily at MellySews. And also don't forget enter this weeks 30 Days giveaway!

Fabrics notes:  blue bodice knit from G Street fabrics, blue skirt fabric Ikea, Floral bodice Leah Duncan morning walk from Imagine Gnats , Bike bodice Bon Voyage from Imagine Gnats, Yellow skirt Mustard Double gauze from Imagine Gnats, green skirt shot cotton from Hawthorne threads

Slub Linen Juba Shorts...

A few weeks ago I noticed my husband rummaging through a laundry basket full of clean clothes only to pull out one of his two pair of Juba shorts.  It was a good feeling, that of all the shorts he has those were the ones he wanted!  He then told me that he likes them so much because, aside from the fact that they are comfortable, they are light weight and also not just like all of his other "cargo"  shorts. 

So, I thought why not make him a new pair for his birthday...The kids and I went to Joann to pick out the fabric together.  Picking out "manly" fabric is so different than picking it out for me or the kids, different in that it's rather "boring".  Well, I suppose boring is an unfair word, just more plain and neutral.  We did find a nice blackish/brown slub linen that seemed perfect. 

I used my tutorial for side pockets and Teresa's tutorial for cargo pockets, because I knew that the side pockets don't always feel big/safe enough for his wallet and phone.  I skipped them hemming (as I've done with each pair) and used the selvedge as the "finished" bottom edge, I really like the look of the shorts that way, especially with this contrast selvedge...

He really loves them too!  I had them all wrapped up and waiting for him to put on when he got home from work on his birthday.  They were the perfect comfy thing to put on before digging into a pile of crabs!  Like kids, I think you can measure how much your husband likes something you made him by how many times he's worn it...his birthday was a week ago and they've already been worn several times!  In fact, he said to me... "You can make me a pair of these shorts anytime you want!"  Success!  

And, because this just makes me giggle...on the weekends it's always "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" and I totally get that, I mean let's squeeze all we can out of the guy when he's around right?  Mom, we get her all week long...Wait? 

What are you doing Daddy? 

We want to be in the pictures too! 

We are such loveable pests aren't we...

Daddy, come over here, we have something to show you, come on let's go...

And there you have it...A pair of shorts perfect for Daddy's (and husbands).

A Pair of Staples...

Way back last summer I got the most amazing nani iro double gauze fabric in the mail from the Imagine Gnats Shop.  Way back, longer than that ago...I bought and printed out the staple dress pattern...They both sat and sat sadly ignored.

Honestly, the staple dress sat ignored for a while because after purchasing it I just wasn't quite sure it was right for me.  And, the nani iro fabric, well...that of course sat just waiting for the perfect project...

And then, not so way back, just last month...I decided it was time to break them both out. 

It was Me Made May after all and, while I wasn't necessarily planning to wear me made everyday, I did want to try to either wear or work on making something for myself everyday.

The dress came together pretty quickly, although I'm always fairly slow at facings...it's just not necessarily my forte.  I made the small (later I wished that I had gone with my gut and made an extra small...) and added three rows of shirring 1/4" apart with the bottom row just above the pockets.  Part of my concern with the dress was that it was going to look too "frumpy" and "boxy" and "hospital gown like"...And, let me just say, that when I tried it on before all of the shirring was added, that is exactly what it looked like!  Kind of scary!  After the shirring though it looked better, although still not quite as nice as I had hoped it would look.  The addition of my mustard sash from my Easter Marigold dress helps to make it look nicer though, I think. 

I do really love it though, I mean how can you not love this fabric with it's tiny little bit of metallic shimmer!  And, I will say, it is amazingly comfortable, anything double gauze is, but this dress is just super easy to pop over your head and go!  

After the double gauze staple dress I was really curious to see how the dress who be in something even more airy than double gauze.  So I thought I'd try making it in rayon challis (from Imagine Gnats) and let me just tell you...I am in love with this dress!

Rayon challis and the Staple dress are, as far as I'm concerned, a match made in heaven!  It seriously feels like butter wearing this dress!  And the lovely drapey softeness of it is so amazing next to your skin.  When I wear this dress I can't stop thinking...I made this! 

Of course, it's nothing truly amazing, a simple pattern with a few simple elements but it feels like it's amazing!  Although, I will say that sewing with rayon challis was a little more piddly than I had hoped it'd be, but that may have merely been the fact I was sewing it up super late at night after having already sewn a pair of pants and a dress...

But I digress...This go around I sewed up the extra small and between that and the material the fit is much better, I still like it with a sash or belt best. 

Black is not really "my color" but it is nice to have a black dress that can be either casual or elegant.  I've already got some green rayon challis that I might use to whip up one more staple dress...

Oh, and lest you think I walk around wearing a fedora often...It was a whim purchase, and for the purposes of these photos, it was really all a ruse...I just wanted to cover up my messy hair and no make-up face (laziness!).  And then, my lovely husband told me I had a little bit of a "Smooth Criminal thing" going on...

And I totally lost it!  HA! 

So, in the end the staple dress pattern may, in fact, become a "staple" in my wardrobe, when made in rayon challis that is...