Christmas celebration

Today was the Christmas celebration at church and a week ago I planned to make me a dress for this occasion. Since it was only the second dress I'm doing this year I wanted to go very subtle. No crazy prints or colors and no overly complicated pattern in case I make too much mistakes.

I decided to use a knit I bought at Jo-Ann this fall, its a black and grey small pattern but what I like about this fabric is that is very warm. I don't know how to call this kind of knit but it's like 2 layers of fabric in one which makes it perfect for winter. Let me tell you, here in Montreal its very cold in December.... like very very cold. Also there's no Jo-Ann here in Montreal, at least that I know of. I went to Acadia National Park, Maine this fall for a short photography trip with my husband and made a quick stop in Bangor to buy fabric. I bought it originally to make something like a vest or a light coat but never did. Here's a picture of the fabric..does anyone know how to call this kind of pattern??

 It's very soft and very warm and has good elasticity which makes it very comfortable. I told you I wanted a very very simple pattern so I chose Mccall's 7085. Here's a picture of the pattern, I chose to make view E. It's a sheath dress with sweetheart neckline which I think its the cutest feature of this pattern.

Now, the pattern calls for a lining and a back zipper. I skipped those steps. The knit fabric gave me the opportunity to make a pullover dress and the fact that the fabric is 2 layers thick prevented me from doing a lining. I cut a size 14 but should have cut a 12 or maybe even a 10. The first one was way to big. I took in half an inch at each side and at the back seam and after it was better. 

Here's a picture of the final result.

 And here's the back.

There's a little bump at the back but I guess it's not that bad after all. I'm not completely happy about this dress, I find it a little boring. I say to myself that it's a basic one to have in the wardrobe for the winter with a cardigan or a vest and it's a matter of spicing it up with accessories and jewelry. I'm thinking it would look good with black panties and burgundy pumps but I don't have them...maybe one day. 

Anyway, to summarize things, I like this pattern. I love the fitted look of the dress and the neckline. I think this kind of dress is good for my hourglass shape because of the darts.

I will be trying this pattern again in the spring, I want to have a flowered kind of pattern and I'll try maybe a woven cotton. We'll see! 

I'll leave you with a picture of the fabric for my next project...I still don't know what I'm gonna do...I'm thinking some A-line dress maybe with a fitted bodice and voluminous sleeves??

Maybe its too much...already the pattern is a little eccentric to my taste...but I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone here.

Here's the fabric, a chevron patterned knit in black, cream and navy blue.

See you soon!! Happy holidays to everybody!!

Creating a wardrobe

One of the main objectives of doing this blog was to share with you each and every piece of clothing I sew for myself. My wardrobe is composed of 2-3 pair of jeans, a few bad quality tops bought on sale for 10$ on retailers like reitmans, old navy and even at costco. The only thing I really love in my closet are some 5 dresses I've acquired over time in stores like Ann Taylor. I used them to go to church or for some special events. I guess that with only 5 of them, they get a lot of wear and people might just be tired of seeing me in them. The main reason why I don't have more clothes is lack of money due to more important goals like paying the house or payoff debt...but there's more: I hate to shop! Its just so tiring , time consuming and just plain frustrating when nothing fits you and the only things that really fit and flatter me come with an 3 digit price tag.
I declare war!
War to bad and boring outfits!
War to poorly made pieces of clothing!
War to have to spend hundreds of dollars on good quality garments!
I swear that from now on I will be wearing beautiful things done by myself.

That's why I'm doing this blog. To motivate myself in this process and force me to take care of my look and my outfits. I know that if I have a blog to post, I will be motivated to sew.
Speaking of sewing, I started at age 7 with my grandma , she used to cut me miniature patterns for barbies and let me use her sewing machine to assemble the outfits! I wish I had taken pictures of that.
As I grew up I forgot about my sewing adventures.After I finished my studies, got married, started working full time and had two kids. At the beginning of this year 2016 my mother retired and the next day started sewing. Then I remembered all the fun I had as a child and went to look for my machine in my basement. I haven't stop using it since. I began to buy fabrics and patterns. In this blog I will share with you every piece of clothing I make and hope to receive feedback too. With the Christmas celebration coming this sunday at church I've been working on a dress. I will post it here as soon as I'm done.

Welcome to my blog , hope you enjoy it and may my creations motivate you to venture in sewing
for yourself this coming year!