2017 Maxi Sewalong is here!

2017 Maxi Sewalong is here!

Amy of That’s Sew Amy and I are super stoked to announce the return of maxi dress sewalong! We’ve got some great sponsors this year, and I can’t wait to reveal my fabric and pattern to you guys! SPEAKING OF SPONSORS THOUGH…

We are mega happy to announce LA Finch Fabrics as a sponsor this year! They’ve kindly offered a $50 gift card to one of drawing winners. How cool is that?? Free fabric is the best fabric, amirite?

The ever lovely ladies at By Hand London are also a sponsor this year. If you know me, you know how much I love their patterns. That’s why I’m thrilled to be able to give away a By Hand London pattern, of the winner’s choosing.

If you’d like to display a badge on your blog, use the above image or imbed using this link. Look for blog posts from Amy and I in the coming weeks, we’ll be posting fabric and pattern inspiration for ya! And of course, reveling our own selections, way stoked about that! Below are some rules and information, please do feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns!

What is considered a maxi dress? A dress that falls to the ankles.

Will there be a winner? At the end of the sewalong, I will draw two winners live on my Instagram. No contest or judging, just sheer luck!

Who can participate? Everyone and everyone! You can submit your photos of your dress by using the hashtag #maxsewalong2017 on Instagram, by posting photos to the Facebook group, or you can e-mail me directly. Whatever you feel most comfortable with! If you do a blog post for your maxi, please let Amy or I know, we love to see your makes!  If you share your maxi on social media, please use the hashtag #maxisewalong2017 so I can see it!  Your account will also need to be public, for the same reason.  I can’t enter you in the drawing if I can’t see your submission 🙂

Time frame: The sewalong will run from July 1st to July 27th (my birthday), be sure to send in your picture by noon on July 27, 2017 (EST)!

Why? For the fun of it!  I love seeing all your makes, so much inspiration!

Rules: Dress must be for you. It has to be made within the time frame above. You can use any pattern you wish or draft your own. Adding embellishments to a current maxi dress will not count. The dress can be as formal or casual as you want. You have to submit pictures of your finished dress. I know taking pictures of your self can be uncomfortable, so you definitely don’t have to be wearing the dress in the photos – but it makes it more fun!

Social Media: Use hashtag #maxisewalong2017 on social media to see what everyone else is up to. Post inspiration and progress photos for everyone to see.

The Watergun Fight Dress (By Hand London Orsola Tester)

The Watergun Fight Dress (By Hand London Orsola Tester)

I don’t know what to do with my hands. Again.

I’m deeming this the summer of the wrap dress. I love how comfortable they are to wear, and how easy they are to make. They’re super flattering, and can expand a bit if I go too hard with the snacks, which I absolutely will do. They can be fabric hogs, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Orsola isn’t such a fabric hog, she comes in around 4 1/2 yards I think, including lining. Not too shabby!

Plus, it’s great for jumping.

I was super stoked when I got the email about this pattern! The back is just the perfect little bit of sexy. Originally, I’d planned to make this with a sari I’d ordered of Ebay. HOWEVER, that thing was straight up hot garbage. The fabric felt like that Halloween costume fabric, if you know what I mean, and upon washing, the fabric dye bled everywhere. Straight to the garbage with that! Bless Amazon and this lovely Cotton + Steel fabric! In two days, I had a gorgeous rayon, though I kinda wish I’d gone for the dark blue. The only trouble was that I’d stupidly ordered three yards. There was NO fabric for the lining! Last minute shopper that I am, I had zero time to make it to the only store in my city to carry this fabric. Soooo I ended up at Joann, and boy was that a mistake. Somehow, they had no solid black rayon challis, weird, right? I ended up with a polyester crepe, much to my disappointment. Oh well, moving on…

That back, though.

Orsola sews up fairly easily, though you should be prepared for quite a few darts! I’ve never minded darts, but if you do, prepare yourself, because it has about 18. Orsola also features a fully lined bodice, and a skirt facing. I’ve never sewn a skirt facing before, and I was skeptical. I loathe facings, they’re floppy and annoying and should be avoided at all costs. That said, I actually like this one. It adds a bit of weight to the hem, and it seems to help it lay prettily. I opted for the tulip skirt version, which is really not much of a change for the straight skirt. I also failed to understitch the bodice lining, which was DUMB. DUMB DUMB DUMB. Bad self.

Side view, sans face.

I had some picture taking woes with this one, but luckily my friend Michelle and her lovely wife stepped up and shot them for me, some of the photos feature their absolutely adorable daughter, Tiger Lily, so don’t be confused by the child. She was so fun! Afterward, we had a bit of a watergun fight, my eyeliner was a bit worse for the wear lol! Photo dump below, I hope you enjoy Orsola, I’m looking forward to making many more. Happy sewing 🙂

The Return from Hiatus (By Hand London Poppy Dress)

The Return from Hiatus (By Hand London Poppy Dress)

Pre-haircut times.

Holy hiatus, it’s been awhile since I’ve shared anything with you guys. I’m so sorry! Between looking for a house and actually moving, things got a little crazy there for a bit. In my defense, I’d actually had this done for a bit, but (obviously) wanted to wait for the pattern release to talk about it. The pattern is The Poppy Dress and Top from By Hand London, and I’m super stoked to talk about it, let’s get into it.

Butt view

Poppy is a knit pattern, very much of the “secret pajamas” type. I’ve dressed it up for work and dressed it down to walk the dogs, it really is very versatile in that way. I made both the t-shirt (with the short sleeve option) and the midi version, but there is also a maxi version I’m dying to try out. The pattern features really lovely box pleats on the sleeves, and fish eye darts for waist shaping. As a tester, I omitted the fish eye darts on my versions.

T-shirt version!

For both the dress and shirt, I used this super soft, very cozy Merino jersey in Marsala graciously provided by The Fabric Store. Easily the most expensive fabric I’ve ever sewn, I can honestly say it’s worth it. Though it is a very lightweight knit, it sews beautifully and I didn’t have the usual struggles with it getting sucked into my machine. It seems to hold it’s shape, as well, without bagging out or “growing” as the day goes on. So nice!

Ok so maybe my jeans were a little snug.

Poppy is fairly easy to sew, but in full honesty, I struggled with the neckline. I’ve never sewn a neckband in knit, and just could not get it to lay flat! Talking to other sewists, it really seems like this is just my in experience. The current version is much better than my first attempts, but still not great. This pattern also marked my first attempt at using the double needle on my machine. I know that seems odd, but I’ve truly been terrified of it! I completely convinced myself I was going to do irreparable damage to my machine, somehow. Folks, I am an idiot. Using a double needle is super easy and gives a nice little bit of stretch to the hem. WHY HAVE I BEEN FINISHING KNITS WITH A SINGLE NEEDLE!?! Dumb dumb dumb.

The sun was SO BRIGHT

I kinda wish I’d sewn the fish eye darts, they’re what attracted me to the pattern in the first place. Maybe I’ll attempt to add them, but even without them, I seriously get comments on this every time I wear it. That’s high praise for a dress I’ve gotten drunk and slept in more than once! I hope you consider the Poppy, and I look forward to sharing more with you soon, maybe without a two month gap. Happy sewing 🙂