Projects | Jeanne Marie’s Sewing Studio

Mood board: A blouse from Butterick’s 5846 dress pattern

Mood board November 14, 2014 Comments: 4

I fell in love with a pretty blue and green print from DS Quilts in the quilt fabric section of Jo-Ann’s a few months ago. I was disappointed to discover that there wasn’t enough yardage left for a dress.

Several weeks later, it occurred to me to make a blouse instead. Fortunately, the fabric was still available. And since I’d successfully made a beautiful teal and navy shirtdress from Butterick 5846, I decided it would be the perfect pattern.

The bodice lines are very reminiscent of blouses from the 1930s and 1940s, so I think it will be a good match for the vintage-looking print. Here’s the mood board:

How adorable is this fabric? The navy blue buttons are vintage. The olive green thread is for top-stitching.

The fabric is a little heavy but nice and soft. It’s not ideal for a blouse, but I hope it will be OK. And since I’ve already fit the pattern, it should be a quick project.

Mood board: Sew Liberated’s Schoolhouse Tunic

Mood board, Projects September 12, 2014 Comments: 8

After I posted my finished Clara Dress, Danica from the Sew Liberated pattern company offered me a free pattern in return for a link to my post after I finish it. Who could resist such a lovely offer?

Enter the Schoolhouse Tunic!

The picture on the pattern envelope has a boho chic vibe going; but, after checking my stash, I decided to go in a completely different direction. Here’s the mood board:

This is going more preppy than boho chic.

I originally bought the preppy stripe and white fabrics to make a traditional shirt.

The Schoolhouse Tunic has an empire line (a seam just below the bust), a placket that turns to the wrong side and is top-stitched down, and three-quarter-length sleeves. It is designed to be worn over a camisole.

My plan is to turn that placket to the outside and make it white. I also want to add simple white cuffs (bands, really) to the end of the sleeves. I’m not sure how I will run the stripes. I may make them horizontal on the upper bodice and vertical on the lower bodice.

The Schoolhouse Tunic presents an interesting fitting and design challenge. While tunics are generally a flattering look on me, the combination of an empire line and the need for a full-bust adjustment could very well result in a garment that looks like a maternity top.

Shudder.

I am counting on a good fitting job to prevent that. If it all comes together like I hope, it should be a nice layering piece.

Another vintage-style apron in the works

Mood board September 2, 2014 1 Comment

Making a vintage-style apron was so rewarding that I am jumping right into making another one. This time I’m using Butterick 6567 (out of print), View A.

Butterick 6567 was already in my stash. I bought a reproduction 1930s quilt fabric to make it.

Butterick 6567 was already in my stash. I bought a reproduction 1930s print quilting fabric to make it.

Here’s a better look at View A:

Note the narrow bias tape everywhere.

The pattern calls for making 7 yards of 1/4-inch double-fold bias tape from scratch. Well, that’s just too skinny a fold to try to press when 1/4-inch bias tape is readily available. When I got to the store, I decided it looked like the fabric could pull out of those skinny little seam allowances pretty easily, so I opted for the 1/2-inch double-fold bias tape.

Even though this pattern has a bodice of sorts, I’m not bothering with any sort of full-bust adjustment. We’ll see how that goes.

Mood board: Stash-busting vintage-style apron

Mood board, Projects August 26, 2014 1 Comment

I discovered a couple of fun fabrics as I attempted to tidy my stash.

They were intended for a casserole tote that I had seen in a magazine, but by the time my fabric was (somewhat) organized, I didn’t know where the instructions were.

I had 1 yard each of two fabrics, so I checked my pattern stash for kitchen accessories. I found a pattern of vintage-style aprons, and the amount of fabric was perfect for one of them. I only needed to purchase some rick-rack and matching bias tape. Here’s the mood board:

The colors of the fabrics match my kitchen.

My kitchen is blue, red and yellow; and I bought the fabric (originally for a casserole tote) to coordinate. That would explain the purchase of yellow-based fabric to go with a floral with no yellow in it.

The pattern is Butterick 4087 (out of print), and I’m making View C, the one in the upper-right-hand corner. Here’s a closer look:

This apron has a shaped waistband and hem and a cute little pocket. This looks like dotted Swiss was used for the main fabric and a cotton floral for the accent fabric. Impractical, but so cute!

The best part of this quick, fun, stash-busting project? No full-bust adjustment needed! In no time at all, I’ll have a pretty little apron that coordinates with my kitchen.