Pencil Skirt Sew-Along Complete

I had some free sewing time this weekend so I finished up my pencil skirt for the pencil skirt sew-along!

I had just over a yard of cute plaid fabric in my stash that I had to buy as a steal on clearance and it looks smashing. It's McCall 5121.

It has a cute kick pleat. I also added a lining so that the white was a bit more opaque.

The blouse is also a new finish. I finally picked up some covered buttons to finish it. It's from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing (review coming this week!).

The skirt called for closing with hooks and eyes but I grabbed one button from the stash instead. Just goes to show you that you should keep all those odd and end buttons.

And it's not a photo shoot without some silliness!

Youtube of the Week: Everyday Pixie Style

There's more pixie goodness this week! Here I share how I do my everyday pixie style. It's super easy!


I finally got some velcro rollers and a small curling iron yesterday so the 50s pixie styles are coming soon!

50s Fab!

I had my first Thanksgiving dinner of the season on Sunday. (Only 3 more to go!) I was stitching away the night before to get this dress finished and it ended up super cute!

Fabric: polyester something ($3.50/yd)
Pattern: Simplicity 1097
Year: 1950s
Notions: zipper ($2), buttons ($3)
First worn: November '12
Wear again? Yes, to one of my many more Thanksgivings at least. The fabric is a bit stiff so it's not the easiest dress to wear, but other than that it's quite comfy. I may make a self fabric belt at some point but it's a pretty busy print so I don't know.

I did a combo of view 1 (collar with trim) and view 2 (pockets!) because I need pockets on dresses whenever possible.

The weather was super nice so I grabbed the chance to get some outdoor shots!

I also wore one of my vintage 50s hats. I haven't been wearing many hats since I got my pixie cut and I'm still trying to find the best way to do my hair with them, but it put me in a super good mood all day so hats must come back into my life!

1950s Housewife Hair

This week I tried a short 50s do for the first time and it came out pretty well for the first go.

I still think my hair is a bit short for some of the things I want to do but I can work with it.

Short and curly works though!

I liked how the back came out all curly.

Once I get this style nailed down, there will be a tutorial. Until then, wish me happy experimenting!

Youtube: Berets

It's so refreshing to wake up this morning and read loads of posts NOT about politics so here's my contribution.

Video about hats >>>politics




Cute pictures of animals are also acceptable anti-political posts. :)

Bird!

A Nice Anise

My Anise jacket is finished! And I've been wearing it loads!

Fabric: burgundy wool ($5/yd), black fleece backed satin for lining ($5/yd)Pattern: Colette Pattern's AniseYear: contemporaryNotions: buttons ($12)First worn: October 2012Wear again? Yes, yes yes and yes! I've worn this jacket loads since I made it. I'm so happy with how this came out. It's warmer than I expected and so cute! It fits really well and the only thing I'd change about it would be to lengthen the sleeves about 1/2". 

I put in a lot of work on this project and just relaxed and had fun with it rather than being stressed about meeting the sew along dead line. I finished less than a week behind the last sew along post so I count myself on time!

I paired it with a grey me made dress (to be blogged soon!) and my black Mary Janes.

I was able to get a few quick snapshots at church. The weather has been gray and damp lately so I didn't have a chance to get super nice pictures.

But this cute kitty posed with me so I know you'll forgive the less than stellar quality of the photos.

Tutorial: A pretty finish for facing edges

I hate making a narrow hems on facings! They are fiddly and don't look that nice anyways. Here's my solution to making a clean finish on a facing that has fusible interfacing.

1. Cut your pattern piece out in fashion fabric and fusible interfacing.

2. Pin interfacing to the fashion fabric. The nonfusible side is the "right" side of the interfacing so the nonfusible side will be put to the right side of the facing. We are sewing along the edge of the facing that will not be sewn to the garment.

3. Sew a 1/4" to 3/8" seam.

Check your pattern to see how much seam is allowed. You may need to clip the seam allowance on curved facing pieces.

4. Trim seam allowance with pinking shears. Since my fashion fabric was thick, I trimmed it pretty small. If you have thin fabric or fabric that is prone to fraying, you can leave a larger seam allowance.

5. Flip the interfacing open and fold it over so the fusible side is against the wrong side of the facing.

6. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric.

7. If there is a bit of interfacing sticking out from behind the fashion fabric, trim it off.

8. Now you have a pretty finished facing edge! Continue on with constructing your garment.

How do you like to finish your facing edges?