Halloween 2014: Velma (Scooby Doo)

This year I'm doing a costume that I've wanted to do for many years, but could never get all the elements together in time. Because I didn't have any other ideas that were easier (ha!), I decided to go for it this year; I'm going to be Velma from Scooby Doo.

The hardest part of this costume so far has been the top. I am in the process of making a pleated skirt and of course knee socks and red mary-janes are not all that difficult to procure.

I found a couple of different sweaters for the top. I actually found a really perfect orange sweater, but it is sold out. I bought a $4 cream-colored turtleneck at Goodwill and also a really nice sweater from Kohl's (it was on sale). Next, I'll have to dye those along with the white knee-high socks I bought. I'm not really keen on dyeing the Kohl's sweater because it is so lovely as it is... 

I'm saving the dyeing of the sweater and socks until the last minute because I'm hoping that if I can finish the skirt in good time, I might try to sew the turtleneck sweater out of fleece; therefore saving the Kohl's sweater. 

Anywho - Here's the breakdown:

October 8 & 11, 2014

Pleating the fabric for the skirt took quite a bit longer than I expected. I had two yards of 60" width dark red twill. I couldn't find a pattern for pleated skirts for adults and so I'm just doing what I can with what I know of clothes construction. Because I wasn't so sure of how to cut out for the pattern, I decided to press the pleats into the fabric and then do measurements and go from there. My stopping point tonight was when I had finished the pleating, getting the first seam done and cutting out the waist band and ironing on interfacing.

Next step: Stay-stitch the top of the skirt, sew on the waist band and put in zipper.

October 15, 2014

Finished the skirt. Stay-stitched the top of the skirt to keep the pleats and then added the waist band. I had added interfacing to the inside of a piece of fabric twice as wide as the waist band and then folded that in half, folded under 1/4" and then sewed it onto the skirt.

I tried it around my waist. As could probably be predicted at this point, the waist fit, but the skirt would not reach all the way around my hips. (Dang hips!) I had to add triangular pleated dart that added 10" to the bottom hem. 

Finished up the skirt by adding a 9" zipper and hemmed the bottom edge. And...it fits! Huzzah!

I'm thinking about buying orange fleece and making the turtleneck, so that I don't have to dye the nice sweater I bought from Kohl's. I should get on that this week if I'm going to have any chance of finishing it before Halloween.

McCall's M6955 Laura Ashley Dress and Belt - Rebooted, Finished and Donated

So I decided to make this dress again, this time in my size. >_<  (Which, according to McCall's sizing guide is a size 16.) Luckily, the other dress fit my sister, so I gave it to her. I will have to try to get a picture of the finished dress to update the other entry.

August 16, 2014
Today was cutting out the pattern. I decided to trace the pattern onto some thin material that is designed to be used for patterns. This way I didn't have to cut the original pattern and can use it again for a different size of dress or can give away the patterns without it being restricted to the size of the dress I made.

August 17, 2014
I started the sewing process today and got pretty far - about halfway. I've tried the dress on a couple of times in the process (the bodice when it was first put together and then once again after attaching the skirt to the bodice) and it looks good to go. It might be a bit loose, actually. I might be able to tighten it a bit when I put the zipper in - maybe...

Seams ripped: a few - about a foot's worth

Lesson Learned: Just because you've sewn a pattern before, doesn't mean that it will sew the same as the first time. This time I had quite the time sewing the hem band to the skirt, but I prevailed!

August 23, 2014
Sewed the bodice lining to the bodice today. Totally forgot the step where you put in the zipper. D'oh! Tomorrow, I guess - after I try on the dress.

August 24, 2014
Houston, we have a problem. *sigh*

I have tried on the dress before putting in the zipper and it looks as though the bodice part is way too big. WAY TOO BIG. But, but....*gives up*

Sewing this dress is giving me serious body-hate issues. My bust is a size 14, waist a size 16, so I made a size 16, thinking I could make the darts deeper. But no. Turns out even size 14 for the waist is over 2 inches too big. What. The. Hell. It is so big that I have to go back and re-cut the bodice smaller. Commence seam ripping. (ETA: Ended up taking a nap instead - ha!)

August 25, 2014
Started ripping out seams and realized I only really needed to rip the seam attaching the bodice to the skirt. I can even leave the darts in because they are basically the same for all sizes and I can just fold the pattern paper to fit the already sewn darts and then cut that. Also, the lining is the kind of fabric that ripping seams is pretty useless because the fabric runs, so I'm just going to cut new lining (I have tons of the stuff, so no biggie there.) Tomorrow I will cut and sew the newly re-sized bodice. Wish me luck - I have a feeling I'll need it.

September 27, 2014
So - catch up time. I re-cut the bodice and sewed it to the skirt, added the zipper and lining. I packed the dress in a mostly-finished state in order to wear at my cousin's wedding and also packed a spare dress and shoes just in case I couldn't get the hand sewing done in time. I hadn't had time to try on the new sizing before getting to my aunt's house. When I got there and tried on the dress, it was still the wrong size. The neck line was obviously too wide - made from someone who is a size 16 on top, not someone like me who is a 12 (or smaller) on top. So I didn't wear the dress to the wedding. I wore my Target bargain I had bought earlier in the summer when thinking of what to wear to the wedding, so there you go.

Fast forward to today. Decided I was going to get this dress to fit come hell or high water and I was going to wear it to the symphony tonight. I tried it on again. It seemed hopeless. Then I thought about elastic at the neckline and possibly at the waist, too. Yeah....elastic might work, I thought. So I sewed another line across the neck line and put elastic through it. And miraculously - it worked. The bodice and the bodice lining didn't quite match up at the waist where I had to hand-sew it, so there is a part that isn't sewn to the skirt/waist, but the belt covers up that little error. I don't think it turned out half bad.

Final Comments:

Though I like the way this dress looks and I did work rather hard to make it finally fit me, I think I'm probably going to give it to Good Will because when I sit down, the skirt barely covers my rear. I'm not sure why that is, but it is, so off it goes...

In the future, before I make any more dresses, I think I will invest in an adjustable mannequin so that I can fit the pattern to my measurements before I cut out the fabric. Hopefully that will help since I seem to be 3 sizes in one. :/

Here's the breakdown of time and money for this dress:

Time:

Cutting out fabric: 4 hrs

Sewing bodice: 1 hr

Skirt: 2 hrs

Attaching skirt to bodice: 1 hr

bah....lost track.

Total Time: way too much!!

Cost: 

Pattern: $2.06 (on sale!)

Fabric: $17.35 (on sale!)

Notions: $1.32 (on sale!)

Total Cost: $20.73

McCall's M6955 Laura Ashley Dress and Belt - Finished Project

July 14, 2014

For my second dress, I'm going to attempt this dress:

I have a nice purple and mint-green floral print for the patterned part and then a lavender for the accent colored bottom half and belt.

I started sewing the bodice together today and knew that it was wise to try it on before going too far. I had stitched in the darts on the front and back and then tried it on. Immediately, I knew that it was going to be too small, so I ripped out the darts. Still too small. No way would I be able to add a zipper and still be able to fit into it.

Totally bummed that McCall's patterns run so small, seeing as I already have everything cut out and not enough fabric to re-cut everything. Continued to piece it together because I might as well finish it for the experience and then try to sell or give it to someone who can fit into it (tiny as it is).

Got to the skirt and the bottom half and the pattern says I have to sew facing onto it. Correction from previous entry: Turns out the facing is just another piece of the lavender fabric and when I cut out the pattern, I had cut it but forgotten about it. (I cut all of this out last week, so of course my memory is hazy about it already!) So onward ho!

Seams ripped: 2 (getting better - and faster!)

July 15, 2014
Worked on and finished the skirt this morning as well as attached it to the bodice. I think one of the most important things I have learned so far in my re-introduction to sewing is that pinning makes things so much easier! (Are the experienced sewers out there laughing right now? Because you know it's true...)

Stopped right before adding the zipper because I think that will require more brain work and patience than I might have at the moment.

Later: Added the zipper and put the bodice lining together and attached to the bodice. Will need to do a lot of hand-stitching tomorrow... Uf. I'm not so good at that...

Seams ripped: 1

July 16, 2014
Today is the day of hand-sewing. After that, I'll be finished with everything but the belt that will be machine sewn. This dress was categorized as "easy". While I agree that all the steps are relatively easy, the pattern has so many steps that I'm not sure I would put it at easy...

July 17, 2014

I finished the hand-sewing in one day, but still had the belt to sew, so I did that. Got halfway through ironing it when I had to go to work. Later, I tried to put on the hook and eye at the top of the zipper, but it turns out that I got the wrong kind. The kind I bought are for over-lapping surfaces, not abutting edges. D'oh!

July 18, 2014

Bought the correct hook and eye for the dress and sewed it on. Also slip-stitched the belt closed in the middle where I pulled the fabric through after sewing the seams. So the dress is finished. It's way too small for me, but hopefully someone can find a use for it. It's so cute!

October 1, 2014

The dress fit my sister, so happily, it has a good home. Here is a picture of the final product. I'm so glad to see it fit and look nice!

Final Comments:

Things I would like to address with McCall's:

1) Sizing. Holy way-too-small sizing, Batman! This turned out so small that I will have to sell or give this dress away instead of wear it myself. Very disappointed. (Side note: I did try it on in the beginning stages and knew it would never work, but I made the dress anyway because I didn't want to waste the fabric that was already all cut out.)

Here's the breakdown of time and money for this dress:

Time:

Cutting out fabric: 2.5 hrs

Sewing bodice: .5 hrs

Skirt: 3.5 hrs

Attaching skirt to bodice: .5 hrs

Putting in the zipper: 1 hr

Bodice lining: 1.5 hrs

Hand-sewing lining to bodice (at waist, zipper and at shoulder seams): 2 hrs 

Hand-sewing hook and eye: 15 min

Total Time: 11.75 hrs

Cost: 

Pattern: $5.76 (on sale!)

Fabric: $29.46 (on sale!)

Notions: $6.18 (most things on sale)

Total Cost: $41.40

McCall's M6959 Wrap Dress - Finished Project

July 7, 2014
I started on this wrap dress this week. The pattern says "Easy", but I haven't sewn in at least 7 years, so we'll see.

I chose a patterned cotton. (See below.) The patterns suggest medium weight woven material, but that kind of material is hard to find in fabric stores these days, so I bought a light weight cotton blend. I'll add a horsehair braid to the hem to try to make up for the lightness of the fabric.

I cut out the fabric last night and then tonight I did the bodice. I'm slow, but it's looking pretty nice. I started to get tired and misread the instructions, so I quit at about 10:30.

Seams ripped today: 3 (hey - pretty good for being rusty AND tired!)

July 8, 2014

Sleeves are the devil. Surely, they will be my arch-nemesis throughout my sewing "career". I almost made this dress sleeveless after I had to rip out the basting more than a couple of times for the first sleeve. The second sleeve went a bit smoother, but all-in-all it took one hour per sleeve. Oi vey. Now the dress has to hang for 24 hours to let the bias settle before putting the bias tape all around the dress. Also, I will have to alter the sleeves at the very end because they are so tight that they are painful. :(

Seams ripped: 5 *sigh*

July 14, 2014

I actually started stitching the bias tape (a nice, dark rose pink) on last week, but I forgot to update here. I got about 3/4 around the edges when I ran out of the bias tape. The pattern called for 7 1/4 yards of bias tape, but I had bought 9 yards and it still wasn't enough, so finishing up the bias tape was pushed back to a time when I could find another pack to buy.

I found that pack this weekend and so I finished putting the bias tape on tonight. Just as the directions said, I hand sewed the bottom corners of the dress, so that the miters of the corners would look nice. 

Lastly, I cut off the sleeves of the dress entirely and cut the arm holes bigger. I have wide shoulders and thick arms, so I needed to alter it. I don't like sleeves on dresses anyway, so off they went. I added bias tape around the arm holes and now it is all done! Looks cute!

Seams ripped: none!

July 17, 2014

Finally got back to this dress and did the very final thing, which was to hand sew the inside ribbon tie to the right inside seam. Somehow I had managed to try the dress on twice with a pin holding it in and didn't stick myself at all, but when I picked it up to pack the dress (having forgotten about sewing on the ribbon), it poked me good. Haha! So this dress is finished and while it is small, if I wear a cami under it, it should be alright. :)

Final Comments:

Overall, I think this dress was a good re-introduction to sewing. The pattern is very easy (except for the devilish sleeves!) and flattering. 

Some things I might address with McCall's:

1) Their sizing is way way way small. I erred on the larger side when cutting the pattern, but in the end, it turned out small. I chose the size according to the measurements listed on the pattern, so I don't think I'm the only one who would find the sizing to be small. I'm lucky this was a wrap dress that allowed me to still be able to wear it, even though I'll need to buy a camisole to go under it to provide better coverage of cleavage.

2) They listed only 7 1/4 yards for bias tape, but the dress actually required 11 yards in the end. I had to go to a store and find more bias tape. Not the worst thing, but it was inconvenient and took time.

Here's the breakdown of time and money for this dress:

Time:

Cutting out fabric: 2.5 hrs

Sewing bodice piece: 2.5 hrs

Attaching sleeves: 2 hrs

Sewing skirt and attaching bodice: 1 hr11

Adding bias tape: 2 hrs

Altering sleeves: 1 hr

Total Hours: 11 hours

Cost: 

Pattern: $5.76 (on sale!)

Fabric: $22.02 (on sale!)

Notions: $14.10 (most things on sale)

Total Cost: $41.88