Review: Butterick 5950

It started with a dress:

Shirred Knit Surplice Dress

I love Land's End. Really, I do. I just think it's a bit pricey. $65 for a rayon jersey dress seems a bit steep to me. Sometimes the quality of Land's End clothing justifies the cost. Other times, no. As much as I loved this dress, it was a bit out of my price range. Also, Land's End dresses have a habit of being too long in the waist for me. I figured I could easily make a dress like this. So, I did.

Minty fresh trench

click to enlarge

Earlier this month, I became quite inspired by the idea of a mint green trench coat. I'm not sure where exactly I got the idea for it, perhaps it was Pinterest. Anyway, I lucked up on some fabric and everything just fell into place.

Work Wardrobe: Plans

First and foremost, thanks for all the helpful suggestions on yesterday's post. I'm actually looking forward to creating a work wardrobe. I will admit though, after shifting through my pattern stash, I became quite overwhelmed. There's a bunch of ideas running through my head but I need a clear plan in order to actually achieve anything. So, I headed over to Pinterest and looked for some wardrobe capsules for inspiration.

Quickie with bullet points

• I have two ponte knit dresses and my mint green trench ready to review. Hopefully the weather will cooperate next week so I can take some photos.
• Now that I'm actively searching for a job, I figured I should give my work wardrobe a makeover...actually, more like create a work wardrobe. My last job was casual in every sense of the word. I now want to reinvent myself a bit. I think a basic, business casual wardrobe is in order. Nothing too complicated or time consuming. A couple skirts, a few button down shirts and perhaps a dress or three. Here's some patterns that I'm considering:

From left to right, top to bottom: S2215 / B4185 / V8772 / B6016 / NL6107 / S1464 / B5947

• Next week is the Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA. I want to go but then I don't want to be bothered with a crowd. Argh. 

That's it for now. Pattern suggestions for office wear are welcome. Have a great weekend!

Chambray: I wish I knew how to quit you.

Today's post is a two-for-one. I'm reviewing both McCall's 6885 and Vogue 8927. Neither pattern was terribly complicated nor required massive amounts of fitting...just a tweak here and there. Both patterns were made up in my most favorite fabric of the moment: chambray!

Minty fresh

I had grand plans for today. Friday night, I finished my chambray dress. I wore it out Saturday. I was going to take photos today. My stomach had other plans. Apparently, it does not like Thai food. Needless to say, I feel like poo. So, I'm spending my Sunday wrapped in a blanket watching the Puppy Bowl and hoping that I can keep my food down.

In between commercials, I'm also brainstorming the next piece in my outerwear series. It seems that I'm addicted....can't stop. Won't stop. Another trench coat is in order. This time in my current favorite color: mint green. I'm not a fan of that orchid color that Pantone deemed color of the year. In my world, it's all about shades of green.

from Design Seeds

Inspiration:

Photos sourced from Pinterest

I plan to use the Silhouettes Barbara's Trench pattern once again with a few tweaks. I wasn't too impressed with the sleeves and armscye in my first trench, so I want to take another shot at adjusting them with a different method.

No Liberty of London for the lining this time. I think I will keep it simple with pongee lining, perhaps in coral or yellow. I also have fleeting thoughts of bound buttonholes. We'll see. I wouldn't want my bound buttonhole maker to go to waste.

Fabric and leather buckles have been ordered. Still on the fence about buttons.

Before I go, I did a quick tally of my projects for January. Although I have yet to blog all of them, I did accomplish a great deal. I made a trench coat (including 3 muslins), military jacket, cotton interlock skater dress and a chambray shirt dress. Not bad for one month.

Oh and before I forget...I'm at 95 followers on Bloglovin'. Once I reach 100, I will have a giveaway which includes patterns and fabric. More details on that to come...