Butterick 5488: One More Time

This is what my top looked like yesterday. Can't exactly wear it like that. ;-)



But as of 10 minutes ago, I had a complete top.



It was actually done about an hour ago but I kept looking at it, thinking it needed *something.* So I cut a strip, gathered it, and pinned it around the neckband to see if I liked it. I did, so I stitched it down. Raw edges, 5 minutes, done.



My white capris are fresh out of the dryer and waiting. I have a number of errands to run tomorrow and it will be nice to wear something new while I'm out and about.

Indulge Me Once More

Not much sewing going on at the moment, although I do have a top in progress using the same Butterick pattern as the Graduation Dress. I hope to get that finished tonight.

Speaking of the graduation …

One last mention and a link to the video DS#1 put together and uploaded to YouTube. If you click on the photo below, you should be taken right to it. (The final grad pics order hasn't arrived yet, so I "swiped" the proof in the meantime.)



There are no photos of the family because the two that DS did take are just plain horrible of everyone, but you can hear my "Whoop!" when Alex's name is announced. LOL!

Sigh of Relief

Graduation is over and done. Whew! It went great, despite the huge crowd (graduating class of 550+) and oppressively hot and humid weather. Summer is definitely here in West Central Florida. Ugh. ;-) I'm trying to remember freezing my arse off in January so I can appreciate this heat better.

I'm not sure what we have for photos yet since DS#1 was in charge and what he took is still in his camera. Unfortunately, once we got outside with The Grad, it was far too crowded and hot to stand around and take photos so we departed fairly quickly.

In other news, DS#1, the Marine-to-be, passed his ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) today with flying colors. We've spent a lot of time studying together over the last couple of weeks and it was well worth it. Well, except for that part about revisiting high school algebra. ;-)

Belinda, this photo is for you. My new orange sandals. Ta Da! They are a little fancier than my "every day" shoes/flip flops because of the metallic (gold) trim, but they fit into daily Florida life perfectly. And with my red hair/Autumn coloring, yellow/bronze metals are best on me, so I was happy with the gold instead of silver which is more popular lately. I think they have a slight gladiator & 1970s thing going on, but not so much as to be too young or trendy for my middle-aged self, and hopefully not too old/retiree either. ;-) Being only 1" high and cushioned, they are very comfortable, which is usually near the top of my new shoes requirements these days. And for a bonus, they also go with at least 2-3 more tops I already own.



ETA: Here's the Zappos link if you want to buy a pair in orange and/or the other color options.

In the Nick of Time

Looks like I won't be naked at the graduation. ;-) Here's the finished dress (B5488). And I was in bed by 1 AM (usual time for me).



Overall, I'm happy with it. I'm not 100% thrilled with the repeat of the large motif down my center front but that's a fabric issue that I had no control over so I'll live with it. If *I* had been designing the fabric, I would've spread out those large flowers more. But no one asked me. ;-)

It's very bright, isn't it? (That's bright orange in case your monitor is reading it as red). I'm planning to wear some orange sandals with it. That is, IF the UPS man delivers them before we leave. The tracking says they're out for delivery so fingers crossed. Yes, I procrastinated on ordering my shoes too. ;-) If they don't make it or don't fit, I'll wear either white or black sandals I already have. UPDATE 10:15 AM: They're here and they fit!

I used a coordinating print for the neckband and I also added sleeve and hem bands using this same print. I didn't want the neckband to get entirely lost in the print and I think this slight contrast works well.





As I mentioned earlier, for the muslin I did not make any alterations to the pattern other than blending to a larger bottom-half size. For the final dress, I tweaked the neckband by pinching out a very small "dart" on both the front and back pattern pieces, to tighten up the neck opening without affecting the seam where the pieces attach to the dress body. I knew this tiny alteration would stop me from fiddling with the neckline all night.

After evaluating the muslin, I decided I would sew the top seam of the raglan sleeves with a smaller seam allowance near the edge to give me a little more bicep room. Instead, for the final dress I just added that little bit on in fabric when I cut the pattern. Same affect but without the need to remember to sew a different seam allowance. One less thing to remember when you're sewing to a deadline is a Good Thing. Don't ask me about forgetting to cut the back On Fold so now I have a useless and pretty much invisible CB seam. ;-)

I ended up adding 6 inches in length to the bottom of the dress, some of that extra length is the 3" hem band. I added 1-1/2" to the sleeve pattern pieces and also added a 1-1/2" hem band, for a total of about 2" additional length on the sleeves after subtracting seam allowances.

Here's what my sewing table looked like when I finished last night (and still looks like now). Not too bad, right? Lots of other crap I need to put away, though, that is entirely unrelated to this dress. And I see my Stars & Stripes project peeking out from under the muslin bolt on the left. Poor neglected quilt. But I have a dress to wear!

Raise Your Hand …

… If you procrastinate.

(Debbie raises hand and waves madly!!)

So why do we? My fabric arrived on time on Tuesday. I've had time every afternoon and evening since to work on my dress. Have I? No. Not until today. The Last Day.

I'm pretty sure I'll get it done tonight. It's cut out and I've basted the pleats. The only other "hard" (not really) part is the neckband (already interfaced) and after that it's just straight seams and a few hems. Even if the power goes out, I can sew by candlelight on the treadle. But why did I wait? Why do some people (me!!) enjoy working under pressure? I mean, I must, right? Since I do this all the time.

But is it really procrastination if you do get the whatever done on time? Or is there another term that fits better? I don't think I ever procrastinate past a deadline and miss it. Maybe in a warped inverse sort of way, I just have excellent organizational and time management skills. Stop laughing. ;-)

Just thoughts.

Back up to the sewing room now.