Academic exercise turned wearable...

Let's see... Well, first of all, I've been wearing the capri pants a fair bit, but really they're still a bit too big. I like the dark denim look, so I've just been putting up with it, but at some point I need to buy some more denim and make a different pair. I feel like I'm constantly pulling these up and fussing with the waistband. But at least they look cute. ;)

Next up are a pair of peasant blouses for the girls, made from Michael Miller Tweet Tweet fabric.
(Sorry, no action shots - they haven't been in very trying on moods. M's does fit her, but I don't know yet about A's.) I used the same basic pattern for the tiered dresses the girls like so much. I had to make up an expanded size for A, since she's grown since last year (and the original pattern it's based off of was actually only up to size 4. So this is an expansion of last year's expansion!) I need to her to try it on to make sure it fits before I make any more tiered dresses for her. Perhaps I'll get them on tomorrow!

So the next thing I've been working on is a Burda dress pattern I downloaded. I thought it would be fun in some of those fabrics I got at Gail K a while back. And supposedly they make their patterns in a C cup, so it might not need as much alteration as most of the patterns I try. The downloadable patterns are in PDF format, and you print off 25+ pages and tape or glue them together to make the pattern. So, I did that, and then traced the pattern pieces on my beloved Swedish tracing paper (because I thought it'd be easier to use than the regular paper. And better for my scissors.) However, I didn't realize until *after* I traced the pieces that no seam allowances were included. Oops. No big deal, I'll just add it in when I cut the pieces out, right? Except I forgot by the time I cut them out. And I used nice fabric. Grr. So, I decided to go ahead and sew it together with 1/4 seams, as an academic exercise as much as anything. Which was a good plan, since the instructions were enormously confusing. I hope they're better in the actual magazine. Probably it doesn't help that they were (I assume) originally written in German. Anyway, I finished everything but the hem and tried it on - and it fits! I don't know if they included a ton of ease or if I measured wrong the first time, but here it is:
This version isn't hemmed, and the bodice is pinned in a couple of places - I need to do a quick alteration to fit me better. But all in all, I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm planning to make another version with a couple of change to the front bodice pieces next. And the whole thing actually went together pretty fast, especially considering it was my first invisible zipper, and I didn't understand those instructions at all!

This is my first Burda pattern, but I have to say that I really like the fit of this dress. It seems like it was designed a little more like my body is shaped, unlike many of the US big three pattern companies. I'm going to have to see if there are any other patterns I like from them. (Plus they have some free downloads, and I just think that's cool!)

I haven't quite decided what the next project is - I'm thinking maybe some shorts for the girls. Not that they need clothes at all, but I do like seeing them in all my fun fabrics!