Me, me, me

;) Apparently the me-centric sewing theme continues.... I've been in a mood to make myself things lately, and since the girls have a ton of clothes anyway, I've been doing that. This week I've made two tops and a dress (and miserably failed on another dress).

Oh, please ignore the weird angle of these pictures - I was using the timer on my camera, and I didn't really have a good spot to set it, so they're kind of angled up. Also, I ended up partly or all headless, lol.

During my last round of pattern shopping, I got Simplicity 2580, which I really like. It's meant to be dresses, but I used the pattern to make this shirt:
I used a knit that I'd gotten ages ago for a dress for A - it was really a bit thin for a dress, so I'd never used it. I thought it'd be good for making a muslin, although I actually quite like the way it turned out. It's cheerful and summery. The neckline is cut a bit low for everyday wear, to my mind, but it works just fine if you put a cami underneath. Next time I'll probably make the sleeves a little less fluttery, but they're fine this way, too.

Today I put together a dress from the same pattern:
(Okay, so it still needs to be hemmed, but I decided to go ahead and include it.) I like this version, too - I'm thinking I'll be making a top from this as well.

And then I also got this Burda pattern (7644) and made this tank top:
I didn't want to do the ruching, so I just cut off some of the bottom fabric. I cut it just a smidge too short, but it's cute and wearable. Of course it is; it's Burda. They actually fit me. I actually decided that my mother's day present this year is a subscription to Burda, so that should be coming to me sometime in the next couple of months. I'm psyched.

I'm also psyched because Stitch magazine finally came out with a new issue. I picked it up at the bookstore today, but I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I loved the last one, though, so I'm looking forward to it.

Both of these patterns are actually quite easy. I had a little trouble with the Burda one because I used the serger, and it took me a couple of tries to find a method of ruching the shoulders that worked well, but otherwise it's quite straightforward. Which is good, since their instructions don't always make much sense!

Unfortunately, I think I'm finally giving up on another dress that I was making. Long, long ago, I started to make Vogue 8182, only in knit (with a contrast band) rather than the original fabrics. So, I made it. Only it really looked amateurish around the bodice - I'd had to do a bunch of adjustments to the bodice, and it just didn't look great. So, I cut the bodice off to redo it. The second try was totally unsuccessful, because I messed it up. The third try was this week, and it just didn't work, either. I just can't get the bodice attached in a way that actually looks good. So, I thought I'd just make a slightly different bodice, which is a great idea in theory, but I went to Joann's today to get some more knit for the bodice, and it's all gone. :( I might try a different Joann's, but I'm not hopeful.

Oh, well, I'm happy with the rest of my efforts this week, so I guess I'll just stick with that! And at least my trip to Joann's wasn't all wasted - I picked up a bunch of crafts for the kids and I to do this summer, since school's out in 3 days!!