My First Stanton Hoodie Dress

November 26, 2022November 24, 2022 ~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

I really loved the look of the Stanton Hoodie Dress when I saw it. Since first seeing it, I’ve seen other hoodie dresses, but I don’t think they’re as nice.

I had this gorgeous cotton fleece I bought a few years ago from Fabricville. I’d been saving it to make a warm winter dress, and I knew I wanted it for my Stanton.I love this material! I think this makes a lovely Stanton hoodie dress too. I decided for this one (I have others planned already) that I wanted it all one color with a pop of color for the lining.I actually didn’t have enough fabric to make the hood lining and the pocket lining the same color. I was using up some scraps. But seeing as the pocked will be laying flat most of the time, we’ll be the only ones who know.

As you can see here. The lining on the pocket really doesn’t show, so no one will notice those two different lining colors.I love this material for this and I decided to use it for the cuffs and hem instead of ribbing.

Here’s one cuff:

And here’s the hem:I’m very happy with how my Stanton turned out. It’s going to be wonderful on those really cold -30C winter days! Well, actually, I don’t go out much on those days. It’ll be lovely on the -20C days. (smile)

My DIL Em came over to take a few pictures of me wearing my Stanton. She loves it. She’s planning on getting material for her, and dropping hints that her mom would love it too!

Happy creating!

Ideas for a Bra Dress

June 5, 2021June 3, 2021 ~ Michelle

A couple of years ago, during one of our bra-making classes with Jeanette (Sew Uplifting), a class idea came up that sounded great! I was ready to sign up that day.

Not long afterwards, that class became an option and I did sign up. The Bra Dress. Unfortunately, that class was cancelled, and as yet, hasn’t been rescheduled.

A couple of my bra-sewing classmates and I have been talking about how do we do this? We can’t take the class. We’ve been waiting for two years for this now. We want this bra dress. So we’ve been brainstorming just how this would we do this.

I even bought a bathing suit that was on sale last year – just to see how it was made.This is a swim dress from Land’s End.

Here’s the bra inside: This isn’t exactly what I had in mind. But I kept it because I really like the swim dress.

Here’s the back band: No, this was definitely not what I was thinking. This is a shelf bra that has wires. I’m thinking an actual bra.

So, I kept looking for ideas. I started looking at some vintage ideas.I saw this great vintage slip on Etsy.

Here’s the back view of the slip.Again, this is like the Land’s End suit, the back is like a shelf bra. I’m still thinking of wanting the actual bra clasp at the back though.

I did fine two vintage sewing patterns on Etsy too. I think this is the idea I’m going for – a bra built into a slip, then attached to the dress at the shoulders.

Oh, I wish I could see the back of this one. However, this pattern design is very similar to the Elite bra.

I wish I could see the back of this one too. I want to know how these slips fasten.I’ll keep thinking about this. My draft cup alterations are done, so I’ll share that with you next week.

Happy creating!

A Hallå Agnes for Em

October 6, 2018October 5, 2018 ~ Michelle ~ 2 Comments

Em asked me if I would make her a dress. How could I say no?

It Starts with Materials

I got this gorgeous black and white Liverpool knit from Libelle Sewing. It’s so lovely! I really love black and white. I love black and white photos, and pretty much any and all clothing that’s black and white. So when I saw this material, I loved it right away.

As soon as I got it, I knew what I wanted to make with it. It has a lovely drape. I knew the Hallå Agnes would be perfect. I sent Em a photo and asked if she’d like that. Yes. She loved it.

Pattern Adjustments

I have Em’s measurements from ever so long ago when I made her first Watson bra. But Em’s lost some weight, so I got her new measurements and saw she doesn’t fit into just one size either. She does for her hips and waist, but to make the pattern fit her bust, I needed to do a Full Bust Adjustment.

Check out this video for the Craftsy Full Bust Adjustment for Any Pattern class. At 1:09 she shows just what I did for Em’s FBA.

Once I’d made this one small adjustment to the pattern for Em, I was ready to cut out the material and sew it up. The Agnes pattern is a quick sew too, which is another plus.

Em’s agnes

Here’s Em’s Agnes on my dress form.Oh, this is lovely.

Here is the side view. You can see, even though I did a FBA on the pattern just under the arm, it hangs perfectly straight – and I added over an inch to the bust.And the back.You can see here I also did a lettuce edge for the hem instead of a regular hem. I really like this. When I’ve made the Agnes in the past, I was using cotton Lycra, so this was the perfect material for this hem.