Vintage Pattern Dress and Tenor Uke Case#2...

Finished the tenor ukulele case for my son. Turned out well! LOVE the fabric he chose and that hot orange zipper adds pizzazz for sure!  Meanwhile I did finish the brown Simplicity Dress from Simplicity 1284.   The pictures aren't that great but I will add one here.  The reunion was swell! Very much fun and saw old friends. The dress was well worth making and it was very comfy.
finished it was not apparent that it is a vintage style - it is timeless and I may sew it again! This little picture is the best even though I took several in the motel I was sure would be good. At any rate - this pattern is a winner! It would also make good sleepwear, and a tunic as well. A nice top pattern I think. Unfortunately the pictures do not show the nice seaming on the bodice-sleeve but it turned out very nicely.  I add a picture of the seaming because that *IS* the style feature.  Now that those two projects are done, I can move back to the Shirt Quilt. I purchased red flannel fabric from Missouri Star for the backing. I do love a flannel backing on a quilt. So now with the wool batting and the flannel backing, when this comes to fruition it should be a nice warm quilt. :)  The It's Always Autumn raglan tee is up next and then I have planned a 60" table runner for my coffee table out of some remnants of the lighter prettier fabrics I have mostly in several pastel type of shades or maybe a bit deeper, anyway lighter!  And then, maybe one of these years I will get to another Asian quilt! I do have a large bin of Asian print fabrics for Asian quilts and really love those fabrics!  Right now I think another scrappy quilt is in the works back in the brain as well. It's such a dark, murky, cobweb-filled area back in the planning-what-to-sew-next stacks of my brain....:)

Ironing Board Cover in the Midst of Other Projects...

After a discussion on PatternReview of small irons, I was motivated to get out my small table ironing board, make it a new cover and pad, and get myself the little Sunbeam Travel Iron. The topic was actually the little Clover Iron, but I had that and never used it - very awkward and got too hot. This little Sunbeam iron heats up fast and is so darn cute! Since i am a Sunbeam iron gal anyway, this works!   So, I pieced the rest of the home dec curtain-uke case fabric I had left and made the cover, edging it with elastic after serging it - also made a pattern so I can make other covers. For padding I used two layers of left over Hobbs cotton batting. I can pull it a little tighter than shows in the photo, and I love this combo. This means that when I sit and piece blocks, I can turn around and iron them. :)   The iron really gets hot, so be careful! It has a really long cord - 8 feet! I think that may be as long as my regular iron! If not longer.

In the meantime I have three other projects in the works: the vintage dress, the ukulele case for DS, and the Shirt Quilt. But a detour is sometimes needed.

Simplicity 1284 for a Vintage 1960's Look...

Suddenly I wanted a few somewhat vintage patterns. I love the Koko Beall patterns, but the one I think I shall make is the Simplicity, view B.  The Burda I would do a tunic without the collar - just do a neckline binding or a self-drafted semi-cowl.  Anyway - as always it is fun to look at the patterns. :)  I have an event coming up for which a 1960s style is appropriate, and View B of the Simplicity would do just fine! I like the seaming and the simplicity, no pun intended!  View B is the black and white print sheath dress on the right of the pattern envelope.   Now to find fabric that would be LIKE the 60s without actually being the 60s.  I favor a solid or a very tiny texture or print that would allow the seaming to be the style features, as was the intent of the designer. It is always awful to see a lovely pattern, with seaming that defines a design,  made with a horrific print. Happens a lot though.

I linked Koko Beall up above to a really nice blog called American Age Fashion, which is a fascinating blog in itself.

The rest of the patterns will be waiting until I get the urge to sew them as well as the enlightenment of what fabrics to use, and what modifications to do.

Meanwhile, no, the quilt is not done, but it's coming along and the ukulele case 2, for my son, is cut out and awaiting my present wave of laziness to subside. Hoping this next week sees more action in the sewing room.  It is possible, and as I have so many projects in mind, it would be nice to do some positive work on the ones I have now!

Tenor Ukulele Gig Bag and Summer Nightwear...

Finished up the ukulele gig bag for the tenor last week. Now the little uke family has some cool accessories, eh?  It turned out somewhat large but the extra padding is a good thing because I do carry this bag a bit. Strap is a handy addition. My two soprano bags have no straps! Why? I can't remember, but they are smaller and easier to carry anyway.

This is at the quilted stage. I used two layers of batting and then quilted each side with its lining. That was good practice with the AcuFlex foot, and it went swimmingly!

My zipper was the metal one, so I sewed it in wrong, and had to take it out.  Since that happened I decided to go buy a yellow poly zipper anyway. It really looks nicer than the metal one did. Could be longer, but 22" was the longest pale yellow zipper they had at Joann's.

Then I made a double batted strap and attached that to the outside, and applied the pocket. The Elna 720 sewed through all those layers like butter.   I think there must have been 10 layers or so by the time I turned the edges under on the strap and then sewing it on, and the pocket too had many layers to sew through.  It is great having a machine that will do this effortlessly.  This was a self-drafted pattern, and the next bag will be made a bit smaller. I need to make another tenor gig bag for my son't ukulele next.  Off to JA's to get fabric for that today.

Meanwhile, the tenor bag and I went to our little uke group happily the last two times, and the yellow fabric surely perks things up!

Made a cotton nightie out of the lovely Buttercream fabric from JA's that has French stamps and the Eiffel Tower on it.  Self-binding on the armholes and neckline, and made from a pattern I drafted from a nightie I made several years ago from a Butterick pattern which since has been given away.  Simple pattern for a jumper, but it made a terrific little nightie in the first place, so the one I just made, I made long. It is really comfy.  Probably might make another, and even in flannel for winter!   If I fall across this pattern again I will buy it, but really only need the jumper part. And I drafted it, so there ya go.  The fit in the shoulders is really good - that looks simple, but unless drafted well by the company in the first place it won't fit correctly.   The picture isn't art quality here, but I will post it anyway. This is my new favorite nightwear.

Adding the pattern picture in case anyone should have it - give it a try! Butterick 5058 from 1997.