What's Up: New Dress for Jen, Finished Skirt, VintageModern Coat

UPDATE:  You can vote for my Flower Button Coat in the VintageModern Design Challenge through Thursday, March 22.  You can only vote once and you must register at the BurdaStyle website in order to do so.  You can find my entry here.  I'm project #11.  Thanks!!!!


For the moment, I feel like a powerhouse when it comes to completing projects.  This probably won't last long, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can!

The big project of the week was making my coat for the VintageModern Design Challenge hosted by Indygo Junction (patterns), BurdaStyle, Coats & Clark, and Singer.  This was big because it involved sewing a coat for the first time, and making style changes to the original pattern (collar, pockets & flaps, flower buttons, piping).  You can read about this project in more detail on my BurdaStyle page, but here's the completed coat:

I learned a lot from this project and I'm already planning what I'm going to do differently the next time I make it, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  Now keep your fingers crossed that I win the challenge!  I'll keep you posted on how I do.

My second completed project was a dress for Jen, who hosted the last skirt party.  I used Kay Whitt's Flirty Dress from Sew Serendipity.  I made the under bust band a bit wider (2.5 inches) than her pattern and added a tie to the back.  I love the fabric Jen chose - Joel Dewberry's Heirloom Tile Flourish in Green - and the dress looks great on her.  I'll try to get a photo with her in it when I drop it off later in the week, but here it is on a hanger:

And then I finally finished Melissa's bias trim denim skirt.  I had to re-do the waistband because I just didn't think the straight waistband was working.  A rectangular/straight waistband is theoretically supposed to work when the skirt sits at the high waist, but I haven't found this to be the case.  Or I should say, it works for my 4-year-old but not for anyone with a womanly shape.  So, ta-da, here it is!

I love the button Melissa's picked out from my collection.  It gives a masculine touch to an otherwise very pretty skirt.

That's it for last week (she says while flexing her sewing muscles).  This week will be a bit less exciting.  I need to finish a few odds and ends and I offered to help a local Irish Dance school finish off six skirts for their St Patrick's Day show.  I bartered with them so now Cora will get to take some Irish dance lessons!

Have a great week!