UFOs and Prep Work

Kitty Mittens is 100% complete. The smocking, that is. I haven't begun construction of the dress because I want it to count as part of the Stash Fabric Contest beginning tomorrow over on Pattern Review. I'll be using the pretty pale pink corduroy that you see behind the smocked insert.

Now that Kitty Mittens is done (and the dress is easy- shouldn't take long to complete) the next UFO in the line-up is Crab Happy from Little Memories.

As you can see I have one crab complete (except for the bullion smile) and one crab well underway. I don't know why I never finished this one. Perhaps the Princess wasn't crazy about it?

This is definitely a summer plate, though. Once this one is complete I can imagine it inserted into a little sundress or overalls made of seersucker. I happen to have a nice turquoise in my stash. Wouldn't the orange crabs just pop against turquoise?

Since I was holding off starting a new sewing project in order to be eligible for the Stash Contest, I went ahead and traced and made a muslin of BWOF 03-2008-115, the "work dress" from SSSP.

I've had my eye on this dress a long time- ever since the magazine came out. I've put off making it because I was afraid this was a design that was meant for skinny girls. But you know, the pattern goes up to size 46, so obviously Burda meant for me to make it (even though I did grade out a bit to a 48 at the hips.) And frankly, this style- long and body-skimming with no waist seam, and lots of darts for shaping at the waistline- is just the kind of design that flatters me the most. My muslin was quite promising. I may take the bodice in ever so slightly at the side seams on the actual garment, and I'll definitely raise the slit in the neckline to cover the bra band, but other than that, it fit great. I made a 3/8" petite adjustment above the bust, and I added a whopping 1 and 3/8" of length through the waist. These adjustments combined with grading out to the next size (48) at the hip were all of the adjustments I made.

I'm very excited about getting started on this dress. The fabric, a black and white stylized floral poly, is coming from stash and will count for the contest. I'm on the lookout for a special button for the neck closure. The dress has a very retro flavor to it and I want just the right button to set it off. Any ideas?

I'm off to tissue fit the Vogue dress to the Princess and check the width of the insert against the pattern. I may need to stretch it out and block it a little wider. I want it all ready to go so tomorrow when I get home from work I can cut out the dress and start sewing!