Holiday Lull

It's now that strange holiday time between Christmas and New Years.  I'm still off work and should be sewing, but I'm quickly coming to hate the jacket I'm working on.

First I lost the pocket flap pattern pieces.  No big deal- I can just draft new ones.  Done.

Then I broke a serger needle and didn't have any replacements on hand.  No problem- the jacket is fully lined.  None of the inside seams will show, so I can just keep going.

Then I ran out of thread.  Full Stop.  I can't use a different color to top stitch.  So that meant a trip to the fabric store to get more.

Did I mention that the fabric- stretch "cordless" corduroy is a pain to work with?  Ugh!

So yesterday the Princess and I had a Girls' Day Out and made the trek to the "local" fabric store (60 miles away) to stock up on serger needles, thread, and 1.99 patterns.  The Princess has been asking for some new dresses and has expressed an interest in a couple of patterns.  We are in two completely different size ranges, so new pattern purchases were in order.

Here's what she picked out:

We both love this one.  Simplicity 1609 is a reproduction of a cute little mod shift dress.  The Princess wants one with the petal collar (green version) and one with the bow (blue version.)  It's sleeveless, so I'll probably put off making it until the weather starts to warm up, but I can't wait to make this up.

Simplicity 1650 (above) and 1687 (below) are Project Runway patterns.  The Princess picked both of them out.  Both patterns go all the way down to a size 4 so I think we will be able to make them work for her.  Both have sleeve options so we can dive right in with these while the weather is cold.

She picked out S2246, a Lisette shirt dress.  I like view C with the puff sleeves, solid bodice, and the full print skirt.

Next up is New Look 6211.  I really didn't want to get this one- it's kind of tacky, and too old for the Princess.  But she likes the hi/lo (mullet) skirt.  View B (the one without the cut-outs) isn't too bad.  We might be able to do something with it for spring.

And last is McCalls 6787, a top, leggings, and 3 dress variations:

The Princess picked out a pretty, multi-colored knit fabric and we chose this pattern to make it up.  She likes the view pictured above.  It's sleeveless, but I think it will look cute over leggings with a tee shirt under it while the weather is cool , and then she can wear it alone with sandals once warm weather returns.  If all goes well with it, I hope she will let me make the little peplum version, too.

And of course I had to pick up a couple of patterns for me.  I snagged Simplicity 1653, which is very similar to S2369 which I had good success with a while back.  The new version offers a straight sleeve, which I was looking for and fresh pattern tissue.  My first version turned out pretty good, but I really need to make the next one longer and I wanted a fresh pattern to adjust.

I also picked up McCalls 6884, a plain and simple wrap dress:

I bought a chevron pattern ITY knit that I might just whip up into this pattern.  I haven't decided yet.

I was able to pick up some more thread, however it was not the exact same color as the thread I started the jacket project with.  So I will be hoarding what's left on the spool for topstitching and button holes, and using the new thread for construction on the lining.  And wonder of wonders, I was able to purchase just enough buttons to complete the jacket.  I already had several in my stash and Hancock's had the same buttons, and just enough!  That almost never happens.

So now I just need to get myself motivated to go finish the jacket so I can start something new.  The Princess is really excited about her new dress, so I need to get going on that pretty quickly.  There are also a couple of Burda patterns calling my name....

Happy Holiday Sewing!