Frugal Frocks 2021 Challenge: DIY Shirred Dress

I am participating in this month's #FrugalFrocks2021 Challenge by Frugalisama and The Yorkshire Sew Girl. 

The challenge is super simple-- sew a dress in March with fabric already in your stash and with a free pattern or by drafting your own pattern.  I chose the latter.   I really wanted to try making a shirred dress (a nod to Hill House Nap dress that seems to be super popular on Instagram), and after watching By Hand London's free instructions on their Instagram Stories, it seems very easy to make.  👍  Mine looks like a cross between this Hill House dress and By Hand London dress.

I just needed three rectangles (one for shirring/bodice making; and two for sleeves).  I had this beautiful pink cotton fabric in my stash from so long ago that I don't even recall when I got it.

Shirring was very easy.  I got some Gutermann elastic for bobbin and then regular pink thread to match the fabric and just had to play around with the tension on my sewing machine to get it right.  

The sleeves were just rectangles with 1/4 inch elastic inserted at both ends.  The top elastics make sure the sleeves stay on my shoulders, and the bottom elastics make sure the sleeves hold on to my upper arms.

The finished dress is very comfy. It is the queen of stretch because everything just fits according to the elastic parts.  When the weather gets warmer, I will be grabbing for this dress!   Thank you to the hosts for sponsoring this challenge! 

(Here is a sneaky peek of the shirring inside. I also finished all the edges with my pastel rainbow overlock thread)

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Spring Flower Wreath

 

Spring is almost here!  To welcome spring, I got these ornamental flowers from Michael's.  I think they are meant to be for table decoration, but I separated them to put them in my spring wreath.  I kept the evergreen wreath background from my Christmas wreath, and all I had to do was replace them the Christmas decorations with the flowers. Very easy, super affordable, and also space saving since I don't have to put the entire wreath into storage for the rest of the year.  

•  Roses
•  Lilacs
• Tulips and white orange blossom flowers seem to be only available at the store. 
  

(See below for the Christmas wreath-- it also had fairy lights!)

 

Details of the Spring wreath.

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Tilly and the Buttons Billie Top and Stella Joggers

Isn't this fabric just so happy?  I ordered it from Joann so that I could make a lighter comfy home wear.  I love the Stella Hoodie and Joggers I previously made, but they are a little bit like sweatshirt fabric so when the weather gets cooler, they may be too thick.  So this time, I used a lighter cotton jersey fabric from Joann.  (If you use a coupon, they work out to be $6 /yd-- pretty good deal!)  The fabric is super soft and light, but not see through at all.  It has a bit of stretch too.

I made this Billie top a little bit longer so that when the weather gets very humid, I can wear it as a dress.

 

Stella Joggers (from Tilly and the Buttons Stretch Book) are so comfy. I think I could make these over and over again.  I extended the length for about two inches, and it's the perfect length.  

 

 

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Handmade Cath Kidston Tailor's Ham and Sleeve Roll

 

I've read and watched on Youtube that a tailor's ham and a sleeve roll are helpful for when pressing garment's curved seams or sleeves.  I did see some for sale (and some cute handmade ones for sale on etsy), but I wanted to make my own with Cath Kidston canvas fabric.   I used a free pattern from Elewa's Blog. and for stuffing, instead of crushed walnuts, I stuffed it with small scraps from my previous sewing projects.  I already used them for when I was making my Mimi Blouse, and they did make pressing curved seams so much easier.   👍

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Tilly and the Buttons: Mimi Blouse in Liberty Tana Lawn

 For the past few years, I've collected a small stash of Liberty Tana Lawn Fabrics.  If I was standing on an edge of a cliff and someone forced me to pick my favorite fabric, Liberty Tana Lawn would be it.  (Side note: why would someone do that?  No idea)  Anyways, they are so soft, so sturdy, multi-functional (quilts, garments, curtains, bed sheets, etc), and they have a good combination of classic and modern designs.  

I've been saving this pink Liberty Tana Lawn Fabric (Tatum print) since I purchased it at the Liberty Store in London a few years back.   Initially, I thought I was going to use it for a quilt.  I wasn't sure what kind of quilt or anything, but it had pink flowers (✅) on pink background (✅) with more pink flowers (✅✅✅), so there was no question that I was going to leave the store without it. 😍 Is this what it means to be a Fabric hoarder/collector?  😆

So for my next #makenine2021, I thought it would be so pretty to make my Tilly and the Buttons Mimi Blouse with this fabric.  I thought it would be great for summer or spring, and I could also technically wear it with my suit for work.  I do love a pop of delicate top under a suit. 

I wouldn't say sewing this top was hard, but I wouldn't say it was quick and easy either.  The gatherings in the back yoke and on the front took a while to get them accurately, and the gatherings for the shoulders took a while to ease it in.  What took me the longest is making sure that when I was overlocking the seams, I had to triple check that there was no fabric caught underneath it.  Every step had to be done slowly and carefully unlike sewing jersey.  

 

But in the end, I think it was totally worth it.  It fits perfectly (I didn't have to make any adjustments), and I love the style too.   This was also my first time doing a french seam, and that was very neat technique to learn.

I made 1/2 inch cover buttons with left over fabrics.  It was a bit fiddly (note: cut a slightly bigger size fabric than recommended in the instructions), but I love how it looks on the blouse.

Nice detail that Tilly added to the sleeves.

Lastly, with the leftover fabric, I made a matching mask. More than a year into the pandemic, I think a matching mask is "almost" a necessity?  😁

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Brightly Quilt Top with Squirrelly Girl Fabric

I could not resist the squirrels on this fabric. (It is Squirrelly Girl by Bunny Hill Designs from Moda Fabrics, and I ordered it from this etsy shop called, Crazy Quilt Girl). Orange is not usually in my repertory of colors, and I don't think I own anything that is orange in my wardrobe or at home, but these squirrels are just too cute, and I thought they would be perfect for a fall quilt or what I like to call, "seasonally appropriate decor".  😁   I love how these squirrels are integrated into different designs in the fabric.  Some are running around with acorns, some are playing with leaves, and some are even integrated into the scroll designs. 

I used Cluck Cluck Sew's Brightly Quilt Pattern, which was very easy to follow and very quick to sew.  I think after cutting out the fabric pieces, it took me about a weekend to piece the entire quilt top together.  The instructions are super easy, and after doing the first block, I was able to figure out how to chain piece them together.  I also used her diagonal seam tape.

After looking at the pattern and comparing it to the colors in my fat quarter bundle of this fabric, I was worried that it didn't have enough variety of colors to have the impact that the quilt in the original pattern has.  But I had already cut the pieces and there was no turning back, so I went ahead and finished the quilt top.  I am very happy that I just plowed through because I think it came out pretty well! 

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