Final Post for Fall Palette Challenge

The Fall Palette Challenge was not completely successful for me. I finished 4 out of the 5 garments, but produced one that I will never wear.

My lessons learned from the challenge were plenty! First, I was not totally open with myself on what I would wear vs. what I wouldn't. I wanted to stay on a budget and use fabric I already owned. I ended up using a very bright yellow that I bought through an online purchase that I knew wasn't what I wanted.

I was constantly waiting on patterns or waiting on fabric which resulted in me either being way behind scheduled or way ahead of schedule. Then work got too busy and I just wasn't able to concentrate on my sewing as much as I had liked. I ended up working on and finishing some items that were not part of my challenge but then did not complete the entire challenge either.

The positive side is that I made several fall items that I have already worn again and again! I got a lot of practice in tracing patterns and making adjustments to the patterns to fit my body and practiced finishing my garments nicely. All in all I am ready to attack the Spring challenge when it arrives with even more enthusiasm.

The cream corduroy clovers pictured above were the final item I made towards the fall challenge. They are super comfortable and I can't wait to make more clover pants!

The construction was a breeze especially since I left the pockets out. I keep searching for them - so, the next pair I am definitely going to add them back in. I can't wait to make the Capri version for Spring and some wool version for the cooler months!

The top is an Ice blue Georgette Pendrell blouse that I made in between the challenge items. It was my first time sewing with silk and it took a lot longer to put this blouse together than my previous cotton version. This is another item I would love to make again and again!

Later this week I'll be posting my first completed item from the Colette Sewing Handbook!

New Blog Name and Other Updates!

Some of you may have noticed that I changed the name of the blog to something that I felt fit my style and personality a lot more! It took awhile to decide on something I was completely happy about, but here it is the American Girl Dreaming!

I have had a little bit of a break from blogging, but I have been very busy sewing and planning and more!

Fall Palette Challenge: I plan to do a review of my Fall Palette Challenge sometimes next week after I get pictures of my final item the Cream Cord Clover pants.

November: The picture at the top of this post is the Cherry Meringue Dres image from Modcloth.com. I was so excited when they announced this dress would dayview in time for the holidays. I love the scallop like ruffles with the pretty red waistband! However, I guess things didn't work out and they won't be carrying it for this holiday season - huge bummer. Long story short, this cherry meringue was stuck in my head and started work on a Meringue skirt for the new Colette patterns book in a beautiful red bottom weight poplin and wouldn't you know I kept calling it my Cherry Meringue Skirt! I'll have pictures of that up next week as well as my new Taffy blouse!

Other news I have several projects cut and on the table a beautiful linen asian inspired floral Peony dress (Colette patterns), a white cotton sateen Pastille dress (Colette patterns), and I have reopened my (UFO) the Vintage Vogue Floral house dress.

Another big news event and this is in the beginning stages, but I have been busy designing and drafting a dog clothes line brought on by my experiences and disappointments when making a coat for both Pandora and Gizmo. More to come on that later!

Clover Muslin

So, here are some not so great pictures of me in my Clover muslin. I haven't been feeling well, but I am determined to at least get my final two fall palette challenge items done before the end of the month - even if they are the only items I sew.


I did make some minor adjustments while getting to this point. I ended up only doing half inch seams in the hip area on the pants legs to give a little bit more ease in the hip area.

I am still thinking maybe I need to shorten the crotch area in the front just a tad? What do you think?

Let me know if you see anything that stands out to you! This just might be a wearable muslin when I am finished!

Sewing Helper gets a new coat

Even after last week's post about finding my productivity again - I don't feel as if I have accomplished much lately!

I did start a little coat for my sewing helper, Pandora! I chose version B of the Simplicity pattern pictured above, but of course removed the fringe and changed some of the construction details.

She is so tiny and gets cold easily so I just wanted something she could wear when she goes outside for a walk etc. I was half afraid though that she wouldn't take to wearing a coat. I was wrong! During her numerous fittings I had to pry it off of her to get it back!

It should be finished tonight and I'll post pictures of her in her cute new coat later this week!

In other news I have traced both the Jasmine and Clover patterns and will be cutting my muslins before the weekend! So, there has been progress just not as much as I would have liked!

October Goals - Finishing the Fall Palette Challenge

My life has been pretty busy the past few weeks - mostly with work. But I am determined to be back on track this week with normal activities: sewing, knitting, and my back is finally feeling better so, it is back to the gym for weight training, cardio, and yoga! I can't wait to get back to regular fitness - it increases my energy allowing me to spend more time in the evenings moving between chores and crafts!

My goals for this month are pretty light, but I hope that you will enjoy following along! The first is to finish my fall palette challenge which includes a Jasmine blouse and a pair of Clover pants (both from Colette patterns). Colette patterns is hosting a Sew-Along which I am participating in to help us get the right fit on our pants. It is a month long process!

I will also be sewing a beautiful flowered linen dress from Vogue V8725 pictured here: http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8725-products-14164.php?page_id=856.

I also need to select my fabric and get going on my circle skirt from Casey'e Sew along! And then lastly, finish taping together the pattern for my Bombshell Dress from Gertie's- Sew Craftsy class.

And that is pretty much all for sewing - seems kind of light, but with the multiple fittings and adjustments on the pants - I am guessing I'll still be pretty busy!

Then for knitting I'll be completing the Crafty course Knit Lab and making a Lacy Key-hole scarf!

Any spare time from these projects will be going towards Christmas gifts and since the family follows along - I can't mention them here! I'll have to save pictures for a post Christmas review!

Stay tuned - later this week I'll be showing off my Ice blue Georgette Pendrell! I absolutely love it, but I need some sunshine to photograph in!

Fall Knitting, Fall Challenge and a Busy Week

September has been a pretty eventful month - starting the blog, sewing 3 out of 5 of my Fall Palette Challenge items, and starting the knitting project above!

We are having our semi-annual sales meeting at work. So, I have been very busy with things unrelated to sewing!

I will be starting on the Jasmine Blouse for the Fall Challenge over the weekend. I have a pretty star patterned voile that I am going to use. And of course I'll be starting the final item, Clover pants mid next week when the sew-along begins in a cream courdoroy!

For now I have been very lazily working on an ice blue silk georgette Pendrell. It is going to be gorgeous - and I can't wait to blog about the experience of sewing with this fabric.

I have also been knitting! I first started knitting when I was a pre-teen. I remember knitting colorful booties to wear around the house by my early teens I really wasn't knitting anything anymore. So, this really isn't my first project, but my first project back. This time I am determined to learn how to cast on (something I never did for myself previously) and hopefully gain enough experience to make a lovely owl sweater I saw while looking at everyone else's plans for the Fall Challenge.

Do you knit and sew? It seems like the two go hand in hand!

Fall Palette Challenge - Garment #3

Pattern: Peony from Colette Patterns
Fabric: Kona Cotton Sunflower Yellow
Styled with: Zoya shoes from Just Fab.

First, I have to say I am totally in love with the Peony pattern!  The pattern sewed up so nicely and the instructions were amazingly clear.  I pretty much started the actual sewing on Friday and had a finished dress other than the belt by Monday. I have another lined up already, in a black pique.  The one thing I really want to change for this dress is the bodice facing.  You have a facing which you tack down to the armholes but other than that pretty much hangs freely.  I think I would prefer to line the bodice completely enclosing in all the darts and preventing the facing from potentially popping up.

I have to tell you I was somewhat skeptical of the fabric.  This was initially an online purchase gone wrong.  First they didn't have what I wanted in stock, and then when I went online to quickly pick out a substitute on my monitor the color looked like a nice buttery yellow.  It was named Sunflower yellow, so if I had really paid attention I probably wouldn't have made the mistake.  I ended up not using it for the intended pattern and added it to my somewhat small stash.

Since I am newer to sewing and on a budget I don't have an incredibly large stash, but when putting together my challenge ideas - I really tried to pick where I could from the stash and save the allotted spending money for must haves (like the new Colette patterns).

I realized Peony was a perfect match for this fabric because of the removable cummerbund style belt!  The belt serves as a perfect way to tone down the yellow fabric.  While pictured above you see only the yellow with and without a yellow belt.  My plan is to make a chocolate brown and/or a black belt that can be worn with the dress to hopefully tone the look down some.

I am not completely convinced this dress will get a whole lot of wear. But I do work for a Solar Panel manufacturing company and yellow is one of our signature colors - so perhaps a great motivational work outfit?

(PS this was supposed to be tomorrow (Thursday's post) but I am putting it up early)

The Perfect Fit

As a beginner in the sewing world I have been very intimidated by pattern alterations! The thought of potentially ruining the pattern or spending so much time tracing, drafting, and making muslins that a finished garment never sees the light day - was scary!

Initially I also thought of a pattern much like a ready to wear garment. Pick your size (sew it up for the sewers) and ready to wear! Then I realized how many items I try on only to put back due to fit issues and just not looking right on my body. So, why would I accept the notion of sewing as if I am making ready to wear clothing? Why would I need take the time to ensure the item fit me just right?

So, off I went with my next Fall Challenge pattern the Peony from Colette's in hand.

I had to get accurate measurements first which I did by using a tape measure and standing in front of my full length mirror. You can find a great guide on taking your measurements over on the Sewaholic blog as part of the Pendrell Sew Along (http://sewaholic.net/pendrell-sew-along-measuring-and-choosing-your-size/).

I found for Colette's patterns I fit in a 10 for the bust and a 14 for both waist and hips! I also realized that due to my high bust measurements I am actually a C cup. I have heard that most women are wearing the wrong bra size I didn't realize this statistic actually included me. But this was good news since Colette's patterns are drafted with bustier girls in mind if I was the B I thought I was I would be doing an SBA (small bust adjustment). As it stood I really only needed to cut the bodice pieces in a 10 and the waistband/skirt pieces in a 14. However, I needed to ensure the bodice tapered to the larger size.

So, with my french curve/ruler, some Butcher's paper (great for tracing and comes on a larger roll), and pencil in hand. I set out to make the alterations with a pattern. A quick bodice test on muslin later - I was off and sewing up the Peony pattern with a much better fit than I would have from anything ready to wear or if I had just cut the size 14 and dealt with the bigger bust.

All of my fears were laid to rest, my pattern is actually in better condition since I only used it to trace, the muslin was quicker than expected, and I should have a finished dressed in the next day or two.

Stay tuned for the finished Peony dress!

Fall Challenge Garment #2 - The Emma Pillsbury Orange Skirt

Pattern: Simplicity 2315 Version C
Fabric: Orange Suiting (primarily linen hence the wrinkles)
Styled with: Beige Heels from JustFab and Idee Fixe top from Modcloth, scarf and cardigan unknown.

Wow! My second completed item for the Fall Palette Challenge! My new orange skirt with bow inspired by Emma Pillsbury in Glee. To really get the effect I was going for I probably should have chosen a pattern without front pleats and with a more structured bow. However, I love the color of this skirt and the pencil skirt is roomier than I initially expected (I am sure I have the bit of stretch in the fabric coupled with the back vent to thank for that).
I changed a few things up during the construction of this version - I used French Seams rather than my sewing machine's overlock stitch and serged the seams/unfinished edges on the back vent.
I see this being my go-to skirt of the season! I also plan on pairing it with a cream Jasmine (from Colette patterns) blouse and seeing if I can pull of a true Emma Pillsbury outfit double bows and all!

Next up for the Fall Palette Challenge is the Yellow Peony dress from Colette Patterns! The new Fall patterns have shipped and are on their way! I am very excited to make this dress! I have plans to make two different versions of the removal cumberbund style belt one using the original yellow fabric and another out of a chocolate silk (incase the intense yellow is just too much).
Colette Patterns also announced a Clover pants sew-along starting in October. If you remember from my mood board post this was the one item that really had me intimidated and I was willing to drop if the going got tough. With the sew-along I am pretty confident my fall challenge will be stamped Mission Accomplished.
In the meantime, while I wait for the rest of my challenge patterns to arrive I am taking a break and sewing up some Fall/Winter Pajama bottoms for the Mr., which he has promised to model for the blog!

Garment 1 Complete: Fall Palette Challenge

My first garment from the fall Palette Challenge is complete - and ahead of schedule!! To be perfectly honest, I chose to do two pencil skirts to have the first one be practice for the Emma Pillsbury Orange skirt, but this skirt ended up way too nice to be called a practice skirt!

As stated in a previous post I used Simplicity 2315 Version C with a wool blend fabric. After getting past my initial confusion of sewing the back vent - the rest of the skirt was very easy and I only deviated from the pattern slightly. It wanted me to hand sew the sides of facing to the back of waistband as well as the bottom. Instead I stitched the sides of the facing to the waistband using the method described in Colette's Ginger pattern and then finished the bottom of the waistband with hand stitches.


It feels absolutely luxurious and I can't wait to wear it again!

PS sorry for the somewhat tired looking photo it was taken after work and after going grocery shopping.

Update on Fall Challenge

For part of the Fall Palette Challenge I chose to do two pencil skirts one in a yellow twill and the other in orange suiting. I had ordered the yellow twill a few weeks back when a sale was going, and it didn't arrive because it was sold out! Part of the complication of buying fabric online. I found a lovely black/brown speckled wool blend to make up instead.

The wool blend is as soft as a cloud! And very pretty! I also can't recall every owning a wool skirt - or a pencil skirt - so I am pretty excited! I am using Simplicity 2315 for the pattern and it is sewing up so quick and easy - I almost can't believe it!

In fact, I gave myself a week a piece for both skirts and I am pretty sure I'll have them both done and photographed this weekend! So, stay tuned for my lovely fall skirts!

I am debating tweaking my fall plan a bit more because I am still waiting on my patterns that are on pre-order from Colette's and at this rate there will be a gap in my sewing! I am thinking I'll take the time to join Casey over at Elegant Musings (http://www.elegantmusings.com/) in the Circle Skirt sewing along. I have a really beautiful buttery yellow chiffon that would look great for the fall if I could figure out what to line it with.

Fall Palette Challenge Mood Board

I have to say getting to this point of the challenge was hard work for me! First, I had never put together a mood board before and I am not an expert working inside paint which was the only program I could really find on my computer for putting these type of images together! But it really did getting me thinking about some important wardrobe questions - what do I really need more of in my closet? (think seperates)- what colors do I enjoy wearing? (yellow for sure)- Are there items/colors in my closet that I really do not wear (Brown - I will need to limit what I make with this color).

Second, I live in California and we really do not have an autumn season - it is more of an extension of summer - just a bit cooler! I have to say that thinking about fall made me home sick for Georgia were the leave change to all these beautiful bright colors of red, yellow, orange, and a bit of purple... and the air feels so crisp! View this picture at my father's flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelbuff/311235703/in/set-72157613510244934

And my very last constraint, but perhaps the most important my budget! I wanted to use or pick as many of the projects as I could from fabrics that I already own since three of the patterns were going to be new!

So, here is the project list:
* 1 buttery yellow linen pencil skirt using Simplicity 2135 (all items in my stash)
* 1 creamy orange suiting pencil skirt using Simplicity 20135 (all items in my stash)
* 1 cream (silk blouse?) using Colette Patterns Jasmine (need to purchase both)
* 1 Sunny Yellow Dress with Chocolate Brown waistband using Colette Patterns Peony (have main fabric will need to purchase contrast and pattern)
* 1 pair of pants using Colette Patterns Clover (undetermined fabric need to purchase pattern)

That is 5 items in 8 week! All patterns are rated beginner so I am fairly certain I can finish all my patterns, but if anything does need to drop off the list it will probably be Clover! Pants do take some fitting and there has been talk of a sew along later on - plus it is the biggest investment in my budget!

Off to prep my cutting table!