Bits, Bobs, Works in Progress and a Knitting Project

It is all groomsperson dresses over here there days. Groomsmaid? Groomswoman? Basically I'm standing up for the groom, who is one of my closest friends, at a wedding. (If you've been reading for a long time, you might recognize the groom, my friend Andrew.)

Luckily the bride and groom are really chill and said we can either buy dresses from David's Bridal in Malibu (the color, not the place) or we could get something the same color from somewhere else. All they wanted was knee-length and sleeveless. I can totally work with that! 

Of course I chose the latter option and had that "somewhere else" be Mood Fabrics. 

Mood had a gorgeous cotton sateen in a VERY close color for $10 a yard and last time I was in NYC, I bought tons of white cotton lining fabric from one of the cheapy fabric stores, so I had plenty of that on hand. (It's sick how cheap those places are -- I think my white cotton lining was like $5 a yard for 60-inch fabric.) 

Mood fabric on the bottom, David's Bridal swatch on the top. Brooke at Custom Style assured me via Instagram that the fabric was close enough since the dresses would be on different people; and if anyone knows what she's talking about with this stuff, it's Brooke. Thus reassured, I ordered enough to make Butterick B5748 again. I really like that dress -- so comfy and cute. Plus, I figured the shininess of the sateen would make it nice enough for a wedding. 

Unfortunately, the zipper I bought does not quite match. It's going to be closed into the lining, so only the pull will be visible, but I went to the trouble of getting matching serger thread and everything, so it's a bummer my zip doesn't quite match up. Can't decide if I should go with the unmatched zip or go with white. 

Also trying to decide between a self-covered belt or a bow belt. I'm leaning toward the bow. And shoes. I'm thinking nude pumps? So many decisions. So little time. Feel free to weigh in in the comments. 

All I need to do is put in a zipper, make the belt and hem the skirt. And give it a wash since I can see the yellow chalk marker I used through the dart lines.

At the bachelor party, I found myself offering to make a dress for one of the other groomspeople, the sister-in-law of the groom; she also is a good friend of mine and she happens to be six months pregnant. (Don't mind my dummy, which isn't quite the right size for this dress, which is why the bust area looks so baggy.)

I'd been wanting to make something for someone else just for a challenge -- and who better than your petite pregnant friend!

Because I was nervous about the fit, I went all out with the muslin, using a sheet from the thrift store and an invisible zipper harvested from a wadder.

Luckily it needed very minimal adjustments. A little out of the center back and sides and it should fit perfectly!

The pattern I used is Kwik Sew 3486 and let me tell you about buying it as a PDF and having the. worst. time. ever. with the printing. The DRM on the Kwik Sew/Simplicity patterns is mind-boggling. Had I not needed the pattern so quickly, I'd have ordered it, since neither local JoAnn's carried it, but with only a month to the wedding and a need to fit the dress ASAP, I went PDF. Never again. Print Sew sucks.

Luckily, it turned out cute and my friend liked it. Phew! 

Lyra has been helping me with the dresses. Look at those hound eyes! And that little teal snippet on her nose! Oh the cuteness. I die.

My entire sewing space is COATED in teal thread, by the way. And, apparently, so is my dog! (It's a good color for her, don't you agree?)

I also decided recently to teach myself to knit. I've always wanted homemade sweaters since I'm super sensitive to wool, and, being unable to convince my mom to make them for me, decided to just go for it. This above is the Miss Marple scarf. Next up? A Miette sweater in chocolate brown. Wish me luck! If you're on Ravelry and want to be friends, check me out!