Project 19: Simplicity 1779, and a New Look

Before I jump into my latest project, I wanted to talk about the new look of things around here.  I was dealing with some itching to change things last week, so I went for it!  It isn't perfect, but I like how it looks for now.  I think some things need to be tweaked, but I'm not a graphic designer, nor do I know anything about anything.  I considered (for about five minutes) learning CSS to change some stuff, but that was a little too ambitious, and I'm a little too exhausted.

Onto the pattern!

Do you realize we're more than halfway through August and I haven't completed a resolution project yet?  That's unacceptable, in my opinion.  Granted, the resolutions are dwindling down, but that's no excuse, especially because I've had this fabric--specifically for this project--since June.

According to Pinterest, thirty-three weeks ago I pinned this shirt onto my Sewing Inspiration board:

From Anthropologie, so I'm sure it cost a million jillion dollars and was bad quality.  At the time, I thought it could be a modified Colette Jasmine, but I never got around to it and just let it sit on my board forever.

In June, Denver Fabrics was having another great sale, so I picked up some cotton lawn.  Considering it's about $4 a yard, it's pretty good quality: silky, it doesn't fray excessively, and if I make a mistake I don't fret as much.  I remembered this blouse and decided to buy the supplies, even if I didn't have the pattern.

Then Simplicity released 1779 for fall and I thought it was cute enough and close enough to give it a whirl.  So this is my version.

Pattern Description

Button-down blouse with various collar styles and sleeve lengths.  This is view C.

Pattern sizing

True to Big 4, this is available in 6-22.  I made a 14.

Did it look like the drawing on the envelope when you were done?

Yes, I believe so.  The drawing had better lighting--stupid rainy days messing up my photos.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes, there were just a ton of them--39 steps total!

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I love the range of styles available in one pattern, and I like the more modern fit.  So many button-downs available in patterns are made like they're only for old women.

Fabric used

Aqua and navy cotton lawn from Denver Fabrics

Pattern alterations or any design changes made

Not a lot!  I did use a 1/2" seam allowance through the body.  But that was it!

Would you sew it again?

Yes!  I'm loving the Liberty quilting fabrics, so if I could make view A in one of those, I think it'd look great.

Conclusion

Don't wait for a rainy day to take pictures.  Ugh!

So while it isn't identical, it's close enough for me.  I hope my Colette Sencha arrives this week, because I'd like to make that in time for the Savannah Craft Brew Fest at the end of the month.  And then I really need to focus on fall sewing--Beignet, here I come!

What'd you sew this weekend?

Wedding dreams?

Already?

As I've said, I have no grandiose plans of a wedding with an orchestra or center pieces or even guests, for that matter.  Because that's not who I am, and really, as much as Nick likes getting all handsome, he really isn't like that either.  We're much more introverted than that, and we live 800 miles away from our families.  We don't need that stress.

But I've been thinking more and more about us getting married, and I have these daydreams of it happening this summer, though there isn't a ring on my finger.  That doesn't mean a whole lot--we know it's coming, so why drag out the engagement, and I've already shown him the type of ring I want (at a very affordable price, hint hint).  But just let me have these thoughts, okay?  They're new and they're weird, but I enjoy them.  Hell, I've already become more domesticated than Eleanor, I may as well have the title.

Thankfully, not having a wedding also saves me from having to go wedding dress shopping.  If I've learned anything from Say Yes to the Dress, it's that wedding dress shopping is the most important thing you will ever do.  Ever.  If you mess this up, the rest of your life will be compromised.  I don't know if I'm ready to invest that much into a dress that probably won't fit right, so I would be willing to do just about anything to avoid it.  And seeing as how the fashion is strapless, and I couldn't wear strapless if my life depended on it (narrow shoulders, full bust, short waist--I hit the genetic jackpot), it will save me a whole mess of embarrassment if I just never have to deal with it.

However, here are a few dresses I would buy right now if I knew we were hitchin' this summer:

Shine Through dress from Anthropologie.  It has a great cut for me, and it isn't white.  I'm a pale redhead--white just makes me look even more so.  Plus, for summer, it's a great fabric--airy eyelet.  I could throw on a cardigan to show some modesty in the courthouse and wear my Marc Jacobs gold "I love you" necklace I picked up in Savannah last September.

Cotton-silk faille Blakely dress from J.Crew.  I love a ruff--who doesn't?  And the aluminum color is nice because it's light without being too feminine, and also serious, but the ruffle makes it less office-suited.  I could wear either my purple Isaac Mizrahi for Target heels I've had forever, or my pink open-tow Mary Janes (also from Target) I got three years ago on sale.  This is much more feminine, yet I still look like myself.

The Iza dress from J.Crew.  I think this is an actual wedding dress, but it's gorgeous and fitting for my situation.  The same bodice cut as the Anthropologie, but much more streamlined.  It has great texture and the white isn't bleached-out.  I'd try to offset it with either a colored cardigan or heels, because I can't imagine white heels in a city in the summer.  Ew.

I imagine I'd grab a bunch of peonies or tulips from Whole Foods and we'd hire a photography student for a couple hours, taking us from the courthouse to lunch or dinner.  I know weddings aren't always the stuff of dreams, but I'm going to keep these images in my head for a little while.  Just the two of us, off somewhere where no one knows us (even here, because I think we know two people in the whole city), deeply in love and making it official.

What are your wedding dreams?  Are you the opposite of me and think I'm crazy?  Don't feel bad, a lot of people are, and do.