So I made this McCall's 7366 jumpsuit. I thought this jumpsuit was hot, sexy and super fashion-forward when I first saw it and I knew I was going to make it. I think a lot of McCall's fans -- well, the ones that don't have an aversion to having to pee in a public restroom while wearing a jumpsuit -- wanted to love this and probably did in theory. But this jumpsuit pattern has one very scary plunging neckline.

The neckline on the pattern is deep! And if you're tall like me and have to add length at the waist? It's deep-er! I'm no prude. Nor am I on #TeamModesty. Yes, someone created a hashtag to say they dress "normal". But anyway... 

It was time to think about how I was going to handle the sternum-baring plunging neckline. And this is where a lot of sewers look at this pattern and put it back. Just disregarding all of the fabulous potential! No matter the educational level of a new-ish sewer, they all seem to overthink how to modify a pattern to suit them. Sewing is treated with a difficulty higher than Engineering. And it shouldn't be. Sewing is basically operating the machine, which requires: hand, eye and foot control -- like a car. And common knowledge because we've all seen and worn clothes before. So you have a basic understanding of what fabric your clothes are made of and what may potentially work. And if you're reading this, you have the internet. I mentioned in a previous post that you must adapt a pattern to suit the proportions of your own body, taste, style and comfort level. And also how pattern pieces and the instructions that accompany them are just "suggestions". They are YOURS, you bought it! You are free to move them about, eliminate, swap around, cut off, add on and make any changes you want to make. The Sewing Gestapo is not going to come and haul you off if you don't sew precisely based on the pattern. So stop overthinking!!!

So this is what I did so I wouldn't have a belly button plunging neckline. I cut the size 12 and added an inch to the length because the bodice on patterns are never long enough for me.  In the above photo, I show you all of the places I added interfacing to in order to stabilize. For the center front, the instructions suggest where to sew to in order to have that plunging neckline. If you want it higher, then sew higher.  I sewed mine up 7" from the bottom. I wanted cleavage, but I wanted to feel like I was secure because this is NOT a bra-friendly jumpsuit. The thing that you may not know is that when you see celebrities wearing belly button-plunging garments is that they're taped into those things. Double-sided tape is holding those bodices in place. I don't want to do all of that rigging for my regular life, so my bodice would need to stay in place on its own.

My fabric is a scuba jersey knit that I've had for a while. It's very lightweight, like a ponte. The bodice is lined, so I used the same fabric to self-line mine. Here is the bodice after the collar was added.

The back of the jumpsuit is open but overlaps across the top and is closed at the collar with hooks and eyes.

The pants are tapered with front pockets, back darts and a back zipper. I added 5 inches to the length of my pants. They were super short for me. My alteration gave me a 33" inseam. The pattern suggested a center lapped zipper. That's always a no-go for me. I used an invisible zipper and attached the bodice as instructed.

I wasn't a fan of the cumberbund style belt. It was too lady-tux formalwear for me. My jumpsuit is meant to be casual wear and I love having the option of any belt I want. 

This pattern is awesome in my opinion and I plan on revisiting it and also making the View D.

One of my favorite trends so far for the upcoming season is ruffles and flounces. A lot of the runway interpretations of this style can look over-the-top and just downright ridiculous. But it seems that a lot of the designers really watered down the look this year and made the trend really wearable. And I've been completely inspired.

I wanted a striking ruffle top that would go with anything from a statement skirt like this one or a pair of trousers or even jeans, but also simple to wear. I pulled the bodice from Vogue 1308 (out-of-print). I made this a few years back in a romper style. I wore that romper until the fabric had pulls and runs in it. I loved it. So reached for the pattern again. I cut out the bodice and lengthened it so that I could tuck it in. 

Since it's only a blouse now, I eliminated the invisible back zipper. All of the seams are French, the neckline and armholes are finished with bias facings. And it has a narrow hem. What made this one a little more special than the original is that I doubled the ruffle. I finished them with a serged rolled hem. The fabric is this stunning Black Stretch Silk Georgette from Mood Fabrics.com.  It cut beautifully. 

I wanted a white statement skirt. One that would work now during warm weather. And will also work with tights and boots when it's cooler. I've had Vogue 1450 since it was released.

It's from Guy Laroche Spring 2014.

I cut the size 14 and lengthened it 3 inches. If you notice on the pattern envelope, the back seam of the flounce seems to fall across the hip. That doesn't look flattering at all. It looks just weirdly placed to me... almost like it's hiked up on side. That's why you have to look closely at the technical drawings and see the potential. So that was the main reason that I added length, so that the seam would fall below the butt.

My fabric is the most perfect seasonless suiting fabric I’ve come across. It’s this beautiful Italian Ivory Stretch Polyester-Viscose Suiting. This is my second garment I’ve used this fabric. The first was my New Look 6459 cropped pants that I wore all throughout the summer. This fabric is the perfect weight for this skirt. The skirt is self-lined and the asymmetrical draped flounce is also self-lined. And it drapes perfectly. 

The skirt has a side invisible zipper. And I topstitched along the seam detail of the flounce, like the runway version.

I know that a lot of you are often curious where I wear my clothes. I wore this on Thursday night to Birmingham Fashion Week, night 1. I think it held up pretty well under driving with a safety belt and sitting. I’m sure I’ll get a lot more wear out of these pieces individually.

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Time for fall sewing! I love fall. I'm a September baby. This is MY season. I typically start off the season with "transition pieces". Those are the kind of pieces that work for my climate... because it's not going to be officially fall until close to Christmas. Unless we have some sort of extraordinarily chilly weather this year. With all of the weird climate conditions, I wouldn't really be surprised either way. So it's best to just be prepared for whatever Mother Nature tosses my way.

So, one of the first things I've made thus far is this dress. It's from the fabulous design duo Badgley Mischka - Vogue 1513. They're one of my favorites and I've made a lot of their designs to prove it. But let's talk about this one...

I make a fabulous white dress every year, so this is my pick for this year. The fabric I selected is this completely gorgeous ivory wool-like crepe with lycra from Mood Fabrics. Since the dress is fully-lined, I needed the lining to match the stretch, so I picked this white stretch polyester crepe de chine.

I cut the size 12 from the bodice and graded out through the waist and the hips in the size 14. I added 3 inches to the length and this is where the hemline falls on me. Keep that in mind.

This is a basic sleeveless, princess seam sheath dress with a back slit. The only things that makes this dress unique is the asymmetrical drape and the collar... and the construction suggestions.  Here are some key factors that in my opinion takes this dress from basic to designer: The interfacing. Interfacing is a big deal. And in my STRONG opinion, the average home sewer does NOT use enough of it. There are so many places in garments that should be interfaced. We ALL use fusible interfacing, so it's beyond easy to do and not eliminate these essential steps. I'm going to just assume it's because a lot of you don't know what you don't know. This is something I've learned throughout the years from sewing the designer patterns (they have all of the good construction details), reading sewing books (seriously, invest in couture sewing books), and reading blogs. Every sewing blogger may not be your cup of tea or shot of tequila. If I had my pick, I'd ONLY read blogs by those that combine sewing and fashion. But there are a lot of blogs by people that can really, really sew... and understand garment construction. You can add in your own fashion.

Here is how this dress is interfaced. I've seen the interfacing for the front, back and sides of the dress in books. I only interface like this on the regular for jackets. But from this point on, I'll always interface dresses like this. Normally, I use stay tapes in these areas, but I love the idea of fusible interfacing shaped like facings. But I interface EVERY SINGLE THING I put a zipper in. It's imperative that the zipper area is interfaced. No one wants a wavy or "homemade-looking" zipper insertion area. 

And if you aren't interfacing your slit or vent area... sigh...  Just don't even bother including that detail in your garment. It just makes the slit area so crisp. And while I was down there, I tapered in the skirt 4 inches smaller than the fullest point of the hip measurement.

The drape is sewn in between the front and the side seam and the center back. And it's finished with a narrow hem.

I shortened the collar by 5/8" an inch. It was too high for me. 

There is some handsewing involved when sewing the lining to the shell fabric at the armholes and the lining at the slit. I machine-stitched the lining to the zipper tape. And I also did a machine blindstitch for the hem. I absolutely love this dress. But sadly, it's so unique with the draping that I can only wear it a few times before I'm over it. But I'll at least have these pictures to reflect back on!

I love a great bag and I'm loving the grommet trend. See how I use them to create this quick and easy clutch with detachable chain strap tutorial over on the WeAllSew BERNINA blog!

This is out-of-print Vogue 1158, by Tracy Reese. It's a really cute summer dress that I've had since it was released 6 years ago. For years, I've pulled this dress out with the intention of making it and I always ended up putting it back. The problem was that I never found fabric that I loved that would truly compliment the design and also, devoting time in the summer for such a detailed garment. It looks pretty simple from the picture, but there's a lot going on there. 

First thing first, I had to find the right fabric. During the last days of Hancock Fabrics, I ran across this stripe cotton/linen blend. I instantly liked the earthtone palette and I knew it would challenge my sewing prowess to match these unbalanced stripes on the bias.

I cut the size 14. Like I said previously, I bought this pattern years ago. So today, I could've cut a size 12, so it started out a little big in the bodice. But I still needed to add an inch of length.

I also added 2 inches to the skirt's length.

The first part I laid out was the skirt. The skirt was pretty tricky because of the unbalanced stripes and that it's cut on the bias.  If you're new at matching stripes, I would suggest starting out with balanced stripes (stripes that repeat in the same order in each direction). And unbalanced stripes do not.

Matching stripes at the seam can often be frustrating. It's not difficult, but it is something that you need to think about -- especially before you buy and cut into your fabric. Whenever you have to print-match, I highly recommend buying extra yardage (1/2 yard extra should be enough) so that you can easily match the prints at the seams. And always, always cut each pattern piece on a single layer.

For this particular design where the skirt is cut on the bias, the objective is to create mitered stripes at each seam.  This is done by cutting the pattern pieces in mirror image panels. I did this by finding a matching point -- a point in the print where I will use to cut each piece.  I used the grainline marking on the pattern piece to align it. As with any pattern when your are cutting the pieces on a single layer, cut the first piece right side up and the second piece right side down.

I made the same marking on the back pattern skirt piece so that the stripes would match even at the side seams.  As much as you may want to, you can't cheat with this -- especially if your stripes are unbalanced (and the same goes for asymmetrical plaids). Just take your time and the design will be worth it! And major tip: Use your walking foot to prevent the fabric from shifting while sewing.

The bodice is both pleated front and back. And so are the lining pieces. Oh... did I mention that this dress is fully lined? See... big time involved. I used a very lightweight white muslin fabric. Okay, back to the bodice... The bodice front and back is sewn to the the bodice lining pieces. And even though it's lined, all of the seams are French seamed. If anywhere on this garment you'd want to cheat, I would suggest skipping the French seamed bodice. I feel those seams could easily have been been pinked and pressed open. They will NEVER be seen... like ever! The neckline and the armholes are finished with bias cut binding.

And one of the cool aspects of this dress is the armhole insets. When you first sew this, the armholes look suspiciously low. Like scandalously, boob-peekingly low. So this is a great style-saving detail.

Here is the bias bound back.

The dress also has covered shoulder pads made from cotton batting. And an invisible side zipper.

The full lining.

Here are the narrow hems...

And the French tack.

The dress has an attached belt.

It too is bias bound.

Now that the dress is made, looking back I think I would probably leave the belt off. I'd like to keep my options open for different belts.

For a casual summer dress, this was a lot of work. But it was like sewing course in high-end dressmaking. And I really did enjoy the process.

And this one will be a summer favorite!