It's Baaaack - Sundress Sew-a-long

Hello all you fabric mavens out there.  We had such a good time sewing sundresses together last year that it seemed a shame if we didn't do it again. So I had my trusty sewing room helper Froggie put on his administrative hat and hash out all the details.  We are happy to announce that Sundress Sew-a-long 2015 is a go!

To keep things simple, the sew-a-long will be pretty much the same as last year. The only real change is the time frame.  "Someone" might have misremembered when we rolled out the sewing machines and frozen drinks last year. Alcohol is not responsible for that though.  The problem is that I don't read my secretary's memos....because she doesn't exist. Annnnyway, here's the skinny for this years sundress sewing palooza.

The Details

1. Sew-a-long runs from July 1st to August 31st. Feel free to start hatching plans before then.

2. Pick any pattern you want to sew. While the true definition of a sundress is a "sleeveless dress", I'm not a stickler about it. If you prefer a to wear dresses with sleeves, then choose a pattern that says "Sundress" to you.  Modern, vintage, self drafted patterns are all welcome. 

3. Join the flickr group. Post your finished garments so that we all can admire and be inspired. (The flickr group is by invite to keep the flickr creepers out. Everyone looking to actually sew something is more than welcome.)

4. Get social. For those of you hip to hash tagging you can use the tag #sundresssew15 to share your plans or progress. 

5. Wear that Badge with pride.  Grab the code below for this years sew-a-long badge. 

<div class="handmade-by-heather-b-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://handmadebyheatherb.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a223/Heather_Beckley/Smaller%20Badge_zpstlhrwddh.png" alt="Handmade By Heather B" width="200" height="175" /> </a> </div>

Now that the sew-a-long has been announced I'd better get Froggie on frozen drink duty. I know all that sewing works up a thirst. Chop, chop, margaritas for everyone. Here's to pretty dresses and summer time fun. Cheers!

My Sew-A-Long Mae

What do you get when you cross polka dots, birds, and my favorite color red?  You unlock triple amounts of awesome that make up my sew-a-long Mae.

I had to take part in the Mae sew-a-long cause A - I like this pattern, B - chance at prizes, C- I bought a card of bakelite buttons that had just the right number for Mae.

Changes to this version.
1. The neckline is the one Abby drafted and not my modified larger one. They both look good so why not switch them up.
2. Took off the extra ease I'd added in the sleeve area during my lazy fix adding extra east to the entire side seam.
3. Increased the width of the button placket an 1/8" because these buttons were a bigger and I needed more width for the button holes

I also underlined this version with some siri lining, because you could clearly see the black polka dots through the white areas. Facing shadows, no thank you!  Putting in an underlining is a pain, but you do get the added bonus of being able to sew down all those facings.  I whip stitched down the armhole facings since sometimes they want to flash people. Dirty, dirty armhole facings.

The fabric is from Gertie's Etsy store this summer, a cotton with a touch of spandex in it. The underlining cancels out the stretch factor but that's OK, I've got enough ease to be comfy.

Also from Etsy the cute embroidered felt bird patch.  Check out Dahlia Soleil if you're looking for something like this.  She has many different designs - plants, animals, etc and you can chose from different colors of felt. I ordered an iron on patch but ended up hand sewing it on for a more vintage look.

"Tweet, tweet, I'm making your blouse that much more awesome." Right you are red bird, even the 3 year old thinks you're the bee's knees.  Already got complements in this version while running errands, so all around a great make. Hooray for Mae!

Silks for the Archer Sew-a-long

In preparation for the Archer Sew-a-long, the silk stash was tossed and several likely candidates appeared.  I'm having trouble deciding, so which one do you like the best?*  All silks are crepe de chine and have plenty of yardage for a button down.

1. Black/Green/Taupe Feathers.

2. Dealtry + Wiksten print from Spoonflower.

3. Skulls, flowers, harnesses extravaganza.

* I retain the right to pick something not even shown here. ;)