Back From Texas, Back to Work.

I dub thee...The Two Face Dress!

Back from the land of large hats and even larger steaks. I'll post pictures of The Phillip and the various ceremonies soon, once I get permission from him to post his pictures all up in this biz. But, until then I have info on the dress I named The Two Face. Why have I named it so?

You can't see it from the full picture, but because it slipped my mind that corduroy is a two-way fabric, the different halves (quarters, depending on the view) are different shades of black.

Now, the rest of the dress is different from what was shown on the pattern packet.

 The neckline is a lot bigger than what the picture led me to believe. So my cute little Peter Pan collar just looked ridiculous and the dress wasn't as fitted as I thought it would be despite the crazy amount of darting I did. So I ended up looking really...box-y.

How I mark my darts....

Ball-headed pins where the pattern says to make dots.

Flip the fabric over with the pins still in it. 
WARNING: The pins WILL stab you no matter how careful you are!

Using a marking tool, mark the fabric at the base of the pins

Pull the pins out and 'darken' your dots.

Connect said dots! Make sure you do the above steps on a flat surface 
like a table or a floor...or your little sister's science binder....

Pin, then sew on the lines then voilà, she is a-done! I'll have to take it apart and add more darts to fit it better but moving on...

I will be the first to say that I am no good with blouses. I always think I'm doing wonderful as I'm working on in but then I see the finished project and it looks as if I was blindfolded the entire time I was sewing. This blouse is one of my better ones, but it still is with it's flaws.

I must have set the collar wrong because it didn't lay correctly and kept popping, but only on one side...The jumper did a bit to hide it though.

Yea...don't ask because I have no idea...

Gonna try and selvage this one and wear it again, maybe with some era appropriate accessories. Not the blouse though...that thing will just sit in the back of my closet and haunt me for the rest of my days....-shudder shudder-

And Now For Something Completely Different: 50s Inspired Outfit and Talk About Texas.

Due to a recent and unforeseen draining of the wallet, The ATPP is on hold for the most part until the next paycheck. But for the time being I will be showing off a project that I'm making for class.

Now, I have a habit of using assigned projects as excuses to make super extravagant outfits. This usually results in both a poor grade and a poor quality outfit. But I made a grown up decision and am not making the Marceline gown for class. Instead I'm making a kind of 50s jumper and blouse ensemble.

I'm using Simplicity 3673 and Butterick 5711 in a black corduroy and white, vine-printed calico respectively.

I hope to get this done by the 12th of December as I plan on wearing it to a special event in Texas. No, It's not a costuming event, The Phillip is graduating from Air Force Basic Training!

For those who don't know(which is none of you because, at this point, if you are reading this blog you know me personally) The Phillip is my boyfriend of four years. He went into AFBT in September and after an injury, is finally graduating on the 14th.


There may be small updates on The ATP dresses e.g. Fabric/Patterns arriving, new design idea, new princess, etc., etc.. But for now, 50S DRESS GO.