It's the end of August and I'm wrapping up summer sewing. This will probably be my last summer dress of the season. This year, I probably made more spring and summer dresses than I ever have. I haven't done a count, but it sure seems like it. It was just my 'thing' this year.

This dress is Vogue 9311. Compared to a lot of the other dresses I've been making this summer, this one is practically minimal.

For this dress, I cut the straight size 14. I did lengthen skirt pieces by 3 inches. My fabric is this luscious Kelly Green Double Cotton Gauze from Mood Fabrics.com. 

This fabric is exceptional. It's not like the cheap gauze fabric you may often see. It's two layers fused together. So, it has a good weight and it's not translucent. And the texture is beautiful.

I knew the original design of the bodice was not going to work for me. It's very similar to Vogue 9253. Those low-cut, sternum-baring styles just don't work with my bustline... at all. I don't make a lot of statements on what body types look good in what. But in my opinion, that sternum-baring style looks best on those in the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee". If I had small boobs, I'd rock every top plunging to the belly button. I love that style... but just not on me.

So, I stitched the center front up 3 inches. It's still low-cut with good decolletage, but bra-friendly and not all wide open.

I typically don't like empire waist styles. The remind me of the available clothes that I wore over 20 years ago, the 3 times I was pregnant. All of the maternity dresses back in the day were empire waist and tied in the back. 

So, I was pleasantly surprised to see that even in that style, this one has a nice skimming fit along the waistline. But I still tied it to the front.

It has pockets! I love pockets and they make me happy every time I sew them into a dress. Sometimes I just need a place to put my phone while I do something else with my hands. They come in handy.

For the ruffle flounce, I used my gathering foot. It's the truth and it stays coming to the rescue... I'm not about the string pulling life.

I love this dress. And plan to make the long sleeve version for this fall in some great fabric and awesome fall color.

In my never-ending pursuit to add fun tops to my wardrobe, my current one is McCall's 7723.

This time of year, I tend to make pieces that will work now and later. So, I wanted a top that would work with pants, jeans and shorts. Plus, this one is so cute and frilly! And history has proven that I love a good ruffle!

Since this top obviously has a lot going on, I really wanted a fabric that had a little something extra, that wouldn't compete with the design elements. I've had this crinkly-textured fabric for over a year that I picked up from Jo-Ann. The thing about this fabric is, it can't be pressed! While testing it out, all of that beautiful texture was smoothed right out. So I had to be careful in my selection of designs.

I was pretty impressed with how this fabric took to the lack of pressing. The seams look great, especially in the front where I had to do a 1" FBA that added additional vertical darts.

These ruffles are my favorite! I don't think I've ever enjoyed creating ruffles this much in my entire sewing life. 

 See here how I made them:

And don't forget to enter my giveaway for the Ultimate Presser Foot 32 pcs!

Anytime I can get away with replacing a facing with bias binding, I do it. 

Since this fabric can't be pressed, a facing would've been a horrible idea. It would've never stayed in place. This is such a cleaner look.

And I finished it off with a narrow hem, created with my Flat Hem Foot 7mm.

My pants are my 3rd iteration of DP Studio LE302. I used this pattern before for the pants in the gray suit and part of the McCall's 7728 jumpsuit.

My fabric is this emerald green cotton/poly bottom-weight twill I found at Jo-Ann. This one has no stretch, and they fit great. But just like with no stretch denim, the longer I was wearing these I noticed that they began to relax.

These are my newest pant obsession for right now. So I'll be making these throughout the rest of spring and summer... unless I run across another pattern I have to make.

I'm starting to think along the lines of transitional garments, even though it's currently 24 degrees. I have another coat planned for this month, but as far as clothes go, I'm really focusing on things I can make and wear now and later. It seems like after January rolls around, my focus leans towards spring.

In Alabama, we're subject to a brutal period of winter days, that can easily transition into spring-like temps in a 72 hour period. So I have to be prepared for anything. That's why McCall's 7722 pattern with all of its great options is a winner.

My fabric is from Jo-Ann's. I found this beautiful fuchsia pointelle sweater knit while browsing the aisles. I love that the style of sweater knit looks like something you'd find in ready-to-wear. They have it in a couple of more colors and I hope when I go back they're still available.

I cut the size 14 and graded to the size 16 from the waist down and added 2 inches to the length. I did this because my fabric has no stretch, which means zero recovery. With the additional length, I didn't want to chance it stretching from sitting.

When I posted pics on Instagram, the number one question I was asked: Is the fabric difficult to work with? My answer: No, because I used my walking foot! I'm a walking foot advocate. And yes, the Bernina walking foot is super pricey, but some machines actually come with this foot in the box. So if you are fortunate enough to already have one, use it! 

It's the perfect all-purpose foot for sewing difficult fabrics that crawl or fabrics like this one that is subject to stretching. Or if you've been thinking of getting a walking foot and questioning whether it's worth the investment? I say, TREAT YOURSELF! I love mine and I rarely remove it.

I used the solid portion of the knit to create the neck binding.

I didn't want hem the ruffle, so I serged the edge to keep it from fraying. I tried a serged rolled hem, but it seemed to stretch and distort the fabric.

And speaking of the ruffle, the way it's sewn on the wrong side of the fabric is visible. You need to keep that in mind when buying a fabric for this top. 

I used my Bernina 1300 MDC to create a coverstitched hem.

I love this sweater. It completes the perfect "Sweater and Jeans" look. And I can't wait to style it different ways in the upcoming months.

I love when a spin is put on basic things that you can wear everyday to make them a little more special.

Like adding ruffles to a sweatshirt. Ruffles on a sweatshirt is way cooler than say, on a cotton button down. This sweatshirt can be washed and dried and tossed on without ever seeing the iron again. You can just put it on and go. 

This is McCall's 7688, view B. My fabric is an Ivory and Silver Terry Fabric with Lurex that I found at Hobby Lobby.

I cut the size medium. This top is loose fitting with drop shoulders. 

Ruffles are sewn to the princess line of the top and also set in the sleeve seam.

I finished the ruffles with a serger stitch because this fabric shreds! I was covered in terry fibers while sewing. 

I didn't care for the suggested way to sew on the flounce. So I made a quick video showing how I sewed mine on.

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Here is an up close look at the neckline.

I really like this sweatshirt, a lot. I wore it out yesterday and I was so happy I didn't get in bagging or stretching. That was one of my main concerns with the fabric. It held up well and I can't wait to wear it again!

I am always inspired by ready-to-wear. I'm always perusing fashion magazines and ripping out pages. Or scrolling through my favorite high-end retailers such as Net-a-Porter.com or IntermixOnline.com. I never forget to explore some coupons from CouonsMonk.com while doing a bit of shopping or just surfing. By the way, these high-end retailers have great photos and always provide a detailed description of fabric content.

I discovered this outfit while looking on IntermixOnline.com. And I loved both the top and the pants. 

I love separates and these are such basic and cute pieces that I know I'll wear to death all summer. And I'll wear the pants all year with our weather.

I picked Simplicity 8385 and 8389 as my patterns. I sketched the pieces together just to see if it would look the same and I loved it. So, next was the execution.

For the top, I used Simplicity 8385, view C. My fabric is a White Rayon Challis from Mood Fabrics.com.

I cut the size 12 and graded out to a 14 at the hip. The flounce is finished with a narrow hem.

And the inside has French seams.

I love the cold-shoulder detail. I use to not get why a custom top would have adjustable straps. My thought was I'll just adjust the fit while constructing it. Made sense to me. But I've learned that even if it is customized, you still need to make adjustments.

The pants are Simplicity 8389, view D. And these pants are amazing! I cut the size 14 and lengthened them by 3 inches. My fabric is this Black Textural Blended Silk Double Cloth from Mood Fabrics.com. I love this fabric. If you're not familiar with double cloth, it means that two different fabrics (or sometimes the same kind) are fused together. These have a textured, crinkly silk on one side and a twill on the other. I would love the opportunity to buy more of this fabric and utilize both textures in a single garment.

Here's a close up so you can see it. The fabric has zero stretch, so it works really well for a relaxed fit.

These are such fun piece that'll be in constant rotation.