Beating the Bias

Butterick 5555 is one of my current projects.  I've got a few in various stages right now, it actually helps me stay productive.  I'll explain in a little while...

This tunic is super cute, and when I saw the perfect cotton plaid shirting at Gorgeous Fabrics, it all came together.  I've got leggings (McCall's 6173) in black to wear with it, and realized that I wanted to place the plaid on the bias for the bib and cuffs.  The 2 yards of 60" wide left me enough room to do it, even after matching the plaid on the side seams.  But, bias can be tricky, and I wanted to make sure that it stayed put (not stretching/warping/distortion causing me to go MAD).

The first thing I was mindful of was the U-shaped dip in the bib.  As I cut the pattern paper, I decided to not cut "into" that U, that it was be easier to maintain the shape and keep the bias true if I waited to cut that out.

Fusible interfacing was applied to the cuffs, collar band, and bib, locking the size of the pattern pieces in and keeping the bias from stretching it out of shape.

Then I cut the "U" out of the bib... and breathed a sigh of relief.  I am really excited to put this entire outfit together!

Bo is feeling tropical these days, modeling my wearable muslin of the 1950's sundress for the Vintage Sew Along.  I need to attach the yokes, and line it (the voile is on the way), but I really love how this is coming together.  You can see that the fit is perfect, and although it's not an ideal dress for Michigan in January, it will be ideal for our tropical vacation this spring! Can hardly wait...

I found the perfect red polka dot cotton for this, but really wanted to make sure the fit was right.  Lucky me, now I'll have 2 really cute dresses for spring/summer!

As for the numerous projects, having things in various stages makes it easier for me to fit sewing into my schedule.  I can cut paper patterns upstairs, sometimes cut fabric, and definitely do pinning up there.  My machines stay downstairs, along with the iron, so depending on what I feel like doing (inserting a zipper, pressing fabric, cutting a pattern), I have a project in a similar phase of construction.  As I was taking the pics tonite of the top, my mom's angel clock started chiming.  If I never told you before, this clock was a gift to my mom from my brother, but he gave it to me when she died, since my kids love watching the angels "dance".  It chimes all different songs every half-hour, the doors open, and the angels come out.  It makes me smile when it does, like having my mom in my sewing room with me.  Thought I'd share it with you, too.