Cashmerette Appleton Dress in Minerva Luxury Viscose Jersey

Cashmerette Appleton Dress in Minerva Luxury Viscose Jersey


 



It's hard to overstate just how luxurious the Minerva Core Range Luxury Viscose Jersey is! It is so soft to the touch and drapes perfectly for any number of garments. I chose to make the Cashmerette Appleton dress in the color "raisin" - it will be the perfect addition to my autumn maternity wardrobe and work well in postpartum.

You can head over to my Minerva profile to read all about this dress and my love for the viscose jersey fabric. I need some in nearly every color now!

This fabric was gifted to me in exchange for a post on Minerva's site and this post contains affiliate links. I'm thankful to have the Appleton dress in my wardrobe and can't wait to use the fabric remnants on a few additional pieces. Thanks for your support!

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Marissa
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Bias Skirt in Teal Prada Satin Crepe

Bias Skirt in Teal Prada Satin Crepe


 




Sewing exclusively in my “calm summer” color palette has helped ensure I love and wear my makes. And I recently started purchasing seasonal capsule wardrobe plans to help keep the pieces I make current and cohesive. Looking through the winter capsule plans I decided to make a bias skirt to round out the pieces I already had and I knew the beautiful teal color of this Prada Satin Crepe would coordinate well. 

Head over to my profile on Minerva's site to read all about the journey to the finished garment - and it was a journey! I'm really happy with how well this Prada Satin Crepe handled and would absolutely purchase it again. Check it out here if you'd like to purchase some too!

This fabric was gifted to me in exchange for a post on Minerva's site and this post contains affiliate links. I'm happy to have this skirt in my wardrobe and appreciate your support!

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Marissa
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Cashmerette Vernon - TomKat Stitchery Shirt Making 101

Cashmerette Vernon - TomKat Stitchery Shirt Making 101


 

I had the great pleasure of spending this weekend in the Indianapolis area sewing with my friend Whitney from TomKat Stitchery, and almost a dozen new sewing friends! I took Whitney's Shirt Making 101 class, love my final shirt, and had a blast making it.

The first evening was focused on fit. Whitney helped take our measurements and assess which size would fit us best. She had prepared muslins in advance for us to try on based on our measures and that helped us speed through any adjustments we needed to make. I fell into the size 6 range and, although this pattern offers much more ease than I usually wear, I liked that style and decided not to size down. I did shortened the sleeves 1" for length and and additional 1 3/4" to use the longer cuffs. I also shortened the body 1" at the lengthen/shorten line and made a 3/8" broad shoulder adjustment.



Our homework on the first night included cutting out our adjusted pattern pieces and interfacing so we could start sewing first thing on the second day. Whitney didn't follow the order of construction in the pattern instructions and it was very interesting to learn the order of steps she prefers to construct her shirts. By the end of the second day our shirts were mostly assembled and looked like shirts. I think my biggest takeaway from the second day was, in addition to using the burrito method for the yolk piece, Whitney also used a modified burrito method on the collar stand and cuffs. I don't think I'll ever make a button up shirt another way!

Of course we finished day two with a field trip to True Cotton, a local fabric shop that supplied the materials for our course. I don't think anyone, myself included, left empty handed. Hopefully you'll see makes with those fun fabrics soon.

The third and final day we focused on the finishing touches including hemming our shirts with bias tape, buttons and button holes. I'm so thrilled with how well my shirt turned out and can't wait for the linen to soften with time.




Pattern: Cashmerette Vernon
Size: 6, shortened in the sleeves and body with a broad shoulder adjustment
Fabric: linen cotton blend from True Cotton
Time: I was able to finish my button up over the course of the three day workshop

Cost to Make: Whitney's class included all supplies needed, some fun swag, and food during the day - approximately $520 value

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Marissa
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Colors of Korea Formal Simplicity Dress

Colors of Korea Formal Simplicity Dress




My husband and I recently took a trip to Sweden and attended a formal gala themed "The Colors of Korea." We were asked to wear colors from the South Korean flag and I didn't have a dress for the occasion, so you know I made one!

Over the course of the next year it is my goal that each new make of mine uses a fabric and/or pattern from my stash. I needed to purchase a fabric for this dress since I didn't have one in my stash that fit the dress code so I searched my stash for a pattern I already owned and found Simplicity 2580. I originally thrifted this pattern for a very inexpensive price since it looked like something I would wear, but I didn't have any specific plans for it. Glad I grabbed it when it was available!

Working with this fabric was a breeze, even when I needed to unpick seams a few times. However, I really struggled with the sizing and ease of this pattern. My measurements had me in a size 12/14 but I am usually a size 10 in Simplicity patterns so that's what I cut. I ended up taking three inches out of the bust in a number of increments and could have taken a bit more out. But the hips were a good fit so I graded from the under-bust to the hips. Thankfully there was elastic in the center back to help hold the dress up.

This view of the pattern called for a tie closure behind the neck but I decided to trim down the ties and sew them together at the center back to create a more formal look. To get into the dress I really have to shimmy my head through the opening. This may not have been the best idea, but it was the quickest fix. I also cut an additional three and half inches off before the bottom of the skirt before hemming it.

Ultimately the dress looked great and I felt comfortable eating in it. However, the weight of the fabric pulled the dress down as the night wore on and I needed to readjust the tension at the front of the neck multiple time throughout the night. It was choking me! I may wear this dress again because I've already made it, but I honestly wouldn't make View E again.

Pattern: View E of Simplicity 2580, printed in 2009
Size: 6-10
Fabric: 2 1/2 yards of matte jersey knit fabric with 50% stretch, 94% polyester and 6% lycra, machine wash and line dry
Time: 4-5 hours due to fit issues, it should have taken much less time

Cost to Make:
pattern - $1-5, I can't remember the exact cost
fabric - $8.99/yard, for a total of $22.50 (but it often runs 30%)
*elastic and thread from stash
TOTAL VALUE: approximately $25
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Marissa
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Cher Top in Minerva Linen Viscose

Cher Top in Minerva Linen Viscose



My husband and I recently took a trip to Sweden. The weather was cool and called for a moderate amount of rain so I packed lots of layers, including my new Cher Knit Top in Minerva Core Range Linen Viscose Sweater Knit. I felt both comfortable and stylish in it, a travel win! Head over to my Minerva profile to read all about this make and purchase your own linen viscose here.

Fabric for this make was gifted to me by Minerva in exchange for a post on their site. This post contains affiliate links and I appreciate your support!
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Marissa
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