Using Up The Scrap

Moving along through my patterns, I decided that I wanted another fun dress for summertime. I chose this pattern from 1969. I decided to go with view 1, since I do love buttons and have so many of them!

I decided to have some fun with the pattern and make it out of two fabrics.

I had the floral fabric leftover from a shirt I had previously made, ( see blog post, “Getting Better All The Time”.) The solid fabric I had leftover from a quilt that I made for Russell and Marisa’s wedding.

Here’s a picture of their “Wedding Ring” pattern quilt. Quilting was the first reason that I wanted to learn to sew. I’ve made many quilts over the years, but wanted to change direction and sew clothes.

I love turning little pieces of scrap fabric into something pretty, so I was very excited to be using scrap for my dress.

Laying out the pattern.

Because I was using scrap, I knew I wouldn’t have enough for the full length of this pattern. Fortunately the pattern was too long on me, so I adjusted the pattern, and had enough fabric for the pieces I needed.

Making the dress out of two fabrics also helped me make sure I had enough for the complete dress. If I had chosen to make it out of one fabric, rather than two, I wouldn’t have had enough of either fabric.

I needed a 22 inch zipper to coordinate with this dress. Now just keep in mind, I have a lot of zippers. I’d probably guess that I have more than the average person who sews. Even though I have a lot, sometimes it’s hard to find the right size that the pattern calls for, or the right color. I must say so far into this sewing journey, I haven’t had to buy any. I’ve been able to make it work with what I have.

It also helps that Grandma had quite a few zippers herself. Nothing like my collection, but more than the average person who sews, too! This particular zipper was one that came from Grandma’s collection.

Hemming the sleeves.

I followed the pattern as instructed, but did not like the way the shoulders on the sleeves looked. So here I am, seam ripping them off. I decided to do the same type of sleeve that was on a previous dress I had made, that was a 1967 pattern. (See blog post, “1967 Dress, Modern Day Problems”)

And then came picture time! Kira my niece was kind enough to be my photographer for a couple of these pictures. I wish I had made the collar out of the solid fabric, but I had more of the solid left over, and could possibly use it in a future sew, and decided to save it. With this dress, I’ve used up most of the floral fabric.

I just happened to have buttons that coordinated too! Now if you think I have a lot of zippers, it’s nothing compared to my button stash! I have so many buttons it’s borderline ridiculous. But I never know what I will need from one sew to the next!

I happened to have some vintage clip on earrings that were a great accessory to my dress. On the day of this photo shoot I was wearing the dress to my cousin Zachary’s engagement party. It’s a little awkward to do a photo shoot in the middle of someone’s big day, so Kira and I opted to walk away for a minute and get these shots.

But two pictures didn’t feel like enough, so about a week later my dress went to a car show. David was home visiting from college so he was my photographer for these shots. He has taken a lighting class as part of his film major, so was particular about the sunlight. I appreciated his expertise!

The dress proved to be cool and comfortable for both occasions!

I was so glad that I was able to make a fun dress out of leftover fabric! I’m really trying to not buy fabric unless it’s necessary for something very specific. The fashion industry is one of the big environmental polluters, and that includes the fabric market as part of the problem. It is a goal to try to see what I can do with the fabric I have stashed, the leftovers, and up cycled fabric, so stay tuned for that!

As I type this I know that I did recently buy fabric though, for a specific sew that is up and coming. I can’t be perfect, I can just try my best!

As for me, onto the next!