Have I mentioned yet that I’m in love with my Mad Men Joan dress? So much so that I wrote a tutorial for drafting sleeve flounces so I can spread the love. The only problem with inserting these pretty arm flounces onto a dress sleeve is that when the flounce flops around, as it looks so beautiful doing, you are liable to catch a big ol’ glimpse of the seam where you sewed the flounce onto the sleeve, and that’s not as beautiful. So, sleeve facings to the rescue!
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How to Draft Sleeve Flounces
For my Mad Men inspired dress, I simply had to have flounces on the sleeves, which I drafted myself and added to a commercial pattern. I’ve written a tutorial so you can do the same!
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Mad Men Joan Dress
I’ve made my Mad Men Challenge Dress. Phew. I used Gertie’s Wiggle Dress as the pattern with only minor fit changes (changed the hip shape and added 1/2 inch to the front at the shoulder). The pattern uses dolman sleeves with an armpit gusset for fit. I didn’t get the shoulders fit perfectly as mine are much stronger than the pattern intends, but I’ve got some ideas about how to make the fit perfect next time.
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March Sewalongs 2013
I may have bitten off more than I can chew for this month. But there are so many fun sewalongs that I simply can’t say no! For the stashbusting sewalong, I’ve already made a skirt that would qualify for this month’s theme of impending seasonal change. However, when I first saw the theme, I thought immediately thought of making a hoodie tunic with kangaroo pocket out of pink and grey plaid from my stash. So, I’m not going to let myself get out of using it up! I am head-over-heels in love with Tempest’s David Bowie sew-along. I could wax poetic about how I’ve been in love with him my whole life, but I’ll save that for another time. In the meantime I will say that it inspired way too many ideas on my part, but as I’ve already got a lot on my plate, I’m keeping it down to …