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!
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!
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.
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 …