Peacock Taffy

Does this fabric look familiar? Of course it is. It is the last bit of Peacock print Rayon Challis that I used on my Juliet dress. I made my first Taffy blouse from those dress remnants. I was lucky to have a lot left over since the blouse was cut on a bias and required some creative positioning, but I managed to fit everything in. I can't wait to wear this top to a birthday party tomorrow.

Back View

Pattern Review (The Pros): The pattern only consisted of three pieces and was very easy to put together. Plus the instructions in the book were easy to follow and had great drawings. I was a bit apprehensive with this pattern because it was the first time I cut pattern pieces on the bias and the first time I sewed the sleeves on first before sewing the side seams. That technique worked perfectly and I'm wondering if you can do the same technique on regular sleeves. Hmmm..

Source

The Cons: I did not have any major cons with this pattern. Can you believe? My only gripe is that it was bit difficult discerning the pattern lines when you try to cut it out.

Did it come out like the pattern picture? Yes, it did.

Do you need to make adjustments? Not really. I cut out a size 10 and used some pre made black bias tape because I ran out of fabric to make my own bias tape. Although, I do want to try that out next time. I also used single fold bias tape on the hem instead of folding it over.

Pattern Level: An experienced beginner can breeze through this, but a novice can also work with this pattern.

What could I have done better? I think I will make the sleeves a little longer next time and probably move the ties closer to my bust line. Also I want to make sure I have all the bias tape I need since I wasted a lot of time looking for the right color, size, type of bias tape to use for the shirt. Be warned you will need at least two and half packages of store bought bias tape if you don't want to make your own.

Would you sew this pattern again? Yes. I would love to make a version that
is tunic length or maybe dress length.
Pattern: Taffy blouse from the Colette Patterns book.

Fabric: Rayon challis from Fabric Mart.

Techniques: Cutting fabric pieces on that bias, bias tape and french seams.

Sewing Room Redux 3

Do you remember when I talked about how I installed cabinets in my second floor room over the garage because I was going to use it as my sewing room? Well, I changed plans during the winter and moved my fabric stash and everything else to our spare room on the third floor because I was tired of having to go from one room to another to gather all my items for sewing. Anyways, after my relocation I decided a month later that it would not work and relocated again to the first floor. All because of this thing.

Yes that is a library card catalog you are looking at. One of those coveted items that one can only wish to find. I was lucky enough to win this one at an online government auction for a steal.

As you can see I replaced the labels with some of my own. The green labels indicate craft type supplies while the hot pink (looks red in the picture) labels store my sewing supplies. Thankfully I only managed to fill up half of this thing. The card catalog is so heavy (despite removing all the drawers) that I was only able to move it to the first floor. My little study is now my new sewing/craft room.

I replaced the books in my bookshelves with my craft and sewing supplies. Reams of scrapbook paper, my cricut, sizzix, boxes of trim and tons of stickers are stored here. Mister is not very happy with this arrangement because he says it looks messy. Guess I can't please everyone. I do plan on cleaning this area up in anticipation of my daughters birthday, but for now I've been sewing up a storm ever since my new move.

For now here is my current work in progress: my first taffy blouse from the Colette sewing book.

All I need to do is hem the bottom and finish adding some bias tape to the sleeves. I am prepared to cut out and start some more of these this weekend. Stay tuned for my review. Lastly is a picture of another sewing project that I completed last weekend.



I got tired of looking at my plain notebooks that I use at work so I used up some of my scrap fabric and covered them. I even added a lopsided pocket to hold a pen. I will have to raid my scrap stash to make one more cover for my third notebook. Felt like I had to do something to brighten my day at work. Have a great weekend everyone.

Juliet in Peacock

I finally got myself together and decided to finish the Babydoll dress (McCalls 4762) that I had cut out last October. I blogged about the first version here.

I called my first version of this dress my Marcia Brady dress and absolutely loved it. My follow up dress is called Juliet in Peacock and its made from another rayon challis with a peacock feather type pattern that I purchased from Fabric Mart last year. Here it is.

Again the construction was very straight forward and easy. The changes I made this time around was to remove the 1/2 inch that I added to the bodice side seams and 1/2 inch from the skirt side seams. I kept the 1/2 inch that I added to the side seams of the sleeves. These changes resulted in a better fitting dress bodice.

I also added black piping to outline the bodice since I didn't want the shape of the dress to get lost in the pattern like it did in my first dress. I finished the sleeves and hem in black double fold bias tape. I love the contrast and the flow of the dress. This dress really reminds me of the dress that Juliet wore in the Romeo and Juliet movie. The one from the 70s not the Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes version.

The dress fabric flows beautifully and I love wearing it. I actually wore this for two days straight. Last night for its debut at Misters cousin's birthday and today at work. I even received a compliment from my supervisor about it.

I love the fabric so much that I used what remained to make a Taffy blouse from the Colette Pattern book I talked about here. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on that.