"I would like to thank my parents for never giving me a ride to school, the LA city bus driver who took a chance on an unknown kid, and last but not least, the wonderful crew from McDonalds who spend hours making those egg McMuffins without which I might never be tardy."

Hello, moppets! You may notice a change in my blog post nomenclature today--there's no Miss, unless of course you count the lovely Miss Roisin. Happy Sew Dolly Clackett Day! As a way of celebrating Roisin's impending nuptials to her wonderful Nic, the sewing community has spent the last two months emulating her fun style. 

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Roisin's. Not only does she use prints better than anyone, but Our Lady Clackett has the cutest shoes around. For my homage to the lovely Roisin, I grabbed my favorite pink pumps and the Out to Sea print from Sarah Jane, then made--of course!--a modified Anna dress. 

I have made the Anna dress quite a few times before, but this one is special. Not only did I add a wide, gathered skirt to the v-neck bodice, but I also embellished the Sam Hill out of it. There is light blue piping on the neckline, the armholes, and the patch pockets. THAT'S RIGHT, THE PATCH POCKETS. I added, then piped, patch pockets.

I'll let that bit of awesome sink in. 

Are your palpitations of amazement easing a bit? As the Queen of Quick Dresses, I may be just a bit too proud of myself for this feat, but whatever. I sewed perfect squares and basted them on three times, to find the perfect placement. There is effort and care here, y'all. My vow to embellish more things is still going strong! Wonders never cease. 

As with my last Anna, this one had my standard fitting alterations. The bodice was extended an inch, had a 1.5'' FBA, and a small-waist adjustment. Thanks to the blousy drape of this fabric, the waist is still a little big, which I'll probably fix at some point. Loose dresses are great for summer, but waists that shift about drive my crazy!

Let's talk about this fabric, though, shall we? Sailing across the navy blue expanse of cotton are dozens of schooners and sloops. In the colorway I chose, these boats are illustrated in light blue, hot pink, and sunny yellow. This fabric is really high quality for a quilting cotton, with a drape and weight similar to a nice poplin. It's super comfortable against the skin and holds the skirt shape beautifully! No wonder Roisin uses Michael Miller prints so often, if this is the sort of fabric they come in. It's certainly not the stiff quilting cotton of JoAnn's!

The details...

 Things I Loved:

• The Fabric! This is such a fun print to wear.
• The shape! The Anna bodice paired with a gathered skirt remains one of my favorite silhouettes.

Things I Changed:

• 1.5'' FBA
• Lengthened bodice by 1''
• Hand-picked zipper
• Small-waist adjustment
• Added a gathered skirt

Notions & Fabric:

• 3 yards of light blue piping
• 3 yards of "Out to Sea" by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller
• 22'' navy zipper

In the end, this is such a fun, wearable dress. Even better, it's a tribute to one of the coolest sewing bloggers out there! Sending you good wishes, Roisin and Nic! 

Note: The quote in the title not only references the late nature of my entry, compared to the challenge's time frame, but it's also from one of the only movies I can actively quote."You see how picky I am about my shoes and they only go on my feet!"

This photo is ridiculous, but I had to include it, because it is also hilarious. Apparently, this dress makes me want to swish!

Miss Anna Looks Nice Today

Sewing mojo, that fickle beast, has abandoned me in recent weeks. I'm blaming its departure on two things: knits and snow. Not only did I spend four days working on an absolute disaster of a dress, but it's been too damned cold to wear anything not made of wool. Conveniently, I refuse to sew any more cold weather pieces, since I do still live in Texas. It's going to be unbearably hot soon, I just know it! 

What's a girl to do, when she wants spring dresses in the middle of winter? Sew one anyhow. 

When inspiration flies out the window, returning to a beloved pattern always helps. If you can pair it up with luxe fabric, so much the better! Personally, I was rescued by By Hand London and Nani Iro. 

This is my fifth version of the Anna Dress and, hands down, my favorite so far. Though I loved my previous versions, some fitting issues bothered me. The pleats went a bit too high, negating the bust definition, and the waist wasn't quite snug enough for my tastes. So, I retraced the pattern. To address my quibbles, I shortened the pleats by an inch and widened them to take more width out of the waist. 

Voila! A perfectly fitted bodice! The changes were small, but really helped the pleats "open up" under my bust, as the design intended. 

The fabric for this dress is, as mentioned, Nani Iro. I am absolutely in love with this line of Naomi Ito's double gauze prints. They feel amazing against the skin, as soft as your favorite pajamas, and come in the most beautiful, romantic prints. Before making this dress, there were four lengths of double gauze in my stash, which I ogled but didn't dare cut into.They were far too pretty to risk ruining!

When looking through my Giant Fabric Closet last week, however, these fluorescent polka dots demanded use. This particular length was purchased from Harts Fabric, using a credit won from the lovely Melissa's blog, Scavenger Hunt, and made me ridiculously happy. Up close, the teal double gauze looks as if someone came along with highlighter ink and dropped it all across the fabric. It's whimsical, cheery, and just thing for a sewist in the doldrums.

Once again, I paired the Anna bodice with a gathered skirt. With a fabric this drapey, it would be a shame not to add some swish to the dress! So, this skirt is as full as the narrow fabric would allow and filled with the swish factor. It's a perfect spring dress - flirty, colorful, and comfy.

All of the inner seams were serged, because the fabric frays apart like crazy, and the hem is narrowly turned under by machine. As for the zipper, I used a hand-picked zip, that you cannot see in any of these pictures. We're still figuring out the lenses for my camera and the back shots were, invariably, a bit too blurry to use. Trust me: it's there, it zips. Hoorah!

Incidentally, we had one seventy-degree day between cold snaps, just in time to photograph this project! Even our crazy weather wants me to wear swishy dresses. Spring really is just around the corner, no matter what that insipid groundhog says. On that note...international friends, are you aware of our odd US tradition of using golf course vermin to predict the weather? This can't be a worldwide thing. Tell me there's not a kiwi in New Zealand determining the length of summer!

The details...

Things I Loved:

• The fabric! I always love the fabric I use, as that's the reason I sew in the first place, but this Nani Iro double gauze is just heavenly. I swoon, I sigh. 

Things I Changed:

• Lowered & widened the pleats.
• Added a gathered skirt. 
• Added a hand-picked zipper, as per usual.

Things I Would Change, If I Made It Again:

• Nothing! The fit is pretty spot-on, now. (Excuse the pun.)

Notions & Fabric:

• 3 yards of Nani Iro double gauze in "Pocho Teal", no longer for sale at Harts, but available from lots of sellers on Etsy. 

Construction Time:

• Four hours, mostly because I inserted a zipper by hand. 

Murals have been popping up on the sides of buildings across town, but this newest one is my favorite, even with its missing comma. You look nice today, Blogland!

Miss Anna Roots For the Home Team

Happy Sunday, my dear chipmunks! Did you enjoy a weekend of hiding acorns and engaging in crime-solving adventures? I do hope so.

Here at Chez Fancy, our weekend plans were rather derailed. My dear professor and I were supposed to road trip up to Dallas, where my best friend lives. We were going to eat French pastries, drink German beer, and--best of all--visit the Texas State Fair. Alas, our weekend of fried delicacies (this year's winner: Fried Thanksgiving Dinner, for real real) and classic Americana was not meant to be. Instead, we stayed home to avoid biblical thunderstorms.

All was not lost though. As part of my travel prep, I'd made a pretty sweet dress!

Why, yes, I did make another Anna dress variant. Why, no, this isn't the last one planned.

This Anna sets herself apart from the pack, by virtue of the green-and-white polka dotted fabric she's made up in. It's a dreamy cotton voile that I bought last year from Fabric Mart for a song. It's also the perfect thing for a fair! There is nothing more American than eating fried Twinkies, while wearing polka dots. If we'd actually ended up going, the fair probably would have been hectic anyway, because of all the bald eagles soaring and star-spangled banners waving in my presence.

Apologies for the wrinkles! We went to brunch, before this photo outing and this fabric wrinkles easily. 

Doesn't this dress just scream "State Fair?" While I was trying to take pictures for this post, even the wind wanted in on the Americana action. Half of my pictures look like 90's Mariah Carey cover art. This dress breeds pop poses, it seems. Witness:

 Warning: "Fantasy" may be stuck in your head for days, after wearing this dress.

As for the pattern itself, well you've heard this spiel already. Anna dress + gathered skirt = bliss.

To change things up a bit, I used the slash neckline bodice variant, rather than my previous v-neck. Normally, I don't love high and wide necklines, but this one is surprisingly flattering. It's probably due to the visual balance, when paired with the bodice pleats. This bodice, it seems, just gets better and better.

My construction of this dress was, at least, different this time around. Instead of the usual facings, I cut a lining out of green cotton lawn and inserted that in the same manner prescribed by By Hand London themselves. After machine stitching it in around the neckline, I slip-stitched the arm holes and zipper seams closed by hand. I don't know what's been going on lately, but I am finally understanding the joy of hand-sewing. It's probably a phase that will pass, but I'm reveling in it for now.

The other major changes were my now-standard fixes: a gathered skirt, in-seam pockets, and hand-picked traditional zipper. Woohoo for more hand-sewing!

s

In the end, I have yet another Anna dress that I love. Honestly, I didn't think another garment could rival my adoration for the Austin Bats Anna dress, but after wearing this cheerful, swishy number around town today, there might be competition. Sam is especially partial to it, because I've inadvertently made a Baylor University dress. His alma mater (and current place of employment) sports the colors green and gold, which I don't often wear together, but donned for his enjoyment...

Sic 'em, Bears! 
Note: Siccing (th)'em is that odd hand signal I'm doing above. At football games, of which I've been to exactly one, the whole crowd waves their "bear claws" and yells "Sic 'em!" together. It's adorably weird. Though, I can't knock traditions, graduating myself from a school with some of the oddest.

 The details...

Things I Loved: 

• The fabric! I'm crazy about these polka dots. 
• The pattern is quickly becoming a real go-to for me, as you can tell.  

Things I Changed:

• Added a  full lining. 
• Added the lining after the zipper, so that the finish was prettier. 
• Stay-stitched the neckline. For the love of Reveille, please stay-stitch your neckline! 
• Added in-seam pockets, because...pockets. 
• Switched the invisible zipper to a hand-picked zipper. If you're curious about this technique, I recommend Tasia's tutorial. 

Things I Would Change, If I Made It Again:

• Nothing. After four times, this pattern and I are in love.

Notions & Fabric: 

• 3 yards of green-and-white polka dot voile - $20

Construction Time:

• Four cheerful hours

Miss Anna Goes A Bit Batty

Good evening, my dear ghouls. That most wonderful holiday of the year looms on the calendar, filling my head with tricks and treats and fun size Kit Kat bars. It's Halloween, y'all! 

Or, it will be in twenty-two days, anyway. I'm one for early preparations. I would say it's a Girl Scout thing, but I was only a Brownie for one year, until I dropped out because they made us sleep outside, where the bugs lived. Despite a general distrust of things that crawl, I live for this holiday. It has all the makings of a good time: costumes, free candy, and things flavored with pumpkin. There is nothing about Halloween that is not awesome. 

As proof of my love, I've made my first Halloween dress.

That's right, my first. Novelty fabrics, I will own you!

So, what's novel about this fabric? It looks like an abstract black print on grey fabric. Boring! Just because it's black and grey doesn't mean it's Halloween-themed, Mary. 

Well, if you get a little bit closer...

Oh sweet baby squash blossoms, those are bats. Black bats, masquerading from afar as squiggles on a grey background!

Yes, my dear ones, I made a dress out of bat fabric. When I saw this Alexander Henry print, from their Ghastlies line, it had to be mine. Not only am I from Austin, the bat capital of America, but they are my favorite animal. How could you not love a flying mammal that hangs upside down and eats mosquitoes? They are wonderful, ergo they deserve a dress. 

Since this fabric is quilting cotton, a heavier weight without so much drape, it needed a pattern that could handle a stiffer material. Enter the Anna Dress, of course.

For this version of Anna, I decided to pair it once again with a gathered dirndl skirt. The close fitting skirt of the original pattern would have been a disaster with this fabric, but the structured bodice was ideal. Besides, doesn't it seem appropriate that a Halloween dress is made with a Frankenpattern?

As far as pattern changes go, the dirndl was the biggest change. The only other things I did were to add black piping to the neckline and sleeves, then sub a hand-picked zipper for the prescribed invisible zipper. That's a change y'all will be seeing a lot of, I'm afraid. The finish of a hand-picked zip is just as clean as an invisible zip, but puts a lot more control in the hands of the sewist. I do so love control. 

Since the Anna dress uses facings, and my fabric was a bit thick for a lining, putting the piping in was more of an adventure than it usually is. In order to make the neck facing turn properly with the added weight, I tacked it down at the shoulders and at the point of the V. For the sleeve piping, I turned the hem in 1/2 inch, the hand stitched the piping in, followed by black bias tape to cover the inside exposed edges. 

Oooh! Piping!

So, there we have it, another Anna. This pattern is always a dream to sew up, as well as wear. There are two others cut out on my sewing table right now and I can't promise they'll be the last. This bodice is both lovely and practical! A true winner. 

The details...

Things I Loved: 

• The fabric! It's covered in bats, darling. 
• The pattern is quickly becoming a real go-to for me. I heartily recommend giving it a whirl. 

Things I Changed:

• Added black piping, to create interest on the somewhat busy print of the dress. 
• Under-stitched the facings.
• Added facings after the zipper, so that the finish was prettier. 
• Stay-stitched the neckline. For the love of Cthulhu, please stay-stitch your neckline! 
• Added in-seam pockets, because...pockets. 
• Switched the invisible zipper to a hand-picked zipper. If you're curious about this technique, I recommend Tasia's tutorial. 

Things I Would Change, If I Made It Again:

• Nothing. After three times, this pattern and I are pretty in sync. 

Tricky Steps & Suggestions:

• Turning faces can always be tricky, but under-stitching them goes a long way toward taming the wee little beasties. Secure them at the shoulder seam, by stitching in the ditch, and you're golden. 

Notions & Fabric: 

• 3.5 yards of Alexander Henry's Ghastlie Bats - $30

Construction Time:

• Five delightfully haunted hours

I would like to tell y'all that this dress will only be reserved for October, but that would be a lie! It's seasonally appropriate with a cozy orange cardigan, but the print is understated enough for other months. These bats will have longevity far past Halloween, I predict. If anyone dares give me the stink eye about them in springtime, well...

That's what real bats are for. 

Kidding. Of course. I'll tell them that I'm from Austin, a city that properly appreciates this noble species, and give them a few hard-hitting bat facts for their trouble. 

 The perfect dress for some twilight ghoul hunting! 

Miss Anna Seizes Her Liberty

Happy Saturday, kittens! Most of my day has been spent watching college football on the couch in my pajamas, but the morning was certainly eventful. Sam and I attended one of our favorite weekend events, the Waco Downtown Farmers Market, where all manner of lovely things can be found: crepes, organic farm-raised meat, fresh tamales, frou frou coffee drinks, and Parisian macarons. It's a very international-meets-country start to the weekend and part of what I love about my new locale. When I find myself longing for the big city during the week, I think about the crepes awaiting me and my blues quickly disappear. 

So, what does one wear on such a perfect morning? A new dress, of course! Earlier this week, I put the finishing touches on another By Hand London Anna Dress. Or, a Franken-Anna, anyway. While I adore the bodice on my original Anna, I wasn't super crazy about the cut of the skirt. It's nice to have one out-of-the-ordinary dress for my closet, but I didn't want five more versions. Enter the dirndl! 

Instead of the gored original skirt, I paired the bodice of this Anna with a gathered rectangle skirt. The result is a lovely, flowy delight of a dress. Kimono sleeves! Pleated bodice! Gathered skirt! It's all that is good and right in the sewing world. 

Naturally, I didn't think of it myself. I knew it would work, because the lovely Roisin has already made a few of these. Her blog is an excellent source of sewing inspiration, as you can tell by my frequent linkage lately. 

For fabric, I used 3 meters of Liberty Tana Lawn that I bought off Ebay UK last year. It's a gray-and-brown floral on a black background, which makes it an ideal dress for fall. The name of the pattern is an utter mystery to me, despite ten minutes of solid Google searching, but it's gorgeous. Would we expect something else from Liberty? I can't wait to dress this lovely up with tights and boots!

In my mind, I flirted briefly with doing a full lining for this dress, instead of the prescribed facings. Once you try on a single-layer Liberty dress, however, it's hard to add a non-Liberty layer between your skin and it. So, I gave in. When it gets chilly, I'll throw on a slip with the dress and a cardigan. Since it's unlined, the dress is finished with black lawn facings and overlocked seams throughout.

While I do love this pattern, I have a few issues with By Hand London's instructions. They're wonderfully clear for beginners, but they skip some important construction steps as a result. After rethinking the way I did my first Anna dress, which was mostly by the book, I added a few steps to my process. My neckline was stay-stitched first thing, which kept the edges from warping as I worked, and the facings were added after the zipper instead of before. Additionally, I under-stitched the neckline seam to the facings, so that they turned more easily. In the end, the inside is much cleaner this time around.

 Invisible zipper!

 Facings! Wrinkled, because I wore this all day. Let's pretend I didn't tell you that, okay?

 Isn't it marvelous? To sum up: Liberty and Anna are a wonderful match, indeed.

The details...

Things I Loved: 

• The fabric! Liberty is always a good idea. 
• The neckline. A deep-V is such a fun shape to wear--comfortable, flirty, and perfect for my favorite antique cameo pendant. 

Things I Changed:

• Under-stitched the facings.
• Added facings after the zipper, so that the finish was prettier. 
• Stay-stitched the neckline. 
• Added in-seam pockets, because...pockets. 

Things I Would Change, If I Made It Again:

• Widen the skirt. Liberty is pretty narrow, so if you don't want more than two pieces to the skirt, it's not the fullest dirndl. My next versions will be with wider fabric anyway, so I'll cut the skirt a few inches wider. 

Tricky Steps & Suggestions:

• There is an invisible zipper, which can be tricky, if you're not used to them. There are quite a few great tutorials around the web, however, Sunni's being my personal favorite and the one that sold me on them. 

Notions & Fabric: 

• 3 meters Liberty of London Tana Lawn - $45
• 22-inch black invisible zipper
  

Construction Time:

• Five blissful hours.

Miss Anna Sees Spots

Bonjour, mes amis! This was quite a week, filled with many a stressful thing, but also a couple of completed dresses.

Now that I have a room dedicated to sewing (it is, technically, also an office, but that's about 1/10th of the space), it's much easier to use sewing as a stress reliever. Before moving to Waco, I sewed at my dining room table, which meant an exhausting process of pulling supplies and fabric out of closets and prompt clean up. Nothing saps one's creative energy like the thought of cleaning! Now, however, my projects are always waiting for me. It's made my sewing time more productive, but more enjoyable as well.

This week, my big project was an initial version of By Hand London's Anna Dress. Unlike most other bloggers out there, this was not a love-at-first sight pattern for me. I think BHL's designs are downright foxy, but they've all seemed targeted to a lither, leggier silhouette than mine. Anna seemed to be in the same vein. Sure, it was fit-and-flare, but it also clung to the hips in a disquieting manner.

But then I saw Alana's fabulous jersey version. And Lauren's adorable seersucker.

Plus, Emmie's floral confection, Kathryn's Liberty lovely, and Roisin's star-spangled stunner.

Basically, Anna looked awesome on everyone and I needed to make it. Stat.

Skeptical as I was about the styling, however, I decided to make a wearable muslin first. This black and grey polka dot poplin from Lisette has been sitting in my stash for years now. It was an impulse purchase, when JoAnn was doing one of their crazy sales, and not my favorite fabric ever. The polka dots are cute and all, but it washed up to a rather papery texture and is a bit on the juvenile side for my taste. But, silver lining! It made a perfect wearable muslin Anna.

Sizing wise, I graded rather than performing an FBA. Using Swedish tracing paper, I  traced up to a 16 at the bust, down to a 12 at the waist, then up to a 14 at the hips. This matches my past experiences with UK ready-to-wear sizing. Invariably, something will fit in the bust, but be baggy around my waist. I do love that by sewing my own clothes, such things can be fixed as I go, rather than altered later.

In the end, I like the dress quite a lot. It's the sort of thing I'll have to wear shapewear with, or else face the bellybutton issue happening in some of these pictures. I couldn't find my Spanx before the sun set on this shoot—if you wear them during a Texas summer, you're a card-carrying masochist, anyway—but they were probably needed.

The shape is lovely, however, skimming out from the waist in a ladylike flare. There's something vaguely 1930's about this pattern, which speaks to my Nancy Drew loving self. Can't you just envision it made up in a floral rayon? All I'd need is a sprightly hat and a garden party to attend, for a complete look.

On the inside, which I neglected to take pictures of, all of my seams are overlocked and were constructed in precisely the manner instructed. These days, I tend to construct things to my own preferences, only reading the given instructions if something seems particularly convoluted. With a new pattern company though, it's nice to get a feel for the designer's intentions and style, by following along with them. I absolutely loved the cheeky tone to the instructions that the BHL girls took—offering insightful suggestions and funny asides along the way.

The instructions were easy to follow, although not always in the expected order. For example, they have you hem the armholes before the sideseams, which worked so perfectly that I may do that from now on. The only quibble I had was with the order of sewing the facings in. I tend to prefer the neater finish that comes with doing them last, after any zipper installation, rather than having them among the first steps. But with a bit of hand sewing, they came out well, so who cares? Next time, I'll just do them my way. 

Oh look! What's that? An actual zipper. Crazy, right? I'm all too tempted to omit zippers normally, but the Anna dress really needs to fit close at the waist, in order to look correct. I still didn't get it as close as I wanted, but the zipper helped quite a bit to fit the dress well. The installation is not totally perfect at the top, but this is a wearable muslin, after all. Rule #1 of Mary's muslins: Don't unpick a zipper more than once. 

So, that's it! An Anna on a Mary! I have some slinkier fabrics that will look wonderful made up in this pattern, including a floral rayon or two. This is not the last we'll see of Anna, despite my initial reservations.

Plus, it looks damn cute with a cardigan...