Miss Laurel Feels A Bit Green: Colette Laurel

Good morning, friends! Today in central Texas, it's about 25°F (-4°C) and lightly snowing. Brrr! It's been quite the chilly winter for us, with multiple Arctic fronts and snowfalls, which are normally a once-a-year happening. Needless to say, my wintery Mary-made pieces are in heavy rotation this year. There are my beloved Peggy skirts, a few flannel iterations of my Wendy dress, and one of my favorite late-2013 projects: a fully lined green Laurel dress.

As you may recall, my first Laurel dress was such a surprise. Despite a lack of seaming, it ended up being a very comfortable, super cute little piece. It layers well under cardigans, dresses up beautifully with heels, and doesn't take that much fabric. What's not to love? It's also, unfortunately for our current season, bright orange with a white floral border. Not exactly winter appropriate...

Luckily, I had this green floral lawn in my stash. Eons ago, a more moronic naive Mary bought a scant two

yards of this 44-inch wide fabric. Though I loved the print, with those rose and cream flowers swirling about in such an orderly, Regency fashion, it was practically useless. The thought of a simple tank top left me cold, so it was destined to languish.

The Laurel, however, only needs two yards of fabric. Bliss and joy!

This dress was almost too easy to make. I adjusted the fit from last time, bringing in the waist another two inches, but still allowed enough room to omit the center back zipper and keep the shift silhouette. So, I sewed two side seams, one center back seam, and inserted a green lawn lining. Then, I machine hemmed both layers and -- Voila! -- a dress was born.

Oh, you'd like more information? Well...the method I used for the lining insertion is somewhat unorthodox. While I did sew it in by machine, I didn't use the classic shoulder tunnel method, which I've never quite gotten the hang of. Invariably, I end up with one back piece properly sewn and the other irrevocably twisted. So, instead, I leave the shoulders as the last thing finished. They aren't sewn at all, until both lining and dress are sewn together, then through the magic of pulling the shoulders down through the bodice, you sew the shoulder seams independently. For the life of me, I can't find a tutorial online for this, even though I know it is used elsewhere. If anyone else hates the shoulder tunnel method and is intrigued by this, let me know, and I can put a tutorial together. (My princess-seamed bodice tutorial is finally going live next week, which will provide a rare non-outfit post.)

Like its predecessor, I love the way this Laurel layers up. It will be just fine on its own this summer, when I'm tanner than in these ghostly pictures, but really shines when paired with a wool cardigan and tights. A simple, comfortable outfit for these chilly Texas mornings. It's also perfect with my low slung brown boots, which I adore, but so rarely wear.

Incidentally, if you're also in the mood for a cute shift dress, I have good news! The lovely and charming Lauren, of Rosie Wednesday, is currently hosting a sew along for Simplicity 3833. The pattern is a completely adorable 60's reprint, with more structure than your typical shift dress. If you're concerned about how the Laurel may look on a curvy figure, 3833 is a fabulous alternative and Lauren's tutorials have been amazing. Her video on lapped zipper insertion will make a lapped zip convert out of you, I promise!

The details...

Things I Loved:

• The fabric! Pretty, simple, and so so soft!
• The ease! There is no easier dress than this, my dears. 

Things I Changed:

• Omitted the zipper, once again due to extreme laziness.
• Brought the waistline in by over five inches total. 

Things I Would Change, If I Made It Again:

• Nothing! It's rather perfect as is. 

Notions & Fabric:

• 2 yards of floral cotton lawn by Moda
• 2 yards of green cotton lawn

Construction Time:

• Two hours, from cutting to hem. Woohoo!

In other news, Idle Fancy now has its very own Facebook page! Currently, it has zero fans. So...if someone, anyone would like it, I'd be eternally grateful. I'm not a big Instagram user, so if you want to keep up with behind-the-scenes sewing news and other fun things, that page is the place to go. Please, oh please, like it?

Note: All photo-bombing credits go to Seamus, our German Shepherd, who doesn't quite realize the difference between going outside to take pictures and going outside to play fetch...

Miss Laurel Returns to Earth

 Hello, kittens! It's nice to see you all. I hope the last year has kept you well. Not going to lie, I've been consistently stalking sewing blogs, even if I haven't been updating my own. Your new dog? Super cute. That dress you just made? Even cuter.

Personally, there have been a lot of changes in my life this year. We'll get to some of those big ones a little bit later, but they have meant less time to sew and even less time to photograph the things I've sewn. Things have settled down a bit recently, however, so it seemed time to break back into blogging. The first project up in my post queue is everyone's favorite sheath dress, Colette's Laurel pattern.

When I initially saw Laurel, I loved it. Not two seconds later, I decided it wasn't for me. There is no waist seam, it's super simple in shape, and it's all very gamine 1960s starlet. Y'all I have hips and boobs and myriad other parts that curve. Though I may wish it, I'm the very opposite of lithe. And yet...

I couldn't resist. Laurel seemed the perfect stash-busting pattern. It's super efficient for fabric use—less than two yards required for the sleeveless version—and works great with a border print. So, I made a muslin and ended up loving it. I didn't need a traditional FBA, instead just grading from my high bust size at the top to my actual bust size in the bodice, then nipping in the waist and hip lines. How easy to fit! 

 My first real version was this orange sherbet confection, which uses fabric that has been malingering in my stash for entirely too long. It's a very lightweight cotton voile, with a fabulous wide floral border running the length of the fabric. Laurel worked perfectly to take advantage of that fact, turning into the perfect, classy little sheath dress. It may not be the best pattern for my shape, but not everything in my wardrobe can be poofy skirted fit-and-flare styles. It's just too boring! This Laurel is a comfortable go-to summer cocktail dress, which is always nice to have on hand. 

 Since making this first one, I've whipped up two others in more autumnal fabrics, which will look great with boots and layers of cardigans, once we finally see the end of summer. I really loved the ease of making this pattern. Even with the full linings I put in every dress, they've taken me less than two hours from the first stitch to the hem. No zipper is needed, since they're so roomy, and they're a cinch to assemble. Colette's instructions were, as ever, straight forward and helpful. If you're just starting out in garment sewing, this would be a fantastic pattern to start with—quick, easy, and super cute.

My final review: A+, an all-around adorable pattern. Would we expect anything less from Colette?

The only last thing I have to document is the reason for my prolonged absence. Mary, where on earth have you been for the last year?

 Well, lots of great things have been going on. I finally finished one of the two degrees in my dual  doctorate program, leaving only my final dissertation project to finish this year. I've moved from Austin, into a lovely little bungalow in a small city 90 miles north.

Why the move? Well...

Are you so excited? No? Well, I am excited to tell you! 

All of this moving about and city changing has occurred, because a little over a year ago I started dating a wonderful man. His name is Sam—Dr. Sam, if we're being official—and he's lovely as you can see below. Not only is he appropriately bearded, but he's incredibly smart, funny, and generally the most delightful person I've ever known. 

 Sam, looking skeptical as I document a rite of passage: his first In-N-Out burger.

For Valentine's Day, he bought me all the seasons of Buffy. 

He is an absolute wizard in the kitchen, somehow even making Brussels sprouts delicious. (Note: the key is apparently bacon. Of course!)

He is a professor, a Trekkie, and quite attached to his gigantic German Shepherd. 

He is also the person I'm going to marry this December.

Obligatory ring picture, because it's not an engagement post, without something sparkly.

That's right! I'm getting married. 

It's okay, if you can't believe it. We've been engaged for over six months now and I'm still a little bit in disbelief. I legitimately never thought I'd get married. So much of my life has been focused on career and friends and interests, that I never left much room for what I thought relationships meant. It turns out, you can have all of those things, you just have to find someone who wants to share them. Sam is awesome. We are awesome. I'm beyond thrilled about continuing my life's adventures with him as a partner.

That's a lot of mush, readers, I know. This last year has been a whirlwind, both emotionally and professionally, but I am still alive and still sewing. And, after so many delays, still blogging. Thanks for sticking around, friends! 

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