summer outfits!

nice shot of the sleeve.

so end-of-year singing is a thing? I never really perceived that... of course this year both P & K's were on the hottest day of the year to date. Thankfully I had already planned breezy, cool sewing for them., projects for me new serger! 

K's is a Hopscotch dress in cotton knit that I have had for literally years. It was all cut out and ready to sew, when she said, "And butterfly sleeves!"  Um, what? (like this? or like this? Not for this particular one, although I have been thinking about making her something very traditional and much in the spirit of the Sunduan.) No, sleeves that look like butterfly wings. So a redraft! 

I actually really like the way the sleeves turned out, and so does she.

P's is a woven henley, gauzy curtain-like cloth that I was lucky to find at my neighborhood place. Usually I buy fabric with no intentions, but this time I had it in my head to make a black-and-white shirt he could wear with his Airwalks and shorts... as they say, "And there it was!" It looks like a barong, right? Again, something in the back of my head. 

dance dress v. 1

I found this tulle with gold flowers on it... gorgeous! I asked if it was washable and the guy shrugged, "At $3 a yard, who knows?" Of course I had to. Spotted the exact same color spandex, it almost jumped into my hand. (The pictures don't really do the color justice, it's greener and richer, more like turquoise..) And thus:

gotta love both their expressions in this one.

I tried to be thrifty by shortcutting a pattern -- basically it fits but it's really snug. I'll probably spring for this actual pattern by Jalie if ever I see  it in a store. It was a great project to learn about cutting and sewing Spandex from scratch with my new serger, which was my Mother's Day present to myself. 

Verdict? Love how easy it is to do that infernal gathering of the skirt, and finishing edges. Still have to get the hang of that neckline finish, tho. 

Of course, not all dance dress/costume materials are the same, as I learned from the costume repair/alteration frenzy that was last month.