Tag Archives: megan nielsen

A few things

in progress

1. I’m squeeing like a fangirl over this, but if you didn’t see, my Katniss dress was featured on Megan Nielsen’s blog yesterday! So much happy going on over here. :]

2. I think I had started learning to sew normal wearable in public clothes sometime around mid-May last year because I remember seeing “Me Made May” all over the interwebs but not really knowing what it was until it was mostly over. This year I signed up!

I, Ping of Peneloping, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’13. I endeavour to wear at least one self-made item of garment each day for the duration of May 2013. I also pledge to finish my hefty pile of non-costume-related UFOs and to make at least one dress a week.

I broke up with a lovely blue lace semi-backless dress that gave me all kinds of heartache last summer but it’s been a year and we’ve grown and I think maybe it’s time to reconcile. There’s also a chiffon dress (pictured above) that I’m pretty sure I ignored for a while because I made the bust too small but luckily I managed to stay (mostly) on track with lifting and eating clean all year and lost two bra sizes so it should fit now! And then there’s the dress that just needs its buttonholes sewn and a cord belt made. And a Kelly skirt that needs buttonholes and hemming. Ooh and a lilac checkered dress that I can’t even remember why I broke up with. And lastly a heinous 90s dress that I have plans to beautify.

3. One huge paper due this afternoon, one behemoth paper due next Monday, and then one last mini-final exam on the 13th and I’m officially done with most of the academic part of grad school! There is the pesky little dissertation-esque portion but I’m choosing to ignore that until September.

4. I was just mentally going through my wardrobe and planning out the first week of Me Made May when I realized that some days I don’t change out of pajamas (usually Fridays. And sometimes Sundays.). And then I was really thankful that I’ve made a few pajama bottoms. Does that defeat the purpose? hee.

A Kelly craze

I’ve been seeing all kinds of Kelly skirts all over Pinterest for ages. On Friday I went to the fabric store for some thread and somehow left with the Kelly skirt pattern. Whoops.

Then I dug through my fabric at home and found some fabric that seemed perfect for it and cranked out this one!

DSC_2384

I used a some sort of twill that I had lying around, and stole the buttons off of a dress my sister gave me that I’ve been altering. Since there’s only one button on the waistband, I added a snap button right below the top button to keep that area flush. I also shortened it by about 6″ because I look terrible in longer skirts.

The waistband is a tiny bit too big but otherwise I love how it turned out!

Then the other day I was at the other fabric store getting some buttons and somehow ended up leaving with a gorgeous salmon-y coral pink linen blend, with which I made a second Kelly skirt. Whoops.

Kelly skirt
Apparently this one needs a snap button too. 

This fabric is lighter and more flowy than the first one, and I shortened the waistband a little so it fits perfectly. The only problem is that now I’m totally ready for spring.

Anddd I may have bought some mustard colored sateen for a third one. Any ideas on what color/kind of buttons to use for that one?

A Kelly craze

I’ve been seeing all kinds of Kelly skirts all over Pinterest for ages. On Friday I went to the fabric store for some thread and somehow left with the Kelly skirt pattern. Whoops.

Then I dug through my fabric at home and found some fabric that seemed perfect for it and cranked out this one!

DSC_2384

I used a some sort of twill that I had lying around, and stole the buttons off of a dress my sister gave me that I’ve been altering. Since there’s only one button on the waistband, I added a snap button right below the top button to keep that area flush. I also shortened it by about 6″ because I look terrible in longer skirts.

The waistband is a tiny bit too big but otherwise I love how it turned out!

Then the other day I was at the other fabric store getting some buttons and somehow ended up leaving with a gorgeous salmon-y coral pink linen blend, with which I made a second Kelly skirt. Whoops.

Kelly skirt
Apparently this one needs a snap button too. 

This fabric is lighter and more flowy than the first one, and I shortened the waistband a little so it fits perfectly. The only problem is that now I’m totally ready for spring.

Anddd I may have bought some mustard colored sateen for a third one. Any ideas on what color/kind of buttons to use for that one?

Darling Ranges #3

In case anyone was doubting my sentiments toward Megan Nielsen’s Darling Ranges pattern.. here’s yet another one!

Darling Ranges #3
dress: self-made (Darling Ranges by Megan Nielsen), shoes: Modcloth

I saw some really gorgeous sleeveless ones so I decided to make this one sans sleeves. I almost like it better than the ones with sleeves! Definitely a different look. I also decided to add a faux-collary thing to this one. Totally experimental but I think it turned out really cute. This collar’s pointy but I think I’ll have to experiment with a Peter Pan collar next.

Here’s a fun instagrammed close up of the collar detail.

This is definitely one of my favorite things I’ve ever sewn because it fits me PERFECTLY. No joke. By some miracle every bit of it fits like a glove. I added back darts to this one and eliminated the back ties and I love it!

Darling Ranges #3

It’s been chilly lately so I’ve been pairing this with a long cardigan and some tights. Can’t wait to wear it out as a summer dress!

PS If you’re looking for ideas on variations of this pattern, check out Megan Nielsen’s Darling Ranges board on Pinterest!

Darling Ranges #1

Nothing like posting sewing projects completely out of order..

Here’s my first Darling Ranges dress!

Darling Ranges #1
dress: self-made (Darling Ranges by Megan Nielsen), headband: F21, shoes: Seychelles Ampersand

This is probably the least well put-together version of this dress that I’ve made but it’s one of my favorites. The chiffon was an absolute nightmare to work with but I like the end effect. Plus I was figuring out the pattern as I went along so there’s small iffy bits, especially along the placket and neckline.

Darling Ranges #1

I went entirely according to the pattern on this one but the waistline is a touch too high for my freakishly long torso so I lowered it by two inches on all of the other ones. It kind of works with the chiffon though, kind of a babydoll dress effect.

Plus now I have something to wear with my Seychelles. 🙂