Mad Men challenge 3 - I'm in!

Yippee! It's finally that time of the year again! What else, it's the Mad Men challenge organised by the wonderfully talented Julia Bobbin. 

You might remember that I participated last year (see my entry here), and let me tell you, it was soooo much fun! If you have the time, and are a fan of Mad Men (who isn't?), then it's time to join in! 

Do you also remember this summery little number? That was also Mad Men inspired! 

So for the challenge, I currently have my eyes on a couple of outfits from Season 6 (admittedly the style has moved on quite a bit by Season 6, but there are still some gems here and there): 

Image from AMC of course but copied from Instyle

It was lovely to see Betty all fresh and summery, and also slim and confident again. I like her "traditional" sense of style -- she is more of a 50s lady.

Again AMC image but linked from Instyle (you can also read about comments on Mad Men fashion by the show's costume designer!)

And I just love Joan's purple two-piece, despite mistakenly thinking that it was a dress. The neckline is lovely, and I adore the cute bow details. 

I can't wait to get started! I think my vintage pattern Simplicity 3092 view 2 will be a lovely base pattern for Betty's top (with a few tweaks, mainly for the neckline). At this rate, I'll be flying through my Vintage pattern sewing pledge ;) I'm still looking for a pattern for the shorts, but think I may just attempt it too, if I have the time. 

Update -- I have already tracked down 2 versions of Betty's lovely top in the sewing blogsphere! Here's Jane's version, and here's Ami's version. Aren't they both adorable?

So, are you participating this year? I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone's planning on making, and of course the finished projects! 

A girl can dream

OK, so I've promised myself to prioritise my wedding dress, which means no other projects/distractions before I finish it... and yes, I am going to stick to it! 


But, who said anything about not daydreaming about making other things? ;)


So, to ensure that I'm not going to suddenly go mad at all my patterns and fabric stash, I thought I'd do a "pipeline" report and indulge in some daydreaming... 


I would love the make this now...

A peplum dress! Of course! What else could it possibly be? After the SS12 runway? 

This is the Project Runway Simplicity 2282, I just love the versatility of this pattern! The peplum is subtle, which makes it easy to wear on a dress down Friday! 

This is the fabric that I'm going to use:

 

After the casual peplum dress, I thought I'd give myself a break by making the Sorbetto top. I've already downloaded the pattern, and found 2 bits of scrap viscose that are the current contenders for the top - almost ready to go! 


Here are the lovely and soft bits of viscose:

I think both would make lovely tops! I have already purchased pink and bronze coloured bias tape... very excited! 


Once I've chosen the fabric for the Sorbetto top, I am planning on using the other one for New Look 6965. 

Another simple top, another perfect pattern for using up scrap! Not to get even more ahead of myself or anything... but I can already see a summer where I can wear lots of comfy homemade tops and dresses!


As I can't keep indulging myself forever, I am going to have to make this the last top priority project that I shall share with you in this post. It is...

Having read so many great reviews for this pattern, I can't wait to have a go at it myself! I have some lightweight cotton poplin that I'm planning on using (we all know what that looks like, so I'm not going to bore you with a picture here). 

Ah oh... I just thought of one more! It's off the runway, by Jason Wu... need I say more?

Of course, it's THE peplum for 2012! I'm planning on using the scrap from my wedding dress for the bodice - it may not be as white as the dress in the picture, it would certainly make it very special! I've bought some polyester satin for the skirt (and acetate satin in fact - but I didn't think the acetate satin had the right hand for this - it was a little too stiff and far to easy to crease! any ideas of using it for anything else?) and some faux silk lining for the skirt... 

Oh the anticipation! 

Inspirations

I haven't done that much sewing in the last week or so... partially because I'm still trying to envisage how the layers would be attached (thanks for all the help I've received from the Patternreview ladies) and am not sure what details to have on the bodice. I am leaning towards having the ruched effect with some sort of sheer fabric - I will try out chiffon shortly but I am going to try on a few more dresses this week just so I'm absolutely certain about what I want. 


In the meantime, in light of the potential excess fabric (I bought 10 whole metres of 60' wide silk dupion and silk organza), I thought about possibly making an evening dress IF I have time... I am inspired by Ian Stuart Jet Set and Ian Ashworth's Evie! they are so cute and funky and I think they would make a lovely dress for the evening... 


I'm off to gather all the nylon dress net for the underskirt, will report back soon!