scarf, no wait, a tank

It started when I saw this cute pom pom scarf on the Purl Bee: 

I bought the two yards of cotton fabric, a navy solid and a navy gingham, washed them and put them in the 'to make' pile of my sewing corner. Memorial Day weekend came and while I was finishing up a dress, I realized I also wanted to make something else (a magical moment of manic sewing compulsion).

 Looking around the sewing corner I found the navy fabrics. As I was ironing them I really fell in love with the feel. I needed to be able to really WEAR this fabric. A scarf was not going to cut it. That's when I reached for my trusty tank pattern. I made the front of the tank in the gingham and the back in the solid. And I love it.

Another great addition to the wardrobe!

On a roll

Last weekend was a sewing weekend like no other. In one day I managed to crank out a new dress and a new tank top. 

First the dress. 

I used my go-to dress pattern, Simplicity 8482, and tried the variation that included two long ties that can be overlapped across the body (and tied in the back) or gently tied in the front. I love it!  

 The fabric is a lightweight cotton I bought at Nido last autumn while the husband and I were vacationing in Vermont. A great shop for fabric and yarns!

For this dress I tried a new tip that I learned from Colette Patterns.  When preparing the skirt and all the gathers, they suggest sewing three rows of basting (instead of the usual two rows) to help better control the gathers. And boy are they right! The gathers were much more controlled and even - sewing them down was a breeze. I love little tips like this! Here's the blog post for a full description and I highly suggest subscribing to their weekly newsletter, Snippets.

I still need to photograph the tank top that I made. Post coming soon.