Navy Pullover Dress

I wanted to sew something easy with very little effort on my part, so I chose this simple dress pattern from 1981. It’s just about the easiest dress I can make: a pullover dress with an elastic waistband.

Learning from my many previous mistakes, I measured the pattern first to see if there were any glaring size issues that might screw me over later. And I’m glad I did, because the top portion was going to be too long on me. My torso isn’t so long, so I always have to shorten dress patterns, and I did so before cutting out my material (this time).

For this dress, I chose a navy with white polyester fabric that I thought would drape well. Sewing this dress was a very smooth process. Although it was a new pattern for me, I didn’t run into any problems (as it was somewhat similar to the Comfy Gray Dress I made recently). Everything was pretty clear cut. I think if I really tried, I could have done finished this dress in a weekend, but instead I doled it out over two weekends.

I’m satisfied with the finished dress. It’s super simple and comfortable, and it’s my beloved navy color. The one negative thing is this pattern didn’t have pockets and I didn’t add them in, and I have to say: I miss pockets! If I make this dress again I think I’m going to add pockets because I love pockets.

To add a bit of interest to this basic dress, I used my thrifted navy and white belt that I bought recently. Because the belt is quite long, I tied it in a way that allows it to be fitted on my waist.

First, I used the belt normally, putting the end through the first and second loop.

The end of the belt is quite long, so I threaded it through the first loop again, and then tucked it underneath the belt.

Then I twisted the belt around so that the metal pieces are on my back. Done.

Hooked on Navy

I try not to go to fabric stores too often because inevitably I’ll see fabrics that are pretty and I may be tempted to get more. And I don’t need any more fabric; I have a sizable stash and adding to it isn’t necessary.

That’s not to say I never go. Sometimes I just want to look and see if anything speaks to me. But this time I went because I had a gift certificate (that’s right, a certificate—a paper one) to a fabric store that I intended to use. I went in thinking, “I’m going to get color. A colorful pattern or a nice red or plum.” [Pause.] That didn’t happen. I’m just drawn to navy. Like a homing beacon, I just find my way to it. That’s the color I like. That’s the color I want.

In my fabric stash I have many fabrics that aren’t navy because that’s what the store had on sale or that’s the fabric that the estate sale had. But when given a choice of any fabric in a store, my instinct is for navy. It’s a hard habit to break, and perhaps one not worth breaking. Because if it’s a fabric I love, then that’s reason enough to get it. I shouldn’t just pick a different color merely because it’s a different color; after sewing a garment, I may not love it as much because it’s not in the color I really wanted.

So I got these two fabrics that are navy-based. One is straight up navy with a very light pattern that feels more like a texture. And the other I got has some color in it—a bit of red (I do love navy and red together) and a brighter blue. I was on the fence on getting the second fabric because it has a plaid pattern and I’m a bit scared of sewing plaids (as I have avoided it completely), but I thought it could be cute.

I’ve just sort of accepted that the bulk of my wardrobe is white, black and navy. I have garments that are other colors, but I tend to favor these timeless neutrals. Maybe this will change over time; I didn’t love navy 10 years ago, in another 10 years, who knows? But for now, I love navy.

With the Money I “Saved”…

Like many people, there are times that I rationalize my purchases. It’s a terrible habit and I try not to do it too often, but it does happen on occasion.

One afternoon, the weather was especially nice so I decided to take a walk on my lunch hour…to a clothing store. It wasn’t because I wanted or needed any clothing, it just made for a destination on my walk. After looking around, I considered buying a pair of jeans that were on sale for $40 (original price $120), but I eventually decided against it. They were fine jeans, and the fit was okay, but I could live without them.

Then after work, I stopped by a thrift store and found two navy tops. The first top is from Banana Republic and has a slightly nautical feel. It has cute gold buttons on either side of the boatneck neckline and on the ends of the sleeves; the fabric is lightweight, slightly stretchy viscose. Overall, I like the cut of the top and think it could go well with skirts or pants.

The second top is a sweater from Ann Taylor LOFT. I like the neckline and the pattern of the sweater. It’s fitted and I like the shape of it. It’s cotton and feels pretty comfortable to wear.

Both of these tops were $7 each, which brought my grand total to $14. I’ll admit, I was a bit on the fence about getting the Banana Republic top because $7 seemed a bit steep to me (I tend to be more willing to pay a bit more for sweaters than shirts). But my rationalizing kicked in, and I had saved $40 by not buying those jeans earlier in the day, so I could spend it on these two tops instead. So I ended up “saving” a total of $26. [Pause.] I know this is totally wrong logic. I spent $14. Therefore I didn’t save anything. But still, I was pretty glad I hadn’t bought those jeans earlier in the day—because I preferred these tops to those jeans.

Zipperless Skirt

Every so often while thrift shopping, I’ll find a skirt that has no zipper. The first time I noticed it, I thought it was a mistake or that someone had taken out the zipper, but on closer examination I realized that it was supposed to be that way. This initially perplexed me because I’m so used to seeing zippers used as closures on my garments, and not having one seemed odd.

But of course garments were made without zippers before zippers were invented. [Pause.] Obviously. For centuries people constructed clothing with closures other than zippers. Buttons are an obvious choice (and great if you want a decorative detail), but eyes and hooks work as well (and they’re cheaper).

I’ve made a number of skirts before, but all of them had zippers. Not this one that I made from a pattern from 1980. I decided to try this pattern that just uses eyes and hooks for the closure; the pocket creates enough of an overlap with the skirt that you don’t flash anyone. The skirt is a circle skirt with a bit of gathering, and isn’t much different than skirts I’ve made in the past. The part that was new to me was sewing the pockets to the skirt (and then to the waistband) in the correct way. It wasn’t hard, but it did make me pause to make sure I was doing it right.

Overall I’m happy with this cotton skirt. It’s simple and comfortable (and I always love navy). And I think I’ll get some good use out of it in the warmer months to come.

Altered: Navy Coat

When I got this navy coat at an estate sale months ago, I wasn’t sure if I was going to keep it. I bought it (along with everything else), mostly on a whim. I think I tried this coat on and thought it fit well enough to get, even though I wasn’t necessarily happy with the entirety of its design. But for 50 cents, I wasn’t going to be super picky. As it was summer, I didn’t have an immediate need for it so it just sat in a corner for a while.

Once the weather started to cool down, I was more motivated to take a look at this coat again. I decided I liked the general shape of the coat, but disliked certain design details that I felt dated it. As is, the coat looked like it’s from the early 1980s. I didn’t like the stitching detail on the collar and the cuffs. In fact, I didn’t like the cuffs at all; I just wanted a straight sleeve, which meant I needed to sew fabric to the ends of the sleeves.

I didn’t want to try and match the navy color of the coat because I thought it was bound to be off, so I decided using a different color would be best. And while I thought a cream color would make an excellent color combination with the navy, I decided to go with black because it’s more practical. I can easily see a cream sleeve brushing against a wet dirty car and getting dark smudges all over it (and no doubt that would happen if I were to wear it). [Sigh.]

I removed the stitching on the collar and removed the cuff part of the sleeves. I just attached the black fabric to the ends of the sleeves in a way that made sense to me. It wasn’t very difficult and took an afternoon to do. Overall I’m pretty satisfied with the result; it’s a small change but I think it makes a large difference.