Cali Faye Basics Tank + Vogue 1496 Cocoon Dress Mashup

This is another one of those shapes you guys are either going to love or hate, I know. I kind of love it, but then I also kind of have this nagging need to airbrush that extra fabric off my hips in Photoshop, ya know?

The cocoon look is not something I'm used to (yet) for myself, but I love the effortless look it lends to all the models I've pinned to my Pinterest board for wardrobe inspiration. So I'm giving it a shot. Again. 

I love the fit of the Cali Faye Basics Tank, so I used that for the upper portion of the dress (size small). I mashed it up with Vogue 1496 (size B) for the lower portion of the dress. There was no magic to this; I just laid the tank pattern over the dress pattern, matched where the waistlines were, and traced new pattern pieces around the edges.  

I opted to leave off the pockets because I was feeling extra-lazy, but I'm kind of sad I did that. However, I used French seams throughout, and I'm not sure my feeble brain would have been able to sort that all out. So here it is in all its simplicity. 

The fit is great other than the armholes being particularly low and revealing my bra under the arms. My muslin of the tank did not do this, so I think it's a result of not stay-stitching around the armholes before overhandling this dress. 

The fabric is a silk noil (also known as "raw silk") that I purchased back in Salt Lake City a couple years ago. I had precisely enough to make this dress - so precisely that I had to piece together the bias binding around the neckline. I loved working with this fabric so much, I might have to invest in more of it from another source. It's easy-to-sew, light-as-a-feather, and it drapes beautifully. 

Oh, and my hair! You may notice it's shorter in these photos. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been DIY-ing my hair color and cut for quite a while now. Recently, I had a wild hair (haha) to cut some bangs to cover up where my postpartum puffs are emerging, but it was a huge mistake. Every. Single. Time. I cut bangs...I remind myself: NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. But I did it again. And I also cut a couple inches off the back. Basically it was a big hot mess. So I finally went to a professional to fix all my sins, and she did a great job with what I gave her. I love the cut she gave me, but it would look so much better had I not cut those awkward bangs. 

Oh well. It's hair. It grows. My new hair goal is to grow out all the color and get it back to around shoulder-blade length. We'll see how long that lasts. 

So there you have it! I do have at least one more cocoon dress planned (in a knit), so I'm not letting this trend die any time soon. 

True Bias Hudson Pants with Hey June Lane Raglan

There you go thinking that I finish a complete outfit every. single. day. NOPE. I finished each of these items over a year ago, and I wear them so much, they haven't been photographed. But here they are! I wanted to share them because they are both such great staples, and oftentimes, I think sewing bloggers don't post about the "boring" stuff because they don't think anyone really cares. But I know I live in stuff like this, and maybe you do, too. 

So here you go.

You are looking at the Hey June Handmade Lane Raglan and the True Bias Hudson Pants. The top is in a triplex (rayon/poly/spandex) jersey fabric that I previously stocked at Sew Kinetic (now closed), and the pants are a beefy French terry from Mood Fabrics in Manhattan. 

For the top, I added a hood and bands around the sleeves and hem. Since I made this, Adrianna has updated the pattern to include these items as well as a thumbhole option and a full-bust adjustment. I *think* this is a size medium, but I am not sure as I made this quite a while ago. 

For the pants, I totally forgot to sew lines around the waistband to give that three-casing look. I might get in there and do that at some point. Maybe not. Who knows. I had also planned to do grommet openings for the drawstring, but I ended up totally botching them and had to kind of hand-sew buttonholes (and use a lot of Fray-Check) instead. They are a size 6.

This is a great outfit that (I think) looks semi-pulled-together, but it's still comfortable enough to wear around the house while doing chores and playing with the kids. Both are great wardrobe staples that I highly recommend!

McCall's 6559 in Indigo Shibori Knit

I recently purchased 2.5 yards of this beautiful knit fabric from Fabric Depot here in Portland, and I wasn't quite sure what I would do with it. It actually had a few tiny holes in it which I possibly caused from washing it in the machine versus hand-washing, so I had to be creative with my cutting to get anything more than a tee from it. I searched through my stash of patterns for a maxi dress, and this one - McCall's 6559 - fit the bill. It's not too voluminous, so the yardage was just right. And when I laid out all the pieces, I was about to work around the few holes. (Let's just hope that more don't develop after my careless fabric treatment!)

This pattern is a great, basic, sleeveless maxi dress pattern with a slight racerback. I am wearing a normal bra here, so it's a great middle ground if you hate wearing racerback bras as much as I do. (They just feel weird!) My armholes are actually a tiny bit larger than the pattern because I had a serger mishap. So, do as I always say (and not as I do) and baste on your armbands/neckband before THE BLADE! 

I cut a size 10 which was one size smaller than my measurements, but I still ended up shaving a little off under the arms after sewing the side seams. I probably could have gone down to an 8, but I like the fullness that I still have at the bottom. I also always worry that the armholes openings will get too shallow if I go down too many sizes. I have issues with pulling under my arms when that happens. 

The other modification I made was to do neck and armbands instead of turning under and coverstitching. I just think this is a nicer finish. I simply made some long bands, stretched them around the openings to fit, cut/sewed them and applied them with my serger. And again, I recommend basting them on first if you do this. Don't destroy your gorgeous dress! :P

I love this pattern and will probably make more of these for the warm summer months. It came together super quickly and doesn't take a super ton of fabric like some maxi dresses. What do you think? Are you a maxi fan?