George and Ginger Summer Festival Fever Tour- The Groovy/With Love Dress

Those of you participating in the 52 Week Challenge this year already know the drill- sew often, try new things, have fun!  I can’t believe we are already at week 25- almost half way through the year!  This week’s theme is “sew something blue” and this #momofboys  had a ton of projects in mind for this theme!

When I was given a chance to participate in George and Ginger’s Festival Fever Blog tour, I jumped at the chance.  It was a little intimidating for me (first blog tour) and I tried a bunch of sewing firsts (first G+G patterns, first major mash up, first woven dress to name a few) and while everything didn’t come out perfect,  it was a great learning experience for me.  I wanted to try to mash two of G+G’s patterns to see if I could come up with a fun look for summer.  Kristi’s patterns are a little out-of-the-ordinary funky to me- and I thought they would be the perfect chance to up my sewing game a little.

I started by first sewing up muslins of the Groovy Tank and the With Love Dress. This helped me get a feel for the fit, the sizing, and the tutorial directions.  For the Groovy Tank I used royal blue DBP and learned that I need more practice with the keyhole feature in the back as mine is a little wrinkly- but probably most people wouldn’t notice.  Why are we always the most critical of our own work?

Next I made the With Love Dress- I had a grey/blue knit with great drape that I thought would be a great maxi length.  I cheated a little and never sewed the elastic together- just safety pinned at the right size so it was comfortable. I don’t even feel (or see) the pin when wearing it and I’m thinking of leaving it for awhile- perfect for all the food festivals I plan on attending this summer!

I know that many of you are ramped up for music festivals and while I’m with you in spirit- the truth is that my family life with two small boys doesn’t give me nearly enough time to enjoy music festivals the way I would want to. I did get a chance last spring to enjoy a country music festival on the beach here in Southern CA.  Cue beanbag chairs!

I am fortunate that my family spends the summers in Maine- and there are a ton of food festivals to enjoy while we are here.  My favorite is the Whoopie Pie Festival which I’m actually enjoying tomorrow, but the Moxie and Lobster festivals are local favorites as well.   Nothing says Maine like a Moxie with your lobster dinner and a whoopie pie for dessert.  If you have no idea what I am talking about please look up whoopie pies- they are life changing 🙂

When I get back to California I’ll take my kids to the local strawberry festival for a fresh strawberry shortcake with whipped cream. I am pretty much the girl who will plan her summer vacation around which foods I’m going to eat.  But nothing says summer to me like lobster and strawberries.

 

Good thing the With Love dress has an elastic waist!  When I get home to my snap press I’m going to upgrade my safety pin to snaps so I can adjust the size of my elastic depending on which festival I’m going to and how much extra room I want 🙂

Now for the scary part- I decided to mash the With Love Dress with a Groovy keyhole back and if that wasn’t crazy enough, I wanted to make it in woven.  You see I had found this gorgeous silky feeling polyester in the designer bin at my local fabric store and it was one of those fabric moments where I couldn’t leave the store without it but I had no idea what I was going to make with it. 

You’ve been there too, I know. I wanted a pattern that could showcase the beautiful colors through this piece and thought the With Love would do a great job.  

The mashup was fairly simple, and would be even easier in knit.  I overlapped the back pieces of the Groovy tank on top of the With Love bodice, making sure to include a seam allowance for sewing the two back pieces together.  I then cut out my keyhole and adjusted my neckline.  In my muslin of my With Love dress I found the neckline to be a little wide for me, so I narrowed the neckline at my shoulders and lowered it slightly to get less of a boatneck look.  My keyhole didn’t come out as designer gorgeous as my fabric.

This is a combination of lack of experience with wovens and being rushed at the end of the school year (did I mention I’m a teacher and I was sewing this beauty the week of finals with four clips because everything else was packed away for the summer?)

But the technique is not hard and the truth is anyone could do it better than I did with a little patience and practice.

 

The With Love dress has enough ease that I didn’t even need to size up!   But even though it’s far from perfect, I still love how it turned out.  It has the comfort of the original pattern with just enough flare from the keyhole to make it fancy for a special occasion.

 

cof

cof

This fabric can also be acquired from Joanns and its rainbow design would make the perfect dress for celebrating Pride Month! #loveislove.

So there are my three blue projects for week 25 of the 52 week sewing challenge.  Check out all the other amazing stops on the George and Ginger’s Festival Fever Tour, and thanks so much for all your support of my sewing journey!

Monday, June 18 
Confessions of the Pink Obsessed | Diskordia’s Curvy Sewing
Our Play Palace | Wild & Wanderful | Bellephant

Tuesday, June 19
Threadistry | Cross Stitches | Middle River Studio
Liviality | Threads of Magic

Wednesday, June 20
Seams Sew Lo | So Sara Sews | Tenille’s Threads
My Crazy Crafty Beautiful Life | Aurora Design

Thursday, June 21
Middle River Studio | The Needle and the Belle
Sweet Mama Life | Sewing Scientist

Friday, June 22 
Sewing Ambi | 52 Week Sewing Challenge
Needles to Say | My Sewing Roots 
So Today I Did a Thing

And special thanks to our tour sponsors!
Boho Fabrics | Sincerely Rylee | Wandering Willow Design | Aurora Designs

I hope you enjoyed this pattern as much as I do, and I can’t wait to see pictures of your own creations! If you would like some support, motivation and inspiration come join the 52 Week Sewing Challenge on FB and we’ll get you sewing up your 2018 goals in no time!

Until Then,

Kelsey

Kelsey’s 2018 Sewing Goals

• Sew a Cowl √
• Sew a Wrap Dress√
• Sew a Pair of Jeans
• Sew a Zipper √
• Sew a Button √
• Sew a Christmas Tree Skirt
• Sew a Matchbox Car Mat (or two) √
• Create a handmade wardrobe
• Sew a Bra
• Sew a Drawer Full of Underwear
• Sew a Maxi Dress √
• Sew a Blazer
• Sew a Pair of Tights
• Sew a Button Up Shirt (almost, but I can do better!)
• Sew a Purse
• Sew a Lunchbag
• Sew From a Paper Pattern
• Open up an Etsy Shop with Embroidery Patterns