Woohoo!  I finally finished (mostly).   I’m love almost everything about this wardrobe.  It has a few faults, sure, but I’m so excited for it.  So, here is all of the information I can give you…

Finished pictures can be found in my flickr photo album.

My pattern review for the whole wardrobe is here.

Here is my collage, and I plan to make another one also to stick in my review that is a little simpler with close-ups of each item separately.  Just to ease the viewing a bit. Click to view a larger size.

I have a couple things left to do, before I can actually say I’m finished.  The three big ones are: lining the jacket, finishing the sleeve hem on the kiwi-colored shirt, and buttonholes on the khaki pants (I tried but couldn’t get them to work the other day).

I got my new dressform last week!  I’ve been wanting this for awhile, and I’m so happy with it!  It’s a Uniquely You form, and for those who don’t know, this is how it works.  The form is made of a very dense foam.  They send you a cover which you fit to yourself exactly, then zip it over the form, and it mimics your shape!  Since I’m the person I sew for most, it’s perfect for me, although not quite as simple as it sounds   My mom helped me fit the cover (you really can’t do it on your own), and it took lots of time.  Then my husband had to help me zip it onto the form which is much more difficult than you might think.

I’m just plugging away at my contest entries!  I still have 4 pieces left to go and some finishing on my trench coat (so so close).  Here are some pictures and links to their reviews:

Trench (I’ve made more progress since this pic, but I’m saving the rest of the pics until the end of the contest).

Top 4 (Bubbly Shirt)

Bottom 3 (charcoal skirt) and Top 2 (green ribbed knit shirt)

Bottom 4 (Gray Skirt)

Ok, so not the first pants I’ve ever owned, but the first I’ve ever sewn   I made a pair of jeans this weekend!  I am so excited about these.  I used an old pair of trousers  (that fit well) to create a pattern, and followed the special instructions in BWOF 09-2009.  They turned out pretty well.  I made a couple mistakes because of being new to pants and not making a muslin (which I am particularly good at… not making them, that is).  I’m not creating a page for them just yet, because I’ve got too much going on, but here is my review for them.  One down, 10 to go!

I’ve been too busy to post lately! First of all, I finished a dress for the BurdaStyle “Scarf Dress Challenge”! I’m pretty sure I didn’t win (or even come close), but I came out with a great new dress

Now, I am working on the PR Wardrobe Contest that ends in December. I’ve made my choices on fabrics and patterns.

I started the pattern for my jeans (meaning I’ve taken apart a pair of old trousers that fit really well, and started tracing them). I was planning to use the BWOF 09/2009 issue with the special instructions, but after tracing the pattern decided it’s too high waisted, and looks a little too flared for me. I will see if the instructions help me on the fly, though, since I have never sewn one before. I need to get them cut out tonight and hopefully finish them in a couple days so I can continue sewing! So much to do, so little time.

I took a draping class last weekend that I absolutely LOVED!  It’s so interesting to learn a new method!  Now I need a dress form…  Anyway, we learned how to make a sloper by draping, then we got to play around for about 45 minutes.  Here is what I came up with   I’m hoping to some day sew this up in a good fabric.

I also finished a shirt a couple weeks ago.  It gave me some trouble.  After I pressed the pleats at the top, they got all stretched out, and I had to cut off about an inch of the neckline because of it.  Oh well, it’s not perfect, but it is wearable   It’s also a bit short, which I wasn’t expecting.  It’s something I always need to check for because of my long waist, and I just didn’t do it this time. (sorry for the pictures… the dressform bust is quite a bit larger than mine)

We’re going to Nashville for the weekend and I’m very excited, even though it’s supposed to rain the whole time (and it’s supposed to be gorgeous here…).  It will be good to get away!

As a side note, I can’t wait for Bones to start back up this week!  I think it’s one of my new favorite shows   Is anyone else excited?  Ha!  Oh yeah, and The Office, which I have loved since the beginning!

I totally finished my wrap dress pattern like 2 weeks ago…  It is posted here.  I hope people will get some use out of it!  it’s a great basic, and an easy pattern to make up.

I also finished a dress for a contest for Pattern Review.  I sent it in for consideration, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t get chosen as a finalist.  Eh, never hurts to try!  I wasn’t incredibly happy with the result myself, but that’s alright.  It’s definitely wearable, but a little plain and a touch out of date   Click the picture for the full details.

Next up is a couple tops.  I’ve been wanting to make some summery tops for awhile, so I’m finally getting around to it.  One is from my pretty vine fabric using Vogue 8392.  Another is from Vogue 8032 and a pretty printed cotton.  First time using Vogue patterns, so I’m excited!  Both tops are cut and ready to be sewn, so I should finish in the next couple days

Just a quick update- both my corduroy skirt and my wrap dress are now posted   Now I can move on to other things!