Mortem's Tricks or Treats: A Day In The Life Of.

Last weekend I endeavored to finish a project that was meant to be completed before last year's Halloween, but still present circumstances have lifted my attentions elsewhere.
However, last weekend in my efforts to better balance my time for Bat Fit and most importantly, for my sanity, I made some time to continue work on it.

I tried the individual pieces on before setting them on Frankiestein... it was during this time, while glancing at the cuts and curves of the pieces on myself, I caught a glance of something off. Checking over the fit on myself, I took the same piece to Frankie...

Yup, my fleeting suspicion was quickly confirmed. I grew a size.

Luckily the pieces can still be increased with cleverly added inserts... but that would mean some very meticulous tailoring, which in turn means I would need a dress form to execute this change perfectly. Increasing the size of my dress form is a whole other can of worms I didn't have the will to deal with at the time... so I decided on something simple, with very little need for fitting details.

A skater dress.
Specifically McCall's M6754 in view B-- I bought it during one of my biggest Joann's hauls.

I bought a size lg to xxl not having much to pick from... I may have grown, but I haven't grown enough to fit into any of the predetermined sizing of my copy, so I had to grade it down to a medium using some less than "expert" ways of downsizing a pattern. I grabbed the smallest thread cap I own to mimic this little gadget from clover, which I only just discovered the previous week, and wanted to see if I could justify actual purchase through a DIY knock off. Let me just say... I want it. If your hands quake like mine do sometimes, the lines can be... funny looking, but I used my slew of rulers to clean up the lines. After that, the construction of the mock up went with barely a hitch... I say barely because my head grew a little foggy and I almost forgot how to sew on stretchy fabric. Some of the seams of my mock came out a tad lettucey due to that haze.

Here is the mock up, it's perfectly wearable despite that haze, and I am considering painting bats all over it to sell or trade to someone who might appreciate hot pink more than I currently do. I wanted to note that I kept the hem of the mock up a little longer keeping in mind it's next owner... the length I require for my height would not be very classy for the averagely "statured".

For my own dress, I had just the right fabric in mind.

With the Joann's gift cards given me this past Christmas, I bought what was left of a stretch velvet bolt in a color labeled "mystic purple" (among other decadent fabrics for my stash).

I also dug around my lace to find some flourish appliques I was saving for more coffin purses that never made it to fruition.

Armed with a un-fogged brain, and some delightful materials I made quick the work of the newest edition to my wardrobe.

And here are shots with a little accessory I acquired last year from Ebay

I had to fix this little underbust vest belt thing with a little elastic sewn to the straps... they were a little too broad shouldered for my stature. It now adds to the design and functions to keep the straps on.

I've been a rather selfless sewist. It feels like forever since I've sewn anything to actually wear for myself; something I can hang in my closet. Perhaps this is the tiny beginnings of a new trend... to temper work and home time, self love and family love.