Somehow, my husband agreed to go to a Ren Faire with me, AND to go in costume, so long as he could go as a Viking.

So I made us some outfits.

His was made following the classic medieval construction.

Mine is a mashup of the bodice from Simplicity 9595, the skirt from Simplicity 8161, and the chemise made in the same way as his Viking tunic. I made it a while back for a Regency outfit, but modified it so that it would go with my dirndl (shortening it and adding a ruffle at the hem). But it still works here. Thankfully, this garment was made and worn the same way for centuries, so I'm covered. Not that I'm going for perfect historical accuracy, but getting in the ballpark is fun.

Getting this pattern to work took some time. First off, my size is bigger than the pattern I own: the pattern ranges from 6–12, and in the end, I realized I needed a 14. Second, the pattern is not that sophisticated and probably works like a dream for women with no boobs, but that is not me. 

So I ended up making FIVE muslins! I started off trying to use my high bust, a size 10, and adjusting for more bust room, but that was a disaster. I traced out a new pattern, expanding to get a 14. At that point, I also added a side seam to the front pattern piece to give me more fitting options, as the original was one side and front piece together. Then I kept making muslins and adjusting the fit. I attacked the princess seams first. They were way off. Then the straps and the general fit of the torso. 

I thought I was done and made up the bodice in the beautiful blue linen that I got from the Linen Lab (a new shop to me, which turned out to be amazing).

It was acceptable, but then I thought, why not add some boning and see what happens? And amazingly, it helped a lot. It is also more comfortable.

I used this pattern for the skirt of my outfit, and I actually mocked up the bodice as well. It would have worked with a few muslins to adjust the fit, but I didn't want sleeves or to wear a stomacher. 

The skirt was easy to construct. It's just rectangles. The pleats are easy to make, as is the waistband. Too bad I can't measure very well. I made it up, it looked beautiful, and I tried it on. About 3 inches too small at the waist. So I ripped out the end pleats of the front and added a new waistband. It worked well enough.

I wanted a new tennis bag. I don't like the one I have. Aside from how hideous it is, it's too tall and flimsy, so when I use it, it takes a long time to find items inside or fish them out. 

So I was planning on making a Core tote bag. I ordered some blue and white canvas, printed out the pattern, put the pattern together, and, in typical fashion, started to doubt myself. In particular, I wasn't sure where I was going to stash the tennis racquet. The pocket wouldn't be big enough.

Look at these cute patches I've been dying to put on something. I've had them a while.

I finished four more skorts for tennis. These are all made from the pattern I made from my favorite Nike skort. They are so super comfortable! Whenever I put on things I got from the store, I regret it because they are never as comfortable as what I made from this pattern.

This first one was one I had cut out over the summer. The fabric was a thin brushed poly, and the print on it would be best for pajamas. But in the end, I figured what the heck, why not sew them up. And I do wear them, they're comfy, and what do I care if they look like PJs?

For these next three I got the fabrics online after searching for some that I hoped were more "performance" grade. They are, although one I call Tropical Foliage is more suitable for swimwear. 

Lots of women are showing up on the courts with these cute surplice skirts. I tried to make one using my Nike pattern. It turned out so-so. I'll still wear it, of course.

I played in Surplice Flowers and I didn't like how the inside panel hung so low, especially with a ball in my shorts. So I undid the binding a bit, curved the corner removing a 3-inch bit of it,  and sewed the binding back on. Looks better.

This is one I made after finding this fabric in a my stash. I had bought it at least 5 years ago for a swimsuit. I realized I am never making a stupid swimsuit. The only time I like submerging myself in a pool or ocean is when it's above 90 degrees and the water is warm. A store-bought suit can suffice for such rare occurrences.

My husband got a light sweatshirt for his birthday one year. He wasn't going to wear it so I started wearing it to the shower when we were camping. I really liked it. I didn't have to take clean clothes to public showers, and I could dress quickly and get back to the camper when I was done. The only thing was the dress was a smidge too short and ya know I was commando.

Here is a picture of the fabric close up and the front pocket, which I meticulously matched perfectly only to realize now no one knows it's there. The fabric was called "Camping Badges." It's not really very campingly themed, IMO.

I wasn't really ready to make this dress. But a friend who had given me this beautiful African wax print was having a fundraiser for her Kenyan mission. I was helping with the fundraiser, and she asked the volunteers to wear African clothes if we had them. 

I had very little time, as usual, but I felt I needed to try to make this to please her. I have a couple sheath dress patterns in my collection. One I've made but the shoulders were way too large. The other I have never made. So I dug it out, and made a muslin. Dreadful fit. 

I decided to use my incomplete sloper. I had finished version 3 of my sloper, and the fit was still a ways off. The skirt was too big and didn't follow the curve of my hips. Something was off in the armscye that was causing wrinkles in the back. The bodice was close but the bust darts were not in the right spot and the front was a little baggy. 

Still I figured it was better than the McCall's muslin I had just finished. I decided I would combine the bodice and skirt to make a sheath and then cut large margins so I could just pin where I wanted. By this time, I had one day left to cut and sew. Good grief!

I cut it out, basted it together, and tried it on. Honestly, not too bad at all. The shoulders looked pretty good with the exception of some gaping. It was going to be sleeveless because of the time constraint and the fact that it's summer, and the sleeveless muslin confirmed that there is a problem with the armscye of my sloper. I tried doing some shoulder darts but it didn't work because there is only so much fabric in the seam allowance so I took them out and pulled up some fabric into the shoulder seam.

Now it's hard to fit oneself. Plus I was in a rush. I did what I could. 

The biggest issues were first, I forgot to remove the hem from the pattern when I cut out the fabric. I wanted the border at the bottom but since I didn't hem it, the dress is much too long.

Second, I ran out of time. I cut out some black bias strips to bind the neckline and the shoulders, started to put it on, noticed I had to leave in 20 minutes and take a shower. So I turned the neckline under and sewed it down. I serged the shoulder edges and hoped no one would look too close.
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​Look, I know it's a disaster. But I'm still pretty pleased that I got this close with that sloper. I know I will go back to the sloper project and get the sloper to fit properly. But do I go back to this dress and try to fix it? I can add the bias binding, but it will always be too long and a smidge lumpy. I don't think I'll ever wear it again. But who knows?

I made three skorts before I went to Hilton Head.

One was out of fabric scraps from the polka-dot dress I made. One was in some black knit I had in my stash. One was from a batch of fabrics I had bought for skorts. I had two pieces left to sew up to be done with that batch. I cut both out but only had time to sew up this blue and white one before I left.

I know. It would have been slick if I'd taken the time to center the diamonds. Whatevs.

Even though I was supposed to finish the other one I'd cut out so I could say I had finished one thing I started (i.e. using every fabric in that batch I'd bought), I expanded my scope.

​I wanted another black skort. I've had a lot of call to wear black bottoms in matches, and this pattern is so comfortable I decided to make it in black. I dug some fabric out of the stash and made the one below. It is comfortable. It's also too heavy for summer. It's fine indoors and when it's cooler.

Finally, I thought a skort made out of the polka-dot fabric I had made the Appleton out of would be cute. 

I didn't have enough so I had to piece the front, but I think it looks good. ​

Front with waist slashed open and lowered

Front with waist slashed more--all the way to the side seam. Now there is a full inch of extra length at the front center. In this picture wrinkles make it look like there is too much fabric between my bust and waist, but there isn't at all. I'm happy with this change

Back with front waist lowered 

It's super tight where it's pink. The bodice shape feels like it's too big across my chest so that it extends onto my arm. I feel like the seam should be where the red line is. I guess like the shoulder width is too long. But I 

I opened the seams on the front sleeve. It feels like the bodice is cutting into my torso and the inside of the sleeve is still tight on the same part that's pink in the above phot0  (and circled in red in the second photo below) when I lift my arms.

Here's another Appleton with Vera sleeves.  I actually started this before my niece's wedding to see if I could make a dress in a more subdued fabric. This fabric I got at Joann's; it's some sort of brushed cotton/poly mix. 

So it started off as a floor-length dress. One big problem with this dress is that I decided to line it. All by my lonesome, with no instruction. Since it was a wrap dress, that meant improvising, which usually doesn't turn out too well when I'm doing it. Spoiler: it didn't.

Once I saw that it wasn't going to work as a formal gown, I put it aside until after the wedding. 

Today I had the energy to cut it down and hem it. 

It was actually quite hideous as a floor-length dress. So much polka dot, and it drooped with the weight. But the reason I decided to trim and finish it was because I really loved the sleeves and I think the wrap is a good look for me. I thought maybe the dress could be saved.

​I couldn't decide whether to keep the lining or remove it. The polka dot fabric is a bit light and because I'd sewn it and the lining together at the seams, it would have been a hassle to rip out the lining. 

More improvising ensued to finish the dress below the waist. 

In the end, this thing is okay except for one thing. It's super uncomfortable at the armhole. The discomfort seems to be coming from the lining.  So I probably won't be wearing this. But I do want to try it again in a fabric I like.

I lengthened a Cashmerette Appleton dress and mixed it with the sleeves from Forget-me-not's Vera top.

I needed a long dress for a formal wedding reception—the same wedding that I made my sister's dress for. My other sister found a nice dress in a vintage store, so I looked there and found a dress option. It had hideous fringe on it that I could have taken off but I don't like that kind of work so I took it to a seamstress. She removed it for $120 and 2 weeks.  I also found a blingy jacket at the vintage shop. 

My daughter ended up wearing this dress at the wedding and reception.

But then I was in Salvation Army and looked at dresses there. I found 2 possibilities. One was a knit gown with georgette overlay and flutter sleeves. I call it the funeral gown. The other was a knit that hit me at the ankles. I call it the one-dollar dress because that's all it cost, heh heh. Now the one-dollar dress is sleeveless. I either have to make sleeves or wear the jacket with it. I made test sleeves out of a knit mesh and propped them in to see how they would look.

​As an aside, I found this mesh in the chaos of Joann's going-out-of-business fake sale. (Everything marked up and only 10% off.) Still, I was happy to find what I was looking for at a brick-and-mortar the day I wanted it.

All along, I had been toying with the idea of making my own dress. I had bought McCall's 7047 during vacation and some black knit on another trip to Joann's during the fake sale. I also had enough black knit sequin fabric in my stash to make the sash. But I had so little time, I could not make a mockup to test the fit or the look of the dress's style on my body. I had looked at pictures on Pattern Review and the dresses there looked good, but I just lost confidence that this pattern would work out smoothly or look acceptable on me.

​My niece had showed me photos of dresses other people were wearing and another aunt of hers was wearing a wrap. Then I had a brainstorm that if a wrap was acceptable, I had an Appleton pattern all fitted for me that might work. I'd just have to lengthen it and find a suitable fabric. I considered using the black knit I already had, but I was worried I would be just a little short.

All continual digs at Joann's aside, I headed there again looking for some other fabric for this formal Appleton. I really didn't see anything I liked but I got a polka-dot knit that could have worked. 

But then serendipity. I was searching for other local fabric stores (none) and found an old post from 2015 on Pattern Review. The writer mentioned a shop I used to go to (closed now) and referred to someone there who had sold fabric there. I was pretty sure she was a friend of mine, so I texted her to say I saw her referred to in that post. But get this: she still has loads of bolts left over from when she left that venture, and she invited me to come and shop her closet.

She had a lot of beautiful fabric, but none really suited me for this wedding. The closest thing was this black-and-white animal print with sparkles. What the hell, I gave it shot. It fits nicely. 

UPDATE: I chose to wear the shiny zebra dress. In retrospect, I can't believe I did; it's extremely outlandish! Even the funeral dress would have been more elegant. But I'm vain and I had to wear what I made. And a bonus is my daughter had a nice dress to wear. 

I finished this tennis bag, the instructions for which I found on Sew Mama Sew.

It's pretty simple, and the instructions are good, but I still managed to screw it up.

First off, I tried to make it up quickly before I went on our RV trip. I had a few hours and really, it could have been completed if things had gone smoothly.

But things never go smoothly.