Goin' to See Gertie - Butterick 5895

I'm going to Gertie's sewing retreat next weekend which I'm pretty excited about (I leave Friday), and the consensus was that pants should be my project for the weekend.  Vicki pointed out that having the opportunity to have someone help me fit my first pair of pants - by the person who drafted the pattern, no less - was an opportunity not to be wasted.  Butterick published Gertie's pattern for a pair of peddle pushers last year:

I wouldn't say it's my style, but it is an easy pair of pants - the zipper is in the back seam, and a good place to start.  I bought the smaller sized pattern that went up to size 12 because size 12 in the Big Four is my usual pattern size.  I plan to make my pants from a gorgeous green stretch cotton sateen I got from, where else?, Gorgeous Fabrics.  

Gertie recommended to the retreat group that we make a muslin prior to our arrival, so we can maximize our time fitting and sewing.  This is my last weekend to make my muslin (nothing like waiting until the last minute to do my homework . . .).  So this morning, I looked at the pattern.

Huh.  Those size 12 finished measurements printed on the pattern look kinda small.  But I'm going to use a stretch fabric, right? That's going to affect fit.  But still.  Those are small measurements.

So in abundance of caution, I went to Hancocks to get the larger size pattern that contained size 14.  Of course, the Butterick patterns weren't on sale today, so the pattern cost me $ 11.00 as opposed to the $ 1.99 I spent on the first one a few weeks ago.  I also bought some stretch twill pictured under the pattern as my muslin fabric.  When I got home, I decided to give the size 12 a try - if it worked, then I could return the larger, $ 11 pattern.

Well, y'all, I can say that the size 12 is definitely too small.  I'm glad I muslined it.  It saved me some major embarrassment at the retreat.  And it wasn't that bad to make.  I didn't worry about topstitching or finishing or trimming seams.  I didn't attach the waistband.  It went pretty quickly.

And then I tried it on.  Well, I tried to try it on.  

To say it was snug was an understatement.  It took a lot of strength to get the zipper up.  I can't believe I'm going to show you my fat behind, but since this is in the interest of science, dear readers, I will sacrifice my dignity:

You can see that I sewed the side seams wrong sides together so the seam allowances are on the outside.  My thinking that I could more easily make alterations, if necessary.  My thinking was correct only if I didn't need like, at least two more inches all the way around:

OK, size 14 is definitely required.  I felt like I needed to lay down after taking these photos with a cool, damp cloth on my forehead.  And never eat again.

I realize this pattern is deliberately close-fit.  I realize that the skirts and dresses I usually make have some fudge factor in them - a precise fit isn't usually required, limited only to how tight you like your skirts.  

So I'm recovering.  Slowly.  I'm trying to learn that no muslin is failure because you learn something as result.  And I've learned to trust the measurements printed on the pattern!

By tomorrow, I'll be recovered enough to make the 14.  Wish me luck.

: )

New Look 6000 Dress

After finishing the Tippi Hedren suit, I wanted to make another dress to wear with the jacket which I absolutely love.  I wanted to use the rayon/silk blend check on the left below:

I used some of it for the back of my Victorian vest, and wanted to make a simple sheath dress.  I decided to use New Look 6000, which I have made before.  

This time, I made view E (the yellow polka dot version) without the sleeves.  It was an easy make and I made no alterations, just a size 12, straight up.  It was fun because the dress went together quickly which was nice, given all the trouble I had with my Victorian vest. 

The rayon/silk blend was supple, a joy to work with.  I used facings for the armholes which isn't my favorite finishing for armholes, but I felt this drapey fabric needed the added structure.  But upon wearing, I found this stuff wrinkles horribly:

 But I loved the look; the checked fabric was a wonderful match for my wool jacket:

 But well, there is the wrinkling:

And by the end of the day, I discovered that my back center seam was beginning to shred.

Apparently, my rump is just too much for this fabric; I underestimated it's delicate nature.  I'm not certain I will be able to wear this dress much in the future, especially to work as that seam could go at any time!

So not an epic fail, but not a success either.  I have not given up on this fabric; I still believe I can make a non-fitted skirt to wear with this jacket.  But to recover from this project, I'm working on my first shirtdress of 2014!!!  Yes, it's been a while since a shirtdress was made, and I'm in withdrawal.  Onward and upward!

On more exciting news, I discovered that I got into Gertie's Sewing Retreat for the first week of April!  I'm in a complete dither as to what project I should take that needs Gertie's help.  Possibly the Vogue Couture dress which had fitting problems (plus the dress is already made so essentially, it is muslin), or, and this is a wild thought, maybe I should try a pair of pants. Other than some boxers or pj bottoms, I have never made a pair of pants, and Gertie has a pattern out now with a pair.  How cool would it be to learn how to make pants from the person who drafted the pattern???

Still deciding . . .  Any suggestions welcome!

Yearly Round-Up!

I don't normally do a year-end blog post due to Christmas busyness, but I'm in Cotton Creek, AL for the holidays, not sewing (how unfortunate), so why not?  Here goes:

By my math skills, which are admittedly poor, I made 17 garments this year.  That is extraordinarily productive for me, especially since one of the projects was the slow-sewing Butterick coat.  2013 was definitely the year of the shirtdress, and by my count I made eight (one of which I have not blogged about yet).  

So rather than a whole year-in-review, let's go with some highlights and lowlights, the disasters first so we can get them out the way.

My top two, didn't-work-for-me projects were:

1.  The "My Favorite Things" wrap dress I blogged about here.

I don't see any reason to enumerate all the pattern's deficiencies, as I covered it pretty thoroughly in my original post.  So, moving on:

2.  Vogue's 8648, the Couture Dress that I attempted to make without the Couture Craftsy Class:

It looks fine, but the bodice neckline and armholes are too low.  I've worn it exactly once, which is the day these photos were taken.  It is a shame too, because not only was the dress a joy to sew, there was endless matching and lining and the fabric is a wonderful silk/wool blend.  Except for the fit, I love it. This, dear readers, is the shining example of why a muslin is important.  Although I haven't quite figured out how to fix the fitting issues, so I'm not certain a muslin would have helped, other than it would have discouraged me from making the dress in the first place.  I want to make it clear, however, that the pattern drafting was not the problem with this project; it was my execution.  

Let's move on to the winners in an effort to throw off the "why didn't I muslin" blues.  Here's my top three highlights of 2013.

1.  My coat, of course:

 You've certainly seen plenty of Butterick 5824 from my endless blogging about it here and no more needs to be said except that I haven't stopped thinking of this coat as a miracle, that it actually turned out and functions as, well, as as coat.  I wore it NYC earlier in the month and I was toasty warm.  

2.  My Lock-And-Key shirtdress, vintage Simplicity 6584.  I ended up wearing this constantly throughout the summer and receive compliments on it where ever I went.  I'm going to have to make more of these:

3.  And finally, one dress that I will definitely be making more of is the Hawthorn.  I made two:

Probably in more linen fabrics.  My white Hawthorn was the first linen I had ever worked with and I am now hooked.  In a big, big way.  My only change to the Hawthorn will probably be that I will make the collar a little wider.  I was reading some blog posts on the Hawthorn and someone pointed out that the collar was a little narrow, which I never noticed, but once someone mentioned it, I thought, well, yeah, it kinda is.  I think I will widen it by a half inch and see how I like it.

So that is 2013.  I have big plans for 2014 - more to come when I return to Richmond, VA to sort through fabrics and match up with a seemingly endless supply of patterns.  First up - a yellow wool skirt.  Hopefully next weekend.

Today is the fourth day of Christmas, so Merry Christmas, y'all!

A Cautionary Fail

If you noticed that I am blogging more than usual lately, you are right.  I've joined Jen's 7 Days of Epic Blogging, where the goal is to write a post every day for seven days.  A bunch of folks signed up for this, including me, and I have no idea why, but what is life but one grand experiment?  

My last post on my 1970's skirt reminded me of a project I never posted about probably because I am still traumatized.  Any reader will know that I prefer the "Big Four" pattern based upon 1) price; 2) consistent sizing; 3) and printed finished garment measurement printed on the pattern.  My forays into independent patterns have been mostly successful, although not cheap, but the story I am about to tell is about a colossal fail.  

While I was in Cotton Creek, AL over Christmas, I spied at the LQS this seemingly innocent (and cute) pattern from Favorite Things.  It's their Wrap Dress pattern:

 Look at those girls on the cover!  They looks so cute, so happy, so seemingly at peace with their outfits.  But it's all a huge lie, dear readers; this wrap dress pattern is evil and unworkable.  Here is my version:

I can't remember who designed the fabric, but I thought it was perfect for the dress.  Unfortunately the dress, such that it is, does not function very well as a dress.  I mean, if you actually expect a dress to cover your body and protect you from the elements and prying eyes.  I wore it as a tunic sort of thing over jeans and a long sleeved tee, mainly because it was winter, but also because if you moved at all, the dress gaped to the waist.

Don't let my smile fool you, deal readers, this was a most ill-fitting garment.  See the back neck area standing upright from my neck/back?  What the hell is that???  I can't tell if this means the dress is too small or too large.  

I don't know how the women on the front cover of the pattern managed to stay covered; they must have sprayed themselves with glue and then wrapped the dress around their bodies.  I'm not linking to the pattern because I don't want to encourage anyone here.  Please, I beg you, do not buy this pattern.

It's a shame, because I loved the fabric which I used for the facings for my 1970's skirt (a much better use of the fabric, by the way). 

Just so I don't end this post on a completely negative note, I will confess that I liked the ruffle on the dress and hemming it was easier than I thought.  The instructions had you turn up a 1/4 inch hem, and stitch about 1/16th of inch close to the fold.  Then you pressed up the stitching line, so it didn't show, and then stitched again on top of it.  Then you cut away the excess raw edge.  I didn't have much confidence in these instructions, but it worked like a charm.

I used my eleven year old cheap sewing machine I keep stashed at Cotton Creek which I got at Sears when I first started sewing in 2002, and it was a challenge.  Going from my Bernina to the Sears model was like going from a Mercedes Benz to a horse and buggy, if the horse was ancient and had a tendency to bite people.  For what I paid for it in 2002, I could find a pretty nice used machine today.  I may have to look into to getting a new/used machine for my visits to my parents', and donate the Sears machine.

What I Learned While Sewing My Wedding Dress

(The pattern: same one used by my grandmother to make my mother's wedding dress in 1962.)

(My parents, July 14, 1962. In France. I always loved this dress my grandmother made.)

(My version. I made the dress with 3/4 sleeves instead of long sleeves, and buttons down the back instead of a zipper. This photo was taken right before Mass when The Carpenter and I were with our priest in the sacristy.)

(A friend who came ready to party!)

(The Carpenter and me, February 17, 2012. I wore my mother's pearls that she wore on her wedding day - they were a gift from my father as a wedding present.)

(In front of the statute of St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters!)

(Loved my dress!)

1. You are going to need this book by Susan Khalje, "Bridal Couture". It is out of print, so beg, borrow, or steal it. VickiW loaned me hers. If your sewing friends love you, they will do the same.

2. To gather a skirt, you really do need three rows of basting to control those gathers. I never before did this - I thought one row, possibly two was really all you needed - and then wondered why my gathered skirts were so hard to make. But I followed Susan Khalje's instructions and lo, and behold, the three rows of basting did the trick. I'll never do it any other way again.

3. You are going to have to resort to hand basting your invisible zipper. I've tried every way I know to pin an invisible zipper so I wouldn't have to pull out the needle and thread, but I'm here to tell you there is no other way. I hand basted the invisible zipper on my wedding dress and it went in with no trouble the first time. Didn't even have to do it twice.

4. Buy way more fabric than you need. The last thing you want is sewing stress because there is no extra fabric if you make a mistake. I bought my silk shantung from NY Fashion Center Fabrics and was fortunate that I was able to buy extra when I discovered my cutting layout was going to require more fabric. My lace, amazingly enough, came from Joannes for a very reasonable $ 7.50 per yard, so I bought nearly a half a bolt. That amount of fabric gave me peace of mind that should a mistake be made, it could be rectified.

5. Choose your fabrics carefully. I went with silk shantung because it is one of the easiest silks to work with. If you have never worked with gauzey silk sheers before, your wedding dress is not the place to start.

6. Similarly, choose a pattern that fits your skill level. It's okay to stretch (I had never used boning in a garment before), but don't overreach. Ideally, choose a pattern you have made before, but if that isn't possible, make sure its not "advanced" unless you are an experienced seamstress. The pattern I used was the same one my grandmother used to make my mother's weddding dress in 1962. This was a fairly simple pattern, as it was not uncommon for women to make their own wedding dresses 50 years ago.

7. Ask for help. VickiW came over to help me fit the silk underdress before I attached the lining. She suggested lengthening the bust darts a half inch and that worked. And in the end, I hired a woman who did wedding alterations to hem my dress. My dress was really two - a silk underdress and a lace overdress. That was a whole lot of hemming that I really didn't have time for the last few weeks before my wedding (we only had three months from the time we were engaged until the wedding). Also, I asked her to sew on the button loop elastic and buttons (38 of them!) for me down the back of the lace overdress. The original pattern called for a zipper in the lace overdress, which I didn't care for, although that is how my grandmother did it. I can't imagine how much time I saved by hiring the seamstress do it for me.

8. Be willing to start over. My usual M.O. when sewing is to forge ahead, no matter what - I hate re-doing. My usual rationale is that no one will notice. And usually that is true. But with a wedding dress, you can be sure people will be looking at you, and your dress. So there were several times I started over. I originally used silk organza for the bodice underlining, but while I was cutting and marking it, it was slipping around and my gut told me it wasn't going to be accurate. I scrapped that, and went with a firm cotton/poly voile as my underlining and I believe it worked much better than the organza. And while making the lace bodice, I discovered that I put in a sleeve completely wrong, which I found out only after I had double stitched and trimmed it. I just started over (I had plenty of lace, remember) and re-cut the bodice and sleeve, re-marked it, and re-sewed it. It didn't take as long as the first one, and my second effort was much better.

9. There is no other way to mark lace other than thread tracing. I tried. The washable marker I used simply would not wash out of my lace. Another reason to re-make that lace bodice. : )

10. Have a Plan B. If your dress doesn't work out, keep an eye out for that consignment shop dress, the one on Ebay, the off the rack dress at Davids, your mother's dress, a good friend's, etc. Having a Plan B will help reduce the stress that all is riding on your skills as a sewer. I know what I am talking about here as I had no Plan B. Really didn't. Somehow I just knew it would all work out. But do as I say here, not as I do. Get a Plan B.

I ended up buying my veil. I just ran out of time and in the end I just "clicked and added to cart". I got the exact veil I wanted, and quickly too.

The conventional wisdom is that you should never make your own dress - too much stress, not enough time, etc. The conventional wisdom is correct, but I am very glad I was able make this dress that was so special to me. My advice is, sew your dress if you want to, and have a Plan B so you can enjoy it. One of the biggest payoffs is that your dress is your ace in the hole when playing the "my wedding was so stressful" game with other brides. Any time you can say, "I sewed my own dress," they always say, "You win."

: )

Happy sewing y'all!

Not My Worst Mistake

This past spring I tried an experiment of fusing interfacing to silk charmuese. It turned out well enough that I bought enough silk to add the gathered skirt to the fused bodice for a potential cocktail dress. Here's the skirt attached to the bodice, none to expertly:

It was okay. I wasn't thrilled, but it turned out okay. I really don't like gathering - it never seems to go well with me. This skirt is really poofy, with a whole lot of fabric, and it was a huge PITA to get all that skirt on that bodice. I managed. But then I got cocky: I used my serger to finish the waist seam.

So of course for the very first time ever, because I was using an incredibly expensive fabric, I ran my garment fabric in the bodice into the serger blade. Arrgghhh! There was a small triangular cut in the bodice, but I was not to be deterred. I figured a little fusible interfacing might hold the tear together enough and maybe I could cover it with a sash or some other imaginative fix. But when I went to apply the fusible interfacing, my iron was still heating up. So it was on super-heat, trying to achieve the right temperature and it just melted the interfacing previously (and carefully) applied to the bodice fabric. Arrrghhh! Here's the mess I ended up with:

The triangular piece of interfacing is the fix for the tear, the mess above it is the melted interfacing caused by the iron. Here's another shot:

And here it is from the right side of the dress:

Ick. No way to save this at all. But strangely enough, I was hardly bothered by it despite the expense of the fabric, and despite all the work with no dress to show for it. I couldn't believe how not-upset I was. And then I realized: this wasn't the dress I wanted to make anyway. It was actually a relief to have it ruined beyond repair. If I had just listened to my muse in the first place, I would have been working on the dress I really wanted to be sewing and I would have avoided this sartorial disaster. I keep having to learn this lesson over and over and over; I just don't seem to "get it". Sewing is fun - work on what you want to work on, not what you think you should be working on!

Parting Shot: A visitor that showed up on my deck this evening; I got to watch him take a nap while I ate dinner. I have no idea where he came from or where he went to later, but it was nice have a kitty around, even if just for a little while.

The Monique Dress

I'm pleased to report that spring has officially arrived! And not only is my Easter dress done - weeks ahead, mind you - the retreat I was directing at my parish is also over. I'm not completely done, of course (you never are), but most of the work with the retreat is finished and hopefully I can spend more of my free time on sewing and maybe I might even quilt something. (Gasp!) I finished the Monique dress this weekend. Based on the muslin I made, I wanted to lower the bodice, so I lengthened the front "straps" of the dress bodice pattern by an inch and a quarter:

You can see where I lengthened the front bodice piece and front neckline pattern piece. Once I got it all together (with the exception of the arm facings), I tried it on and discovered that rather than drop the front bodice down an inch and a quarter, my alterations had pushed the shoulder seam to the back about an inch. I tried it on while Vicki was over, and she suggested that I simply lengthen the bodice about 2 inches at the bottom of the bodice so that the waistband would actually sit at my waist. I agree, and I'll do that next time. The dress as it is, with my experimental alterations, doesn't look bad, so I'll wear for Easter. I made up the dress in a Jane Sassman fabric that I got in Dolyestown, PA.

The light was bad when I photographed the dress, plus the wind wasn't cooperating. This photo doesn't do the fabric justice, so click on the link above to see what it should look like. I'll try to get Aimee to take a photo when I wear it so you can see what it looks like on. I did find a very cute white cardigan sweater to wear with it because at this time of year, it can always be a bit chilly. I'll be wearing this to the Easter Vigil Mass, which won't start until 8:00 pm, so I know I'll need the sweater.

Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly, as I discovered when I attempted to put on the arm facings. While I had altered the front neck facing to reflect my pattern alteration, I had neglected to do the same to the front arm facing. As Vicki would say, "Duh."

Tonight, having a rare evening with nothing planned, I decided to make my silk dress a silk skirt. The bodice was really too tight, and I have been wearing it with a turtleneck sweater over it, so I wouldn't have bust-revealing issues. With spring here, I really wanted to make it an elastic skirt. I love the silk and I love the colors of it.

Normally I avoid refashioning. It seems to be so much more of a PITA than new construction. Probably because I am operating without instructions and there always seems to be unforeseen issues. : )

But I thought this should be fairly straight forward. I cut the bodice off, slipped the skirt over my hips to make sure it would fit, and then put in an elastic waist. But when I tried it on , it wouldn't go over my thighs. Sign. An unforeseen issue. I don't know why this happened and I don't want to find out. There is no way I'm going to take a measuring tape to my backside. Instead, I discovered that it will slide on just fine as long as it goes over my head. Problem solved:

One aggravation: the elastic is twisted inside the casing despite my best efforts. I hate it when the elastic gets twisted. But as bad I hate it, I hate resewing even more, so twisted it shall stay. The twisting will not deter my wearing this skirt all summer - it's light and cool and the silk is already showing signs of wear, so I need to enjoy it now, before the silk breaks down completely. This will be a one season garment.

Parting shot: I've been baking bread like Loy taught me. It has been awesome!

A Horrockses Mistake

When we last left off, my mojo was AWOL and I was obsessed with making a Horrockses-inspired dress. Pretty soon after, my work mojo returned, and my sewing mojo wandered back into my sewing room a/k/a the whole downstairs of my house! I then started plotting my Horrockses masterpiece which soon became my Horrockses mistake as a result of my misguided fabric choice. I started off pretty well; I chose a 1940's retro fabric with a striped motif that seemed to be a Horrockses staple. I bought all my LQS had - 5 3/4 yards and I decided to use all 5 3/4 yards on the cross-grain to create a full skirt, and use the part I lopped off for the skirt length for the sundress bodice. My mother said, "Won't those horizontal stripes make you look fat?" Oh, of course not, I thought, I'm not fat, it will be fine. Well, I was so wrong:Note that I am not modeling the dress and you only get to see this baby on a hanger, partially constructed. I got the straps pinned in place and tried it on and I looked wide as the Mississippi. You could no more get me photographed in this dress for all the world to see than you could get me to pole dance. Oh. My. God. It wasn't just the horizontal red and white stripes that made it go wrong, it was also the quilting fabric that was way too stiff for the style I had in mind. I really needed a soft, drapey cotton or rayon blend for what I was going for. I don't usually made this mistake - I'm usually pretty good about matching up a pattern with the appropriate fabric choice. I blame the anesthesia.

I learned a few things though in making this dress. I learned that gathering 5 3/4 yards of fabric requires hand basting, rather than machine basting. Trust me, it takes longer but in the long run it is easier to gather and control those gathers. And of course, I re-learned that you are never to old to make mistakes!

This whole experience made me do something I don't normally do: I went shopping for a dress. I just wanted a summer dress and I was out of energy to sew it. But of course you know what I found: cheaply made dresses that cost too much. I found one dress where I liked the style and the color, but it was crap. And still cost $ 70. That drove me back to looking at patterns and I found Simplicity 2360 which approximated the style of the crapily made dress. In addition, I saw a Ralph Lauren ad in a magazine of a dress that I wanted in a way that wasn't rational:

I can't find this dress for sale because you have to actually go to a Ralph Lauren store to find out if they will deign to let you buy it. I can't find a price on it either because if you have to ask, you can't afford it. I assume it is in the $ 500 to $ 700 price range as it is in their spring 2010 collection. And I assure you that I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a dress unless I was getting married in it.

So I am using the Ralph Lauen dress as inspiration, and I am combining it with the Simplicity pattern 2360 to come up with a summer dress. I ordered some wonderful pink Kaffe Fassett rayon fabric, but I decided to be smart about this and made a hopefully wearable muslin of this brand new pattern. I used a blue flowered rayon challis I had in my stash for several years. It was cheap, and I bought a lot of it, and made a summer dress out of half of it about six years ago. I was extra sensitive to the fact that this pattern requires very drapey fabric after the Horrockses disaster and rayon challis definitely fits the bill. I got this dress done last night and wore it to work today and Aimee took a photo:

I swear this dress is more flattering in real life than in this photo and I really like it. I like the lace, and the sash is from the prior 6 year old dress. The waist is elastic, and I've never made a dress with an elastic waist before. It was nice not having to put in a zipper. When I make this again in the pink fabric, I think I will made the elastic tighter, bringing in the waist more, and I'll make the version with short sleeves. I'll also take some of the flare out of the skirt, making it straighter and less A-line. This dress has a 30's aura about it, and without the sash, it is as comfortable as a nightgown. I'm looking forward to using the Kaffe Fassett fabric - it's rayon, but a tighter weave - no more challis for me for a while! Working with challis is like working with silk: a PITA to deal with, but lovely to wear.

Parting Shot: Also to soothe my weary soul, I made another feedsack skirt because I knew it would work. I like this one because the colors are so cheerful: