Stripey Maxi Dress - McCall's 7121

Finally! A quick and easy project that took less than a week from start to finish! Which I needed since my last one dragged on forever and the Pattern Review Sew Small contest starts this week. I'm a one project at a time sort of gal.

McCall's 7121

This project was one almost the whole family got to participate in. Because I had to stripe match some pretty large pattern pieces, the fabric wouldn't fit on my cutting table. So onto the biggest open spot on the tile floor it went. That meant fending off two greyhounds and a cat who never heard about Curiosity and The Cat was fun.

It was a good thing that ordering fabric from Amazon instead of their original incarnation Fabric.com only allowed me to order fabric in whole yards, meaning I had about 1/2 yard extra than what the pattern called for or I would have been making the knee length version. My fabric's stripes had a pretty big repeat meaning I had to really play around with pattern piece placement in order to get it to fit. I was within 1-2 inches of not having enough. However, once I got it all sewed up, I discovered I needn't have worried. The skirt is LONG and I had to cut off a couple inches to avoid dragging on the ground.

I enjoyed that I got to use my serger for most of this dress. Serging is fast! Zoom! I did baste it all together first with my fun new Pfaff with its IDT system (wow! love the IDT! no shifting whatsoever - the stripes stayed put where I pinned them when I basted them together.) I've been calling my new machine Pfanny Pfaff in my head.

The Front...With my helper Chloe

Next go round, I'm going to redraw the bodice to have the sleeves of a Simplicity dress (1808) that I have. It gives more shoulder coverage with elastic sewn in. It gives just a hint of sleeve while still being summery. I always end up wearing short sweaters with anything without sleeves, which annoys me in state that is summer 11 months out of the year.

The pattern calls for an elastic casing at the waist. I decided against that for a few reasons. Instead, I bought some clear elastic sew-in stabilizer that you use for stabilizing seams in knits. Just sewed it in when I serged the top to the bottom...easy peasy. (It was a first for me. I always agonize when doint a a "first.") I was concerned it wouldn't give enough stretch but it does. I used regular woven stabilizer tape for the shoulder seams. Next time, I want to add some to the side bodice seams since it stretches just a little bit with the weight of the skirt.

Another thing I want to do next go 'round, supposing there is a next go 'round, is to sew in a label in the back before I hem the back neckline. The only reason I can tell the front from the back when it's not on is the fact that I raised the front neckline by an inch. If I hadn't I would be puzzling it out each time I want to wear it, trying it on and checking if it fits right to see if I have it on backwards. And you know, you ALWAYS put it on wrong first, and even when you do put it on right, you doubt yourself...

Remember how I mentioned I had a helper when cutting out my pattern pieces? I also had a helper during the photo shoot. Chlode-Dog is such a good little helper

Finally! Pencil skirt DONE!

So, it's been awhile since I made anything. That can be explained by one word: school! I started this project nearly a month ago right at the beginning of school. I thought a pencil skirt was basic enough that it shouldn't be that bad. Wrong! School.

First, I must mention that this is my first project on my new machine: a Pfaff Creative 1.5. Husband surprised me by saying "why don't you get it?" when I thought surely it was a "whatever you want to do with your fun money" item. I guess the fact that I spend a lot all my free time sewing and the fact that the starter machine I had bought myself -with my fun money - made it actually seem useful. And I have dragged him to the mall a LOT less than before I realized that making my own clothes is a lot more fun than buying clothes helps, too!

But I digress. Actually, I have to digress a bit more...I love my new machine! I love the IDT system. Built in walking foot? Genious! Auto thread cutter? Brilliant! Lovely built in stitches! I haven't tried the embroidery yet because, quite frankly, I don't know anything about embroidery or stabilizers or anything and I'm a little scared. My dealer is supposed to be offering a class on this machine soon and I'm going to wait for guidance.

So, as I said above, I started this skirt a month ago and it's been awhile in the making. First, I decided to add a lining because, well, it's a pencil skirt and pencil skirts are supposed to have a lining. But it had a kick pleat and I had no idea how to add that in. Thankfully, there's Google and bloggers! Not that all tutorials are created equal. When I made my Bluegingerdoll Betsy skirt, I followed a tutorial on lining that and got all way out lost. So I hunted for another one and found a great tutorial on A Fashionable Stitch: pencil skirt sew-a-long. It led me just fine through attaching the vent lining to the main fabric. There was a head-scratchy moment exactly where she said there would be but she walked me through that head-scratchy and I unpicked it no problemo!

 See how nicely it turned out? Way better than my Betsy! It looks like it's supposed to, even if it's not as nice as some of my ready-to-wear vents, but hey, those ladies have made a lot more than I have.

 Now, my invisible zipper, from the inside, is NOT right. Although I knew in the back of my mind that I should think it through BEFORE I did everything else, I pushed that thought down and said to myself, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I knew that was wrong. I knew I'd not be happy with the result. But I did that anyway. I look for tutorials on how to solve the dilemma I created for myself, but I ended up just doing an amateur solution since I would have had to unpick. From the outside it looks okay.

 

 More information included in my review on Pattern Review.

Vintage pattern, vintage fabric: Simplicity 1278

Well, sort of! The pattern is a Simplicity vintage reprint from the 1950s; the blue floral fabric is "vintage," only if you call the 1980s or early 1990s "vintage." Some do, but since I was alive then, I don't! This pattern has been in my stash for quite some time but the neckline intimidated me so I put it off. I'm glad I finally tackled it because I really quite like it.

I had some leftover white rayon challis from my Owl Dress so I decided to use it up. I hadn't intended it to be a wearable "muslin," or first draft, but that's how it ended up. I had a few problems, nothing major. Not one Simplicity pattern that I've made so for (or other Big 4) has been too tight across the back and shoulders in a size 12. This one was, which is one reason why I ended up making a second version.

The other reason was I knew the white would be slightly thin but hoped against hope (foolishly, as I knew...I was just stubborn) that it would be better than it was. Unfortunately, it's only wearable with a cami underneath because the white is just too transparent. Also, can you see in the picture how the center has a thick white line up the front? That's the seam allowances showing through. Also, the darts show the same way.

Dots don't match up!

The neckline took a lot of work! Lots of details to be marked on the fabric, lots of matching, lots of pinning, lots of stages in sewing it up with the neckband. Totally worth it though! I did discover, I think, a marking issue on the pattern. When pinning one of the fold-over tabs, it instructs you to match two dots with two dots on the neckline. There is no way that happens. The neckline dots are spread farther apart than the pleated fold-over part. Do you see how the dots on the far right are never going to touch when the left dots nearly touch? When I made my second version I was extra careful marking and folding just in case it was "user error" on my rough draft. Nope! Not user error.

All in all, though, I did like the result enough to attempt another one right away. I had a little bit (maybe a yard? I didn't even bother checking) of some fabric I brought back from my mom's that was mine from junior high or early high school. I laid the pattern pieces out on it and almost had enough to get another one of these tops made. I was just short the fabric for the neck band pieces, which I'm glad about because I love the dark blue contrast.

I sewed 3/8" seam allowances everywhere it had been tight before, which helped. It's still a wee bit pully but not too bad. Isn't the blue one pretty?

Decisions Decisions Decisions! Butterick 6169

Last fall, this beautiful pinky-rose print caught my eye at JoAnn's. The more I saw it, the more I couldn't decide if I loved it or not. After, it was pink; it was roses; it was loud in a pink, large print sort of way. Was it old lady? But I loved how the colors worked together, and I love roses. So...love it??? However, it didn't really matter, after all, because it was part of the "Silky Print" collection, 100% polyester, and the last fabric (and only fabric) I bought from that collection I hated. Sticky, non-breathable stuff, and I wear the shirt I made from it only a few times a year. So this new find was a definite "No."

But then they had a sample dress made up out of it the next time I was there and I just kept looking at it. So pretty! Still I managed to walk away. But I just kept seeing it in my mind's eye and so when it went on sale, I caved. It was going to become Simplicity 1587.

But when it came time to actually make it up, I never wanted to. It just didn't feel right. I was afraid it would be too fitted, that that hideous 100% polyester "Silky Print" needed something more flowy, looser, breathable; and I just wasn't in love with that pattern as much as I was the day I bought it. The fabric sat in my stash, unwanted, unloved, undecided.

This spring or summer, I found a pattern that I realized would be perfect: Butterick 6169, one of the new Spring 2015 Lisette patterns. Flowy, drapey, open sleeves, no tight waist. Before making up this dress, I had just finished Butterick 6168, my owl dress, another Lisette pattern. Both were really easy to work from, and I wouldn't hesitate to use another of her patterns. Both of these have sewalongs on her website which have additional tips and suggestions to make the sewing process smoother with more professional results.

Since I didn't have enough of my pink floral fabric and I wanted to make the version with the tie belt, I needed to buy another cut and I decided on a solid pink. The instructions have you sew the tie on, but I decided not to do that so that I could swap out other colors if I wasn't pleased with the pink. I am, but I do have enough of the main fabric left that I want to try out making a vintage style fabric covered belt. Overall, the combination is quite nice, isn't it? The dress also looks okay without the belt, but I like the added definition the belt gives.

About a week before making the dress, I stumbled on a lucky find at Bookman's, a local huge used bookseller - among all kinds of other things used. I was browsing through the magazines and saw this issue of Threads with some magical words:

Master Your Narrow-Hemmer Foot! "Not possible," says I. I had tried that elusive foot out so many times only to give up in frustration. "No one can master the narrow-hemmer foot!" I'm glad I walked out of Bookman's with that issue (January 2002) in my hands because when it came time to hem the dress (it only includes a 5/8" hem allowance, not the 1 to 1 1/2" I've usually encountered), I didn't want to attempt the instructions either in the pattern or hand hem it like Leisl did on the sewalong. What to do, what to do! Out came the issue, I tried out the instructions, and voila! It worked! I mastered the narrow-hemmer foot! (Okay, I'm not a master yet, but it came out really nice, with only a few hick-up spots to fix.) Overall, I'm really pleased with it. The curvy bits of the dress' hem needed quite a bit of steam though to fall without rolling. I was worried that after the first wash it would need more steaming, but nope! Did I mention I was really pleased with this hem? :)

The front and back yokes both have a lining which makes the interior look really finished. It required a bit of handstiching, and mine's still got room for improvement, but I do like how it finishes the dress nicely. I also like the bias binding. It's one of the better ones I've made, especially with this slippery fabric. My last "Silky Print" project from JoAnn also had a binding and it is embarrassing! All twisty, rolly, puckery. This is much improved - lays much straighter with fewer attempts to roll (like the bottom left in the pic.) But since most of it looks good, yay for newbie progress, right???

My review on Pattern Review is here.  And a couple close ups for the end!

Owls! Owls! And More Owls! (Butterick 6168)

This spring I bought some owl print rayon challis at Hancock's in Orem, UT when I was there visiting family. It was a complete whim that when I saw it, I jumped at it. It was adorable! And it was soft, drapey, and flowy. We don't have a Hancocks in the Phoenix area and JoAnn doesn't carry anything near as nice. If you want a print, it's usually either stiff quilting cotton or some of their nasty polyester stuff. I bought some plain white rayon challis to go with it, just in case I wanted to do some contrasting.

I had a couple of ideas of what to sew it up into. One idea was Simplicity 1777 which I've already made one version of - identical to the black and red version. It's one of the first things I made with my new sewing machine last year. My Pattern Review is here. I have never been happy with this dress -don't like the sleeves, the bodice is too big, my invisible zipper is anything but invisible, and I accidentally sewed a bunch of my gathers together in the skirt but didn't notice until I trimmed the seam allowances. I never wear it because of all my dislikes so I cut it up recently. Like the pattern and do plan on trying it again.

My other idea was the new Butterick 6168, a fit and flare dress by the designer of Oliver and S, Liesl Gibson. I kept coming back to it in my mind and it just seemed more right for the fabric.

I also knew I didn't want to mess this dress up with my super special owl fabric. I had recently got a free class on Craftsy, 40 sewing tips and tricks, of some such name. A great class! I learned a lot in that class and I was able to use some of what I learned. Most importantly, I learned from it that I needed a tailor's ham and a pressing roll. Wow! They sure make pressing my seams easier and better.

I didn't have enough of my owl fabric as the requirements on the envelope stated. So it took me forever to cut it out. I barely squeezed it out, even with deciding to make the tie and the waist corselet in the white rayon. I also wanted my back seam to match up, my owls to be even across the front bodice and the sleeve heads to be even. I spent a very long time placing pattern pieces and cutting them! I am exceedingly pleased at how well the back turned out. I admit to being a bit giddy for quite some time about this:

The back: the invisible zipper is invisible and the owls line up!

This was the first time I put an invisible zipper in correctly the first time. Usually, there is a lot of unpicking involved, resewing/rebasting, fiddling, adjusting, and frustration. But not this time!

Oh, and I also added a pocket on the right hand side, even though the pattern didn't call for one. I was so resourceful (said with a self-deprecating smile)! I pulled out my Threads and Singer Sewing reference books and looked up how to do it. And I did it successfully! Woo hoo! Now I have a place to put my room keys when I wear it to work.

I had a lot of fun sewing this dress. My interior seams are all serged and pressed open where they are supposed to be, nice and pretty. I pressed everything carefully to make the stitches sink in and look right. My tie is not bulky or anything. I have a dress that I don't think looks home-made at all, but very professional and fun. And it fits oh, so nicely! (I resized the bodice to a 12 and the waist/hips is a 14). I really, really like this dress.

I finished it Saturday and wore it to church today for the first time. The first person I met said "super cute dress! I love the owls!" That was just the first of many compliments on the dress, which made me feel pretty good. I think this dress will get plenty of wearing! :)

Skorts! Kwik Sew 4113

My latest sewing adventure was to add a pair of workout skorts to my activewear wardrobe. One of the other regulars at Bikram Yoga Tempe wears a few pairs and they inspired me to give it a try. So when the latest Kwik Sew release came out with a pair, I snatched it up. Unfortunately, they go on sale rarely at JoAnn so I had to pay full price. Of course, now that I got them made up, JA is advertising Kwik Sew on sale in a few weeks! Arrgh....

 Ta Da! I started with my pink and black polka dot version. Yes, it is just as bright in real life. Hence, skort, not leggings. Leggings would have hurt everyone's eyes, mine included. But I figured, for a skort, why not? Of course, after I bought the fabric, I realized I only have one top I can wear with it; all my other types are prints or other bright colors that would just say "clown" all over. Again, arrgh..!

Added In Darts To Skort Back

Sewing them up started out super fast. I couldn't believe I might be finally having one of those "I whipped them up in a couple hours" experiences I've read about. It was not to be. The last step, when I could finally try them on to check out fit, revealed some problems. The back, where the skirt attaches to the band and the short, had WAY too much fabric. It pouched -- quite a bit -- and rolled -- quite a bit -- up over the band. Thankfully, I had only basted everything, so it was easy to unpick. I started by adding in darts to remove some of the extra width-wise fabric.

The Back - Final Product

Re-drew CB Seam

That partially solved the problem. However, the skirt was still rolling up over the back. So, back to the seam ripper. I ended up shifting the center back panel up 5/8" where it attached to the band at the center point and then gradually tapering it off at the edges. Problem solved! Yay!

The next problem was that the front was also rolling up! There wasn't an excess of fabric in the same was as the back. Simply rolling the seam allowances up and stitching them down with a wide coverstitch did the trick. I'm really quite pleased with how that turned out. The coverstitch completely encased the seam and didn't have any skipped stitches...on the first try! I can't begin to express how exciting that was. My serger/coverstitch and I still don't always speak the same language. (Ok, we rarely speak the same language!)

The skort's short :)

My final tweak was to the short underneath. I think it is supposed to be negative ease and hug the leg to stay in place. It didn't do that. There is a slight gap at the bottom of the short so I pinched some of the fabric out on my next version. This version got some very rough darts added in. I'm still not entirely happy with either version. I'm used to longer shorts that don't move at all.

So...on to version two! My fabric is a bit less loud and definitely more friendly with the tops in my workout wardrobe. There's lots I can wear it with. I made all my changes on the pattern before cutting out this fabric and crossed my fingers that it would all go right the first time. Yes! Success!

Version #2: Flowers! And no weird fitting issues.

 So...how do I like them? They are definitely a cute alternative to leggings. They keep me covered. But I have been wearing leggings or capris to the gym and yoga for so long, it's gonna take some getting used to. One thing I don't like is that when doing some of the various poses, the bottom hem of the skirt is just a wee bit too narrow and can't stretch enough and it hitches up higher. (This is more problematic with the pink polka-dot version since I added a binding to the bottom. Even though it's a stretchy fabric, it still restricts movement a bit. The flowers have a simple hem and the skirt has more stretch. Live and learn.) Nothing indecent (and yikes! some of the Bikram girls wear some very short shorts and I'm still more covered than them!), but I'm just used to nice, long leggings. No problems whatsoever at step class, however.

Simplicity 1111: Workout Tops

This past week or so, now that I finally finished up all my school student evals (I hate evals...they are just one letter away from "evil"), I have been working on some tops to coordinate with the PB Jam Leggings (from Fehr Trade pattern company) I just sewed up. I got the new Simplicity 1111 workout pattern from JoAnn during one of the $1 Simplicity sales (love $1 sales!).

View B: Cross-Front Top

View D: Plain Top

This is what the Simplicity description has to say about this pattern: "This great active wear pattern for miss features dress or tunic with either racer back or cross front all with built in bra." This is what I have to say about this pattern: "It does NOT have a built in bra; it has a LINING. Big difference. If you plan on using this activewear as activewear, a sports bra is a must."I thought maybe I could fix this problem since the pattern is designed with negative ease built in...if I went a size smaller on the bra part of the pattern maybe that would give some compression to the bust and maybe create the "built in bra" effect the pattern description states. Nope!

I used the same material for each of these tops as I did for my leggings - Supplex from Spandex World. I am really, really liking it! It's incredibly soft and has substance. It's easy to work with, no curling, no rolling, pretty stable. It stays put where you want it when you work with it. It's great for all that Bikram Yoga sweating! I only wish it was possible to find it in prints and patterns, not just solids. Oh, well! Maybe someday.

Now I have coordinating tops for my leggings!

The pattern suggests tricot for the lining. This is an aside gripe, not about the pattern, but about JoAnn Fabrics. Would you please label your fabrics as what it is, not make up your own names for it???? It is so frustrating to newbies like me. Grrrr! Thankfully, a helpful employee showed me exactly where they keep it and JoAnn calls it "swimsuit lining." How would I have known that???? JoAnn Fabrics nearly lost a sale on that one to Amazon/Fabric.com. They have on other occasions for the same reason...pattern calls for something that I have no idea what it is and JoAnn is going around making stuff up! (Not that JA has much great fabric to begin with....)

One thing I DON'T LIKE about this pattern is... The underbust gathers! Um...they were NOT well placed, at least for me. They were centered off to the outside of my bust, making the chest front pull really weird. I had to reposition the gathers by bringing the interior gathering line by about an inch when I did my second top, View D. I have not yet corrected my first one, View B.

Since I can't wear it stand-a-lone and need to add a sports bra, it ends up looking kinda weird since the sports bra is compressing and there's these weird bust gathers with nowhere to go. This is especially bad on View B. (I was wearing a normal bra for the photo shoot, so the problem may not be obvious.)

A Few Finishing Notes

On View D, I added some piping between the bust and the torso piece. Unfortunately, it wasn't my best piping job, and after fiddling and fiddling, I said "good enough." Sigh...

Full Coverage Back

View D's Back: easy to move!

Overall, I do like this pattern. I will probably make View D again because I use my workout wear hard and it's a pretty easy pattern to play with color and fabric. Once I fixed the bust gathers, it fits pretty well.

I will probably not make View B again. The criss-cross top just seemed to move weird during class, mostly because of the wide shoulders and the full coverage on the back. I suppose I could tweak them some, but...