I whipped this cute little top while I was in the middle of making the Jalie Trouser pattern (#2909). I wanted to have a cute little outfit before the weeks end. I made the trousers straight out of the envelope just to evaluate their fit and it turns out they need just a little more tweaking before they'll be ready to debut (more details on the pants in the next post). Although the pants weren't ready, this top sure was. The pattern review is below:
Pattern Description:
Knit top with scooped neck with gathers along the neckline and at the sleeves. Pattern Sizing:
I cut the size 10 and sewed 3/8" seam allowances to give me 2" of ease. I usually cut a size 12 but with a finished ease of 3" I was nervous that it would be a little too big on me. Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!!! Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very much so! What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I liked everything about the pattern. I loved the neckline, the voluminous sleeves, and the tie at the upper back. This pattern was so simplistic there wasn't anything to dislike. Fabric Used:
Some type of interlock knit.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Besides sewing 3/8" seam allowances I didn't make any other big changes. To finish my sleeves I serged the edges, pressed them up 5/8", and stitched the prescribed 1/4" in. Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I think I definitely will sew this again. I love the peasant-type blouses. They're always so airy and comfortable. Conclusion:
Great pattern. An easy sew! Definitely a keeper!!!
We've all been waiting in anticipation for the Vogue Spring patterns to go on sale. Well they're Finally on sale at Jo-Ann's (for $3.99) right now until the weekend. I ran in to grab my picks (I previously posted ) after work and was surprised at how fast they were going. I was thankful to make it out with all but one of my original picks. Be sure to get yours....
You might recall my last post in which I tried to straighten the grain on a piece of defective fabric so I could cut out a dress. Well it turns out that I was actually able to make it work. I didn't fight with the fabric too much but allowed it to relax and somehow (Thank you God) I was able to avoid the defective portion and get all of my pieces cut out without too much hassle. Thanks to you ladies who gave me such good advice.
So here's the dress. It's funny I went through all that trouble and now I have a "love/hate" relationship with this dress. I love the fabric and design, but I just hate it on me. Unfortunately this silhouette doesn't work to well on my short-waisted frame. It didn't dawn on me that despite the busyness of the fabric that this midriff design would still manage to cut me in half and make my very short waist even shorter looking. That's what I get for being 75% legs and 25% upper body.
(Here's the dress. I think the flash made it a little hard to see the midriff. I still have to hem the dress and sleeves. Funny this dress looks better on my dressform than me--especially since it has a longer torso.)
Pattern Description:
Dresses C has wrapped bodice with front pleats, self-faced midriff, pleated skirt front, back zipper, long sleeves and self ties. Pattern Sizing:
Size 12 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes it did! Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very much so. Nothing tricky to it!
(Back View. The dress lined up pretty well until I got to the very bottom. You can see the defect of the fabric causing the center back seam to curve to the right.)
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I'm a sucker for wrap and mock wrapped dresses. I liked the ties and how they provided a wider wrap look. This dress came with the Palmer/pletsch fit instructions which I didn't even bother with since I knew I always wear a size 12 when sewing with knits with the Big 4 patterns. Fabric Used:
Cotton knit with a unique print inn dark blue, gray, and white. I absolutely love this fabric. Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I made the view C dress with long sleeves instead of 3/4" and I omitted the zipper since my knit was stretchy enough. I also omitted the self ties. After looking at the print I was working with I just knew they would make the dress just too busy.
(I pinned the side ties on so you could see what I mean. Doesn't that look a bit messy? Maybe it's just me)
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I would definitely recommend this dress to other but I won't be sewing it again. It took this pattern to make me realize that dresses with narrow midriff's aren't very flattering on my short waisted/long leg figure. This dress just made me look boxy up top. Then it dawned on me that every dress I've ever made in the past with a narrow midriff's never worked out--they always made me look boxy or even worse pregnant. But I can get away with wider midriff's. So the one good thing that came out of this dress was my "midriff epiphany". This is definitely a good lesson learned:) But I do like this dress and think pairing it with a cute jacket or sweater will help balance out my torso. I'd hate to let a cute dress go to waste. Conclusion:
Great pattern and so easy to sew. It only had 6 or 7 pieces. I recommend this to anyone who looks great in a dress with a midriff!!!
I'm sure I'm at the point where I'm just shy of blowing smoke out my ears. For the last half hour I've been in a tug-of-war match with my cotton knit fabric. Just look at it. See it there on the right hand side. See all of those pesky ripples. The fabric somehow is off grain, irregular, and will not lay flat. I'm guessing it's a production defect. Has this happened to you? What did you end up doing? I have a few ideas but it will involve me losing some fabric width which would make it hard for me do to my dress. This is such a rare occurence and I probably shouldn't be upset. That would be true if I didn't LOVE the fabric so much.
I've had the spontaneous notion to throw a cute dress together just in time for church on Sunday. I know it's a knit AGAIN but I've already explained my addiction to you so I was hoping you'd let me off the hook. Besides, Sunday will be 75 degrees (yes, Spring temps in the middle of winter---I love it!!!), so a cute Spring like dress is only fitting. Plus I will have my trousers finished and reviewed by next week with my corduroy jacket to follow after that. So no knits for the next 2 weeks (wink)!
But wrestling with this fabric is making me think that this is a sign to skip the knit dress. But do you know what I say to that? To that I say NEVER!!!! I'm not giving up without a fight!!! Not that easily. We'll just see if I'll be able to make it happen by Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
My fellow Google "Blogger's" you might have noticed that your list of followers have disappeared. I made some changes to my blog and noticed this. I thought I did it but I checked some of your sights and noticed the same thing. Don't panic!!! If you go to your dashboard you'll still see the number of followers you have, just no display on your blog.
I'm guessing this is a Blogger issue. When I looked it up under "help" I noticed it had happened back in September and the good people at Google Blogger mentioned they would fix it. I'm guessing that will be the case again. If not then I'll drop them a line. We can't be without the power to "follow" new blogs that we discover, now can we??? LOL! It's not that serious but you get my drift.
And I thought I was really impressed with Butterick & McCall's, well I'm super excited about the Vogue releases. The last several seasons, Vogue hadn't had too many patterns that appealed to me and I understand to you Guy's as well. There were, let's just say, a lot of unusual designs and silhouettes. It's nice to find things that are more to my liking. Also, I'm sure you already know that Vogue Pattern's updated their website. It looks way more "snazzier" and is easier to navigate.
Here are the patterns I'm drooling over!!!
V1161--If I made this a tad bit longer it would work for me for a special occasion. I love the back of the dress--both the cutout and bottom "tail".
(V1160--I'm totally loving this! I have a ton of chiffon fabric that would work wonderfully with this pattern. Although chiffon is my least favorite things to sew it would be so worth it for a dress like this.)
(V8641--I love this. It's understated and sophisticated. This is a casual look I'd love to wear and I think it works for my frame without making me look like I'm drowning in it.)
(V1167--I love the pants and tank top combo. The jacket in the right colorful fabric would perfect this outfit. I love the way they advertise it here!!!)
(V8630 I like the look of this classy number.)
(V8632 I like the relaxed look of this knit dress!)
(V8633- another knit pattern so you know I had to have it!!)
So overall I loved the new Vogue patterns. They had some that were way more elaborate in design but I'm a simple gal going for simple everyday wear. So I can't wait til the next Joann's or Hancock Vogue pattern sale. I think there's one coming up soon. Hopefully they'll have the new patterns in. When the sale does hit you know who will be the first one's there. That's right--you and me (wink)!!!
Did you know that Hancock Fabric carries Palmer & Pletsch sewing books and dvd's? Did you know that Hancock's also accepts JoAnn Fabric coupons? So you know where I'm going with this. You can get Palmer/ Pletsch products for 40-50% off at Hancock using JoAnn coupons!!! Isn't that great!!!
I discovered this during the After Thanksgiving sale at Hancock. I was out of town and the clerk mentioned it. I already had most of the Palmer/Pletsch video (purchased from their website), but was able to get the last 2 I wanted for little to nothing. I was absolutely floored!!! I've always been a big fan of Palmer/Pletsch sewing books and I love their videos as well. They do an excellent job of illustrating and resolving fit & sewing issues. I absolutely love to show this type of materials to my sewing students as well. I also like the fusible interfacing and use it as well.
Here are some of the books and videos I own:
You know me I love "not paying full price for most things" and I love to pass on savings info when I run across it. At the very least, even if you're not interested in Palmer/Pletsch supplies you can start using your JoAnn coupons at Hancock. So next time you head to Hancock Fabrics don't forget to take along those JoAnn coupons!!!!
Hey I just so happened to be online at Patternreview.com when I realized that the online chat with Jennifer Sterns entitled "All About Jeans" just started (9pm ET). I encourage you to check it out. She's taking all of our questions as they relate to jeans. She's passed on some pretty helpful info thus far. She's covered everything from interfacing your waistband to using a mallet to flatten seams to using jeans with a lower degree of stretch to ensure a good fit. Some of the info is basic but she has some really good tips. I plan to tackle jeans really soon so this is pretty valuable:)
Ok, so this week was indeed a hectic and crazy one!!! I'd planned on making the McCall skirt on my list but I ended up not being able to find the black cotton sateen I needed for the project. So by Friday night I knew I had to get started on a project if I wanted to have something made for this week. So I ran across this pattern and some fabric in my stash and cut it out Friday while watching the first episode of Project Runway and sewed it up on Saturday to wear for Sunday. And here is my new top!
Pattern Description:
Misses Top Pattern Sizing:
I used size 12 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Absolutely!!!
Were the instructions easy to follow?
They were super easy for the most part. Nothing tricky here! What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I loved the stylish look and hang of the top! It seemed really classy and trendy!!! I really didn't have any dislikes about the pattern. I was shocked that it had so many pieces to it though. At one glance at the pattern picture one might assume that it had less than 9 pieces (11 total since you have to cut 2 pieces out twice)! That wasn't a problem just a little surprising. Fabric Used:
A matte jersey with a wonderful paisley print! I'm just wild about paisley:)
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
I didn't make any. Since I was in a hurry to sew this one up I did contemplate omitting the interfacing and lining of the midsection and instead just serging all exposed seams. I figured that since the top was so flowy anyway that the extra body from interfaced midsection probably wasn't necessary. But I stuck with the pattern instructions and interfacing and self lining the midsection didn't slow me down too bad ---and in my opinion gave the blouse such a clean, nice finish. Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Oh yes! I originally bought this pattern for another printed knit fabric. So I've still have to make that version. But I'd also like to try this in a pretty polyester print. So I think I might try this pattern a few more times. Conclusion:
Great pattern!!!! I'm so happy I gave this one a try---it's indeed a keeper!!!
I'm sure most of you know Simplicity and McCall's released their new Spring patterns a couple of weeks ago. Well I've been sweating bullets, waiting for them to go on sale (because you know I don't pay full price for a pattern--I know you don't either). Finally Hancock's had McCall's for $1.99 and Simplicity's for $0.99. If you missed this sale, Joann's I believe have them on sale either next week or the week after next.
Boy, I could't get off work fast enough to get to them. I headed straight to the pattern cabinets since I always look them up ahead of time online and make my picks. Finally, I got my "babies", before they were sold out and I'm so glad. This is what I wrangled up. Sorry the picks are blurry!
(I'm so happy I finally got Cynthia Rowley's pattern. I could live in that knit dress--seriously--like everyday. It looks so comfortable.)
(I got some good picks for everyone in my family. I've always wanted to make a shirt or two for my hubby. I'm looking forward to taking on that challenge in the future.)
(And a few accessories. Ok, I finally gave in and got a Snuggie pattern--not that a patterns needed to make it since its so easy to sew! I can't believe these things are so popular The idea is indeed a great and simple one!!!)
Overall I was pleased with the McCall & Simplicity spring patterns and was able to get some good one's. I can't wait to see what Butterick & Vogue releases.
So I just received the two batches of fabric I'd been waiting for and I wish I could say I was beaming with joy. One of my packages looked a little small so I had that sinking feeling that an item was missing. So I tore through the packages to take inventory. I got my knit (yeah!!!). Check. I got my print corduroy and black velour. Check. And that was it. What no black stretch corduroy (and grey stretch corduroy)!!!! That was the entire reason for the order! Uggghh. Not again!!!! I feel like it's taunting me. I always get so close and then that darn black stretch corduroy eludes me.
It just so happens that the company I bought it from ran out--which I guess happens--and that's fine. However, the company (which will remain nameless) did not make me aware of this ahead of time, since it's not in their policy to do so. So I had to find out the hard way. Darn!!! But that's ok--because now this is personal and I'm going to hunt that black stretch corduroy down like I've never done before. Price is no longer a factor (I can't believe I just said that:) ), especially since I only need 2 yards for pants. Let me know if you Guys spot some.
Ok now that I'm done ranting, I'm pretty happy with what I did get. I loved the cotton knit I bought from Best Online Fabrics (HomeJewel you were right!!!). I don't have to explain to you why--I'm sure you gathered that from my last post. I love the colors in this one. My husband thinks the print is a bit much but I have some ideas on how to make this work. I have 2.5 yds and could spit it for a top and/or dress.
Now my biggest steal was this black velour fabric. It was at a deep discount--since this was the last of it. I got 3 5/8 yards for only $12.50 which is a steal considering that's the price of just one yard in Joann's. I've always wanted a velour jumpsuit. Now I've got to find the right pattern. Let me know your recommendations. I recall Adrienne making a really cute one not too long ago!!! If only I could remember that pattern #....hmmmm.
This last piece I'm sorta on the fence about. I bought it for this simplicity pattern so I could make the skirt and vest for my daughter (you might recall I made the jumper a month ago). Yhe print was a little bigger than I expected and might be a bit much. I'm debating whether to return it or not. I'll have to sleep on it.
It was great to get my fabric but I really hate I didn't get my black stretch corduroy. But hey that's life. The search goes on and one day--just one day--- the elusive black stretch corduroy will be mine-- Mark My Words!!! :)
Ladies, we've all been waiting for it. And quite frankly we haven't had to wait long (I think season 6 wrapped up just a few short months ago). Season 7 of Project Runway debuts tonight at 10pm on Lifetime. They're also following it with Season 2 of Models of the Runway. I'd love to watch the Models show but that's waaaayyy pass my bedtime:).
If you've got some time check out the official website here to get a little insight into the designers and their portfolios! I hadn't had the time to check it out and don't really know what to expect---but I'm SSSS
OOOOO very excited!!!!
I'll say it again. Hi, my name is Victoria, and I’m Addicted to Knits.
It’s true and it’s about time that I actually admit it. I didn’t realize that my addiction was so bad until this morning. On my way to work I found myself fantasizing about this dress and the perfect knit fabric I had in my stash to go with it. It then dawned on me I didn’t have enough of the fabric and I would need to go back to Joann’s to pick up some more. The possibility of there not being any fabric left to buy slowly began to bring a sense of panic to my mind. Before it went any further (sweaty palms, nausea, uncontrollable crying, etc---LOL!), I caught myself and snapped out of it. Then I did what most people in denial do. I began to talk myself out of my “newly realized” addiction. But then my mind became bombarded by all of the facts which quickly dissolved my counter -argument.
The FACTS are…………
My wardrobe is comprised of at least 80% knits (this includes T-shirts, cute tops, pants, dresses etc) .
I wear some form of knit at least 5 days out of the week.
At least 65% of my fabric stash consists of knits or woven fabrics with some percentage of stretch (cotton sateen, stretch poplin, etc.).
I love the comfort and fit that knits and stretch fabrics provide.
Nothing makes me happier then to find a knit and stretch fabric with a gorgeous print.
Knits and stretch fabrics are my favorite fabrics to shop for!!!
I feel it is my DUTY to try out any new knit pattern I can get my hands on.
This realized "addiction" has indeed been a long time coming. But it sure does feel good to finally recognize it and admit it. I guess we all like what we like and have some sort of fabric “addiction”. Maybe in the world of sewing these addictions aren’t such a bad thing. Maybe our addictions help to unlock our creative minds. What are your thoughts?
Since I know I'm not the only addict out there (please don't tell me I am) ---it's your turn to introduce yourself. What fabric are you addicted to and why? Don't forget to say your name:)
I'm so fidgety right now!!! I have my next project on the table and need to be cutting it out but I can't seem to concentrate. And it's all over fabric! How pathetic is that! LOL!!!
Last week I ordered 2yds of black stretch corduroy, some floral corduroy print (for my daughter) and some black velour fabric at a deeply discounted price from the Fashion fabric club. I've been hunting the black 14 wale stretch corduroy for AGES!!!! Well I've ran into it before but not for the nice price of $4/yard. I've always wanted some black corduroy pants. I then ordered some really pretty knit fabric from one of my favorite sellers from eBay here---although this was the first time I ever ordered something from here. Geesh---the shipping and handling was half the cost of the fabric. Frankly sometimes I'm just way too cheap when it comes to buying online fabric with extra shipping and handling fees. I really appreciate when I can get those free shipping deals!
Anywhoo......I haven't seen "hide nor hair" of either one of my orders. Sigh.Sigh (again).
Mr.UPS Man I hope you pay me a visit real soon!
Pattern Description:
Fitted, tapered dress, mid-knee length, have pleated front neckline and darted back with zipper. Pattern Sizing:
I used the size 12 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
It sure did! That's always a great thing!
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes! There was only about a page or so of sewing instructions. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I loved the pleated neckline. To me that was the WOW factor!!!
I also loved how fast this dress came together. It literally could be a 2 day dress if you really needed to churn it out. Since I had alot going on I was able to sew it up within 4 days and that's with alot of distractions.
Fabric Used:
I believe it's a poly knit. It's a two way stretch and I think it has 20-30% stretch. I actually made this dress before but used a really stretchy, thin knit (see pic) and I wasn't exactly happy with the outcome. I was actually inspired by Amanda S. (thanks Amanda!!!) to give it another go after I saw her recent post. I realized that I needed to use a fabric with a little less stretch. So I checked my stash and found a winter-worthy poly knit.
(Dress originally made back in November.)
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
In patterns I'm always usually a size 12 on top and 14 on the bottom. I usually will do a 12 for both bodice and skirt when using a knit. Mainly because I'm lazy and I know that knits are more forgiving. Well the knit I used for this dress had less stretch so I ended up reducing the seam allowance (s.a.) from the waist below to get some extra circumference. I also reduced the s.a. in the center back where the zipper went. I was able to get the extra "wiggle room" I needed. The only drawback to the back s.a. reduction that is I have a narrow back. So to add width there isn't always a good idea. I was able to get away with it here by taking in some of the upper bodice seam allowance but I know better next time. Since I minimized my s.a. I didn't sew darts down to the hem as instructed. Instead I sewed my darts down to to right above my rear end.
Originally I made the dress up with the long sleeves. I ended up adding 2" to the sleeve since I have really long arms. I tried the finished dress on and decided that I didn't want to look like a piece of furniture. The print of this dress combined with long sleeves was a little much. Thank God that I had the idea to whack the sleeves to just below the elbow. It definitely looked a whole lot better. Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I will sew this again! I think I'll finish the one I started. After trying it on again it's not all that bad. I think it will make a nice sleeveless dress for the summer. I recommend it wholeheartedly to others:)
Conclusion:
Great dress! Spectacular neckline! Easy to Sew! This dress gets an A+++!
FYI: For my Jan/Feb goals I posted that I have both plan "A" & plan "B" garments. This is definitely a plan B garment. I needed a winter dress and couldn't resist the urge to sew this.I'll sew a plan "A" piece next.
In an effort to immerse myself into all things sewing (and accumulate my 3 hours of sewing time a day) I've recently became intrigued with learning more about popular fashion designers. Maybe this stems from watching Valentino's "The Last Emperor" a few months ago (BTW: I soooooo loved that DVD). Even if you don't totally like a designer's designs, as a seamstress you appreciate the work that goes into them. So I've decided to take up doing occasional (maybe weekly or biweekly) Designer Profiles to get a better picture of what's being released into the World of Fashion to broaden my awareness of worldwide fashion. Besides what's going on out there influences the seasonal sewing patterns available to us.
A couple of day's ago I rented Viktor and Rolf's "Because We're Worth It" DVD from netflix. It was pretty interesting. Before seeing the DVD I'd never even heard of the two of them. Although the DVD was 4 or 5 years old it was pretty interesting to see them put their line together and at the same time develop a perfume line. There's just so much work involved in the process. Here's a little info about them and some pics from their current Spring 2010 line.
Viktor & Rolf (sorry, I really can't remember which is which)
A Few Facts (According to Wikipedia that is)
·Viktor & Rolf is an Amsterdam-based Fashion house
·Founded In 1993 by designers Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren who met while studying fashion at the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design in the Netherlands.
·Their work is considered “very conceptual & technically brilliant”. Characteristics of their clothes include exaggerated volumes and sculptural shapes, ribbons, bows, etc.
·They showed their first Haute Couture collection in 1998.
·They also have several popular fragrances along with a luggage, fake eyelashes and shoe line.
·One of their famous quotes “For us, fashion is an antidote to reality”.
2010 Spring Line
(What a perplexing design. Interesting, eh?)
(I'm loving that bodice. I'll pass on the layered chiffon skirt with the cutout).
(What in the world?---that's alot of fluffed fabric. I'm trying to figure out how they did this.)
Aren't these outrageous!!! Designs like this will definitely insure a show that's definitely not boring. If you want to see more of their work please visit http://www.viktor-rolf.com/_en/_ww/fashion.htm.
Here are some of their perfume ads you might be familiar with. I have seen the Antidote ad before although I didn't even know about the designers. Out of curiosity I'll have to go smell them next time I'm in the mall.
Well Viktor & Rolf are pretty interesting. It's kinda neat to try (emphasizing the word "try") to wrap my mind around how they construct some of their designs. They've definitely provided me with some mental exercise in that department. Anywho...it's cool to see what these guys are doing and actually be familiar with their design aesthetic.
There are a few NEW construction and patternmaking Fairchild books that I would love to get my hands on. I'm self taught to a large degree so I depend on good textbooks (and DVD's, etc) to help me improve my skills. Although I own a load of books on a wide array of sewing subjects, I'm very particular about the textbooks I purchase--especially since they're so expensive. I only like the one's that are used in major universities and are well reviewed. Here are the 3 I'm looking at....
#1
(I have several patternmaking books already. I can never just own one book on a subject. I like to look at that subject from different angles. It's what I call--"layered learning".
#2
(For obvious reasons--who wouldn't want more insight into the world of couture methods.)
#3
And The Flat Patternmaker's Handbook hitting the shelves in Feb 2010 (No cover design yet)
And an older book I'd love to get would be....
I'll keep my eyes out for these. I'll track them down on sale somewhere and eventually add them to my collection.
Fortunately I live in the same city with SCAD (the Savannah College of Art and Design) . Oftentimes I like to visit their bookstore and check out the books being used in their courses. Unfortunately each class is $2000 so I won't be taking any classes from there anytime soon. I'd only be interested in the draping or patternmaking one's anyway. I'd love to take a few classes from Georgia Southern but I can't seem to align that with my full-time work schedule. So as you see I kinda have to teach myself and learn from the wonderful wealth of info that other bloggers share. Which is cool...as long as I'm learning about my favorite subject, I can't complain:)
I love to pass on sale info when I get it. A couple of days I was "stalking" the Threads 2009 Magazine Archive DVD-ROM and ran across the information about the sale. Unfortunately the Magazine Archived DVD-ROM isn't on sale (boo-hiss) but some other DVD's are. You can find more info here http://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/catalog/crafts/best-sellers. I don't need anything since I already own the Threads Fitting DVD series & The Best of Threads Vol 1 (although the Industry Insider DVD's look a little tempting--but remember I just like collecting DVD's since there are so few out there). But I think I'll hold out for the 2009 Magazine Archive DVD-ROM. Let me get back to my stalking.......... it may take some time but I'm determined to get that at a discounted price!
If you can recall I started this dress sometime mid-December,missplaced my guidesheet, found it a week or so later and just got around to finishing it. This was an easy sew and doesn't count as one of my January-February challenge garments. Thank goodness it's finally done so I can move on to my other options.
Pattern Description:
Close-fitting dress with side zipper opening on one side and gathers on the other. Pattern Sizing:
Size 12 Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!!!! It was identical!!!
(a closer view)
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very much so! What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
For the most part I loved everything about the pattern with the exception on how the neckline is finished. Fabric Used:
Burgundy matte jersey with orange and tan geometric prints
(Believe it or not I'm not one for "really" fitted garments--I'm not that brave. I'd love to find a sweater that I can pair with this dress).
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
This pattern really is close-fitting and I should have did my usual size 12 bodice and size 14 for the waist and below. I was able to add a little extra on the sides by reducing the seam allowance. Fortunately my fabric had a good deal of stretch so it worked out well. I also omitted the zipper because of my fabric's stretchiness. I was pretty much almost done with the dress when I decided that I didn't really care for how the neckline was finished. The pattern calls for a narrow hem by pressing 5/8 under and then folding that under and sewing. To me that just seemed so unfinished. After consulting a few of my sewing books I came up with a couple of ideas. I thought about doing a bias binding with self fabric or using a narrow fusible to try and "stablilize" (I use this lightly since you don't really want to stabilize a knit completely) the neckline before folding it under and sewing. After toying with several ideas I settled on serging the neckline and doing a staystitch 1/2" away. Then I turned the neckline down and pressed using the staystitch as a guide (keeping the stitching on the inside so not visible from the outside). Then I folded the serged edges under and sewed the neckline using a small zigzag stitch. It wasn't until this morning that I figured out that I simply use a coverstitch or a twin needle the next time---duh???. I guess that's why sometime it's good to "just sleep on it" instead of stressing and obsessing about an issue:). Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Absolutely. I have a tendency to use simple dress patterns like this one with funky prints. Conclusion:
This is a great pattern. It's both easy to sew and yields wonderful results!
(Some of the Reference books I consulted. It's cool when you do a little research because you inadvertently gain so much additional info. I got a serious lesson on facings and bindings. I got some ideas for a future project.)
I 
