Some Advice for Brides & Bridesmaids

This is short and sweet. If the shop you bought your dress from had to order your dress, do not sign that you picked it up until you try it on! I am encountering more brides and bridesmaids who need alterations because their dresses were sized incorrectly. Several people I know have signed the reciept, taken their gowns home, tried them on and found out that the gowns wouldn't zip up completely.

Once you sign that receipt, all alterations are at your expense. If you try the dress on before you sign and the dress is the wrong size, you can ask for a replacement. This does not include alterations to make a correctly sized dress fit your figure properly. This is for the cases where the dress is obviously the wrong size. You can't zip it up or you swim in it. And don't let them blame it on weight gain or wearing the wrong bra to stick you with the cost of alterations.

Chain-store bridal shops often make the bulk of their money through alterations. I think that's one of the reasons they can sell at such low prices.

Let the buyer beware. Try it on before you sign! Or just get a custom-made dress.

Vacation Challenge - Weeks 2 & 3 complete

The beautiful knit dress is finished. It hangs so softly and drapes so well. I'm proud that my first effort with this difficult fabric came out so well. Thank you, again, Sarah Veblen! I'm looking forward to wearing this on my soon-to-begin vacation, my first in 2 years. What I learned in the process of putting this dress together is that the fabric you make your test garment out of should have about the same stretch as your fashion fabric. My test fabric was not so stretchy, and I found that the dress grew a bit as I sewed it. My alterations in the back worked out well. Moving the two bodice pieces closer together got  me some more back coverage, which was exactly what I had in mind. And because I didn't add on to the outside edges what I took from the middle, it also succeeded in tightening up the dress, which really helped due to the "growth factor."
I am looking forward to sewing more with jersy single knits. Now that I know a bit more about their behavior, I'll be willing to feature them as choices for t-shirts and simple dresses for my sewing business.

Week 3 took a bit of doing.  After many hours of trying to coax my serger into making the decorative edge, I had to surrender. I will spend some time perfecting this technique after vacation. I broke down, went to the fabric store, and bought bias binding. The wrong size of bias binding! I ended up cutting my own from a lovely printed burn-out I had in the stash. It was so pretty I decided to do an exposed binding to show it off.

You can see the binding at the cuffs and bottom edge. It disappears where the lapel rolls. I couldn't quite figure out how to make a smooth transition at that point. There are a lot of fabric layers to deal with where the bottom edge of the collar turns back.

I found an issue with the pattern design when I rolled the cuffs back as the illustration shows. The seaming for the sleeve pleat shows and just looks tacky. I added rectangles of the binding fabric both to cover and to keep the sleeves turned up. There are buttons sewn on to keep the tabs in place.

My husband picked the front button out of my mom's old button box. It's probably older than I am, which makes it an antique button! The cuff buttons also came from that box and are miraculously color-coordinated.

I feel the need to digress about my mom's button box. This wonderful woman learned to sew on a treadle machine. She lived through the Great Depression and the rationing of World War II. The button box is a classic demonstration of that background. There are tons of men's shirt buttons, cut from my dad's shirts when they could no longer be repaired and went off to the rag man. Ditto for teeny-tiny buttons removed from baby clothes and doll clothes. At one point, she even tried to put them into matching sets by tying bunches together with thread. All the single buttons left over when the sewing project needed 3 buttons and the button card had sets of 2. Buttons cut from robes and coats. I think the big orange button was a robe button. Decorative buttons from sweaters and dresses went into the box. I am blessed to have this collection from my mom, but I don't hesitate to use the buttons. She would have!

Vacation Challenge - Week Three begins

I'm counting days until vacation now. "And the number of the counting shall be 10." Week Three is off to a great start. I found some off-white linen-look cotton poly fabric in the bottom of a pile. It was just enough to make the short version of L.J. Designs Versa Jacket. I've had this pattern for years. Got it before I had a serger, so that tells you how old it is.

It's only 3 pattern pieces and my roadblock is the "decorative serged edge." At this point, perhaps the bias binding would have been a better choice. Because of the way the jacket is constructed, the decorative edge requires changing serger settings and threads at least four times. I found a beautiful, shiny, heavy-weight thread in the same color family to use for the upper looper and fiddled around until I got the look I liked. Then I changed thread and settings for regular sewing. The second time I set up the decorative stitching, the identical settings did not produce the same results. That's where I quit for the evening. There will be more work tonight. That bias binding just might be in my future!

Vacation Challenge - Week Two

Week Two is complete and on schedule, now that I've shifted completion day to Monday. My usual photographer is out of town, so I don't have a finished picture yet, but I am amazed at how beautifully the fabric drapes. I will add the picture as soon as I have it.

I checked out the reviews from Pattern Review before starting the dress. There didn't appear to be too many that used the cap sleeve view, so I forged ahead. My one grumble is that the patten description should have mentioned that this view has forward shoulder seams. I caught that in the illustration long after my alterations had been completed. Marking the natural waist on the pattern would also have helped. C'mon, Simplicity! Get with the program!

What changes did I make? According to my moulange, I needed to lengthen the back and the front by 1 1/2 inches; and the front by another 2 inches! That should have alerted me to the forward shoulder seam in the design, but it didn't.

I decided to split the first set of adjustments (the 1 1/2 inches) between the bodice top and the midriff piece. I redrew the back shoulder slope to match my moulange, but I was hesitant with the front as it would have taken about 2 inches out of the armhole. I made a muslin of the bodice, tried it on and decided to split the difference on the front shoulder slope, changing the angle by 1 inch instead of 2.

I changed the location of the center back so I would get more overlap for a bit better coverage. I want to be able to wear a normal bra with this dress! When I tried on the muslin, I discovered I also had to take about 2 inches out of the back midriff piece. I transferred the alterations to my pattern and started the layout and cutting process.

I did some test seam finishes with both my regular machine and my serger and I tried out my Vilene stay tape on a bias edge to see how it would feel when finished. Once I was familiar with my fabric, I was ready to go. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to know how your fabric is going to behave under the needle and under the iron before you begin. You will save yourself a ton of frustration if you play with the fabric ahead of time. Also try out buttonholes, zipper installation, and any new techniques.

This was my first experience with a single knit jersey and you can color me impressed. What a beautiful drape! It all comes from buying quality fabric. On to construction - as Sarah Veblen said, it did take just as much time to grain the fabric as it did to sew. Her Slippery & Drapey Fabric class on Pattern Review was a lifesaver. I never would have thought of patting the fabric into place rather than scooting it!

I added a couple of tweaks during construction that you don't find in most commercial patterns. I stabilized the neckline edges with Vilene bias stay tape cut slightly shorter than the edge and I added a strip of clear elastic to the shouder seams, also cut a smidge shorter than the actual seam. I used my serger to apply the elastic strip. I think a tutorial on that process is in my future. Tricky, but really helpful! I'm also leaving the hem unfinished. I like the way the dress hangs without the added weight of a hem.

What would I do differently? In addition to the Vilene, I would add a piece of clear elastic to the neck edge to snug it up against my chest even more. I would not serge the shoulder seams. The tight gathering wants to creep away from the needle and I haven't mastered the technique for keeping it in place yet.

All in all, a great experience!

Vacation Challenge - Week One complete

It took until 11 PM Monday, but the top is finished - almost. I discovered when I tried it on that the ruffle is heavy and wants to pull the back neckline down. This makes the back opening gape. I'll be adding a second closure to the back to help that problem a bit. I also need to sew the waistline elastic. At the moment it's using the yo-yo dieter's best friend - the safety pin.

I don't have a lot of in-process photos of the top to share. I was too eager to get it finished on time. Before I started, I traced the size pattern I was using onto tissue. I knew I'd be making alterations and didn't want to ruin the original pattern. That way I can always go back to the drawing board.

I used Lynda Maynard's alteration technique. It was a bit confusing at first, but once I got the idea, the adjustments went well. One thing I did differently was laying my tissue pattern on top of my moulange. I think it's much easier than lifting up the plastic moulange to make changes. Careful measurement showed me I needed to lengthen the pattern above the waist by 1/2 inch and change the angle of the shoulders.Once I did that, I didn't need to move the darts at all. The  most common complaint about this pattern on Sewing Pattern Review is that the darts are too low. My length adjustment took care of that. The pattern has different front pieces for "B," "C" and "D" cups, so I didn't need to increase the bust at all.

With the adjustments made, I cut a trial top from similar fabric that had been in my stash forever, possibly inherited from my mom. Whipping it up quickly showed me I needed to narrow the shoulders by about 1/4 inch. They passed my shoulder point by enough that it might have looked like a cut on cap sleeve. I also discovered a case of the dreaded "butt Velcro." My top was hiking up in the back and would have settled itself somewhere around my waist eventually. I pinched out a tuck at center back, increasing the size until the back hung freely, and pinned that in.

To transfer the change to my pattern, I split the tissue horizontally just below the waist from center back to the sideseam, being careful not to cut through the seamline. Then I measured the size of the tuck and raised the center back by that much, making a triangle that tapered to the seamline. It throws the center back off grain below the waist, but that little bit of bias adds some extra swing.

Because I shortened the back, I added the length back at the hemline by measuring down the tucked distance and making a gentle arc that tapered to the sideseam.

I took a bit of time placing the pattern on the fabric. I wanted the pattern to line up horizontally at the hemline. Because it's an all over pattern and quite busy, I didn't worry about trying to match center back. The match across the hemline came out as I anticipated it. The diamonds are not drifting up or down in relation to the hem. If your fabric has a definite geometric aspect, keeping the pattern straight around the hem will be most visually appealing.

As far as sewing goes, I mostly followed the pattern directions. I was skeptical of the armhole finish, but I did it the way the pattern recommended. I won't repeat that. Their directions make for a very bulky finish. I tried to remedy it by topstitching twice, but the edges still want to curl outwards. I will change that finish the next time I  make this top. It's a simple, versatile pattern - a wardrobe basic.

The End Result

Rhonda's Creative Life: Look What Happened!!!

Fantastic news for one of my favorite bloggers!

Rhonda's Creative Life: Look What Happened!!!

Mad Men Contest Information

I've decided to compete in Julia Bobbin's Mad Men Dress Challenge and I'm offering my competition dress at a special price to the first taker. The dress will be made to your size, by hand, to Historical Fashion's exacting standards. Fabric is 60% wool, 40% polyester suiting in a plaid similar to the inspiration dress below. The bodice is fully lined; all seams are clean-finished. It features a fitted bodice with a flounce ruffle decoration and a pleated, full-circle skirt. It closes with a back zipper. The finished dress will be hand wash cold or dry clean.

 Disclaimers:

• Offer is good until March 8, 2013.
• Offer only for customers able to come to 2-3 fittings in the Greater Cleveland area before April.
• Custom clothing purchase is non-refundable.
• Delivery time is dependent on workload. Dress may not be delivered before end of contest in April.
• Customer agrees to pose for contest entry photo.
• Belt is not included in dress purchase. They may be ordered for an additional charge.

The limited time price for this one-of-a-kind dress is only $300. Where else will you get a personalized fit, hand-made dress at that price? Regular price would be over $500.

Contact me to purchase the dress. There can be only one!

Vacation Wardrobe Challenge

It's about time I sewed something for myself. And what better reason than my upcoming trip to Cancun to celebrate two years of being married to my soul mate. Actually, I've been sewing instead of exercizing and I can't really fit into any of the honeymoon clothes right now, so new gear is in order.

My objective - 4 pieces in the 4 weeks remaining before departure. Fabric must come from stash! Pieces must coordinate with some existing clothes in turquoise & purple. Must be lightweight, versatile and easy to pack because my goal is a week's worth of everything I need in a carry-on. I will not start my stay with my beach clothing still in Chicago this time!

This is what I have on hand:
 

Plum skort & ivory top

 

Add turquoise shirt



Top fabric with golf shorts

 

Maxi with Pashmina





Pashmina up close



Shorts with light tank & sarong

   

Dress fabric



 

Dress fabric up close

  

Top fabric up close



I need 2 tops, one a bit fancy and one camp shirt or similar style, a nice dress and a neutral shrug or light cover-up. So far, I have fabric (above) & patterns for the fancy top and the dress.





The dress, cap-sleeve short version

 

The dressy top - View on model



Sewing Pattern Review rated the patterns among the Best Patterns of the Year, the dress in 2008 and the top in 2010. I still need a camp shirt pattern. I may resize my Kwik Sew men's bowling shirt for that. Then there's the shrug.

So far, I've washed the dress & top fabrics and traced out the top pattern. Friday I redrew the pattern based on the moulange I created in Kenneth King's workshop and made a fitting muslin. If you ever have an opportunity to take one of his in-person classes, jump on it. Otherwise you can be content buying his CDs. My advice - start with The Moulange. I'm using Lynda Maynard's "Demysifying Fit" CD, which takes the moulange and uses it to adjust commercial patterns, to adjust my top.

So far I am very close to on schedule. Only the ruffle & the hem are missing from the top. Check back tomorrow for constructing the top, with a tutorial on drafting a one piece neck facing. Tonight I'll be correcting the dress pattern and doing a step-by-step at the same time. Look for a tutorial on using Lynda Maynard's method, probably after Cancun.