Last night I was able to start officially start my tailoring project (that is, if cutting out the fabric doesn't count), and the first step was to assemble the front and back pieces (i.e., sew the side front panels to the center front panels, and sew the center back seam, ect.). So far, so good. I still need to sew the side back pieces to the main panel of the back.
Claire Shaeffer warns in her fabric books that bouclé can easily be damaged by improper pressing, so I test pressed the fabric, and found that the following method seems to be the most suitable for my material:
1) Cover a dressmaker's/tailor's ham with a thick terry towel (this will help to retain the texture of the fabric and keep it from becoming matted flat).
2) Place the item that is to be pressed over the towel.
3) Cover the bouclé with a self-fabric press cloth, and press the fabric as needed. If you're pressing open a seam, press the seam flat as it was when it was sewn, then finger-press the seam open. (Hint: Because my fabric's fibers are 50% acrylic, I used an extra press cloth of cotton muslin over the self-fabric press cloth to prevent the fabric from being scorched. This was very handy while I was finger pressing, because I could rotate the muslin immediately after I removed the iron from the material's surface, so that I would not have to touch hot fabric).
4) Immediately after pressing a section of the fabric (and without removing the fabric from the pressing surface), remove the press cloth(es) and hover the iron close to the material's surface and steam it generously (this will help restore the texture of the fabric). Do not move the fabric until it is cool and dry.
These instructions are basically what I learned from Claire Shaeffer's fabric books. If you'd like to try this, please do remember that my fabric is 50% Wool and 50% Acrylic, and these pressing directions are suited to my fabric, so I'd recommend test-pressing your fabric before trying this method on an actual project :)
This is one of the reasons that I only completed several seams last night -- I spent more time in front of the ironing board than I spent at the sewing machine!
-Rebekah
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Playing Tailor :)
I'm finally about to start my first tailoring job! I'm so exited that I can barely wait -- the only thing holding me back are the rest of the supplies that I have to buy. I've purchased a two yard length of bouclé fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club -- here's a picture:
You can find specific information on the fabric here. I'm using McCall's 5058 for the pattern, but I'm following the basic tailoring instructions from the Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing, and following also the the advice on tailoring written by Claire B. Shaeffer in her book, Couture Sewing Techniques. I've started practicing making bound buttonholes, which I've never done before. It's pretty simple once you "get the hang of it," though doing bound buttonholes with bouclé fabric, as I've discovered, can be a challenge! The fabric is rather thick, does not readily hold a crease, and frays excessively, so I'm making the sort of bound buttonhole with cording inserted in the welts. After practicing on several pieces of scrap fabric I've finally become used to the way it's supposed work, and I would post a picture of one of my little test buttonholes, but the camera is currently unavailable :( Oh, well. I'll keep posting!
You can find specific information on the fabric here. I'm using McCall's 5058 for the pattern, but I'm following the basic tailoring instructions from the Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing, and following also the the advice on tailoring written by Claire B. Shaeffer in her book, Couture Sewing Techniques. I've started practicing making bound buttonholes, which I've never done before. It's pretty simple once you "get the hang of it," though doing bound buttonholes with bouclé fabric, as I've discovered, can be a challenge! The fabric is rather thick, does not readily hold a crease, and frays excessively, so I'm making the sort of bound buttonhole with cording inserted in the welts. After practicing on several pieces of scrap fabric I've finally become used to the way it's supposed work, and I would post a picture of one of my little test buttonholes, but the camera is currently unavailable :( Oh, well. I'll keep posting!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Formal Gown Pictures
I've finally taken a few photos of two formal gowns I made this past spring. They were originally made for me and my sister to wear to a formal event, but, however, they were not finished before the deadline so the have remained unworn unto this point. Both dresses were made with the same pattern, featuring princess seams that spread into a full gored skirt with black tulle peaking out below the hemline. The dresses are further embellished with a wide black ribbon worn about the waist and pinned in place with a large flower.
When my sister and I started planning how we wanted our dresses to look, we browsed various websites offering formal gowns. Our inspiration for the final product originally came from a pretty pink dress made by A Formal Choice and a similar dress from Beautifully Modest. I was unable to find a pattern for the exact design specifications that I was looking for, so I drafted the bodice of view "F" from Butterick 4443 into the strapless panels of McCall's 5001, and followed the pattern instructions from the Butterick pattern until the dress was lined, at which point turned to the directions written for the McCall's pattern for advice on attaching the tulle to the lining. My sister and I wanted the necklines to be square, so I reshaped the neckline of the dress while testing the re-drafted pattern on an inexpensive fabric.
I found Claire Shaeffer's book, Sew Any Fabric, very helpful as I was learning how to handle the fabric that I planned to use. I was a bit confused as to how I was going to ease the sleeve cap into the armholes of the dresses, because I was using taffeta to make one of them, and many people advise removing ease from the sleeve pattern when making a taffeta sleeve, because this fabric is said to be difficult to ease. I posted at the forum of Sensibility.com with my concerns, and the ladies there were very generous with their advice -- the discussion can be found here (you may need to be a registered member and login before you are able to view this thread). After taking the advice of Elizabeth Stewart Clark, the sleeves went into the gowns very easily and I'm quite satisfied with the results :) You can also find another thread here that I started at the same forum when having trouble with the hem of the satin dress. I eventually used an artificial horsehair braid, as was suggested. Thank you so much to the ladies of the S&S forum -- you ladies are awsome!
With all of the above being said, it is now time to show the pictures! Click on any one of them for a larger photo :)
The pink gown was made from a taffeta fabric which I purchased from JoAnn's (fabric store). It was a rather thick taffeta with a very iridescent sheen on the right side. I am not a very big fan of extremely shiny dresses (at least not for myself, anyway), so I used the wrong side of the fabric and found that I really liked it. The dress was hand-hemmed after tiny darts were sewn into the hem allowance to control the fullness that came from the gores. The dress does appear shine a little, but this comes from the flash of the camera.
The red gown was made from a somewhat dull-finished satin from the "Casa Collection" at JoAnn's. I believe that the fabric is 100% polyester, and it's very forgiving -- I fell in love with it! You can see the sleeve detail by referring to the last picture.
Both dresses came directly from the closet and could use a little pressing (the hem of the red one especially --it's a little bit smooshed!), so please excuse their condition. Please excuse also the back picture of the red dress, as it seems a slight bit blurry. The ribbon and flower have yet to be permanently attached -- they are only just pinned in place for the photos :)
Hopefully these dresses will come out of the closet for wearing someday -- it is rather nice knowing that they are there, though -- just in case we ever need them!
-Rebekah
When my sister and I started planning how we wanted our dresses to look, we browsed various websites offering formal gowns. Our inspiration for the final product originally came from a pretty pink dress made by A Formal Choice and a similar dress from Beautifully Modest. I was unable to find a pattern for the exact design specifications that I was looking for, so I drafted the bodice of view "F" from Butterick 4443 into the strapless panels of McCall's 5001, and followed the pattern instructions from the Butterick pattern until the dress was lined, at which point turned to the directions written for the McCall's pattern for advice on attaching the tulle to the lining. My sister and I wanted the necklines to be square, so I reshaped the neckline of the dress while testing the re-drafted pattern on an inexpensive fabric.
I found Claire Shaeffer's book, Sew Any Fabric, very helpful as I was learning how to handle the fabric that I planned to use. I was a bit confused as to how I was going to ease the sleeve cap into the armholes of the dresses, because I was using taffeta to make one of them, and many people advise removing ease from the sleeve pattern when making a taffeta sleeve, because this fabric is said to be difficult to ease. I posted at the forum of Sensibility.com with my concerns, and the ladies there were very generous with their advice -- the discussion can be found here (you may need to be a registered member and login before you are able to view this thread). After taking the advice of Elizabeth Stewart Clark, the sleeves went into the gowns very easily and I'm quite satisfied with the results :) You can also find another thread here that I started at the same forum when having trouble with the hem of the satin dress. I eventually used an artificial horsehair braid, as was suggested. Thank you so much to the ladies of the S&S forum -- you ladies are awsome!
With all of the above being said, it is now time to show the pictures! Click on any one of them for a larger photo :)
The pink gown was made from a taffeta fabric which I purchased from JoAnn's (fabric store). It was a rather thick taffeta with a very iridescent sheen on the right side. I am not a very big fan of extremely shiny dresses (at least not for myself, anyway), so I used the wrong side of the fabric and found that I really liked it. The dress was hand-hemmed after tiny darts were sewn into the hem allowance to control the fullness that came from the gores. The dress does appear shine a little, but this comes from the flash of the camera.
The red gown was made from a somewhat dull-finished satin from the "Casa Collection" at JoAnn's. I believe that the fabric is 100% polyester, and it's very forgiving -- I fell in love with it! You can see the sleeve detail by referring to the last picture.
Both dresses came directly from the closet and could use a little pressing (the hem of the red one especially --it's a little bit smooshed!), so please excuse their condition. Please excuse also the back picture of the red dress, as it seems a slight bit blurry. The ribbon and flower have yet to be permanently attached -- they are only just pinned in place for the photos :)
Hopefully these dresses will come out of the closet for wearing someday -- it is rather nice knowing that they are there, though -- just in case we ever need them!
-Rebekah
Friday, August 11, 2006
Making a few changes. . .
I've recently decided to make a few changes to this blog, so I've "pruned" some of the unnecessary posts and plan to try making this a more interesting site -- probably one that would include more pictures of my projects and how they were made, rather than using this site as a place to simply say that I'm doing them. Nothing big may happen immediately, but I do plan to gradually make this place a more interesting site to browse :)
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