Christmas Sewing. . .

One of my most recent projects has been to complete four aprons to give as Christmas gifts. Three of them were for children and the fourth was adult sized.









For the first two aprons, I used Simplicity 4286, view E. I sewed them according to the instructions, except that I added interfacing to the lengthwise half of the waistband that is closest to the outside of the garment, rather than using no interfacing at all. For the second pictured apron, I put a bow only on the pocket.





For the third apron, I use view A of Simplicity 4692, making no other changes than using three snaps in place of Velcroπ® for the closure at the back of the neck.





I made the misses' size apron using view B of Simplicity 5961, again, substituting snaps for Velcroπ®, this time on the crossover strap ends, as with the green apron.

All of the patterns were simple, but the last two could possibly be a little frustrating for a beginner because of all the curved edges and corners that must be bound. Yet, on the other hand, they are also great for practice! The key is to pre-shape the binding with steam to fit the curved edges and ease in extra length when binding an inward corner. I've learned that it seems to be best to leave several extra inches worth of binding at the ends when pinning the binding to a very curved pieced, such as the the yoke on the fourth apron, because the binding tends to shrink back while it's being stitched in place.

On another topic, the green knit top that I mentioned a few posts ago is still not finished because I was sidetracked with an unexpected and more urgent project. I had worked on it for several days and it was then that I discovered that my sewing machine must have an incredible hatred for knitted fabrics because the material is permanently stretched out of shape. It just so happens, however, that I started out with twice as much fabric as I needed for one top, so when I have worked up enough courage to try again, I'll cut out another one and give it another go =)

More Fall Sewing

Several weeks ago, I finished another denim skirt for fall.





I used Simplicity 5914 again; I must be one of those "pattern repeaters"!

I lengthened this skirt by 5 1/2 inches to make it super long for the cold-weather months. This caused the gored panels to become even more flared than they would have otherwise been, resulting in a very, very full hem (great for the twirly-skirt-loving people). Here are a few more details:

Materials and Notions Used:
- Medium-heavyweight denim. I pre-washed and dried it twice to discourage shrinking, then I soaked it in a salt and vinegar solution to help prevent crocking or bleeding, and finished the process with a machine rinse and dry. This is the first time I've tried this method of sealing the fabric's dye.
- Denim colored thread (black for the bobbin)
- Navy invisible zipper
- Bias cut strips from my fabric scrap box (used to bind facing and hem edges)

Seams:
For the side front and side back seams, I sewed welt seams. I used them not only to add detail, but also to minimize bulk and to prevent the seam allowances from being ruffled about when laundered. The side seams are plain seams.

Hem:
I hemmed this skirt the same way I hemmed my other denim skirt, except that this hem is deeper (a telltale sign that this skirt is not ready-to-wear! Generally, on a RTW garment, the fuller the hem, the narrower it will be).


I also made a jean skirt for my sister, which is identical to my last denim skirt, except that it's ankle length (sorry - no pictures!). Having used this pattern seven times, it's needless to say that it's one of my favorites when it comes to sewing skirts!

1960s Coat Dress - A Change in Plans

The reason I haven't updated on this project for such a long time is that I've made a change in plans.

Several months ago I bought a beautiful length of navy handkerchief linen, planning to use it for this dress. However, the coat dress pattern envelope calls for medium-weight fabrics such as twill or tweed, and hanky linen is very lightweight. I purchased this type of linen rather than regular linen because its texture is much finer (so fine, in fact, that it's almost sheer!). I kept telling myself that I could make it work, but deep down inside I knew that this type of fabric really doesn't have enough body to make this dress a success. I love the pattern, and I love the fabric, but I know they aren't right for each other. The linen was rather pricey, so I've decided that I'd rather wait for a better fabric to cross my path than be disappointed by the outcome of this garment. I'll still be using this pattern, but the project will be on hold until I find a material that is better suited to the design. It will work out fine, because the temperature is starting to drop again and I won't need the dress right away.

I also found a pattern that I really like that calls for handkerchief linen - Vogue 7693:

I'm considering blue dress in the center as a possible project. Coincidentally, I have just the right amount of fabric! Perhaps I'll make this dress for spring!

But, speaking of spring, I still need to sew for fall and winter! I'm going to experiment a little with sewing knits, so I bought Simplicity 4076. I'll be making view A (upper left w/shirred side seam), and I have a double knit that happens to be the same color. Hopefully this should be an easy fabric to start with, since double knits are stable with little lengthwise stretch.

I have a few completed projects that I've been meaning to share for some time, but I haven't taken any pictures yet. I'll try to do it sometime soon - this blog is suffering from a serious lack of updates!

A Skirt for Fall

Here's a denim skirt that I finished a few weeks ago, made in preparation for fall:







I used Simplicity 5914 - an old favorite of mine. I believe this is the fifth time I've used it.


I made view "F" without the belt carriers (upper or lower right corner). Here are a few details:

I constructed the skirt with "quick flat-fell" seams, from the instructions in The Complete Book of Sewing Short Cuts, by Claire Shaeffer. I favor this seam because it looks very similar to the traditional, double-stitched, flat-fell seam found on ready-to-wear garments, yet it is self-finishing (note:I did not use this technique to sew the side seams, due to the zipper).





I finished the hem allowance and raw facing edges with a plaid fabric from the scrap box. I love the way color can be added to the inside of a garment by using a bright fabric strip for a hong-kong finish!

The seams were so thick that I finished the raw edge of the hem allowance and top stitched the hem in place, rather than folding the allowance under and stitching through a triple thickness.

The only changes I made, aside from the top stitched hem, were using an invisible zipper instead of a lapped application, and lengthening the skirt pieces at the cutting stage. This skirt is simple to make, goes together quickly, and the style seems to flatter a variety of figures. I like the smooth fit of the top, combined with the flare of the gores.

On a slightly different topic, I still haven't cut out the coat dress, but I did preshrink the fabrics. I steam pressed the linen, and to preshrink the silk organza, I shut it in the bathroom for an hour, hanging over a tub full of hot water. I'll post more about this project as it progresses.

1960s Coat Dress - Altering the Pattern

It's been too long since my last post! I've finally taken pictures of the altered muslin for the 60s coat dress, and compiled all of the pattern alterations.

This is the final version of the muslin, and this time I've sewn it together with the seams on the inside to get a better idea of how this dress is really going to appear once it has been finished. All of the pins around the bottom of the skirt are holding up the 2 5/8 inch seam allowance; the hem doesn't hang very gracefully because of the muslin, but with the fashion fabric and hand hemming stitches, it should hang just fine. The collar will be slightly narrower than it is in the picture, since the seam allowance will eventually be taken up by the facing seam (the same goes for the armholes).




Please pardon the "scenery" - the living room is in the process of being repainted ;)

Now for the alterations; I'll cover all the pattern changes in the order that I made them.


I began with the bodice back pattern piece (pictured above), making a narrow back adjustment to remove the extra fullness. Here's a list of the steps I took to make this alteration:

1.) I started by drawing a line parallel to the center back, starting from the middle of the shoulder.

2.) I then drew another line perpendicular to the first, starting from the middle of the armhole.

3.) Next, I drew a third line parallel to the second, starting one inch below the armhole.



4.) I slashed the pattern along the three lines, removing a small section of the pattern. I then slid the section in by one inch, removing a total of two inches because the amount doubles when both sides of the back are counted.



5.) I then redrew the armhole seam (then alteration book I used for this particular pattern change recommends using a French or fashion curve to redraw this seam; I had neither of these items on hand so I traced a copy of the old armhole shape and used it as an aid to smooth out the seam).

6.) For the final step, I redrew the side seam from the new underarm location to the waist.



While this was an improvement to the fit, there were still too many excess folds of fabric in the middle of my back, so I had a helper take in the top halves of the darts, and extend them to make them slightly taller. This gave it a nice fit, while still allowing adequate ease for movement. If you look carefully at the first picture of the back pattern piece above, you can see that the tops of the darts are deeper and longer.

Next, I moved to the front of the muslin:


This is probably the piece that underwent the most alterations! The first step toward a good fit was reducing the cup size of the bust darts. I did this by taking a horizontal tuck across the bust line on the muslin to determine how much fullness needed to be removed. The tuck was about a quarter inch wide, which doubles to half an inch. When you're removing fullness from the bust dart, each half an inch that you remove will be one cup size (commercial patterns are usually drafted to fit a B cup). If you look in the photo above, you might recognize the dart alteration that I posted about a while ago. But if you pretend that those darts haven't been raised, you can see where the pattern has been overlapped, and that's where I removed the excess room from the bust. I drew a line through the center of the dart from the side seam to the point, and from the point to the center front. I slashed along this line and overlapped the two pieces by a quarter inch, removing one cup size. I then reconnected the dart legs to the dart point.

This change immediately improved the fit. However, there was still an excessive amount of room under the arm, and I removed this by ripping open the top half of the side seam and pinning out a little extra room on the front only (I had already made alterations to the back at this point).

Finally, to fine-tune the fit, I took in the side seams above the waist, raised the bust and waist darts, and pinched them in slightly (mostly around the waist area on the waist dart), which helped define the waist a little. I made no alterations to the skirts pieces, as they already seem to fit.

Now that the main pieces are fitted, my next step is to alter the facing patterns to match, and gather the rest of the materials for the final dress. I still have to order some organza for interfacing and go hunting for buttons. I'm going to be lining at least the top half of the dress, so I'll need to find lining fabric as well. Perhaps some sort of cotton would be comfortable :)

Thank you for reading such a wordy post! As always, if you have any questions, just click on the comments link below!

1960s Coat Dress - Testing the Fit

Over the weekend, I traced a copy of the vintage coat dress pattern onto Swedish tracing paper. Yesterday I cut out a muslin, and today I basted it together. I sewed it together with the seam allowances on the outside, making it easier to adjust the seams. I haven't attached the skirt portion of the muslin yet, as I'm concentrating on the bodice at the moment. After trying it on, I found, as I had expected, there were a few usual fitting problems.









Both the front and back of the bodice are too loose, except for the hip area, which, as I've found, is rarely ever too baggy for me ;)

For the back of the bodice, I think a narrow back adjustment is needed. After discovering the extra fabric in the back of the polka dot wrap dress, I've been nagged by the fact that it didn't fit correctly. I didn't actually realize the poor fit until someone took pictures of it on me. It was strange, I thought, because I had tissue fitted the bodice and had foreseen no problems. After leafing through a few fitting books, however, I found the answer: my back is proportionally smaller than the front side of my body, from my shoulders to my waist. Why didn't I discover the problem while fitting the pattern? I had fit it over my dress form, whose back is proportionate to the front of its body! A narrow back can be identified by the vertical folds or wrinkles of fabric from the shoulders to the waist, and it's usually caused by a very erect posture, though some people are simply born with it.

If anyone has any input on how to fit the front of the bodice, it would be really helpful! As the last picture shows, there is a lot of extra room under the arm. The narrow back adjustment will take care of the back half of it, but I'm not sure whether I should just rip open the seam and pin out the extra room, or if I should make some sort of small bust adjustment, which would likely include slashing the front of the bodice pattern and overlapping the pieces to make it smaller.

I'll be sure to post again once the fit is corrected, showing the alterations that I will have made :)

Next Project: 1960's Coat Dress

This double-breasted frock is low waisted, and has a pleated skirt that gives the illusion of a wrap-around dress. I'm planning on making view B (the red dress on the right) in navy blue with white topstitching and white buttons.

I was able to go fabric shopping yesterday, and purchased a length of navy blue handkerchief linen. The pattern actually recommends ordinary linen, twills, and other fabrics that are similar in weight, but I really prefer the texture of hanky linen compared to that of regular linen. Perhaps I ought to underline it, to give it a little more body (any suggestions?). I'm not sure how easy it would be to line such a dress, as the bodice starts like a wrap, yet runs into a pleated skirt. Hmmmm. . .

I'm also unsure as to what sort of interfacing I will use, for the envelope simply calls for a woven interfacing. I could just try a sew-in/non-fusible interfacing from JoAnn's, but perhaps a lightweight cotton, such as batiste, would be more appropriate. Does anyone have any ideas?

After seeing the pattern, my sister asked if I could make her a dress, too, so it looks as though I might be using this pattern twice!

Dart Alterations

This post is about raising bust and waist darts, and covers the same alterations that I used to fit my Dotted Wrap Dress.



The first step for doing any kind of dart alteration is marking the bust apex. If you happen to be raising or lowering the darts (as in this case), you'll need to make a new apex mark fitted to your own figure, rather than using the one that is already printed on the pattern tissue. You can see the new mark that I made in the photo above -- it's a single blue dot.

Altering the Bust Dart (the dart protruding from the side seam):
1.) Slash the pattern in the shape of a backward "L." You can get a straight line for the long side of the "L" by drawing the line paralell to the grainline marking (unless the garment is bias-cut) or the center front line of the garment (see the solid green line in the photo above).
2.) Take a tuck at the top of the dart, bringing the point of the dart in line with the apex mark.
3.) Tape or glue the tuck into place.
Note: The same principles would be used to lower a bust dart, except your slash would be in the form of an upside-down and backward "L," and you would take the tuck under the dart.

Altering the Waist Dart (the dart prodruding from the waistline seam):
1.) Trace the waist dart onto a separate sheet of paper.
2.) Lay the bodice pattern piece over the traced dart, aligning the center lines of the darts (see red dashed line). Your pattern may not show the center line of the dart, but it is quite simple to draw your own.
3.) Position the point of the of the traced dart 1 inch below the new apex marking, and, keeping the centers of the darts aligned, trace the new dart onto the bodice pattern tissue.
4.) Use a ruler to straighten and connect the new dart legs to the starting points of the old dart legs.

After repositioning the darts, trace a new copy of the altered pattern, and true the side seams with a ruler, remembering to add new notches if necessary. It is also wise to test the fit of the new darts before cutting into your fabric.

I originally learned to make these pattern changes through the illustrations in the "alterations" section of the New Complete Guide to Sewing. Hopefully all of this makes sense. If it doesn't, just let me know!

More Dots!

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I posted about my last project! Life has been keeping me busy lately, so I don't always have time to take pictures of my latest projects. I was, however, recently able photograph another dress that I made -- a dotted wrap dress!

For this garment, I used New Look 6674. I made view B, which is the red dress on the lower right corner.


Front:


Side/front:


Back:
There seems to be a little extra room in the back above the waist. Strangely enough, I did not realize this during the fitting process, perhaps due to the fact that I only made a muslin of the bodice.

On the outside, the wrap ties on the left.


On the inside, there is a button that holds the right side of the wrap in place.


I sewed two metal hooks to the inside of the bodice, which fasten to corresponding thread loops on the opposite side of the wrap (not shown) to help hold the neckline in place, and prevent gaping. The hooks, however, tend to slide out of the thread loops when I move, so I plan to replace both the hooks and the loops with small, black snaps.


Materials:
- 100% cotton, Black print with pink dots
- Black, all-purpose thread
- Light-weight interfacing
- One 1/2" button

Pattern Alterations:



The first pattern alteration I made for this dress was to add a little more coverage at the neckline. I simply draped the pattern tissue over my dress form (pinning the darts in place), and found a height for the neckline that I'd be comfortable with. I extended the center front line, and marked height for the new neckline. I laid the pattern flat on the table, and re-drew the neckline to be higher, making sure that it coincided with the mark for the new height. I started at the shoulder/neck seamline, and ended at the waist/skirt seamline. You can see these details by refering to the picture above.

When I tested the new neckline with a muslin of the bodice, I found that the bust and waist darts were to low for my bust. So I marked the the new location for the apex on the pattern, and raised both darts so that they would end 1 inch away front the point. After making this adjustment, I needed to redraw the seamline for the side seam (see the green dashed line in the photo above).

The only other alterations I needed to make were typical: adding room to the hip area of the dress and lengthening the skirt. I graded the side seams up to the next size in the hip area of the skirt pattern, and added about 4 1/2 inches to the hem.

Notes:
This pattern was fairly easy to construct, and the directions were clear. I like the fact that you can use woven fabric to make this wrap, because I have very little experience with knit material, and I don't have a serger. I'm not sure if I'll use this pattern again, due to my ever growing list of other wanna-be projects, but overall, I found that it was decently drafted and I enjoyed working with it.

As for other projects, I'm currently working on a striped shirtdress (almost done!), and I hope to do some vintage sewing this summer, if I can.

Black and White Polka-Dot Dress

Here's a project that I completed earlier this spring. . .

I made a black and white polka-dot dress using this Laura Ashley pattern:


The dress. . .


The zipper in the left side seam. . .


Hem finish. . .


Materials:
- 100% cotton fabric, which has an embroidered border.
- About a yard of white grossgrain ribbon, 3/8-inch wide
- 1-3/8 yards of black elastic, 1/4-inch wide
- A 12"-14" invisible zipper
- Black all-purpose thread

Notes:
This empire-waisted pattern has raglan sleeves, an elastic neckline, and a zipper in the left side seam.
I made view A (the blue dress in the pattern photo), except I used a single row of narrow grossgrain ribbon for trim, rather than attaching two rows.

Pattern Alterations:
I didn't want the neckline to scoop as low as it did in the pattern photo, so I redrew the neckline.
This is how I did it:
1.) I traced a copy of both pattern pieces onto a separate pieces of paper.
2.) I made a mark 3/4-inch above the center front line on the front bodice pattern piece. This is the new height for the neckline.
3.) I then lined up the two pattern pieces, matching the notches and seam lines.
4.) I made a mark in the center of the top of the sleeve pattern piece.
5.) I drew a line from the center of the sleeve to the mark that I made above the center front of the bodice, making a curved line.

After making this pattern change, I made a test garment of the top of the dress to make sure I liked the alterations. At that point, I decided that I still wanted the neckline slightly higher all the way around, so I simply redrew the neckline to be 3/4-inch higher on the bodice front, sleeve, and bodice back pattern pieces. With the neckline being higher, I also needed to draw the elastic a little tighter when inserting it into the neckline casing.

The only other pattern alteration I made was to lengthen the skirt a little, and I did this by slashing at the shorten/lengthen lines and spreading them by one inch.

I followed the pattern instructions pretty closely, except I hand sewed the ribbon to the dress with a pickstitch, after finding that I didn't like the way it looked with machine stitching. I also used an invisible zipper instead of a regular zipper, so that it would hide well in the side seam. To finish the hem, I used the hong kong seam finishing method. I actually cut the binding strips on the straight grain, because I didn't have enough fabric left to cut them on the bias, and the hem was only slightly curved.

If I were to make this dress again, I would probably add just a little bit more room in the hip area. It's not too tight, but it's a bit snug, so I think it would hang a little more gracefully if I widened the skirt a little.

On the whole, I like the pattern. I'm not sure if I'll be making it again, but it was easy, fairly quick to sew, and makes for a fun project.

Simplicity Vintage Apron

I have finished the apron that I mentioned in my previous post!

Here's a picture of the front. . .


. . . And a picture of the back


A detailed picture of the pocket. . .


. . . And a photo of the snaps on the end of the shoulder straps


A few details:

This is a reproduction of an original vintage apron pattern. It comes in one size, and takes about a yard of fabric to make. View A (the apron I made) calls for a small amount of contrasting fabric for the ties and shoulder straps. I didn't have any contrasting fabric on hand, so I simply cut matching ties and straps from the same fabric as the rest of the apron (I had started out with extra yardage). I used a green cotton with stripes and floral motifs.

This apron was quite simple to make, and all of the edges, except for the hem, are bias bound. View A requires one package of bias tape, and no less! At the beginning of the project, I took a 3 to 4 inch length of the binding and applied it to a small amount of scrap fabric to adjust the thread tension on the sewing machine. As a result, I ran short of binding (by an inch or two). It was alright though, because I was able to purchase more.

As for the fit of the apron, it is a little looser on the sides of the bodice than it is in the picture, but that doesn't really bother me -- I made it to wear while cooking! I think this apron would probably accommodate a fuller-busted person, because of the extra room in the top. The shoulder straps were an inch or two too long for me, as well, but that is easily remedied by a small tuck held by a safety pin. If I make the pattern again, I'll adjust the shoulder strap length in the pattern.

Overall, I'm happy with the pattern. Perhaps someday I'll try making the pink apron with the scalloped hem, as well.

Pink Shell Top

Here are a few pictures of a pink shell top that I recently made, using Simplicity 4368:

I needed a top to wear under the tailored jacket I made, so I decided to borrow the shell from this pattern :) These pictures were taken before the top was hemmed, but the finished garment doesn't look too much different. Here's a picture of the front. . .

. . . And a picture of the back.


I've also been making an apron using a vintage pattern that Simplicity reprinted (pattern number 5961; it has already gone out of print, however).

I'm making view A, which is the green apron on the upper left, and I really like the way this pattern is coming together so far! All I need to do now is sew on the shoulder straps, finish binding the top edge, and sew the hem (sorry, no pictures yet).


-Rebekah