Striped Shirtdress

Here is a recently completed "unfinished object" (UFO) that I started sewing over a year ago. I had originally intended to wear it myself, but when it did not fit me very well, I hung it in the closet, where it stayed until my sister asked me about it months later. "Are you ever going to wear that striped dress?" she said. Rolling my eyes, I replied, "Are you kidding?"(meaning, of coarse, that the answer was "No"). "Well, good!" she said. "Maybe I can wear it!" I told her that she could try it on and was surprised to find that it fit her perfectly!




For this dress, I used McCall's 4769.The fabric is a navy blue and white seersucker with an 1/8" stripe. I turned the skirt panels on the bias to create a chevron pattern, eliminating the button placket on the skirt and sewing a center front seam there instead. This caused me to change the order of construction by completing the entire bodice first, save for the left side seam and the buttons/buttonholes. In order to compensate for the shortened placket opening, I inserted an invisible zipper in the left side seam:

I also cut the button placket on the bias, as well. I didn't use the pattern's sash piece; my sister cut one out using her waist measurement, and I helped her sew it together. The fabric's stripes aren't particularly clear in the first two photos, but the details are clearer in the picture below, which I took before the dress was completed.





All that was required to finish this dress was making the buttonholes, sewing on the buttons, and finishing the hem. Now that it's actually done, I'm happy with how this pattern turned out, and I'm glad that my sister can wear it so that the project wasn't a "waste," after all!

1950's Can-Can Petticoat

I'm sorry that my posting has been so sparse over the past few months! Life has been keeping me so busy lately that I hardly have time enough to sew! I've been working on a few projects during my "spare time," however, and one of those projects was a petticoat from a vintage 1950's pattern:



The envelope description refers to it as a "can-can petticoat" because the ruffles are stitched to the underside of the of the petticoat, giving a "can-can" effect when it's lifted up.



The main part of the petticoat is cut as a circle skirt, and the ruffles are stitched to the inside of the skirt in three tiers. Most of the skirt is on the bias, which is, I believe, part of the reason that the stitching lines cause the fabric to pucker. This doesn't bother me too much, however, because the only part of the petticoat that will show is the underside, if at all.




The materials that I used were:
-Cotton sateen
-Petticoat netting
-1/4-inch wide ribbon
-1/4-inch wide bias binding
-hooks & eyes (to fasten waistband)

Details:
I used French seams on the side seams of both the skirt and the ruffles to completely enclose all the raw edges. To finish the bottom edge of each ruffle, I stitched 1/4" wide ribbon to the wrong side, having the ribbon just cover the raw edge. I then turned the ribbon to the right side and stitched it into place, where it completely enclosed the prickly edge.


On the wrong side of the ruffle, slightly overlap the raw edge of the net with the ribbon, and stitch along the edge of the ribbon that is farthest from the raw edge of the net.


Next, fold the ribbon to the right side of the the ruffle and stitch into place.

I also covered the raw, gathered edge of the topmost ruffle with a 1/4-inch wide bias binding to minimize irritation (this can be seen in the fourth photo from the top).

Pattern Changes:
I added several inches to the side seams and waistband, as the sizing was a bit too small. I also modified the side placket opening to be slightly deeper, making the opening sufficient enough for me to not have to wiggle my lower body into it ;)
The waistband was originally one inch wide, but I narrowed it to 5/8-inch in order to decrease bulk and make it more comfortable. I also fused the waistband with interfacing, even though the pattern instructions didn't call for it. This will hopefully lend a little stability.
When I cut the ruffles, there were many small sections that were supposed to be cut and joined together. But for each tier, I cut the pieces end-on-end, as suggested by one of the reviewers at Pattern Review, so that I would only have to sew the side seams of each ruffle. It saved me a lot of time!
Finally, I shortened the entire petticoat by one inch (I had planned on doing this ahead of time, so I applied the ruffles one inch higher than the original stitching lines).

All in all, I enjoyed this project, even though sometimes it may have seemed like I would never finish adjusting and pinning gathers on the eighteen yards of netting! I hope to eventually wear it with another retro project I've been working on. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm able to post again!

Simplicity Vintage Jumper

In early December of 2007, I started sewing view C of the 1950's jumper pattern the Simplicity pattern company recently reissued (3673). I had to set the project aside for a while so I could work on preparations the Holidays (including the aprons in my last post), but several days after Christmas, I was able to finish the last last few details. Here are the pictures:






Notes: This is a vintage 1950's pattern that Simplicity reissued in 2007. A couple months ago, Summerset of Pins and Needles did a comparison of the actual vintage pattern and the reprinted copy. I made some changes to the pattern and construction based on the knowledge that she shared, and I'm really glad that she posted about the pattern when she did (thank you so much, Summerset!)! I would recommend reading those three posts if you plan on using this pattern.

Materials:
-Fashion fabric - Black wool (100%)
-Lining - Polyester (100%)
-Interfacing - Black silk organza (100%)
-Notions include a 22-inch zipper, black all-purpose thread, and extra-fine thread for the lining.

Pattern alterations:
When I made a muslin test garment to preview the fit of the jumper, I was grateful to find that the only fitting issue was in the bodice. The top was too full for me because I have a small bust line.



This was easily remedied by trimming the bottom edges of the bodice panels. My modified pattern is about 1 3/8-inches shorter than the original pattern at the center front, but I didn't cut it all off at once. I began by trimming off about half an inch in the gathering area under the bust, but the trimmed amount gradually grew as I trimmed a little, tested the fit, trimmed a little more, and tested the fit again. I ended up altering the back bodice panel, too, in order to make the side seams even and the skirt hang smoothly.

Construction:
The main changes that I made while sewing the garment were: interfacing the neckline, armholes, and midriff, adding a skirt lining, and putting in a waist stay to help support the weight of the skirt. I also reorganized the order of construction to accommodate these changes. This is the order in which the jumper was constructed:

1.)After stay-stitching the neckline and sewing the shoulder seams, I interfaced the neckline and armholes with one-inch wide bias strips of silk organza (cotton flannel could also be used). I basted them to the wrong side of the fashion fabric before sewing the seams.



2.) I sewed the bodice lining to the bodice according the the instructions, but I left several inches of the back neckline seam open on either side in order to have a lining that covers the zipper tape rather than being included in the zipper seam (see the small blue arrow in the picture below).




3.) I under-stitched the neckline and armholes by hand with a prick-stitch, stopping and starting about 2-inches away from the beginning of the stitching at the back of the neckline seam. Under-stitching by hand can be advantageous in instances such as these because your fingers can reach small spaces that the machine cannot!

4.) Moving on to the skirt panels. . .
I interfaced the midriff portion of the skirt panels with silk organza, according to the vintage instructions that Summerset shared. I traced a copy of the the top of the skirt pattern to use for cutting the interfacing. The interfacing pattern ends about 3-inches below the points of the darts. I thread traced the darts before removing it from the pattern. I finished the bottom edge of the organza by tissue stitching over it with a zigzag stitch. After that, I decided to conceal the zigzagged edge with hem tape for a neater finish. I then aligned the cut edges of the interfacing with the cut edges of the skirt panels. To anchor it in place, I stitched half an inch from all the outside edges and down the center of each dart. Here are two pictures, showing how it looked from the both sides of the skirt panel:





When sewing the darts, I treated the wool and silk as on layer.

5.)I clipped each dart at the center and slashed it open to press it flat. I slashed from the top to within 3/4-inch from the point. I was left with raw edges, so I hand over-cast them to keep the organza from fraying too much.



I did not clip or slash the darts in the lining because the material was lightweight and wouldn't be a source of bulk. I simply pressed the darts toward the center seams as directed in the pattern.

6.) Next, I sewed the skirt to bodice, I leaving the bodice lining free. I graded and pressed the seam, then I proceeded to install an invisible zipper.

7.)Then, I opened out the lining and sewed the skirt lining to the bodice lining, in the same manner as the main jumper.

8.) Afterward, I sewed in the waist stay. I used a 7/8-inch wide grosgrain ribbon, which I cut to be 1/2-inch smaller than the finished garment measurements. Waist stays are often 1-inch longer that the wearer's waist, but my jumper is not closely fitted, so a small stay would cause it to buckle oddly.
I believe there are a few ways to sew in a waist stay, but I put mine in by pinning the ribbon over the natural waistline of the lining and stitching through the center of the tape to hold it in place. I positioned it in such a way that it would be slightly off-center in the back, to prevent it from creating bulk in the zipper area. To attach the stay to the actual garment, I tacked the stay to the seams, but only after I completed step #8!






9.) This is the point where I completed the back of the neckline seam. At the same time, I secured the lining to the zipper tape by crossing over the zipper seam by several stitches and pivoting the fabric so that I would be heading down the zipper tape. My description of the process may sound confusing, but if you look at this post about RTW-style zipper facings at besewstylish.com, you can get an idea of how I did it. I stitched about 5 or 6-inches down the zipper tape, then I stopped. I needed to go back an finish the under-stitching at the neckline seam and bring it all the way to the zipper. So I turned the garment right-side-out again, finished the under-stitching, turned the garment wrong-side out and continued securing the lining to the zipper tape. I hope I haven't confused anyone!
ETA: I wanted to mention that it is very important to make sure that the back neckline seams on either side of the zipper will align with each other before stitching the neckline/lining attachment seam. I've learned this the hard way more than once! Uneven neckline edges can sometimes be disguised by hand sewing a hook and eye above the zipper to help pull the edges into alignment while wearing the garment; but, needless to say, it's always better to *not* make this mistake in the first place ;)

10.) After the lining was sewn over the zipper tape, I went back to the waist stay and carefully aligned the lining/garment seams and tacked the stay to the garment seams, catching only the seam allowances.

11.) Almost done! I finished the outer garment with a hand-sewn hem and the lining with a machine-stitched hem.

12.) I completed the jumper by making thread chains to join the skirt and lining hems and by sewing the hooks and bars to the ends of the waist stay.

In conclusion. . .
I'm very pleased with this pattern and the outcome of the jumper! It would be neat to have a petticoat to wear under it, but that's another project for another time!

By the way, if anyone has a question, let me know ;)

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!