Sew Chic Tia Dress

To brighten up this dreary day, a sunny floral dress!

I absolutely fell in love when I saw this version of the Tia Dress Pattern from Sew Chic. 

Look how bright she looks in all that fog!  It's like a ray of flowery sunshine!

The pattern back from Sew Chic

I loved everything, the vintage cut, the large florals, the sweetheart neckline.  So, of course, I had to make my own version!  I already had some lovely, similar cotton floral in my stash from Fabric.com with bias tape from JoAnn Fabric.  I did decide to slightly stray from my inspiration, so instead of using red as the contrast, I used turqoise.

Here's my version!

The Front of the Dress.

I learned a little too late that Sew Chic's sizing includes very little, if any, wearing ease!  I cut out the size I measured out to, which was about a 4.  I ended up having to take out both side seams at least a quarter of an inch.  It still looks darling on, but now I know to pay attention next time I sew a Sew Chic pattern!

The Back of the Dress

Detail of the Front

Interestingly, even though the dress as a whole was a bit too small, the bust pieces had to be taken in.  What I mean is the two seams that split each boob in half had to be taken in.  It was fairly easy to do and not completely unexpected for my endearingly boyish figure.  

Pocket Detail

 I really enjoy the pockets, but putting on the blue bias tape absolutely mystified me.  I don't know if I was just having a blonde moment or what, but I could not figure it out for the life of me.  I ended up doing one pocket and then finally realized what I did wrong.  Oh well!

Detail of sleeve

 The the sleeves were a little too small, too.  Once again, if I had made a larger size...

Detail of the zipper

I have to admit, this zipper has brought me no honor.  Obviously, not my finest work.  To be fair, I'm pretty sure both my sewing machine and fabric had a vendetta against me the day I tried to put it in.  Nothing was cooperating!  And I hate regular zippers (INVISIBLE ZIPPERS FOR LYFE, YO). And my fabric was probably a little too thick (it was almost canvas weight).  What can I say, I lived, I learned.

Overall, I would still recommend this pattern for those of us who actually read directions (unlike my lovely, direction-skipping self).  It turned out beautifully despite all the errors on my part.  Make sure to take into account the amount of ease you have and don't use fabric that's too thick!

Until next time!

The Gretchen

Burda 7056 - Lilly Pulitzer Inspired

Ever heard of Lilly Pulitzer?  Haha, well, I'm sure it has run across many people's radar, especially when Target started carrying its limited edition Lilly Pulitzer line that sold out within hours.  Needless to say, the brand's bright and cheery aesthetic are quite popular!

I don't know if I could pull of such a sun-shiney look everyday, but I was inspired by the summery feel it embodies.  So, instead of pinching my pennies to save up for one of the iconic frocks, I decided to make my own!  

I was inspired specifically by vintage Lilly Pulitzer:

From Pink Clouds blog

Modern Lilly Pulitzer maxi dresses:

From Neiman Marcus

From the Lilly Pulitzer website

And exposed zippers!

I love the subtle hint of gold!  This is the Lilly Pulitzer Penelope Shift Dress (no longer available online).

I already owned Burda 7056, and I loved thought the maxi dress in view C would work perfectly:

I actually love all the views in this pattern, it was hard to just pick one!

So I got to work, and this is what I came up with:

The front

The dress turned out less form-fitting than I thought it would be, giving a very column-like shape.  But I have to say, the simplicity of it grew on me!  I appreciate how the simple design balances out the colorful, busy pattern of the fabric.

The back zipper

There are a couple ways to put in an exposed zipper, but I chose Keightly Studio's tutorial.  Their version exposes only a bit of the sides (rather than laying the zipper completely on the outside) and includes top-stitching.

I truly wish I could put an exposed zipper on everything I make, but they can be quite pricey!  I bought this zipper from Hancock Fabrics and it is normally sold for $20, although I purchase it with a coupon :-P

And for funsies, more of my zipper (I'm so in love with it!):

Close up of the top of the zipper.

Close up of the bottom of the zipper

 This pattern was extraordinarily easy to sew and I would highly recommend it to any sewist, beginning or otherwise.  Truly, the hardest part was installing the exposed zipper and I elected to do that myself!

I chose to do the dress in a lovely cotton by Tina Givens (unfortunately not sold online! But you can occassionally find her fabric listed on Fabric.com and Etsy).  The cotton was easy to work with but has ended up driving me a little crazy with wrinkling (especially after sitting in the dress)!  If I made it again, I would use a more wrinkle-resistant material and with perhaps a little less structure.

As a fitting note, I ended up taking in the sides near my hips, making that area 1 to 2 sizes smaller than was originally cut out.  The dress was a bit too tent-like for my taste at first, but I believe part of that was how it was designed.  Either way, altering it is easy as the seams are quite simple!

Well, that's all I have!  If you have any questions, input, or comments, let me know!

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Simplicity 1250 Finished at last!

It. Is. Finished.

Well, actually, it's been finished... but I've also been lazy.

My planning post is here and my constructing post is here, both from waay back when, but there's no time in the internet, right?

And, as a reminder, here is the original pattern (which you can also find online here):

Simplicity 1250 Pattern

But putting procrastination in the past, I present to you, my 2014 CHRISTMAS DRESS!!! YAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!!!

The front w/jacket, not too shabby, eh?

Dress w/jacket detail

Dress w/jacket back

Ta-Da!  The front of the dress.

As you can see the peplum is attached to the dress itself, not the jacket.

The Back!

I did wear a petticoat under this dress (but not too floofy!).  I fioud it looked a bit more complete with it and balanced out my top half better.

Dress Bust Detail

The bust is pleated... yeah, that's all you really need to know.

Jacket Front

SO MANY BUTTONS.  I actually did not finish the buttons in time for the Christmas service I was singing at, so I ended up wearing the jacket without any.  I don't think anyone noticed, haha.  But I did go back since I had already bought all of them, and put every stinkin' shiny gold button on.  I love it, but it was a lot of labor (a labor of love?).

Jacket Back

Jacket Detailing

And for funsies, here is my inspiration and my finished product:

McQueen lookin' mean...

...versus fifties flirty fluff!

Mine is pretty tame, haha, but I'm also pretty proud of it!

Anyways, on to the nitty gritty (or what I can remember of it).  I covered most of this in my fitting/cutting out post, but there was at least one thing I wanted to add.  Match up the plaid on the sides.  Do it.  Not what I did (I forgot?).  I was very naughty.  Do as I say, not as I do, right?

As an overall review of the pattern, I really do love how it turned out.  However, I recollect that it was quite a bit of work and kind of fussy (BUTTONS, button loops, bias facings, boning, plaid - although the plaid mayy have been my fault...).  I cannot say I recommend the pattern for a beginning sewer, but maybe an average/mid skilled sewer who won't mind a little extra fiddley-ness.  And someone with a bit of time; it's definitely no walk-away dress!

Well, that's all I can think to say about it, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Fall Vogue 2015 Top Picks

Ah! Fall is in the air!

Wait! In July, you say?

Well, according to Vogue Patterns autumn is just around the corner!

In case you didn't know, Vogue just came out with their new line of fall patterns.  There are a couple things I may never make, but I thought I'd give my two cents on the highlights of the group.

Firstly, new vintage!  Yay!! I adore vintage patterns and Vogue's newest releases will most likely be finding their way into my collection.

Here is Vogue pattern V9127:

Vogue Pattern V9127

It seems to be 1940's (ish?) and it might not be my all time favorite vintage silhouette, but look at that detailing:

How?  Just, how?

I'd just buy the pattern to figure out how one recreates that arrow-like stitching.  And is that a pocket on the lapel?  And how does that belt-thing work?  It's a pattern chock-full of mysteries!

An even better question, what the heck would I use a pocket there for?

My only beef with it is it doesn't seem to fix the model in the back.  Take a look for yourself:

Something seems a bit off...

Maybe it's just me, but if I were to make this pattern, I'd like it to be more closely fitted and less wrinkly in the back.  I think it would give it a cleaner look and allow for the eye to have complete focus on the beautiful tailoring.

  

It also has a short-sleeved option (minus the belt of mystery):

But I like the other vintage dress even more, Vogue pattern V9126:

Vogue Pattern V9126

 I'm not sure if it's the pattern itself or the styling of the pattern that I'm in love with.  Very glamorous, and the model is incredibly (and maybe intentionally) similar to Dita Von Teese!

Up Close - look at her perfect make up!

Leopard Print Love!!

Imagine going to a cocktail party dressed like that!  You'd surely be the talk of the town (and for all the right reasons!).  

Although it does remind me an awful lot of this Simplicity pattern 1777:

But shhhh, we'll just keep that between us and Vogue...

Other than the vintage patterns, I have to say that the only other pattern I had a hankering for was Vogue pattern V1460:

Vogue Pattern V1460

I love how simple it is, but I do have one concern.  Is it just me, or does it seem to strangely emphasize the belly?

I'm sure that model is as thin as can be, but the dress makes it look like she's got something in the oven!  It makes me a bit wary of the pattern, so I'm a bit hesitant to buy it...

Anyways, those are my top three picks for Vogue's 2015 Fall Collection!  Are there any favorites you have?

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Butterick B5603 Begun and Completed!

I'm back to good ole' Butterick!  I chose to make up B5603 for this year's Easter dress.  This is the pattern:

I did the middle view, view B on the pattern.

I completed it in record time (for me)! Only TWO days!!! And, if I may say so myself, the results are lovely:

The Front of the Dress

The Back of the Dress

My parents gifted me with some beautiful raw silk for my birthday and I could not wait to see how it looked in the fabric.  It's a beautiful green-blue; my favorite!  I made a muslin ahead of time and decided to make the bust a size 8 (for bust measurement 32 in.), my waist a size 10 (for waist measurement 25.5 in.) and the length of the torso a size 10 (I extended the shoulder seam to the size 10).  I also took off 3 in. from the bottom and did a skinny hem (I had less fabric than I thought, so I had to cut off the end of each skirt pattern piece by 3 in.).

All in all a wonderful pattern with clear directions and quick construction.  I would highly recommend it to any sewer, both beginning and advanced.  It looks complex, but really isn't!  A perfect balance for those who are a bit overly ambitious in their sewing ventures, like myself.

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Burda 6853 Completed (for now..)

The lovely Iris (Iristrend on Instagram) recently asked me to post a picture on my blog of this finished Burda pattern that she also completed (you can find her blog here).  I am planning on getting better pictures (weather permitting) but here it is, all finished on the hanger!

Front of the dress

Detail of the fake pockets (I do so wish they were real!)

Detail of the elbow dart.

Side of the dress

I am so pleased with how it turned out!  Putting on all the vintage trim by hand was a lot of work, but I definitely think it was worth it in the end.  I hope to write more about it, but we'll see how the rest of the semester goes!

Until next time,

-The Gretchen

Simplicity 1250 - Fitting and Cutting Out

Alas! I have begun my Christmas dress! And a month before Christmas; I'm rather impressed with myself.  If you're just dropping in now, I'm making Simplicity pattern 1250 for my Christmas dress (fingers crossed!).  You can find my initial planning post here.  You can also find my finished product here!

The pattern (I'm doing view A)

Firstly: my fabric choices! I did stick to the originally planned plaid with black lace.  Upon visiting both Hancock and Joann's I realized my selection was slim and I had take what I could get.  There was literally next to no taffeta-esque tartan in stock at my stores this year!  It's a little weird, especially considering that there has been an abundance in previous years.  And it was slim pickings online, too!  Ah well, I'm pretty pleased with my choice anyways.

The plaid with lace and gold buttons

 The  classic red tartan with green is growing on me.  Plus it's got some shiny gold to sparkle it up!

After bringing my fabric home, I was very well behaved and did make a muslin for the top bustier area.  I would highly recommend doing it due to the close fitting nature of the bustier, even if you normally avoid making muslins (as I do) .  I ended up doing two, one in muslin and one in a red taffeta that's a similar to the plaid I'll be using.

Measuring/Ease
My bust measurement is 32" and my waist is 26".  I'm in between the sizes specified on this pattern, with a size 10 at the bust being 32.5" and a size 12 at the waist being 26.5" (pretty close).  Normally Simplicity patterns give quite a bit of ease, but this pattern surprised me. On the pattern tissue it says that there is 2" of ease for the bust (34.5" finished measurement for size 10) and 1" of ease at the waist (27.5" finished measurement for size 12).  Much less ease than expected, but it sounded good to me!

Muslin I
The initial muslin was... interesting.  I decided that 2" of ease on the bust might be a little too much for me.  I am a bit flat chested so excessive ease doesn't always serve a purpose on my figure.  Plus, with the gown being strapless I thought making it as tight as was comfortable would avoid some awkward flashings in the future.  Therefore, I cut out the bust at a size 8, giving it 1" of ease.  I kept the waist at a size 12 since the 1" of ease there seemed reasonable.

This was the result:

AH!!! SO LOOSE!!! NO!!!! NO NO NO!!

As you may have surmised, the fit was not exactly what I intended.  You may not be able to tell from the picture, but there turned out to be a lot of ease!  It bubbled all around my dress form in sack-like manner, despite the form being slightly larger than me!  Even with the boning that it will eventually have, I had my doubts about this dress staying up let alone portraying a flattering, retro silhouette.  Back to the cutting board I went!

Muslin II/Taffeta

My second muslin/mockup, made of taffeta instead of cotton, went much better.  I reduced the bust to a size 6 (giving me 1/2" of ease) and the waist to a size 10 (giving me 1" of ease).





 The result:

 

Much better!! It fits on the dress form (and me) quite nicely, with plenty of room for a zipper and boning.  It's much closer to the silhouette I imagined; no more sack!

In summary, I reduced the bust by two sizes (from size 10 to size 6) and the waist by one (from size 12 to size 10) to achieve my desired fit.  After my too-long foray into fitting, I finished cutting the dress out and I've started piecing it together.  It's turning out lovely and I can't wait to share my progress in my next post!

Until next time!

-The Gretchen