Goldilocks and the Four Shirred Dresses & Other Tales of Dressmaking

Breaking my selfish-sewing stint, I made four pieces out of a purple, printed knit I had in my stash. I partly blame Tanit-isis and her recent adventures with shirring (a lovely red number) and I thought I'd take my hand at it. My sister nearly exclusively lives in shirred tops, so above you'll see a strapless tunic for her, the Mama Bear, a halter for her Three-Year-Old Bear, a center-halter for the One-Year-Old Bear, and a wee one for Baby Bear, due next month.

In Ali-fashion, I just winged it, since it's essentially a series of rectangles sewn with straight stitches and an elastic thread bobbin. The internets is full of helpful tutes. Easy-peasy? Yes. But it took each iteration for Goldilocks to get it juuuust right. I'm hoping the One-Year-Old, whose dress I started with, won't hold the funkiness of the inside of her dress against me. :0

Next up: The Sewaholic Pendrell. A big fan of Tasia and her style, I bought this pattern for my other sister as she's pear-shaped. It sat in my stash for months. I was probably disuaded by what I perceived to be lots of pattern pieces, even though other bloggers heartily recommended it and said it goes pretty fast.
This is such a quality pattern. All the instructions (and a little help from the online sew-along) were crystal clear, making working with this chiffon (?) nearly bearable. This is view B, with ruffles along with princess seam and a drapey-sleeve. As I tend to be more minimal, I would've chosen A (pleated sleeve) or C (sleeveless shell), but this was the sister's call, not mine. And you know what? I'm sold. It's a brilliant way to use the princess seam, and really not that hard to put together.

Sizing: I was worried this would be too loose for my sister, who typically wears tight knits. I did drop the neckline three inches for her and most of all wanted to make sure it fit her hips. So I cut out the size that corresponds to Bust 34—since we're the same there—and am crossing my fingers that it fits.


And if it doesn't, I'd be delighted to take it off her hands. The sacrifices a sister must make, really. See how it just drapes over the body?


And to catch up with me-mades, here's a bow-tie collar blouse that I made during my June sewing binge. Challis in my stash -- love this fabric! Adapted from self-drafted bodice. Probably not a seasonless keeper, but it fed a yen. The skirt is adapted from a dress given to me by my younger sister.


With temperatures finally rising and a trip back to the island next week, I was aching for a denim skirt. Something light and comfy and casual enough. I used an oversized thrifted dress, bought for a couple bucks, and the Lisette pattern, Simplicity 2211, the Market Skirt.

[Forgive my expression!] First off, this is a fabulous pattern. I bought it because I thought it would be well suited for reusing clothes because the pattern pieces are so small. I cut out a size 14—according to my waist measurement—last night, and whipped it up this morning to go to the (can you guess?) the market.

Though I took the waist in an inch, it still feels quite roomy/borderline unflattering to me, but I'm trying to wear it a few times and get accustomed to it before I rip it apart. First of all, it sits quite low on me, hence the belt (salvaged from the original dress) and is a classic A-line with no real hip definition. Were I to make it again, I'd pull in all the seams just a tad. I suspect this has everything to do with my shape, and very little the pattern. And besides, for the purposes of getting through humidity, the looseness may just be what I need.

All of this would've been obvious had I made a muslin. But definitely using this pattern again, it's so flexible: contrast topstitching and buttons, or even color blocking. So many possibilities!

Homebound

I can't tell you how touched I was by all of your comments on my last post. I know I said so in the comments, but I want you to know that I took every one of them to heart. It was wonderful to hear your perspectives, how sewing has occupied a space in your life that is bigger than the garments themselves. You've got me thinking of all sorts of things about sewing and life and blogging, which I'd like to reflect on here. Don't worry! This will still be a sewing blog, I promise :)

But those posts will have to wait. In fact, this may be my last post for the rest of the summer. I'm returning home—handmade gifts above in hand—to pay my final respects to my grandmother, whose home I grew up in, and who we lost shortly after my last post. She was one hell of a woman, one hell of a seamstress. She'd made this blue dress in the 60s in the old country, and she gave it to me a few years ago. It's been stained and sitting in my closet, but I will adjust it to fit me (whew! she was tiny) and dye it black.

I've had mixed luck with dyeing: Do any of you have any guidance or resources you could point me to? It doesn't seem like I have time to ship it off to get professionally done, but it'd mean a lot to me to wear something she made.

Summer

Thanks to those of you (70 worldwide!) who have participated in the Summer Essentials Sew-Along, which will be beautifully wrapped up by my amazing co-hosts Sarah and Alessa in my absence. I didn't get to everything I'd planned, but I loved sewing with you all this summer, and more than anything, enjoyed seeing the incredible talent in the Flickr group. And thanks to Alessa and Sarah for their enthusiasm and heart.

Finally: To you, and summer sewing, and again, to amazing women who make things.

A hui hou.
xoxoxoxo

And the RococoNouveau collarette goes to...

Stephanie Lynn of The Girl with the Star Spangled Heart! She's sporting her fabulous handmade circle skirt, made as part of this year's Summer Essentials Sew-Along!


And she'll be receiving this sassy number, the Gilda collarette:


Congratulations to Stephanie Lynn and thanks to all the ladies who entered! Still got a yen for one of these gorgeous collarettes? Kristen of RococoNouveau has generously offered a 10 percent discount to readers. Here's a discount code for her Etsy shop: TWRFRIENDS, good until July 15!

Here's a few of my faves, for your visual edification:

The Eliza Day


The Holly Golightly


The Madame Curie


And the Marquise de Merteuil


And the Wanda Woodward


Hope you're all well, folks. I'm resting after my June sewing binge.

To sewing, and summer. x

Red, White & Blue (Challenge: Ridiculous)

This month I have been sewing like I've got something to prove. Perhaps it was the beginning of the Summer Essentials Sew-Along or a few sewing classes that revved me back into gear, but I have sewn eight (!!) wearable garments since June 1. Compare that to the entire Spring, when I think I sewed one or two finished garments.

The summer tally so far: four blouses, a silk slip, a full skirt, and two dresses. Half of those items were on my SESA list. Oops.

Enter Jessica of A Yen for Craft's Challenge: Ridiculous, which I'm going to justify blame for my obsessive behavior. She explains:

Challenge: Ridiculous is all about taking your craft to zany and unexpected places. Maybe it means taking on a "stretch" project that pushes your comfort zone - venturing into whimsical prints if you're usually one for whipping up basics, trying out a new technique you've been eyeing for ages now, pouring gobs of time into getting the details right if you're usually a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of crafter, or drafting a pattern for the first time ever. Or maybe for you it's about bringing the spontaneity back into crafting - she saw! she coveted! she plunged in without a second thought! - which could be the perfect antidote for us overthinkers out there (ahem). Great! That's exactly what the Ridiculous Challenge is all about! There is nothing Too Ridiculous or Not Ridiculous Enough. But if you ever catch a thought that begins with, "I really shouldn't be doing this ..." then 1) Go do it, please! and 2) consider it Ridiciulous Enough!

Overplanning, overthinking, overplanner? Check, check, check.

I think the striped Rooibos is what got me, really. Though I love to WEAR essentials, I love to sew in a way that forces me to frankenpattern. It is the spontaneity that Jessica mentions above. But it is not complete whimsy, rather it's wanting something and seeing if I can make it with the materials I have on hand. To me this is the best part of sewing, marshaling together my vision with my growing skill. And because it's clear it may not work from the get-go, there's sort of a built in, "Well, I tried." Sewing without conviction: A marvelous playpen.

Back to the Rooibos. I wanted a striped dress, and guess what? With a little pattern alteration, a thrifted striped shirt and an old muumuu, viola!

It sent me down the path of ridiculous. I found myself enamored with these two garments from EmersonMade, a designer who I am deeply in love with. I suggest you check out all her wares, they're so beautiful!

How about this white and blue seersucker blouse?



Or this pleated red skirt with pockets?



Could I create a similar red-white-and-blue ensemble over the Fourth of July weekend, inspired by a designer from the Live-Free-or-Die state? Could I do it without buying anything new?

On Friday night, I cut out a blouse and Challenge: Ridiculous began.

RED, WHITE & BLUE

Blue & White:
According to my nifty Fabric class, I have what I can most closely approximate to voile. Yards and yards of the stuff, in blue/white and red/white stripes. I suspect it's 100% cotton because, dang, it loves to wrinkle. Definitely not the tailored looking seersucker in the inspiration blouse.

I began with my bodice block, which has given me sleeve problems. So I traced the armholes from the Lisette Market Blouse (Simplicity 2211) onto my blouse block and also traced the sleeve and sleeve band. For the U-shaped neckline, I used a modified version from a 60s pattern, though any pattern would work.

For the pleated neckline—which I can't imagine doing again without a ruffler—I cut a long, long piece of fabric, sewed it into a tube so it's final width was 1-1/2 and made a series of pleats that measure about 3/8 inch each.

Saturday: My blue and white blouse! Yes, it's wrinkly. It feels like no amount of steam or starch can make it perfectly flat.

With my Ruby Shorts in Denim

A Close-Up:


I waffle between loving this and wondering if it's "my style." I'm not used to puff sleeves, but I do think it does something to balance out my body, and I love it with skinny/slim pants. It feels good to have something blouse-like to wear.

Red
I had this red stretch fabric with a lot of drape and a twill weave, which actually used to be my curtains some cities ago. Lucky for me, I also already had a pleated skirt block from last year's SESA, McCalls 5803.

I have a blue version of this skirt, but the fabric is a bit too heavy and stiff and I sometimes feel costume-y wearing it. Really, for a pretty skirt, it hardly gets any air time. I was hopeful this fabric would revive my interest in this pattern. Here's the drawing:



The EmersonMade skirt has front pockets—rather than side seam pockets—and fewer pleats. So I folded in the pleat closest to the side seam and drafted a pocket in its place. I relied on previous knowledge, but Casey's pocket tutorial is essentially what I did. I widened the waistband to 2-1/4. Rather than a rear zipper, I made it a side invisible zipper.

And here it is:

Leaned against the swiveling closet! I'm falling backwards here.

A side view:


I love this skirt -- it goes with so many things! And the pockets and the waistband. Sigh. In fact, this will swap out the red A-line skirt on my SESA list. I wish it was a wee bit longer, but I'll live.

Some observations on Challenge Ridiculous:

Since this was a time-limited challenge, I gained a few insights on how to speed things up

• Think in terms of technical drawings, not pattern photos. How can those basic shapes be adapted? Do you have something from a different pattern that may help you? I'd guess most of us have nearly all basic wardrobe shapes in some form or another in existing patterns
• Adapt the pattern on the fabric. I didn't draft new pieces, I drew directly on the fabric before I cut it out. This saved a lot of time.
• Cut on the fold. The McCalls front skirt is drafted to be cut in a single, large piece. I folded it to save space on my cutting table.
• Don't pin. I just purchased a handy sewing guide and for stable wovens, I either don't need to pin at all, or very rarely.
• In that vein, use pattern weights, also saves you from pinning.
• Save all seam finishing to the end. I imagine this is a divided issue -- but I wanted to get everything done, so I've saved serging until today.
• Sway back? Make a center back seam even if there isn't one. So far, it's the easiest way I've found to make a sway back adjustment.

So that's it. With these two new additions, I think I'll slow down. I've a million things going on otherwise and I'm realizing I'm pretty well equipped for summer, thanks to last year's SESA and these new additions. I'm committed to not having more than I can actually use (I've worn the Rooibos just once! And it hasn't been hot enough for my Ruby shorts at all, boo), so I'll reconsider this year's SESA list next week, cherry picking what I'd really love for the rest of the summer.

Happy Fourth of July, and happy sewing! And it's your last chance to enter the RococoNouveau giveaway to win a handmade, gorgeous collarette! :)