Burda WOF 3-2009 101 or the "I feel like such a 70's chick" dress

Well, I love the dress!!I know it is probably a lot of print for some but I guess I don't scare easily ;-). The neckline and placket which I talked about in another post reminds me of the 70's style and that is why the title.

This fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics was a dream to sew with and it feels smooth and cool against the skin.

I am at a loss why my waist band came out so short, I might make it again with more length.

Here is a picture of the back.

Vogue 7793

I believe this one is OOP, I have had it forever. I initially wanted to use this pattern to make a dress for a wedding I was going last fall but the fabric I wanted to use for it was not wide enough to cut the dolman type sleeves so I used this printed batiste(which I bought when I first visited Kashi last year, and he still had it when I went a month ago); I put it all away, fall was coming and I would not wear it until the next spring/summer. I pulled it out again recently and started working on it.

It almost didn't get made because I had cut the bodice too small. I think the problem was this pattern was 6-8-10 sizing which I rarely use I prefer 8-10-12 which works perfect for my measurements, 8 at the shoulders sizing up to 12 in the chest area. I don't worry about having to go to a 14/16 for waist and hip those are easy alterations. Anyways, when I cut it I must have thought the biggest size was a 12 and there was my problem. I was able to re-cut the waist bodice pieces and then by sacrificing length in the skirt I moved the pieces up to cut the waist lower and so give me a bigger size at the waist and hip.

I interlined the skirt since this fabric is fairly sheer but left the bodice and sleeves alone since the busy print gives me coverage and makes it really nice to wear in hot days. I eliminated the facings and use binding at the neckline following Shaffer's High Fashion Sewing Secrets instructions.



Here is a picture of the invisible zipper, I always mark on the zipper the level at which the seams fall after sewing one side, so that I know that I have to place the opposite seams at the same spot, it works well.



I struggled with the length of this dress, the pattern has it really long, and the combination of the print and length made me look really frumpy, of course the shoes I tried it on with didn't help.


Original length

I think the length I ended up with is ok, but do you think I should try shorter?


Shorter length

Progress in sewing and knitting

It has been a while since I attached a collar and then of course Burda WOF instructions are a bit cryptic but I like the way the collar and placket turned out, it yields a very clean finish inside and out. You can also see the pleats which I ended up working from the right side of the fabric to make them look like the picture in Burda's website.


View of the undercollar which was topstitched.


I did make the under collar a tad shorter than the upper collar to help with the shaping and hiding the seams.

So now the most time consuming sewing on the dress is done, I should be able to finish it the next time I sit down to sew.

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If you are wondering why there is a table top on my flower pot is to keep the squirrels from digging out a young plant which they have done now twice!


Our Clio, the beagle, in the background

I have been knitting these fingerless mittens with a gorgeous yarn
I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year. I love this yarn and I love the pattern (from Ravelry Autumn Cable Mitts). I had never made mittens/gloves before and I had a hard time "seeing" how the thumb was coming together, but now I'm almost done and will start the next one.

Just one more...


Fireworks in our yard

Happy sewing and knitting!

Marking and making pleats

Pleats confuse me. Do I mark them on the wrong side but pleat from the right side of the fabric? Or do I mark and pleat from the wrong side following the direction of the arrows? As you know the pleats will look different depending on what side you pleat. I was looking at the pleats in Burda WOF 3-2009 101, Dawn pleated hers from the right side I started to do it from the wrong side. I have been going through my books so far only one book (Easy Guide to Sewing Blouses) says that most pleats are pleated from the right side but follow pattern directions, well...Burda does not specify. Is there a convention? I would love to know for sure!!

Sometimes you need a good night of sleep

And it made all the difference. After reading Gail's comment and doing some more thinking I tried fitting the pattern with the selvages going left and right and what do you know? I only lost 1/2 of hem and the dress pattern fit! I like the arrangement much better this way. In the picture you see back and front and the yoke on the back. I traced some of the fabric onto the tracing fabric to make sure the front and back were the same. Because of the length constraint I couldn't get more creative. I did get the rust color stripe as close as possible to the waistline to draw attention there. The yoke I did cut going the other direction just for fun. I

I'm happy with my decision, we'll see how it looks all together.

Playing with big print fabric

Today I traced Burda WOF 3-2009-101 which I love but was afraid it didn't have enough shaping. However after seeing the reviews I decided to go for it. Now the fabric I plan to use is this one from Gorgeous Fabrics which has a very large repeat about 24 in. If you look at the fabric with the selvages up and down the color gray is heavy on one side and not the other. It didn't bother me because the dress is cinched at the waist and I figure the colors would come together anyways. Then I looked at Phillys entry on how she played with the same fabric in a different color way. As you can see she went with the selvage going left to right. While I see that her dress looks very nice, her pattern is very different from mine, the print in hers is clearly displayed (my gray/dark blue color is the same as her light blue) which will not be the case for mine. But of course now I'm thinking... I couldn't use this Burda pattern if I turned my grainline 90 deg, the fabric is only 45 inches wide, and I really have my heart set on this pattern with this fabric.

I'm going to sleep on it and see. What do you all think?

Father's Day

For Father's Day we went to the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo near Frederick, Maryland. We were all impressed by the number of animals they had, this is a relatively small zoo and not only did they have a great number of babies (among them the cutest wolf puppies you have ever seen) but all animals look healthy, active and happy.

We took a "safari" ride through their preserve which consists of about 3-4 fenced sections where they keep a variety of animals.

On the safari we fed bagels to a yak...



Bread to a bison with a huge slimy tongue...



Popcorn to deer, rheas...



and a camel.



We had wonderful weather, breezy and in the 70's, it was a perfect Father's Day.

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The picture above was taken while we got gas on our way out to the zoo. Apparently the utility workers hit a water line. Pretty geyser no?