Vogue 1179

This dress has been made many times by many sewists but mine is super special because the fabric was given to me by my friend Andrea =)

I knew right away that this was the pattern for this rayon blend knit. The fabric feels great, very "buttery" and the colors were so summery I hurried up and used it so I could wear it this summer.

The pattern is simple to make, comfy to wear and stylish (I think!). I was having trouble with the side seams puckering and not hanging right, so I stabilized them as I was sewing them with Seams Great(as were the shoulder seams). The hem I stabilized with a strip of fusible tricot interfacing.

One thing to note is that the armscye in this pattern is very high, which is very different for Big Four patterns.

I have one more summery garment to show you (knitted top) and then I will start on cooler weather projects. First I have to make a baby quilt for a gift and quickly (hopefully!) make up a cloak for my youngest who with his friends is attending the Maryland Renaissance Festival in costume.

Happy Sewing!

Burda 4/2011 123 Maxi skirt

So I finally got to make the linen maxi I wanted at the end of the summer, oh well. I used the linen from this other Burda dress. I still have fabric left.

The grain runs straight through the center of the side panels, front and back which gives this pattern a lovely drape. Because I needed a bit taken at the waist I did stay-stitch plus at the waistline and secured it with cotton stay tape, then I attached the waistband.

The invisible zipper goes in the seam of the right side back panel which made fitting this skirt a breeze, especially since I ended up taking in the side seams.

I did not line the skirt, I believe one of the versions is lined, also I eliminated the pockets. The linen was very drapey and shifted quite easily when cutting and sewing so I did not want to complicate things; I also like the close fit around the hips I was able to get without pockets.

This skirt was finished before the hurricane and I already wore it. I loved the feeling of the airy cool linen around my legs when moving and I love the ways it looks. This pattern would be great in wool crepe, and I think I see it in my future for fall and winter.

Butterick 5523 - A review

Today I got to wear my new dress and the color gave me a lift. As you can see everyhting looks pretty gray in my part of the world! The fabric is a double knit (Cache) from Fabric Mart. I think it really suited this design, it has a beefy weight perfect for winter dresses and I love the color.

The only thing I changed, I did not add elastic at the bodice seam.





There was a sewing thread somewhere (don't remember exactly where) where someone was asking advise on how to sew seams in a double knit. For my dress I sewed the seams with a narrow zig zag (2.5 - 3 length and .5 width) and after pressing each side of the seam to set stitches I opened the seam and pressed again. This reduces the bulk that you would see with a serged together seam. This fabric does not fray so seams allowances can be left alone.

I chose to edgestitch the hem and then topstitch at the hem depth again.


This pattern is a winner, with the right fabric you'll get a stylish, comfortable and warm dress!

McCalls 5752

I finally finished "the perfect knit dress" a few days ago, but the weather got cold and I hadn't worn it to show you. I wore it this morning not paying attention to the weather, I was cold.

As I said before I had construction issues because the knit I picked was very lightweight and stretchy. I added length to the bodice which I had to remove by taking a 1 1/2 inch seam allowance where the bodice joins the waistband. I also made the same alteration Amanda did on her dress which worked very nicely to remove the sagging of the neckline(thanks!). This pattern had a lot of extra instructions for modifications which was very nice, one thing it did not mention is that different knits will need different considerations.

This print had a lot going on vertically and horizontally and I'm really happy with how the dress turned out.



I had to share a picture of how the dress looked before I added the stay recommended in the directions. I had omitted it thinking that with the ruching there was a lot of bulk already in the waist, but oh! my! Didn't it look terrible? In the next picture you can see the stay; I used a rayon knit leftover from another project. If you look closely at the ruching in the back (it is hard to notice in my busy print yay!)you can see that it is a little droopy; I think that if I had made the dress with less ease the waistband section would have stretched and removed the droopiness, but with such a thin knit I didn't dare do that.




I now have a break between interpreting assignments and I'm changing my outfit. I believe in making some sacrifices for fashion, but I can't stand being cold =)

Simplicity 2472

This was a very easy pattern just two pieces and the binding. Although the original pattern has no shaping on the side seams mine has some to accommodate for my pear shape. Even so the dress is pretty loose as you can see in the pictures with no belt. The fabric is a poly knit I bought at Metro Textiles about a year ago. Not much more to say, this pattern was easy to make and it is very easy to wear.



From some angles it really looks sack like

Burda WOF 1 2009 106A Dress

While I was working on my coat I was dreaming of making dresses and I made a list of what I wanted to make. This is the first one, a knit dress with v-neck and sleeve flounces. I was going to show this dress styled for spring/summer, but I'm cold so out came the tights and boots. I have a couple of belts that I'm also planning on wearing with this dress, but today is a "fat" day so no belt.



This was very easy to put together,it is a knit after all, right?. I love that is very versatile, I plan to wear it fall and spring, since the simple lines and neutral color can be the background to many colorful accessories. The fabric is a cotton/lycra knit I bought through a coop. It has enough body to work nicely as a dress, no clinging going on.





I can see from the back picture there are some folds around the back, but I think this is not uncommon on a dress with no darts, I also might have overcompensated when straightening my back for the picture.



As far as techniques used...stabilized shoulders with Seams Great, interfaced hem as explained in Easy Guide for sewing tops and t-shirts

Modifications to pattern...Used 38, 40 to 42 sizes (shoulders, chest and waist/hips), lengthened bodice by 1 inch.

On to the next dress!

Textile Studio Madison Avenue Dress

I have had this pattern a long time, I loved the simplicity when I first bought it and I love it still. As you can see I shortened mine quite a bit, I wanted to be able to wear it with flats in the summer and boots in the fall, and I thought this length would give me more flexibility. I still see making this in a stretch velvet in the longest length, very elegant.

I had never worked with patterns from this company so I needed to find out about the fit, but I figure in this easy to work knit from Emma One Sock and because it was a simple design I couldn't go too wrong. I like the fit. One thing I would do different is a forward shoulder adjustment, this is the first time in a pattern where the shoulder line is so off.


Something else that showed up when I took a picture of the back is the wrinkles at the waistline. I don't have swayback, so I know that's not the problem. Any ideas? Could it be that having the shoulder seam off is causing problems in the bodice?



Other than adding to the waist length I made no other alterations. I did notice that the fit is snug at the waist/hip area; I went up a size from their recommended size, to give myself some insurance and still had to make 1/4" seams in that area.

As far as construction I added 1/4" elastic in the shoulder seam allowance, I usually use clear elastic but I'm out so I used what I had in hand.

I also stitched down the neckline facings, they were flopping around driving me crazy. The directions have you stitching in the ditch to tack them down but it wasn't enough. I always remember Connie Long telling us in her knits class at G Street Fabrics that there is no reason not to stitch down the facings.


I have some fabric leftover which I'm going to use make a simple top so stay tuned!

BurdaWOF 2-2009 124 A

I made view A which is supposed to be unlined, view B has underlining because is made with lace. My dress has an underlined bodice and a lining from the empire waist down. The fabric, an embroidered cotton from Metro Textiles needed I believed extra body to carry this semi-fitted look and a lining just makes the garment hang better and more comfortable to wear. The underlining/lining fabric is cotton batiste;the fashion fabric was washed as well as the batiste but the finished dress will go to the cleaners to preserve the shaping in the dress.

The back has a pretty v neck.


The facings are interfaced and tacked down by hand to the underlining.

The hem is interfaced up the finished hem line for a crisp look; I attached rayon seam binding to the raw edge and sewed it by hand.

The shoulder seams and the armhole edges are bound with packaged bias binding, I would like them not as wide better but I was in a hurry to finish and didn't want to redo them. I sewed by hand the armhole allowances to the underlining.

The fit in the bodice felt a bit loose to me, even though I made my usual size. I might have done more fitting but I really wanted to wear this dress to an event this past weekend. All in all I like this dress, is simple but elegant and it will look a lot more casual made up in a print.

I'm still deciding what my next project will be. I'm thinking linen even though the summer is ending...

Vogue 8379 Wrap Knit Dress

I am so glad I finally made this pattern! I know this design has been made over and over by the sewing community and no wonder, the best part is the no gap neckline! The last knit wrap dress I made (a Butterick design) was very disappointing; I won't blame it on the pattern, maybe I did something wrong when I made my regular modifications.



The fabric I had been saving for the right pattern. It was the first fabric that Ann from Gorgeous Fabrics sold. This black and white poly/lycra knit came with a border that I used for the collar, cuffs and also for the front facings.



I had 3 yards and I used every scrap;after cutting all my pieces I realized I had forgotten the front facings and all I had left was a piece of the border...I did a faced facing following the instructions in Easy Guide to Sewing Blouses. Basically you sew the fusible to the unfinished edge of the facing (right sides together), turn the fusible to the wrong side and fuse and you get a very neat finish on your facing.





I recently treated myself to my own labels and this is the first garment to get one

I wanted to show how my bodice pattern looks after lengthening. I cut just above the waist (Vogue gives you a lengthening/shortening line) and moved the pieces along the grain line, this gives you a misalignment at the side seam which you need to fill in. The I add the same amount at the same place in the facing and the back. I know that this alteration always scared me when I first started to sew, especially on pieces that have darts or pleats (like in this pattern).



This is not a difficult pattern to sew but it does have a lot of pieces if you choose to do view B. I finished it last night and because is still pretty cold in the Baltimore area I wore it to work today with a cardigan and boots.

Simplicity 4500 Pattern Review Jacket

This was not a complicated jacket. It has princess seams for great shaping and an (what I thought) interesting collar. I did not take a picture of the jacket all buttoned up because my teenage photographer was growing inpatient, but this is a jacket with very little ease, to wear with only thin knits and no sleeve woven tops.

I used the excellent tailoring techniques explained by Paco using fusibles. I am happy with the way the collar turned out and with the body of the jacket which is completely fused. The fabric raveled easily and needed some weight added. I did not add shoulder pads; as it is the sleeves are a bit shorter than what I like and adding a shoulder pad shortened them more. I did add sleeve heads which give the caps a nice shape.


I was inspired by Tany's beautiful creations and sewed the pleat in the lining with an embroidery stitch from my machine. Thanks Tany for the inspiration!



I actually made the skirt from this pattern about a year ago. I will probably wear them together when I interpret during parent/teacher conferences at the schools. Most of the time they will be worn separately for a more casual look.

Pattern Review Simplicity 4076

I believe at least one of these views has been made by everyone in the sewing community. I chose the scoop neck top with cap sleeves because I needed a pattern that took one yard to make and I really liked this design (I actually bought this pattern for this view). This was a stable poly knit from my stash that came from EmmaOneSock a long time ago. I like the way it turned out and I will make it again with another one yard cut that I have.