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!

A gift from my mom

I'm sure I have mentioned before that my mom is fantastic with a crochet hook. I like to crochet but she loves it and not with the thicker yarns but the ones you could consider thread weight. I am lucky to have two bedspreads, tablecloth trim (yet to be attached to said tablecloth), curtains hanging in my house and quite a few garments in lace crochet.

Although I'm not a lace girl (my wedding dress was completely devoid of any lace and so was my prom dress), I love lace crochet. So since mom loves to make it and I love to wear it, she made me the cardigan you see above (sorry for the headless picture, my photographer was not in the mood, and believe me you did not want to see my face).

I have commissioned a couple of other pieces that will make their appearance on my blog in the future :-)

Fad classic vest

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful comments you left about my coat. I am very happy with the outcome!

This design by Wendy Bernard has been very popular and with good reason. The pattern stitch is easy to memorize and it is very pretty. I originally wanted to make it in cotton but I had this beautiful Brooks Farm Solana worsted weight yarn that I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last year, and I thought it would make a nice fall/winter vest. Besides, the festival is coming up again soon (May) and it makes sense to use at least one of my purchases.

Because the variation of colors in the yarn you can really see that the vest is done knitting back and forth up to the neckline and then all stitches from front and back are joined in the round. It is more obvious in the back.



I need to remind myself to stand up straight, oh well...

Burda WOF 9/2005 102 Coat

Can I tell you how excited I am that the coat is finished? Let me count the ways...Seriously, I'm thrilled with this coat! The fabric is the most luxurious I have ever experience, no itchy wool here. The fabric is a (I believe) wool/cashmere/camel blend, which I bought at PA fabrics back when there was an outlet a couple of miles from my house;they had this wonderful sales where if you bought over a $100 worth of fabric you payed for half, yeap those were the days.



My very last struggles had to do with the hem and back vent. After I had bagged the lining and got it all through the sleeve, I tried it on and the hem was doing all sort of weird things. I had to rip the hem stitches to see what was going on in the construction. It turns out after I attached the wigwam according to the instructions in a Threads magazine, I neglected to actually sew a hem, duh!! Once I corrected that I sewed the hem by hand this time and all was well. The way my lining is going around the top of the vent does not satisfy me, but at this point I will let it be until the coat comes out next season to be worn. Even after reading tutorials I'm having a hard time visualizing how the lining should be attached to the vent, so I need to put it aside.

I'm also thrilled with the silk lining which came from G street Fabrics. It reminds me of the old fashion linings I used to see in my grandfather's and my father's jackets; all their clothes were made by tailors, those were the days.



What I learned during this project:

1. Bound buttonholes

2. Welt pockets with flap

3. Padstitching undercollar and lapels

4. Tailoring techniques in general, as I have discussed in previous posts, including using hair canvas.

5. Applying wigan to hems

6. During collar construction, adjusting for turn of the cloth.



As far as changing the pattern, besides adding all the tailoring, I cut the under collar as a two piece cut on the bias. Of course I had a lot of help from the Great Coat Sew Along as my muslin was analyzed by Marji.


Anyways I know you have heard plenty about this coat so I'm sure you are glad to see it finished too! I will have a brand new coat to wear next season.

Green!

Yesterday I got to spend the day in Washington DC with my family. We went to the Botanical Gardens, the Native American Museum and a brief visit to the National Gallery. I love going to the museums in the winter! We got there around 10:00 am and parked across from the gardens, no crowds at the gardens and lunch at the Native American Museum was delicious and with plenty of room to sit and relax.


Primeval

The best part of the trip, I was surrounded by the color green for a few hours! I really needed that dose of tropical weather. As a bonus they had at the gardens a special orchid exhibit, so not only did I see green but a variety of bright beautiful colors too!





Teenager at rest


Ignore my goofy look and notice that I am now the short one (at 5'6") in the family, DS1 on the left is 15, DS2 on the right 12.


The obligatory shot at arm's length


I'm holding off on showing you the coat, I'm so close to finishing!