I'm not sure where the week went, half term always seems to fly by..... so glad I picked a quick two day project, I ended up with only this weekend to sew.
This is a dress that makes me crave summer, I am so fed up with looking at snow outside, I really wish winter was over. Of course standing in the snow in a summer dress and sandals does not help but it was really sunny today, so I felt vaguely sane! The wind kept distorting the neckline but its quite a deep V when it hangs correctly.
It was hard to get any kind of detail to show in these pictures, the print is just to busy but here is the original line drawing from the Vogue envelope.
This is one of those patterns that is marked as easy but I don't know that it should be. The instructions were not really clear. There was no mention of facing finishes and linings, there were a lot of seams to line up which involved some planning ahead and the collar was tricky.
The sizing was way off...I remember when I started sewing that I followed the charts faithfully, having no idea of ease built in etc. This almost made me quit, producing badly fitting clothes over and over again having no idea how to adjust them correctly. Can I recommend a Marfy right about here?!!!
According to the envelope I should be a 14 for bust and waist and a 16 for hips. I cut a 8 after checking measurements and ease.... yep an 8. The finished bust sizing on a 14 would have given me a 46 1/2 chest.....how could almost 11" of excess fabric ever be flattering even in a loose drapy dress?
I used a silk I bought in 2010 from the Silk House in NY. Its quite lightweight and very fluid. I love patterned silk, even in Mood I come straight off the elevator and my first turn is to the left, its a bad habit...I don't look at any other fabrics anymore.
I made a couple of adjustments to this dress. The instructions recommended gathering the back yoke to the main back piece but I kept seeing a image of lots of excess fabric all bunching at the waist belt looking messy, I wanted it to look more controlled so I altered the back/yoke and also the top yoke/collar into a inverted pleat that I lined up so they fall in a perfect line.
I was so happy with the way this turned out, although interestingly it looks like it needs another press in this picture..(I'll add another picture tomorrow after pressing!) . I wonder now seeing this picture if I could have tried to match the pattern but looking at the yardage left tonight am not sure if that would have been possible without a lot of fabric waste as the pattern is on a long repeat. I think the photos make it look more obvious than it is in reality.
I had a small problem with the sleeves, my bias pieces of self fabric were just to thin , so I used a short length of elastic which gathered them beautifully with no puckers. The elastic falls in to the sleeve head away from the shoulder and so does not effect the drape at all.
I lined the entire dress with a paper thin silk habotai. The drape and facing are self lined and the pattern came through quite clearly without a additional layer. I also doubled the length of the belt, there is not a whole lot holding this together as of right now!
Overall I do like this dress, and imagine I will get plenty of use from it but don't know that I would make it again. Its got a lovely flow and I think it would suit a huge range of figures if the ease is kept to a minimum but I get the feeling this will all feel like to much fabric around the neck and bust when it heats up.
Audio book for the week was the Bone Bed by Patricia Cornwell. It was a easy listen and had a good ending....I do like the Kay Scarpetta series and this one seems more like her earlier reads.
Music was all Californication albums, compilations from all five series. Weird and wonderful stuff on them.
I just started Gillian Flynn's Sharp objects. After being so thrown off by Gone Girl which was deeply disturbing and yet quite brilliant I thought I would go back and read some earlier stuff. Shes got a whole Stephen King vibe going in this one!
NEW PROJECT - Marfy 2748
I'm really excited about this, last year someone was making the dress in Susan Khaljes class with a light blue floral Valentino silk and although I never saw it finished it looked lovely. My only regret was not watching more closely but it seems fairly straight forward....famous last words! Looking at the pattern picture , there are four front pieces plus the drape panel and possibly two back along with a cap sleeve although they could be included in the main pieces...hmmm
I have the perfect silk for this and am hoping it will work, a navy blue Pucci with a huge flower print on both sides of individual panels....I really hope I can pull this off!
Have a great week! Back on Monday with a update :0
Leisa