The Sciencey Dress: Simplicity 2444

It's almost time for Mehetabel to head back to the classroom, and that means finally putting the finishing touches on another novelty-print dress.  

I found this fabric last spring at Mill End Fabrics in Portland, Oregon, and I knew Mehetabel would love it as she was co-teaching freshman science at the time (as well as teaching her special education caseload).  

Well, I almost had it finished in time for the end of school, but then the zipper broke!  Drat.  It took me all summer to get around to replacing it.  Now that I have, Mehetabel is excited to wear it to class, even though she isn't teaching science this trimester--she's sticking with special education and co-teaching sophomore English.

The fabric is called "Chromatics by Melissa McCulloch Designs for In the Beginning Fabrics 2015."  It is a quilting cotton, so to give it more body, I underlined it with batiste.  Of course I did.  I almost always underline fabric it seems!

The pattern is Simplicity 2444, one of Mehetabel's favorites, and I've made it for her a number of times--and I'll probably make it more times too!  As I have with all but my first version of this pattern, I used facing pieces I drafted rather than the bias strip finish used in the instructions.  The facing pieces (1 back, 1 front neckline/armscye) were interfaced, the edges were finished on the serger, and about 1/8" was trimmed from the neck and armscyes prior to sewing; this helps keep the facings from rolling to the right side of the the dress.  The facings were then hand-sewn to the underlining.

I used a white invisible zipper.  Twice.  The first one was kaput.  I don't mind installing zippers, but I draw the line at sewing them in more than once after the dress is completed!  The hem was hand-sewn.

Mehetabel told me the dress is perfect.  Yay!  It also goes well with her hot pink accessories--

 --as well as her new hot pink pencils all ready for the classroom in her "I've got to be moi" mug! 

 TTFN!

Simplicity/New Look Mash-Up: The Dream Vacation Dress

I've been absent from the blog for a bit--but I have a pretty good excuse.  My daughter, *Mehetabel, and her fiancé, *Aloysius, got married earlier this summer!  It was a fabulous evening (if I do say so myself).  The bride wore her favorite color:  pink!  I had the pleasure of making the dresses for the attendants and the officiant.   And, in addition to loads of family and friends, there was a porcupine in attendance! 

 

After the happy couple returned from several weeks in Kauai, Mehetabel and I took a shopping trip to Portland, Oregon.  One of our stops was at my new favorite store:  Mill End.  While we were there, Mehetabel spied this darling fabric and asked if I'd make her a dress.  The answer?  Yes!

 

 

The fabric is from Robert Kaufman, and it is called "Dream Vacation."  From a quick look online, it appears to be sold at many fabric stores.  It is cotton and is 44 inches wide. 

M likes Simplicity 2444 (who doesn't?)--particularly the bodice which I used for this dress.  But, since 2444's skirt is a fabric hog, I used the skirt from New Look 6910 (now OOP) because I knew I wouldn't have enough fabric for the skirt otherwise.  New Look 6910's skirt has pleats, but I simply gathered the skirt. 

 

To make this quilting cotton a bit heftier, I underlined the dress in batiste; it is still a light dress, but it is now thoroughly opaque and has a bit more body.

Simplicity 2444 calls for binding at the armscyes and a narrow facing at the neckline.  I am not crazy about binding and prefer fairly substantial facings instead (unless the dress is lined).  For my many iterations of this bodice, I've made one-piece neck/armscye facings for the front and back, interfaced them with lightweight fusible interfacing, and finished the edges on the serger.  Since the dress is underlined, it is easy to hand stitch the facings to the underlining.  

A bit cock-eyed on the dress form

There's another thing I do when sewing facings--and I am by no means the only one who does this, I know!  My facing pattern pieces are trimmed 3/16" at the armscye and neckline to help to keep the facings from rolling to the outside.

I used a black invisible zipper for the closure, and I finished all seams with bright yellow thread in the serger. 

Mehetabel (and I) have been to many of the locales shown on this dress, but I wanted to highlight two and place them center front on the bodice:  San Francisco (her birthplace) and Paris (a favorite city).

I used bright yellow bias tape and stitched the hem by hand.  On a side note, I told M that this was a double feature dress in that I watched Under the Tuscan Sun and The Fugitive while making it.  I like to listen to music or have streaming video playing in the background when I sew--and, I only play shows I've seen before because otherwise I get too distracted!

 

So tell me, what's new with you?  Do you like to watch TV/movies while sewing?

 

 

*Not their real names!

 

When is a Pencil Skirt not a Pencil Skirt?

The answer?  When it's a pencil dress!

 



 

The last time I was in Berkeley, I spent a fair amount of time at one of my favorite fabric stores: Stonemountain and Daughter.  One of the things I'd been searching for was a lemon-print fabric with a white background to create a Kate Spade-inspired dress which I'd pinned.  Well, no luck with the lemons, but as I was perusing the cotton novelty prints, I spied this pencil fabric.  I thought it would make an adorable fit and flare dress.  I also figured that my daughter, the previously mentioned not-her-real-name Mehetabel, would enjoy such a dress, being a high school teacher and all.  I could picture her wearing it with a black patent belt and shoes, and a black cardigan. 

 

When I checked in with Mehetabel, she saw the fabric, expressed delight, and asked if by any chance I'd consider making a dress for her!  So, with all systems go, I headed home to work on the dress.

 

 

For the pattern, I used Simplicity 2444.  I've made this dress (or used the bodice) about seven times I think.  Fitting issues were worked out long ago, so I was able to get right to the fun part. 

 

To give the fabric some heft as well as to stave off wrinkles and provide opacity, I underlined each piece with poly/cotton broadcloth.  In hindsight, I wish I had used batiste, but the broadcloth was what I had on hand.  After pre-treating the fabric, I didn't have enough to cut out the dress on the straight-of-grain.  We are a tall people; considerable length had been added to the bodice and skirt pattern pieces.  So, I cut the pieces on the cross-grain which allowed me to cut the skirt front on the center fold instead of in two pieces.  The underlining was cut on the straight-of-grain, and the combo of that with the cross-grain fashion fabric made it quite sturdy. 

 

This pattern, very popular in the blogosphere, sews up quickly and easily.  As I have done in the past, I made a one-piece facing (armscye and neckline) for the front and one for the back which were sewn in place and then hand-stitched to the underlining.  For the hem, I used white bias tape to finish it and hand-sewed it to the underlining.  For the closure, I used an invisible zipper.

 

Mehetabel tried on the dress the day before yesterday and loved it!  She wore it to work the next day.  The photo, below, is in her classroom.  She received many compliments and some pencil-pun comments as well (you look sharp; you're making a fine point..., etc.).

To confess, this is not the first time Mehetabel and I have collaborated on a themed dress.  At her last school (in another state), the mascot was a pirate, in honor of Sir Francis Drake.  We found pirate ship fabric on www.fabric.com, and a dress was born (New Look 6910).  Here she is:

 

 

Finally, I've found yet another themed fabric that I think will make a great dress.  This trimester, Mehetabel, a special education teacher, is also co-teaching freshman science.  I found this fabric at Mill End in the Portland, Oregon area.  I'd better get cracking on this dress because school ends soon!