Summer Sheath, #1: Butterick 5768

I've been searching for the perfect summer dress pattern.  Something for my daughter, the not-her-real-name Mehetabel, who'd requested some cool and casual dresses for our hot, arid summer. After some discussion and a little trial and error, we settled on a sleeveless sheath with minimal shaping.  For the first try, I purchased Butterick 5768, one of their See & Sew patterns.

In years past, I'd sewn a number of McCall's 2401s for Mehetabel.  It's a great pattern which is now out-of-print.  I'd made a number of changes to that pattern to fit Mehetabel's slender, athletic, 6-foot frame, but unfortunately, I haven't found the altered pattern since my recent out-of-state move.  I'm sure I didn't throw it away, but it isn't in my sewing boxes.  Boo, hiss!  So, it was time to start over. This time, I knew Mehetabel wanted a looser and more casual fit, so I picked up a couple possibilities during one of Joann's pattern sales.  

Why, yes, it is easy!

The fabric is a poly/cotton broadcloth from Joann, purchased a couple years ago at great discount: perfect for (hopefully!) wearable muslins.  The underlining is white batiste from the late Hancock Fabrics.

This is another simple pattern, but as I often do, I managed to make it a bit more complicated.  The pattern calls for a lining, but I decided to underline this first version instead.

Most of the pattern's shaping comes from bust darts in the front and French darts in the back.  I could always add French darts to the front for a more fitted look.

To finish the neckline and armscyes, I traced one-piece facings from the front and back pattern pieces.  I interfaced the facings with a lightweight fusible from Fashion Sewing Supply, and finished the raw edges with the serger.

Instead of a standard zipper, I used an invisible one.

All seam allowances were finished on the serger, and I hand-stitched the facings and hem to the underlining.

So, what does Mehetabel think?  She likes it and will wear it, but would prefer a bit more room in the skirt and a little more shaping to the front mid-section.  I have a few more patterns to try!  

Vogue 9311: Another Summer Dress

There's a decided 70s flair to some of the current pattern offerings.  The last dress I made, Vogue 9312, is one such pattern.  This one, Vogue 9311, also fits the bill.  Maybe that's why I was so determined to make both dresses.  I came of age in the 70s (the late 70s!), and perhaps I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.

The changes I made to the pattern included adding a little more length to both the flounce and the skirt.  I also chose to line the bodice which gave it a nice, clean finish.  It also helped insure the bodice pieces were opaque.  But with such a busy print, that wasn't too much of a concern.

This is another easy-to-make pattern.  The hardest part?  Pinning the flounce on the skirt!  And that wasn't hard, it was just tedious.

The ties are long enough to tie in the back or wrap around to the front which is how Mehetabel chose to wear it for these photos.

The bodice is lined with white batiste.  I wanted to keep the dress as cool as possible.  As I usually do, I trimmed about 1/8 inch off the neck and armscyes to help keep the lining from showing.

The fabric is a very lightweight cotton sateen from Mill End Fabrics in Reno, Nevada.  It has sort of a batik-y look to it, and I thought that would work well with this style of dress.  When I pre-washed it, the black dye bled like crazy, so I suggested to Mehetabel that she use a color catcher sheet when laundering the dress.  The fabric came out of the dryer without any wrinkles, so huzzah for easy-care fabrics!

Mehetabel wanted some hot weather dresses, and this one does the job nicely!

She likes it!

Vogue 9312: Pretty Pink Summer Dress

When I saw Vogue 9312 in the pattern book, I had to have it!  It reminds me of a John Kloss design.  Kloss was one of my favorite designers when I was in college; I loved his style.  Well, Vogue 9312 would expose a bit more of me than I'd care to, but I figured it would be perfect for my daughter, Mehetabel.  She'd mentioned that she could use some hot weather dresses.  Coming right up!

This pattern went together quickly and easily.  The instructions call for lining just the front bodice piece and turning under the seam allowances on the back bodice.  I chose to line both bodice pieces instead and I'm pleased with the result.  I used stay tape on the shoulders and omitted the topstitching.  

All seam allowances were serged except for those covered by the lining.  The hem was done on my coverstitch machine.  I considered omitting the elastic (in a channel under the bodice), but I decided the dress probably needed a little extra support.

Twirly!

The fabric was purchased online from FabricMart at least a year ago.  It is one of their "Hawaiian Designer" ITY knits, so I suspect it is from Tori Richard.  It's a lovely fabric and has great drape.  I knew Mehetabel would like it too; we both love pink! 

Mehetabel was a high school teacher for years and there's no way she'd have worn this in the classroom!  But now she's a full time PhD student--and she still wouldn't wear this in the classroom!!  However, it is a perfect dress for sipping cocktails on the deck, going out for Sunday brunch, or myriad other activities.  It'll also be a great travel dress; just roll it up and throw it in a suitcase.

Tummy rub!

She likes it!

Playing Catch Up, Part I...

...Or:  

What I Made for Christmas

I don't know why I haven't blogged!  Lack of photos?  Lack of time?  Lack of--who knows?!  Well, whatever the reason, I'm back now.  I've sewn a lot since my last blog post, and I'm going to try to document as many of these projects as I can remember.  But not all in one post!  For this post, I'll just focus on what I made for Christmas presents.

I made a top for Mehetabel's mother-in-law.  Let's call her Carmelita (the MIL, not the top).  The top is made from a sweater knit purchased from Cali Fabrics.  For the pattern, I started with New Look 6412.  I straightened the curve from the bust to the waist, lengthened the sleeves, shortened the length of the top, and curved the hem slightly.  For the collar and neckline, I used the cowl neck pattern piece from the Sewaholic Renfrew.  The shoulders were reinforced with twill tape.  All seams were sewn on my regular machine and finished with the serger.  The hems were done on my Babylock Cover Stitch machine.  I love how this top turned out, and I think Carmelita likes it too! 

Speaking of the Renfrew cowl neck, I also melded that collar piece onto McCall's 6886.  I trimmed quite a bit off the hem to make it into a top and curved the hem (I think it's a more flattering line). The top is made from a double knit from Fabric Mart.

For Christmas, I knew Mehetabel would like some relaxed tunic tops to wear with leggings.  For these, I used New Look 6412, straightened the curve between the bust and hips, lengthened the sleeves, lengthened the top (she's 6' in height; we are a tall people), made a slight high/low hem, and curved the hemline.  These were sewn on my regular machine, the seams were finished with the serger, and the hems were done on the cover stitch, and the shoulders were reinforced with twill tape.

The wearable muslin was made from this red and white jersey print.  I think I bought the fabric from fabric.com.

The photo above shows Mehetabel trying on another one of the tunic tops.  This one is a sweater knit from deep stash--I bought it on sale years ago from Joann Fabrics.  It's a paisley print, in shades of green with touches of black and turquoise.  

The final tunic was made from a cream and ivory boucle sweater knit from Cali Fabrics.  I thought this piece would be quite versatile.  I made some coordinating Jalie Eleonores (shown below), although I think she'll wear it primarily with leggings.  I also made a pair of red Eleonores.  The fabric for both pairs was purchased from Michael Levine.  

In the past few months, I've sewn quite a few pairs of Jalie Eleonore jeans for Mehetabel.  So far, I've made the previously blogged about violet and white pairs, as well as red, navy, burgundy, cream, and sapphire.  I also made two duds:  hot pink and black.  These failures were due to not enough stretch in the fabric.

To round out my Christmas sewing, I made some doll dresses for some girls in my neighborhood.  They are really into American Girl dolls, so I thought it would be nice (and fun!) to sew a few things for them.  I made the pattern for these dresses 20ish years ago when I made clothes for Mehetabel's American Girl dolls.

But I wasn't the only family member toiling in the bespokeability factory.  Mehetabel made six pillows for her mother-in-law (Carmelita!) for Christmas.

Mehetabel's top is New Look 6150

And I have to mention the fabulous present Mehetabel gave me:  enrollment in the Susan Khalje  Classic French Jacket video course.  Wheeeeeeee!

I plan to blog about other completed projects soon(ish), although I'm not sure you should believe me! 😉

Happy sewing!

White Jalie Éléonores for Independence Day & Violet Ones Just Because

I'm going to add more width to the calf on the next pair to alleviate the wrinkles at the knees

Recently, Mehetabel and I were perusing the offerings at Old Navy.  She snapped up this navy and white gingham top--I don't remember how much she paid, but it was on sale, and the cost was pretty low.  She knew she had a block party to go to on the 4th and thought she could pair this top with a red camisole--and I offered to make her some white Jalie Éléonores to complete the outfit.

This is the fourth pair of Éléonores I've made.  The first pair was in violet cotton/lycra stretch twill (Violet, you're turning violet, Violet), and it is the same fabric as the white ones.  The fabric was purchased online from Vogue Fabrics; unfortunately, these fabrics no longer seem to be in stock.  I've also made Éléonores in hot pink stretch denim and black stretch gabardine--perhaps I'll blog about those at some point.

The photos of the white pants were taken late afternoon.  The light wasn't great!

This fabric does have the required 20% stretch, but its recovery is just so-so, and it wrinkles quickly.  It also unraveled quite a bit during construction which prompted me to finish all seams with the serger (in fuchsia for the violet pants, because, why not, and in white for the white pants), even those I topstitched with the coverstitch.  This created overkill in a couple of instances (inside leg seam, back yoke) but it should stop the shredding and shedding.

The photos of the violet pants were taken on a cold day in March.  Again, the light wasn't great.

The coverstitch made the topstitching process quick and easy for the most part.  

I used size V and added two inches to the leg length which left room for a scant 5/8 inch hem.  Sewing was a breeze, and all the pieces fit together perfectly.  

This is a better representation of the (violet) color and fabric

In addition to the added leg length, I shortened both pieces of waistband elastic by 1-1/2 inches each, and I'm glad I did!  Like me, Mehetabel has at least ten inches difference between her waist and hip measurements. 

The only other change I made was to eliminate the front faux pockets.  I figured Mehetabel's top would cover them anyway; if she wants them on future pairs, I'll be happy to add them. 

The directions were clear, and Jalie even has a video showing the construction from start to finish.

Mehetabel likes both pieces, which is great, because I have several pieces of stretch denim that should work well with this pattern.

Happy Independence Day to those of you from the U.S.  Happy 4th of July to everyone else :). 

McCall's 6891: Pink Blossoms Shirtdress

Like many of you, I joined the McCall's Shirtdress Sew-Along.  It's been a great experience--lots of handy tips, lots of beautiful dresses, and lots of nice people!  For the sew-along, I chose to make McCall's 6891--a Palmer and Pletsch offering that's based on a Dior design from the 50s.

I made this dress for my daughter, Mehetabel.  It's view A in a size 12.  This is a typical Palmer and Pletsch pattern with multiple lines for all sorts of pattern adjustments.  After making a muslin, I left the shoulders alone, lengthened and added a little more width to the rest of the bodice, and added 5 inches to the length of the skirt.  I omitted the pockets.  I have one tiny complaint about this pattern--there is a lengthen line on the bodice but not on the front facing.  It's not a big deal; I just drew my own line and lengthened it.  What gets me is that they make such a fuss over putting a zillion adjustment lines on the pattern pieces, it seems odd that they'd omit a pretty basic/obvious one. Maybe they just don't understand tall people!  (When my daughter was a teenager, it used to infuriate her that there were stores just for petites, but none specifically for tall females.  I know, I know; these aren't serious problems!)

I love the graceful flare of this skirt!  It's also a fabric hog--particularly because I needed to add so many inches to the length of the skirt to cover M's knees (as per her request). This dress took five yards of fabric. The poly/cotton fabric was purchased last summer at Joann's with a 60% off coupon.  Of course, I had just gone into the store to buy some notions, not fabric!  You probably know how that goes.

There was drama during the construction of this dress, although it wasn't the pattern's fault!  Mr. Arbuthnot tore out part of the hem, the little rascal.  I'd waited to work on the hem until he was preoccupied with a bully stick (or so I thought).  But like a good supervisor (dictator, tyrant, despot), he keeps a constant watch over his subjects.  For such a little chunk, he moved quite swiftly, grabbed the dress from my hands, and ripped out the hem.  And he wouldn't let go of the dress!  He thought it was so much fun--the best day ever!  Aargh. I finally rescued the dress, and while the hem was torn out, he hadn't punctured the fabric.  It was very gooey, though.  Thank you so much, Mr. Arbuthnot.  You'll be glad to know that the dress has been washed and re-hemmed.  

Speaking of hems, I used bias tape to eke out a 5/8" finish to the skirt.  I hand-stitched the hem as well as all the facings.

When I was prepping the pattern, I cut out the skirt pieces first and let them hang for about a week; that way, by the time I was ready to attach them to the bodice, the bias had already stretched and I was able to trim the skirt and hem it without any additional hanging time.  

Even if you didn't join the sew-along, you might want to check out the various posts on the McCall's blog. There's lots of helpful information on a variety of shirtdress-related topics.  Very handy!  There was also a corresponding private Facebook page where participants asked questions and shared photos of their dresses.

I'm thrilled that Mehetabel loves the dress!  So much so that she says she's wearing it to work tomorrow! 

Necessary Separates: McCall's 3830 & New Look 6150

A white shell and a black straight skirt:  could anything be more basic or more needed in one's wardrobe?  Just think of the outfits that can be created from these two building blocks.

Mehetabel spied a divine white double knit at Mill End in Portland and snapped up a couple yards. She asked if I'd make her some white shells; hers had started to get a little worse for wear and tear. She loves her New Look 6150 tops and asked if I could make them sleeveless as they work better under cardigans.  I can't remember how many New Look 6150s I've made by now.  12?  15?  Well, whatever the number, more are being added.  I blogged about one of her other 6150s here.

I made a wearable test version out of some leftover ivory double knit that I had used to make this dress. The fit was great.  Mehetabel's only request was that I add 1/2 inch to an inch to the length. No problem!

The first shell using this white double knit has bands at the neck and arms, and it was hemmed on the coverstitch. For this version, I wanted a cleaner look, so I lined it with a beige knit from Joann. Lining this 6150 makes it different from all the others I've made.  The hem was hand-stitched.  I think there's enough fabric left to make one more shell.  Coming up!

This is an easy and straight-forward pattern that creates a classic garment. I love the look and feel of the lined top. It gives the finished shell more heft, it hangs nicely, and I love the polished look. Mehetabel told me it will get lots of wear.

The skirt is McCall's 3830 sewn in a stretch RPL suiting.  I cannot remember where I purchased it, but it was  probably online from Fabric Mart.   I added a waistband to the skirt as well as additional darts in the front and back.  I used an invisible zipper and the hem was hand-sewn.  This is another classic, no-nonsense pattern.

Mehetabel has several black skirts, but not one this length.  It, too, will see plenty of wear.