Saturday 26 October 2013

Heatwave Dress

Another summery dress - heatwave, anyone?


My latest dress (yes, there do seem to be a lot of dresses in this neck of the woods) is a Vogue designer pattern - but for a change from those Donna Karan patterns I usually favour, this one's by Kay Unger.



Aren't these photos terrific? Proper silk purse from a sow's ear stuff! Sooooo guess who found a new photography buddy? Yup, me! These photos were taken by my colleague Helga, who's been studying photography in the evenings and evidently knows a lot about taking decent photos. Ten minutes, a few giggles from passers-by (how embarrassing, but these photos were taken outside a Sydney CBD building, so fair game), all done!

Want some close ups? You got 'em, front and back!




This dress isn't perfect (you only have to look at the close up of the dress back to confirm that) but there's so much about it that I like:
  • the neckline, the shoulder shape and coverage
  • the godet
  • the princess seams
  • the shape: fitted at the top, flared at the bottom :)
  • the bright colours in the fabric
  • the opportunity for a bit of pattern matching in the cutting out stage
  • stretchy cotton, yum
  • the lack of lining

Onto the sewing details:

The pattern:
Vogue 1360, a Kay Unger design.


I think the shape of my dress is more exaggerated than the dress on the pattern envelope, but more on that below. 

The pattern is rated Easy - and it is quite a straightforward pattern for a designer Vogue pattern. The most complex steps relate to sewing in the front godet neatly and keeping the waist seam details aligned horizontally.

The fabric:
A stretch cotton sateen from Lincraft. The pattern is recommended for moderate stretch fabrics. I bought this fabric because I was putting off sewing something more challenging with a more expensive fabric - oops, add that to the list of crazy justifications for fabric shopping! You only need about 1.5 metres of 150cm wide fabric for this dress unless you have a pattern to match up (I used 2 metres with some pattern matching, but I also made facings and lengthened the dress). Oh, and obvious diagonals are not recommended.

The cost:
My fabric cost $27.58, the pattern was about $6 or $7 including postage (on sale through the Vogue patterns website), and the zip was 50c at an op shop. So all up the dress cost me about $35.

The modifications:
Just a few :). I lengthened the dress by about 5 centimetres (and yet it's still shorter than I'd usually wear a work dress), and instead of a full lining I made facings that mimic the external structure ie seamed at centre front, centre back, and along the princess seam lines. This may not have been a smart move. You can definitely see the shape of the facings through the fabric on the back of the dress. Perhaps this problem would disappear if the upper back was as fitted as the upper front, but without any ease the dress might not be very comfortable.


I also played around with the sizes I used, based on some of your comments about taking flat measurements of the pattern tissue OR using the finished garment measurements listed on the pattern tissue to determine size. Taking the finished garment measurements as gospel, I took my measurements and cut out accordingly... size 10 across shoulders and high bust, and then size 12 at the full bust. At waist level I chickened out and sewed a size 14 grading to a size 16 on the hips and down, thinking I'd take it in later if necessary. When I tried this on, the fit seemed good if tighter than I'm used to at the bust (please let me know ~gently~ if this is a bad fit!) but there was a lot of ease at the waist and hips which I reduced slightly by re-sewing side seams with a 2cm seam allowance. There was a significant amount of gaposis in the front neckline, so I added a dart in the centre front seam to correct this.

I thought I'd nailed the fit above the waist, but the photos tell me otherwise - the back looks looser than the front, and there's some gaposis in the back neckline; there's also a bit of excess fabric just under the front bodice princess seams near the armholes (is there a technical term for this area?). The neckline gaposis may have come about through over-handling the fabric when I was sewing the facings entirely by machine. Overall I like the pear-y silhouette that's come from this combination of several sizes, but were I to make the dress again I think I'd stick to a single above-waist size and a single below-waist size.

------

What I've realised from trying to fit this dress is that a single measurement around the body won't necessarily cut the mustard - you really need to know whether your back is relatively broader or narrower than your front, and I guess similarly you need to know whether one side is bigger / higher than the other. Isn't it tricky to think of yourself as an abstract 3D solid (bags be the Klein bottle!)

So, clever readers, any pearls of fitting wisdom to share? When you measure yourself, do you take a single measurement all the way around, or do you break your measurements at the side seams? And finally, do your photos ever surprise you when it comes to fit?


See you soon

- Gabrielle x


20 comments:

  1. I don't see the problem really. Either your photographer is a master at camouflaging issues or perhaps, and I know I am guilty of this, you are overthinking it! I love the dress. I have some nice florals I am going to make into summer dresses but unlike Sydney our temperatures are yet to soar into the thirties.

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    1. Thanks Andrea, I think you're right :( and I'm overthinking things as usual!! Such a silly habit but very hard to break free, isn't it!

      Florals seem perfect for summer dresses, don't they! I'll look forward to seeing what you make :)

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  2. I have no fitting wisdom to share, but I think the shape and style really suit you and I love the fabric you used. Great shoes too :)

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    1. Thanks Robyn! I think this shape probably suits slightly pear-y women :).The fabric was a bit of a lucky score at Lincraft - usually I can't find a thing I like there, but now that they're the only normal fabric shop in the CBD I've been going there a bit more often and getting better at seeing past the ugly.

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  3. Heat Wave!! I wish we were having a heat wave, it is freezing here today. I love the interesting princess seams on this dress. It looks very flattering and a nice fashion design as well. I've never seen this pattern before, but am going to have a look for it. And, I think you did a great job. I cannot see where it does not line up. I've only recently considered breaking up my measurements into halfsies :) when, after fixing some muslins for dresses in the bodice to fit the front, then the back began to gape hugely. So, I think that it is not just a matter of fitting 'the girls' and depends on the pattern as to how much ease they have in the back.

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    1. Thank you :). This is one of those dress patterns where the tech drawing looks more compelling than the photo on the pattern envelope, in my opinion - and I know it would look fabulous on you!

      Your comment confirms my suspicions - the more I learn about fitting the more there is to learn! It does make sense that the ease will depends on the individual pattern or style, but ... oh what a lot of work if you want your clothes to fit well!

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  4. I agree that there is much to love (and not much wrong) in this dress. The facing lining is perfect for Sydney in summer. I was so hot last week I whipped up a mumu!

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    1. Thanks Gail, I'm glad to hear it looks fine to you. A mumu - that would have been very weather appropriate, if only they were on the 'yes' list for a corporate wardrobe!

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  5. Perfect summer dress for the heat waves we have been having. Your fit is very good and anyone looking at you wouldn't notice the things that us sewers notice.

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    1. Thanks Sharon; it gets to a point where I am not sure whether or not things 'fit' or not - it means a lot to me to hear from people like you that the fit on this dress passes muster.

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  6. Such a great dress and well done on the fabric find at Lincraft. I think the back looks fine, but I've taken to looking at people in RTW and their fit is generally awful :) And I am certainly not a fitting perfectionist. ... too impatient.

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    1. Thanks Kirsty, I do wish Tessuti still had their city shop (but then again, I was spending a fortune on fabric... and with the selection of fabrics available at Lincraft it is VERY hard to spend a fortune). Hmm, I've been looking at people in RTW lately too, but I'm also now trying to work out which people are wearing RTW and which have made their own clothes! I'm assuming the sewing bug has caught on massively, and that there are many non-blogging sewists amongst us...

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  7. Can´t give you any tip on fitting, don´t know the first thing about that, but who cares about perfectly perfect fitting when it clearly looks so good on you? Besides, with all those pieces in the pattern!
    I love it how it turned out and I envy you, profesional photographer and all!

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    1. Thanks Merche - but your clothes DO fit you so well! I was very lucky that my colleague could take these photos for me, but unfortunately it's not going to be a regular arrangement - I'll have to get some top tips from her, so I can pass them on to the kids :)

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  8. Brightly coloured flowers really scream summer don't they! The lines in this pattern are really interesting. As far as fitting advice - I'm a nerdy sewer. I take a bunch of measurements, considers my 'usual' adjustments, toiles it up in calico/sheets then plays around with the fit from there.

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  9. You do look great in these colours and this style.

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  10. I personally love this. The dress is perfectly you, stylish and just a bit special. I mean that in a good way. I'm all Simplicity/Style and you, my friend, are designer Vogue. I think you are right about the back neck gape - some of this may be due to overhandling/stretching as you sewed the facings (I tend to do this too). I thought the rest looked great. I don't measure myself too often as I haven't changed weight since my early 20's, and only small underbust changes since pregnancy. I tend to measure the tissue patterns flat to get a better indication of final fit, but still find this only a guide and my own fitting woes attest to this. And I love this length on you!

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  11. Gorgeous dress, and I can't see anything wrong with it. I want a heat wave, all we are getting at the moment is storm warnings and rain. That fabric really does scream out 'Summer!' doesn't it, I love it.

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  12. I love this dress - the fabric is so summery looking and the fit is very good. Congratulations. Cheers, Karen

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  13. I can totally sympathise with your fitting frustrations! Even if the fit is good enough, I want to understand why it isn't better and how to fix it. I'd love to have some kind of intuition about it, but I think a pattern-fitting course is in the future...

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