Blue Danni

I made another Danni!

June was the second annual Indie Pattern Month over at The Monthly Stitch, and the inaugural Indie Pattern Month (announced here, and blogged all over the place). While I'd disagree strongly with the sentiment that the only good pattern is an indie one (of course no one said that, it's just the impression I got from some very passionate pro-indie blog posts), there is undoubtedly much to love about indie pattern companies. Personally I love how they engage with, encourage and promote the people who sew their patterns, and I appreciate the different aesthetics and body types (I'm paraphrasing Mari here) they cater for.

Most of the bigger name indie pattern companies aren't really for me though. I'm waaay too old for cute or mini, I'm not short or particularly curvy, I don't exercise, I'm not a hipster and I'm not a beginner sewist.  I have a huge pattern stash ranging over many decades, so I've probably already got something similar to any straightforward pattern that gets released. Oh, and the Big 4 patterns already fit me pretty well when approached with a standardised set of adjustments.

Having said that, I'm as enamored of beautiful branding as the next sewist, and I really like the idea of supporting local companies. So this June, although you didn't see any indie blog posts from me, I was doing plenty of local indie sewing using StyleArc and Papercut patterns: Danni in stripes, my Denim Pleated Pants, and this Blue Danni:



The Danni Dolman dress is described on StyleArc's site as follows: "This Dolman sleeved dress features a slight boat neck, there are 4 tucks falling from the left side seam softly over the hip line making this dress easy to wear and such a simple dress to sew. Suitable for all seasons." 

That mural in the first photo is fun, but I know you couldn't really see the dress against the blue background. I've lightened these photos taken against a less exciting concrete backdrop to try to better show you the way the tucks look in the ponti fabric, and the way the dress flatters rather than flaunts in a ponti, but dark blue is hard to photograph.

I liked the look of my Danni in stripes, and jersey IS the recommended fabric for the pattern, but I don't feel confident wearing something that feels so clingy, so pretty much as soon as it was sewn, I started Danni #2, with a nice firm ponti di roma from the stash. I think this fabric is 2 or 3 years old, and bought at Lincraft before I knew much about the joys of fabric shopping (that's why it's such a sensible fabric). 

Switching to a ponti fabric, the dress loses the super cling factor; much more suitable for corporate life, and becomes warmer (yay! cosy!). However, when I sewed this up initially the ponti looked loose rather than drapey in the top, so I took the dress in from the waist up (side seams from the waist to the dolman sleeves around elbow level, also centre back seam from the waist up) to make the top more fitted to my curves. It clings to my tummy, but I do have a tummy! The dress was also lengthened a few centimetres (I'm about 5'8").

I think I showed you the pattern last time, but to save you flicking back here they are again:

Yes, I like this one, it's a keeper... 

Thanks for reading, and see you soon.


- Gabrielle x

Danni in Stripes

I've discovered a local indie pattern company!

I know people have been making StyleArc patterns for years - and they're an Australian company - but somehow they only registered as a pattern company I should check out this year. Maybe it was all Jean's makes in May, maybe it was K-Line's Rosie drafts, and maybe it was Lara's knits - I don't remember who prompted me to go LOOK at the website, but a few weeks back I looked and promptly bought a few patterns. Including the Danni Dolman sleeve dress pattern.

It was so cold taking these photos (brrr) even with a coat on standby! That sunlight looks so good but it ain't full of warmth!

The patterns took a couple of weeks to arrive from when I ordered them (just like Vogues when I order them from the US).  I heard somewhere that they're printed on demand, which probably slows things a little, plus my postie seems to work part-time. StyleArc don't have the to-die-for packaging and cool branding / photoshoots of the newer indie brands, but on the other hand they seem to issue new patterns every month, and many of them very up-to-date with RTW styles. They're cheaper than the "cool brand" indies too, AND they send freebies :). The patterns are printed on sturdy paper, and include a fabric sample instead of a fabric recommendation. Instructions are succinct, though longer tutorials for specific techniques you might need (eg how to insert a zip fly, or how to level a skirt) are available here on their website. So even though many of the designs have quite straightforward lines, the assumption seems to be that you've sewn a few similar garments before. Which is fine by me :)

As the Danni dolman dress is a very simple shape I figured it would be a good pattern with which to verify how StyleArc patterns fit me - they claim to have a RTW fit, and patterns are ordered in a single size, but my measurements seemed to put me in a size 8 whereas in Aussie RTW I'm more like a 10-12!

Here's the pattern illustration:

Judging by this test dress, the areas I'll need to modify for StyleArc patterns are pretty consistent with the areas in RTW that don't fit me well: shoulders; length; and waist-hip curve. 

I made just 2 modifications to the pattern in making this dress:

1. The neckline looked very wide, so I measured it and brought it in by 2cm on each shoulder to ensure my bra straps would be covered. The pattern illustration shows a slightly draped neckline, but I have rather narrow shoulders, and I didn't want to risk making the neckline unwearably wide.  I'll have to confirm with my next StyleArc pattern whether they draft for medium or wide shoulders...
2. I took the sleeves in by about 2cm along the shoulder / sleeve line. This has made them quite tight and meant I also then needed to remove some sleeve length (2-3cm) where they were too tight on my lower arms. It also would have slightly reduced the dress length. I did this to correct my own stripe placement error - I'd forgotten to cut out the fabric so that the stripes would make nice chevrons down my arms! Stripes not aligning on noticeable seams is one of those things that really bugs me, so I *had* to make these stripes align even though it affected comfort :(.  

OK, so let's have some photos:

There's a centre back seam, which is very easy to match stripes along as it's dead straight. And having that CB seam reduces the amount of fabric this dress consumes.

The fabric is a piece of stripey viscose/spandex that I found on Tessuti's remnant table last year, and it's a lovely quality fabric but definitely not warm enough by itself for winter! If you can't tell the colours, it's a black stripe on taupe. Made up into a dress I like the way it looks a lot more than I thought I would - though to be honest I'm not sure when or where I'll wear something so body-con.

Effort: Minimal! A couple of hours?

Cost: $20 for the fabric, + $15.60 for the pattern (including part of the postage cost) = $35.60

This may be the start of a beautiful thing ;)

See you soon

- Gabrielle xx