Vogue 1496 Cocoon Dress

While the light is good (hello Summer!) I'm trying to ignore the disgusting heat and get photos... so a couple of evenings ago when mum was over visiting, I asked if she'd mind going for a walk with me to take photos of this new dress. These photos are much nicer than what I would have been able to get with my tripod and remote...

You may have seen this dress, Vogue 1496, sewn up already - there are some amazing examples around (like Lara's, Erika's, Lauren's...) and it's been around for a little while.  I sewed it up on a whim the weekend before last with a drapey polyester from Spotlight, and have been VERY surprised at how much I like it.  I like it enough that I'm seriously contemplating making another very soon - despite my insanely long to do lists!!

Size wise I cut out the dress that best matched my measurements, a size D.  The pattern comes with a lot of tips, including a tip as to how to pick the right size - basically because the dress is a tapered cocoon shape, the lower edge width is the key measurement to check; this width needs to be bigger than your largest body width to ensure you can get the dress on and off.  That means too that there's a lot of leeway with the fit of the dress - you can sew the dress too big or too small, and so long as you can get it on and off you can call it a fitting success :).

This is a shortened version of View B of the pattern, which is the version that doesn't include an inset neckline. But because a few other people had mentioned that the neckline on this dress is pretty low, and because the pattern includes instructions for raising the neckline, mine is raised. I raised it about 5cm at the lowest point, and I diverted from the instructions to raise it by about 0.5cm all around because I was also concerned it might be a bit too wide.  I should also have top stitched the facings in place as Lara did - my facing moves around a lot and in all these photos you can see it had folded over itself on one side.

The only other change I made was to use the length of View A plus about 5cm.

In the next couple of photos I think  you can see the unusual way the armholes are formed in the back of the dress - the front dress piece wraps around the neckline and forms the back yoke, with the armholes set between this yoke and the back dress pieces.

The other detail I really like on this dress is the pockets. Instead of being in-seam side pockets, they're pockets that are stitched onto the inside of the dress - and the look of these pockets reminds me very much of a particular type of funky 1960s patch pocket :).  The pockets are attached to the dress with a clever technique I hadn't tried before involving steam-a-seam; I found the process a bit fiddly, but the alternative as suggested by Erika Bunker would be to use a glue stick to lightly fasten the pockets before top stitching them in place.  I hope my single row of top stitching is strong enough...

All up I think this is a lovely and very informative pattern, and one that makes for a flattering and very wearable dress.  If you're tossing up whether to sew this, my vote is to go for it!

Thanks for reading, and I'll be back soon!

- Gabrielle xx

Work(ing) the Skirt

Here's my newest skirt, unwinding on the deck with the red shoes after a day at work...







































Turns out even a basic ponte skirt feels a bit rumpled after being subjected to the cold, then warmth, then humitity and rain, and (the final straw) unexpected exercise including a near nobbling by an allied umbrella.

This little skirt is an incarnation of Vogue 7333, a "Today's Fit by Sandra Betzina" pattern. Though the pattern is new to me it dates back to the year 2000, when hemlines were apparently down to mid or lower calf - I had to hack a fair length off to meet this year's corporate dress guidelines.

I always find the Sandra Betzina patterns to look a bit daggy (does that mean I'm not their target market?) so I was a tad worried I'd end up with a daggy skirt. Count me pleasantly surprised!

V7333 is a straightforward pattern with optional diagonal seams on the front skirt ("opportunity for embellishments") and the choice of a waistband or none. I'm not really big on embellishments where there's no duress (that's why my daughter gets them), and I'm short waisted, so I chose the most minimal version.

The skirt has double darts front and back (4 in the front, 4 in the back), which is all about sharing the load (otherwise known as the tummy). Somehow this works without being too obvious.  And what this means is that the skirt feels really comfortable on and doesn't re-enact a whirlpool as you walk.

My fabric is a thick black ponte di roma, bought last year at Tessuti Fabrics. It's stretchy but hasn't sagged after being sat on at work. It's a good weight of fabric for the skirt, and my overlocker loved it.  Oh, and it seems to have amazing light-absorbing skills.



Conclusion: Don't judge a book pattern by its cover! I'm really pleased to have found a basic skirt pattern that fits my post-childbirth proportions, so you may be seeing this pattern again in more adventurous fabrics.


Apologia:
Sorry it's so hard to see the details in the above photos. I took lots of close-ups when the skirt was resting with the shoes, but then my camera card died in the middle of uploading to the computer and all photos not already uploaded have gone. I did consider taking new late night photos - but the details aren't all that scintillating really.

Sorry for the long gap between posts! I've got another finished garment, a dress - much more exciting than a black work skirt - but I haven't yet taken photos! Maybe this weekend?

Sorry Hazel for taking so long in passing on the award and answering your questions... sorry, sorry, sorry; I don't have a good excuse.

Excitementia:
Got my Elisalex pattern in the mail today - and the packaging is just so gorgeous that I am now convinced this pattern will give me the most gorgeous dress in the world!  

Vogue 1098 Anne Klein Pants in Stretch

I've been tending to make dresses lately, and before that it was tops and shirts, but in the interests of balancing my wardrobe it's time for a pair of trousers. Vogue 1098 (Anne Klein New York), which I kind of bought for the jacket, looked to be a flattering cut.












Here's what the pattern pic showed:

I made up a test pair in a very loud linen (a cheap find at Lincraft - at the time I thought I could use it for clothes for my daughter, but I don't think I could stand it even on her). In a size 12, I added about 10cm extra length to the legs, and in the waist /hips area I sewed deep into my extra-generously cut side seam allowance. The trousers basically fit, so FYI I've permitted myself less garish fabric for version 2, shown below. This is what the test pants look like without a waistband - please excuse my au naturel dishevelled state:

While cutting out the pants again in a good quality black rayon /spandex /other man-mades fabric from Tessuti, I somehow misplaced the pattern instructions.  I searched through the insides of many, many pattern envelopes, but to no avail.  I really do not know how to make trousers without instruction, but luckily I just happened to have an excellent multi-media book about trouser construction: David Page Coffin's book "Making Trousers for Men & Women".  This book suggested a different order of construction than I've seen in other Vogue patterns (although I don't recall the detailed instructions for this pattern), but it seems pretty logical.  Basically, after cutting out and 'finishing' the main pieces (NOT the small detailed pieces, which you're instructed to cut out later in case you want to make some modifications), you proceed as follows:

1. darts, pockets
2. front opening ie zip front
3. side seams, and finishing for front pockets
4. waistbands (and any pleats) - sectioned waistband to allow for easy adjustments
5. in-seams
6. centre-back seam
7. hems

I think this will help ensures fit around the hips and waist early on, with room for adjustment in the centre back seam later if needed.  The book also has loads of great tips for zips, pockets and waistbands but I read these after cutting out my fabric pieces including separate fly facing and shield, so I wasn't able to sew with a cut-on fly extension or try a cut-on waistband as suggested.

Now of course a cut-on fly extension is less bulky than one that's sewn on (yes, that makes sense), but it also turns out that Sandra Betzina's famous basted-seam approach to sewing in a flat, fly-front zip assumes your fly extension is cut-on!  Disaster?  Actually, no; you can easily adjust the method for the sewn on fly facings and shield that your regular pattern tells you to cut out.  I don't know if anyone reading this would be interested to see the details of applying this method to a cut-on fly, and I suspect most of you are better sewers than I, so unless someone screams out for the info I'll omit it.

This is the fly - a solid metal one  - and you can see that from the outside it looks reasonably neat. The inside is a bit messy, I know, but only YOU are going to see that:

 

 

spot the error ...

I then basically followed the order of construction given above. Side seams, in-seams, and centre back seam.  Compared to the fly this is easy stuff, but I had to redo my side and centre back seams several times. Initially the pants were too loose on me because I hadn't factored in the stretch factor, then I took them in until they felt just right, then I read someone blogging on the perils of making stretch pants too loose so I took them in again, then they were too tight, and then I unstitched like mad and hopefully got them back enough. Phew.

David Page Coffin suggests that it's good to divide the waistbands at centre back so that the pants can easily be adjusted if you change girth. Again, how sensible! So I didn't use the waistband pattern piece, but instead cut out waistband pieces to match the fitted waistline. Actually I cut out a waistband in 4 pieces (and matching lining in 4 pieces) so there is heaps of room for me to grow or shrink and be able to adjust my pants to fit... but I know this is overkill, and my waistband is not that great. Hems last of all - finished on the train to work this morning. The old bloke sitting next to me didn't look too impressed.

And here are some more 'tried them on' views:

Gee that jacket fits badly - but I didn't make it!

I spy a Pilates mat!

The lighting in my house is really poor but I think the trousers have ended up too tight. Maybe the fabric will stretch, and maybe going to the gym will make a little difference in the right places.  Unfortunately too I've ended up with no fabric between the underside of the zip and my person (the error) - clearly I shouldn't have basted the facings to the upper edge of the pants and then sewn the waistband on top of that; but I just can't get myself interested in fixing it so the left side facing sits under the zip. Hopefully the zip will be friendly and not bite me. I do like the fact that for once I have trousers that are long enough with heels - "A Pip, A Ray", as my daughter says - and am already planning the next pair: in a heavy navy linen, and not so tight.