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Sunday, August 16, 2009

In and Out

The title refers to the fabric in this rendition of my TNT dress pattern. It came into the house on Friday evening and I'm wearing it out to work tomorrow!

It's a standard sleeveless sheath made from a fabulous print from my TNT dress pattern. The only change is that instead of my regular u-neckline, I gave it a v-neckline. This is the first time that I've made this dress with a v-neckline.


Since my pattern drafting skills aren't as fine honed as my embellishment skills, I laid the v-neck front pattern piece from Simplicity 8160 on to the top of my TNT dress front. I then traced out the new front pattern piece and I also used the front facing from the vintage Simplicity pattern. I added some white piping around the neckline to give it a little definition...not my best piping job but it will do in this instance!


It really was a quick sew especially since the fabric did not require a lining except for *sigh* the invisible zipper insertion. I was almost tempted to pull out a regular black zipper and sew it into the dress in 30 minutes or less but I will never become proficient at inserting invisible zippers until I do it repeatedly. Now I did remember to press it very flat, to baste it down before the final stitches were sewn and to use my cording foot for stitching as close to the coils as possible. So except for the fact that this is still not automatic and mindless sewing, I was pleased with how it turned out.

I added bias binding to the armholes to finish them and machine stitched them down. The hem is also machine stitched. As I said previously, this was a quick and dirty sew for an "In and Out" dress.



Sorry for the flat photos...pictures of me wearing the dress soon especially since I plan on wearing it to work tomorrow!

As always....more later.

23 comments:

  1. I love this fabric and I have a pair of lime and slingbacks I could lend you to wear with it!

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  2. Great summer sheath - love the fabric!

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  3. You mentioned using a cording foot to sew in your invisible zipper. Why don't you use a regular invisible zipper foot? These little plastic feet make it easy to sew in invisible zippers.

    Love the fabric, by the way!!!

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  4. Nice fabric - looks great with the RTW cardigan. Enjoy wearing it today :)

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  5. It looks stunning. Love the fabric.

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  6. I likey likey!!! I think the v-neck will be very attractive on you!

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  7. Hi Carolyn.
    Love the blog. I remember when you first started your current job, you were concerned about wearing colors to work. What is your experience with wearing colors there, now? Are the other employees still wearing only black? Just curious.
    Regards from Vibeke in Oslo

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  8. It looks really cute- i love the print. :-)

    Keep practicing at the invisible zips... even with hand basting it's faster for me to put in an invisible zip than a regular one these days!

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  9. Beautiful fabric! V neck is my favorite look -- so flattering.

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  10. I love that fabric! Isn't it nice to sew something up super fast - instant gratification!

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  11. Great fabric! Tri-state area is going to be very hot and humid and that dress looks very COOL! Bet you'll get lots of compliments at work also.

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  12. That print is absolutely fabulous! Love it! And I think a V-neck is a good choice for you. I used to be leery of wearing them, but now love the look, as well as the versatility of being able to put different camisoles underneath if needed for a punch of colour or a little extra cleavage coverage.

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  13. Love the fabric - I have a lime green cardi.

    Don't you have a Viking? Your regular buttonhole foot can be used to sew in invisible zippers. It works because the zipper teeth will fall into the grooves the buttonhole foot has for making corded buttonholes.

    Remember to breathe and enjoy the process. :) You can do it. g

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  14. This dress is really lovely and I'm sure is feeling great to wear in this hot humid weather. Wondering how you feel about the V-neck after wearing the dress because I'm ambivalent about it on me.

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  15. I'm so looooooooving that sheath dress, the print is awesome... I keep saying I want to sew a sheath, but zippers keep be at bay.

    Thanks for the info regarding neckbands.

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  16. Great dress! Even better as it was a quick make - they can be very satisfying. Must put a shift dress on my 'to do' list this summer!

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  17. Wow! Way To Go, Carolyn! Love it!

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  18. The dress is perfect for this heat wave we're having1 The print is wonderful, all in all, a great rendition of your tnt.

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  19. I love the dress! The fabric is gorgeous. You finished it with such neat detail work.

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  20. Excellent dress - perfect for this warmer weather we're having!

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