Another Dress...

I know I'm suppose to be working on a jacket.  I know this!  But somehow when this lovely piece of fabric arrived in the mail on Saturday:

It begged to be sewn up right then and there...no hanging out on the couch...no hanging out in the fabric closet waiting it's turn to be made up.  No it demanded to be sewn last weekend.  So that fabric plus this inspiration picture:

Became this:

First I need to thank Nancy Erickson for such wonderful customer service.  I saw the fabric on her site, The Fashion Sewing Group, and sent her an email late (and I mean late!) Tuesday evening.  She responded in like 15 minutes.  We then traded a couple more emails during the day on Wednesday (which took longer than needed because I was at work and not that attentative to my fabric needs) and Thursday the fabric was winging it's way to me.

Some stats:

Pattern:
TNT Dress Pattern

Fabric:
2 yards of an acrylic/wool blend

Notions:
black ambiance rayon lining
22" black invisible zipper
3 yards 3" black lace
3 yards black trim

Construction:
The most important thing was to get the plaids to match up on such a short piece.  I ordered two yards and probably should have ordered 2.5.  I just hate all the extra that's left over when I do that.  So, it was make it work time...with some careful cutting and plaid matching, I got the main dress pieces out of the fabric.  I was happy that there was enough fabric left to make the sleeves the length I like, as well as cut the pockets on the bias ala the MK inspiration dress.

The fabric is really soft and ravelly.  Not only were all the seams serge finished but the shoulder seams were sewn with a some seam tape to help stabilize them.

Fusible knit interfacing was added to the center back seam allowances so that the fabric there would be stable for the invisible zipper insertion.

And I added a black trim to the pockets and sleeve hems...ala Nancy.  

When Nancy was corresponding with me...she graciously sent me a picture of the dress she made with this fabric and the accompanying article.

I "borrowed" the pocket pattern from the Vogue jacket I just cut out and placed them lower than normal on the front of the dress ala the MK inspiration dress.

All of the trim was handstitched to the pockets and sleeve hems and the entire dress is lined except for the sleeves.  Of course, there is a little lace on the hem of the dress lining...

...wouldn't be my dress if it wasn't there! *smile*

One more view of the front...

...and a back view.

I know I should have been working on my jacket and I have no idea when I'm going to wear this dress since it's so darn cold here now...as well as snowy! *sigh*  But it was fun to make and it's one more idea crossed off my "To Be Sewn" list!

Finally a parting shot:

Whenever a camera appears, The Little Prince needs to be in the midst of the action!  His favorite word besides NO! is cheese...*LOL*  Just ignore the way he's dressed...my daughter said she couldn't get him out of the shorts and it just wasn't worth the effort!

...more later!

Next Up is Butterick 5446

Lately I've been feening for jackets.  I mean really wanting new and different styles to put together with pants, skirts and dresses to wear to work.  As you know I work in a very professional workplace which requires a lot of suit outfits.  Now I have no problems coming up with outfits from late March to early December when the temperatures aren't in the single digits or there isn't so much snow on the ground.  However, from late December through the beginning of March I tend to live in pants.

I know there are many women who are fans of pants...and I believe they have their purpose in my wardrobe, but they are not my most favorite article of clothing to wear.  So now that I'm deep into the coldest part of the year there is just no escaping the fact that I wear pants more than skirts or dresses.  Of course to me, this is the area of my wardrobe with the biggest holes because I need quite a few jackets to balance out the pants and have a "proper" suit type look.

However, I HATE notched collar jackets...am quite uncomfortable in them...and just don't wear them.  It has taken me a minute to acquire enough patterns and inspiration looks to come up with some different jacket types...so now I'm feening for new jackets.

Butterick 5446 is one of the new spring pattern offerings from Butterick.  The description on the back of the pattern envelope is:

"Misses' Jacket:  Loose-fitting, unlined jackets, slightly below waist length have collar, double breasted front button closures and stitched hems.  View A has short sleeves with button and button loop closures.  View B has elbow length sleeves."

Butterick 5446

photo courtesy of http://www.butterick.com/

I like this pattern because it reminds me of the yellow version of the Michael Kors suit that Michelle Obama has worn:

You know just to continue my ongoing fascination with her wardrobe! *LOL*

As usual I'm using the bones of the pattern with some slight alterations.  After reading through the instruction sheet, I realize that the only closures on this jacket are at the top neckline and I'm wondering if wearing it through the day will cause it to flap open unattractively.  So I'm going to add a side tie at the waistline to help with keeping it closed.  If that doesn't work I will try some snaps but the tie will be my first choice. 

My second change will be to the sleeves.  Okay, those large bell shaped sleeves are quite trendy...just a little too trendy for me.  I will shave a little of the width off below the elbow and add elastic to a casing at the sleeve hem.  Still trendy but a little more office appropriate, to me.

My fabric is in the dryer...its some of that blue/black polyester brocade from the Vera Lavendar collection from fabric.com.  It was one of the few $1.95 per yard purchases I made...I mean I've bought so much of it during the previous sales that there was very little left that I wanted when the last few pieces were reduced to $1.95 a yard. 

I don't have many pattern alterations to make and I'm also planning on making a pair of black lined pants to go with the jacket.  The black pants will be one of the bottoms in my SWAP collection so even though I am making something new...I am pairing it with something from the SWAP and killing two birds with one stone!

Well I'm off to sew and I'm sure that I will have more to share later!

Inspired by Michael Kors

I was so inspired by Michael Kors pre-fall line yesterday that I immediately sat down at my sewing machine and made my own version of one.

The designer original:

My version ~ headless pic of me:

On Lulu:

(Okay I really need to stop writing about getting my dressform some legs and just do it!)

Some Stats:

Pattern

TNT dress pattern ~ v-neck version

Fabric

1 yard white cotton/linen blend

1 yard black silk/rayon/linen blend

1/8 yard red linen

(all from the collection!)

Notions

22" white invisible zipper

1 yard white lining

1 yard black lining

1 yard white hem tape

1 yard black hem tape

Construction:

I think the hardest part of making this dress was all of the times I changed the thread. I tried to sew it in an orderly fashion, but ultimately I ended up changing the thread quite often!

The other part that took some thinking about was the cutting layout. I wanted to have a white back and front and a black back and front...not something else. I ultimately ended up laying the white fabric on top of the black fabric with the right sides on the outside and facing the pattern pieces a certain way. I cut this out holding my breathe and gave a huge sigh of relief when it worked.

The dress is lined and I cut the lining out using the same cutting method as I used for the fashion fabric. I did end up sewing rayon hem tape to the bottom of the dress so I ended using a little black and a little white to insure that none of the tape showed through to the other side.

For the red band I cut a five inch piece on the crosswise grain of the fabric. Then I folded over an inch on each side and pressed flat. After the front pieces were assembled, I sewed the band down onto the front of the dress.

This is probably the best invisible zipper I've inserted. I've finally stopped feeling as if I am in an alien land during the insertion process...but I still get a lump in my chest when thinking about putting one in...I know it will get better...I just have to keep doing it especially because I know y'all must be sick of hearing about this now! *LOL*

Conclusion

This will be a great work dress. I look fantastic in it ~ much better than Lulu actually! The dress is slimming and comfortable and I love it! Finally on the third try I make one that I love! *LOL*

I cut out another one this afternoon and was a little annoyed that I didn't get to sew it! But isn't that a little unrealistic...I made a completely lined dress today and I'm mad at myself that I didn't get another one done...

Well it's back to work tomorrow...I'm compiling my list of supplies that I need for my sewing vacation...10 work days left! *sigh* I'm starting to get excited...

...more later!

Michael Kors, Sewing and Me!

I will admit it up front...I am fanatical about Michael Kors designs. And I'm soooooo in love with his new pre-fall and fall lines that I am beside myself. His garments are so in line with the type of sewing that I want to do this fall...

It started when I saw this suit in the new September issue of Allure Magazine:

Which then drove me to his website and to Style.com. I have happily spent the morning imagining new pieces for my fall wardrobe - because you know how much I love a dress! So without further ado these are the pieces that have set my heart pitter pattering...all pics are from Style.com

The good thing about an extensive fabric collection...I already have a piece like this in it! It reminds me of Simplicity 2868 which also resides in my pattern collection...just make short sleeves instead of long ones!

Besides the fact that I love, love, love the pairing of black and white - I'm also really diggin' all of the color blocking that he has going on!

I know that this is in a brown/black combination but I can see it in soooo many other shades...how about a gray/lilac combo or a red/black combo...you could get as dramatic as you pleased or as tonal as you wanted. Oooolalalala - the combinations you could come up with to make it your own! BTW, this wool crepe version retails for $1,995!

Is this not fresh or what!?! I love the colors MK chose for his version - I'm thinking mine could be done from similar colors using some amazing ponte knits from Marcy Tilton! Or if you want to see a less expensive RTW version of this...Dillards is offering a grey/black/white version for $128! Because MK's version retails for $1,795!!!

Now this is my TNT sheath dress with two amazing colors and a large satin ribbon sewn down the front! I can't think of one person who wouldn't look amazing in this dress! Just pick colors you love and get to sewing!

A variation on a theme I know, but doesn't it look just as good in black and white! Some of these pieces will be making appearances in my fall/winter wardrobe...how can they not? They are classic styles with a lot of ooomph, will work well in my corporate environment and will make this plus size mama look professional and well put together!

So what do you think? Anything here that would work for you? Or are you jonesing on another look/designer/color for fall?