The Dark Floral Katie Dress

This was my first version of the Katie Dress made straight from the download.

As originally sewn

Worn with black capri leggings

Supplies ~
The fabric is a cotton/linen print purchased from Fabric Mart last month. It was from a special offering to Premium Members and I bought several of these prints then. They are now online here but the print used in my dress has sold out. 

The black linen is from the collection probably from Ebad Fabrics in the garment district purchased years ago...back when I kept black yardage on hand for basics.

Finally the buttons are from M&J Trimmings.  I bought them after I placed some stash buttons on the dress and posted it to Instagram. Some of the comments made me think, so I went shopping and found some different buttons to use.

A little backstory ~
Before I headed to banking land and an entirely corporate wardrobe, I use to sew ALOT of prints. So much so that my sister, who was a recruiter for a major corporation at the time, told me when I went to her for advice on getting a new job, to lose the bold prints. This was about 20-25 years ago. I was coming out of garment district jobs where I could basically wear what I wanted...trying to move into a corporate job with some serious benefits. 

So I toned down some of my wilder prints. Then I moved into a banking job where I had to tone them wayyyyyy down! Now that I've finally dislodged all of that corporate noise from my creative brain, I'm wading back into the deep with deliciously loud prints. See I'm actually a bold color and print sewist who likes simple shapes. I hate ruffles and ditsy little prints. I love a bold primary color and I also love a great menswear influenced garment. A little contradiction for sure.

Construction Info ~
So this dress...like I said earlier its made straight from the pattern and it worked. One of the things I love the most is the faced hemline. By adding the facing, you give the hem weight so that the fabric hangs the way it's supposed to and doesn't rise up or float around.

The changes I made were creative and not structural.  The front buttonband, collar and sleeve hems were all cut from the black linen. It was to give your eyes a place to rest. It also makes the floral print POP! 

The banded sleeve is a technique I've used over and over again but if you want a step by step tutorial, check out this blog post. Disregard the piping info or hold onto it for a future make! And I omitted the sleeve ruffle because seriously I'm tired of this trend. Can it go away already in sewingland? Cause I hardly ever see it on the streets of NYC anymore and I work in the heart of the garment district!

For the next dress, I'm lengthening the front and back by two inches so the dress front will cover my knees and the back dip will have more drama. You know I LOVE a dramatic high/low hemline!

A few pictures ~

The first photos are of the dress as is...it's a little short and shows my knees...and I'm just not comfortable showing my knees at my age.  Now this is me and says nothing about other women my age...just MY preference.

The next set of photos are of the dress worn with black capri leggings under it...like a tunic...and how I will wear the outfit! 

Y'all Imma be honest, I hate my arm fat pads in this picture...but a friend of mine said I was making my sleeves too long. So I'm including it so she can see why I make them longer. I was doing it to cover these fat pads & Imma go back to making my short sleeves longer to cover that area because I have to be happy with wearing the garment. Sorry...not sorry! *LOL*

This was the first of the Katie dresses but I'm posting it out of order because of the EB post...one more version to come to the blog!

Parting Shot ~
This was my daughter's favorite shot...so I'm including it because she's so patient and giving of her time to take these pics for me. We did these late one evening because with four kids, a full time job, and a partner, I take her when she has time!

...as always more later!

The Embellished Shirtdress Series - Deer & Doe Myosotis Dress

I've wanted to make this dress ever since it debuted. I hesitated because the plus sizes are in pdf pattern form only and you know I only do a pdf pattern for a very special garment. Honestly as much as I liked it, this pattern wasn't special enough.

...but I really wanted my own version. After A Gathering of Stitches made her version, I thought maybe I could make the paper pattern work. I double checked the finished measurements on the website and realized they were within range of my own. So the next time there was a good fabric sale at Fabric Mart, I bought the pattern and yes that means I bought fabric too *sigh*

Then I saw a picture of a dress in my Instagram feed from Draper James. 

The fabric looked similar to mine and I thought I could use the Myosotis Dress to get a similar look. I know the dress has a skirt that buttons open but that was the element I could overlook for my version. This is where I started my Myosotis Dress Journey.

Supply List ~
- 4 yards of embroidered edge navy 'n white gingham from Hobby Lobby
- 3 red buttons from the button stash
- Interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply

Pattern Alterations ~
I started with a size 46 and made the following alterations.

1. For the bodice:
My first alteration was to the shoulders.  I narrowed them by an inch. This is a normal pattern alteration for me.

Then I added 1/2" to each side seam gradually from the armhole down to the waist. So that the 1/2" is widest at the waistline. This was done on both the front and back bodice piece.

Finally I slit the back dart open and spread it a 1/2" - to gain just a little more space. I did not add the waist darts to my finished bodice...side darts yes.

2. Skirt pieces:
Three inches was added to the last tier of the dress to gain some extra length to the skirt.

3. Collar changes:
To make this pattern more like the inspiration garment, I needed to add a collar. Since I'm not a patternmaker, I couldn't draft a collar piece. The next best thing was to find a pattern piece that would work. So I went with my TNT Butterick shirt pattern pieces. However, they were bigger than the Deer & Doe pattern pieces. 

I decided to shorten the collar piece by 5/8" in width so it would work with the shorter collar stand. I didn't want the collar to overwhelm the collar stand. Why did I choose 5/8"? Because that's the difference between the two collar stands.

Sleeves:
I eliminated the sleeve flounce from my dress. I wanted to use the embroidered edge of the fabric like my inspiration picture. That meant the sleeve pattern had to be lengthened.  Again I turned to a sleeve pattern that I knew worked and fit my bodacious biceps.

The sleeve from my TNT shirtdress pattern - Vogue 2090 - was used to alter the width and length of the sleeve. Although after I cut the pattern piece out, I folded up an inch  before cutting the fabric out. This was so the embroidered hem would not creep into my elbow crease.

Construction Information ~
Getting the bodice to fit was my main challenge because the tiers are gathered and can be made to work. Besides the space I added to the bodice, I also used 1/2" seam allowances though the pattern tells you to use 5/8" seam allowances.

The Collar:
I added a collar based upon my inspiration picture. I was a little concerned if my shortened collar would work but it sewed into the collar band no problem using the sewing techniques that are in my Butterick shirt pattern. I think my collar insertions are so easy because I've incorporated information gleaned from other bloggers. 

For constuction - I notch differently after seeing Emily's version, which of course I can't find now because I'm not sure if I saw it on her IG account or her blog. And I use Cennetta's suggestion of basting the undercollar down, pressing and then topstitching from the right side of the undercollar.

Topstitching:
I love the navy 'n white embroidered fabric but for the Draper James dress it's really the red embroidery that's eyecatching. So to bring that red to my dress I added red topstitching on everything...the collar...the front of the bodice...top of every tier. Hopefully the red pops and adds to the embroidery and gingham fabric as well as reminds you of the Inspiration Dress.

When I make this dress again, I will lower the bust darts since they are a tad high. You have to look to see this but I know it's there. Also, I made my bodice with a closer fit than some of the versions I've seen on the internet. I was concerned that if I made a looser fit that the dress would look like a muu-muu on me since there is sooooo much fabric in it already.

A few pictures ~

Just me hanging out by the garage doors

That close fitting backside

Hands jammed in pockets that don't work

So a few things ~ 
One - I included the pockets and then assembled the tier wrong. I haven't removed them and sewn the seam shut in the pictures above. However, I think I will.

Two - while this is longer than pictured on the envelope and shown on the internet, I want to add at least another inch to the hemline to insure that it hits that sweet spot on me which is just below my knees.

Three - I didn't use the three tiers in the Inspiration Dress. I worked it out in my head but decided to baste the last tier on and if it was too short, then I would cut the middle tier. Since the two tiers worked and I was sick of gathering, I went with it.  I would like to try a three tier version, though.

Four - I'm trying to use my gathering foot more so I become proficient with it. The gathering on this is not as much as I thought it should be and when I used the foot, I ended up with too much gathering. I'm sure that there is an adjustment to be made but I need more practice with the foot. When I fell back on my normal gathering method, it worked just fine.

Five - while I added several rows of red topstitching to the dress, I'm not sure they are visible from far away.  But I'm glad I added them. 

Wearability Factor ~
I wore this to work on Monday and got a lot of compliments on the dress...from several strangers...just people on the street...at Macys...even my Lyft driver. This dress is a winner! However, I had one challenge with the dress, when the wind blew up against the dress and raised it above my knees it made me self conscious. Although I did receive one compliment when standing at the corner waiting for the light to change and the wind blew up under the dress and created the nicest fullness. 

Conclusion ~
This is an easy sew and I recommend buying the pattern if you're looking for a loose, cool and flirty dress for summer.  I made a few alterations to the pattern to get my version of the inspiration dress.  However, about halfway through I thought if you're a plus size gal, it would be just as easy to start with the Lenox Shirtdress bodice and add the tiers. You'd have to do some math to figure out the tier length and width (why I didn't go that way) but it is doable.

At first I thought I wouldn't make this dress again.  Then I tried it on and oh my goodness, the heavens opened, the choirs sang and I was a convert. This dress is EVERYTHING! I want another one in rayon and a tunic top. Just have to figure out how to make it not look maternity.

I know I can sometimes seem anti-indie BUT if you create an amazing indie pattern that I can purchase in a plus size pattern, I'm there for you. I don't mind making normal alterations, I just hate having to grade up a pattern after paying the patternmaker for said pattern. And yet again, may I state I'm not a PDF woman. There is no conversation/argument that can convince me that paying to download a pattern, printing, taping and cutting out or sending it out to be printed is cheaper than buying one of the Big4 on sale...so don't waste your breathe...I'm solidly in the paper pattern camp.

Okay after that, may I say I love this pattern and the subsequent dress and there will be more of them in my future!

...as always more later!

The Embellished Shirtdress Series - McCalls 7470 in an Embroidered Fabric

My plan was to start my May Sewcation with this shirtdress first but I made the failed B6333 shirtdress before this one. See, I was a little put off when I opened the pattern instructions and there were four pages of instructions on how to alter the pattern. While this is a good thing, it took me for a loop...probably because I was opening the pattern at 1am!

After going back to the pattern and reading the alterations, great info on those pages btw, I went with my TNT method of altering a pattern...using a garment I'd previously sewn and knew worked for my body.  I used Vogue 2090 last sewn in 2013 (before it became part of the Embellished Shirtdress series) to assist with making the alterations. 

Supply List ~
- Embroidered striped fabric purchased earlier this year from Emmaonesock
- Yellow gingham from Fabric Mart (recent purchase from Sew Camp)
- Fusible interfacing from Farmhouse Fabrics
- 12 yellow buttons from Lauren Trimming in NYC Garment District
- 1/2 yard yellow piping from Daytona Trimmings
- 1 yard of yellow bias binding from the notions stash

Pattern Alterations ~
I made considerable alterations to this pattern since the finished hip measurements were 50.5" so not my finished garment hip measurement. Also the waist/abdomen measurements were about 6" less than my own.

As I stated above, I altered the pattern pieces using my TNT pattern. Although when I reviewed the pattern, I realized that I ended up altering the front and side back pieces just like the pattern instructions suggested.  But by using my TNT pattern, I didn't have to guess at the amount of inches to add.

The other pieces that I altered was the back yoke piece and the front top yoke - just to make sure they fit the newly altered body pieces.

Construction ~
I'm one of those sewists who serge finishes all of her cut out garment pieces before I start construction but for this one I finished the seams as I sewed them. I'm trying something new and was scared the entire time that the dress wouldn't fit because I just couldn't imagine taking out the serged together edges if I needed to make some fit alterations.

Some more info:

1. All the body seams are sewn using a 1/2" seam allowance.
2. The fabric was difficult to sew at points because of the density of the embroidery.
3. So I omitted all of the topstitching so it wouldn't be wonky when it hit embroidery.
4. There's a lot of handstitching in this since I couldn't topstitch the seams...undercollar to dress and the front button bands.
5. The handstitching let me maneuver through the dense embroidery easier but took FOREVER!
6. The buttonholes had to be carefully placed so that I wouldn't hit any of the dense embroidery. I knew my sewing machine wouldn't like them. So I was going to take them to Jonathan's in NYC to make them instead.
7. However, when I went to mark the buttonholes I noticed that the majority of the buttonholes were in a space that did not have embroidery.  So I gave it a try.  Some were a little challenging but my machine I got through them all!  I love my sewing machine!!!
8. This is why this is the last garment being shared from the May Sewcation.

There were a lot of pattern pieces to this pattern so it took some time to sew. It was the perfect pattern to use during the sewcation. It allowed everything with all it's frustrations to be completed at one sewing instead of being stretched over a couple of weekends.

A few pictures ~

Conclusion ~
I will make this pattern again. It's the perfect summer shirtdress. I have fabric for a shorter length version so I need to schedule that into my sewing to do list. However, it may make an appearance in a fall edition too!

...as always more later!

The Embellished Shirtdress - A Denim Vogue 2090

I chose to make this pattern again in denim during my Sewcation because I really want to own as many denim dresses as I can.  They are easy to wear, fit in with my work environment and my lifestyle.  Dressing them up or down, wearing them out with friends or to work, makes them a very desirable garment for me.

This version is made from a midweight denim that works for cooler spring days and will transition from summer to fall days. I will probably only get one or two wears out of it before it gets really hot here but I'm good with that. 

Supply List ~
Denim is from Stylemaker Fabrics and is the last of the 10 yards I purchased from them.
Navy/White Gingham scraps from Fabric Mart
5/8" Goldish Buttons from Pacific Trimmings
Jeans Gold Gutterman Thread for topstitching

Construction ~
The embellishment for this dress is the topstitching done in the jeans gold thread. All of the seams are topstitched - some with a double twin needle and some seams like the collar and the front button bands are sewn with single seams of topstitching.

I also added a small pocket on the front of the dress which is different from the original pattern which has faux pocket flaps. I probably would have used the pocket flap but I couldn't find the pattern piece so I had to make my own pocket piece.

To make the pocket pop and to coordinate with the collar stand, I cut a 5"x5" square from the blue & white gingham. I used a quilting square to get a good square, then I serged the ends twice. I thought about rolling the hems of the square but wasn't that invested in the process. Serging twice allowed me to cover the edges adequately and looks good on the square folded in the pocket.

The side, back and shoulder seams have a faux flat fell seam finish. Seams sewn normally, pressed open, pressed to the side and topstitched using a twin needle. The twin needle size I used is a 6.0mm size 100 universal from Klasse'. 

This version has short sleeves too. The hems were topstitched with a twin needle using the jeans gold colored thread. The dress hem was topstitched singly merging into the button band seam lines.

BTW, I never put a buttonhole on the collar stand. I don't button it closed and I hate trying to get a buttonhole to work in that area...so I just leave it off. Sometimes I will add a button to the collar stand to continue the style, but for this dress I didn't.

Some pictures of the dress ~

Conclusion ~
This was a TNT sew and since the fit issues were worked out it left my mind free to work on the creative aspects of the dress. I really like the fit through the shoulders and bustline and how loose it is from the waistline down. If you noticed in the photos, this was a little wrinkled because I've already worn it to work. It passed the wearability test with flying colors.

At the end of my Sewcation, I thought I would probably make one or two more. However, now that I'm back to work and thinking about what else I want to wear this summer, these two will probably be the only ones I make this year. I own so many patterns, both new & old, as well as TNT, that I want to go on some other creative journeys.

BTW, if you Google "Vogue 2090" there are still some copies of this pattern available on the internet. It's a great wardrobe pattern and if you like those Vogue designer patterns from the 90s, then this one would be a great addition to your pattern stash.

The last dress from the Sewcation is McCalls 7470...it will be up on the blog soon!

...as always more later!

The Embellished Shirtdress Series - Printed Linen Vogue 2090

Halfway through my Sewcation I got overwhelmed.  The Sewcation started with two garments that were less than thrilling and nothing was working the way I planned. When Butterick 6333 was a sewing fail it kinda blew up my sewcation plan. I had to figure out what to do next...so I literally slept most of Wednesday. It didn't hurt that I had to deal with a plumbing problem that will require redoing my second bathroom faster than I wanted to...yeah, glad I have fabric to sew from in the meantime!

I've found when I'm having sewing challenges, pivot towards a TNT pattern. It helps me move past the blockage because it's easy sewing (all those fit issues have been worked out) and it allows me to just dream and sew.  Since Vogue 2090 was out, I decided to move in that direction.

After I decided what pattern to use, the hunt was on for fabric...and when I say hunt I mean hunt. Since I was operating off plan, I had to go through the fabric shelves to find new pieces. I knew I wanted linen and a floral. After going through a few shelves of printed fabrics, I decided on this blue/purple floral.

Supply List ~ 
The linen was purchased last summer during one of Fabric Mart's end of summer sales. I added a large white rick rack from the notions stash. I've had it so long I have no idea where I purchased it. The white mother of pearl buttons are also from the button stash. The interfacing is the last of the Fashion Supply Interfacing stash.

Since this is a TNT sew there are no pattern alterations or new construction information. I added the white rick rack on the collar and on the hem of the sleeve for embellishment.

A few pictures ~

Conclusion ~
This is just the first of the shirtdresses that I made using this pattern. I wanted to add a bunch of these to my wardrobe this summer because they are loose-fitting and perfect for the hot, humid days that are to come. This pattern along with M7470 will fulfill my shirtdress needs.  

I'm calling this "The Embellished Shirtdress" series.  Each dress has a different type of trim or embroidery on it and why I've named it The Embellished Shirtdress Series.

Next up is a denim version of Vogue 2090.

...as always more later!