An Early Spring Version of Butterick 5147

So the last couple of posts have been about what's inspiring me. I'm sure you've been wondering when you'll see something I've actually sewn. Well I've been working on this dress for quite awhile (since March 24th)...a lot longer than it normally takes me to make a tried 'n true (TNT) dress. 

Instead of being annoyed about the amount of time it's taken, I've quite enjoyed the journey.  Probably because I've added so many "details" to a simple silhouette. As I mentioned before this will be my sixth version of the dress and this time around I added even more details...

There is piping added to the neckline and armholes.  
Piping that I made myself.

A lining with a lace hem

Piping at the dresses' hemline

...at one point during the process I considered adding a placket to the neckline front like this Talbot's dress...

...but after pulling the piping off the neckline and letting the dress sit for a minute, I decided that my original idea for this dress worked just fine and I should go with that.  However, I did decide to add piping to the hemline.

Piping at the hemline ~
Since the piping is an integral part of the dress, I decided to extend it to the hemline.  Here in pictures is how I did that...

First I measured up an inch and a half at the hemline, pressed it flat and then cut it off the hemline.

Then I serged the cut edge because 

this fabric ravels like the dickens!

I added rayon seam binding 

to the bottom edge of the band.

Pressed the band flat and folded 

the seam binding over then pressed flat

Serged the cut edge of the dress and pressed flat

Handstitched the remaining piping 

to the hem of the dress.

Pinned the band to the piped 

hem and stitched down

Topstitched 1/4" from the piped edge 

on the front of the dress

Inside edge showing hem tape which 

was hand stitched to the dress

Finished hem edge pressed flat

Other thoughts on the dress ~

• The interesting thing about this dress is that it fits a little tighter than it's predecessors.  I know that I added a few inches to the brown & orange tweed version, however, all of the other renditions have been made straight from the TNT pattern.  I'm thinking it's the fabric I chose for this one.  
• Other than that my only concern about this one, is that I will need to be careful with this fabric. While a woven fabric without an apparent loose weave, there is still a delicateness to the fibers, which raveled like crazy during the construction process. After handling it for the last month, I'm concerned that too much rubbing on the fabric will cause piling. I will keep this in mind when wearing the dress. I will also have to make sure that there isn't too much stress on the seams due to the fabric's tendency to ravel.
• This is a spring/early fall dress because of the weight of the fabric and lining. Once the temps start to rise, I will need to put this one in the back of the closet. I will get at least one wearing out of it before summer comes roaring in and that's fine. It will be nice to look forward to wearing this in the fall.

Some stats ~
Pattern ~ 
Butterick 5147 - now discontinued and out of stock on Butterick's website.

Fabric ~
A linen brocade purchased from Emmaonesock

Notions ~
Piping made by me
22" invisible zipper
brown rayon bemberg lining
linen bias binding
1" brown lace

Some more photos of the dress ~

Finally ~
I will probably make more renditions of this pattern in the future because it works so well for my day job. Presently though, there are no new ideas for it on the horizon. But, if you have this dress pattern in your collection, I highly recommend that you take it out and use it, it makes a great dress.

...as always more later!

Construction Details for a Spring Wool Crepe Dress

The cold and the dark are gone.  The mornings get brighter earlier.  The days are not only light longer but they're getting warmer too and I feel like the bears that have come out of hibernation...this is MY time of year.  I love spring!  I love warm breezes and sunny days.  I may not be an outdoors kinda girl but I love this time of year especially because it means that I can wear skirts and dresses ALL.THE.TIME!

So of course my next project is a dress.  Hey, you knew that before I typed it! *LOL*  AND of course it's from my tried 'n true (TNT) dress pattern.  I made this dress back in 2008.

Lace was used to emphasize the pleat on the front of that version but this time I went with my next favoritest embellishment, piping, since I've sewn a lot of lace lately.  Yes, I know I've been piping everything in sight too but I need just a touch of white for this dress and I can add it best with some piping.  

I'm starting with a lime green lightweight wool crepe from Mood Fabrics... 

This will be my Mood Garment for the month and the first dress in my, "Fun in the Sun Summertime Dressing" Collection.  So besides discussing what I'm making, I wanted to share some of the construction details...

First up was making the pleat. I've done a pictorial version of the instructions this time but the original dress post contains concise directions also.

Added 3" to the dress center front

Full length view of the 3" added to the dress front

Marking the cutting line for the neckline

To sew the pleat, I sewed a line of stitching where the original "place on fold line" was then I pressed it down and flat.

The next sequence of pictures is how the dress was assembled.

Piping added to the neckline

White 2" lace added to the lining hemline

Close up view of the lace

Lace seam tape was added to the dress hem so it

would match the lining lace

The neckline and pleated front with white piping

Sleeve with piping detail at the hemline

Sleeve inserted into the dress

The dress took about 10 hours to make between Saturday and Sunday.  I know  because I clocked the time.  See after watching The Great British Sewing Bee, I wanted to know how long it takes me to complete a dress with a lining.  Yes, I did add a degree of difficulty by using so much piping on the dress but you know I wasn't going to have an unembellished dress.  Just wasn't going to happen. *LOL*

The most time-consuming parts of the dress were the piping (of course) because I hand stitch all of the piping down before sewing it into a seam.  Also, the sleeve hems needed to be faced and the hems (both dress & sleeves) were hand stitched.  

I did figure out that I can cut out and sew my dress shell together in two hours ~ that's including sewing in the invisible zipper.  It's adding all of that extra stuff that takes so much time...but it's all of the extra stuff that I really like and what makes the dress so special to me!

The dress featured above has been retired.  I loved wearing it and it's why I wanted another one.  The lime green & white shout spring to me and I'm loving the combo...so here is an outtake from the photos taken earlier this afternoon...

The dress will appear on the Mood Sewing Network on Tuesday.

...as always more later!

I'm a Talbots Woman - Part Two

I love dresses.  I'm sure everyone knows this because if you've read my blog for any length of time, you see more dresses here than anything else.  The other day at work I was wearing this version of Butterick 5147 and I realized that I'm most comfortable and look most professional in this combination.  Because of that I will continue to make more of these outfits especially since its now spring.

This email showed up in my mailbox the other day and of course I went to Talbot's site to wallow in the goodness.  Three of my favorite dresses from last summer are "The Peyton Dresses" which were inspired by a dress from Talbot's.

Now I'm intrigued by the ponte short sleeve sheath dress pictured below.  I know I'm not a pocket girl but this is such a cute, practical dress that I'm thinking I need a couple. I have quite a bit of ponte on hand in several colors ~ including yellow ~ and this would make a great work dress.

The dress appears to be simple but it has such interesting details.  The v-neck with the neckline detailing, the pockets with the slot seams, the bold buttons and the cute short sleeves all make it a versatile dress ~ great for work and church.  Of course, I will start with my TNT dress pattern, with a few pattern pieces from other garments to get my own version of this dress.

I don't even have to pull fabric from the shelves for this...it's all laying around the sewing cave just waiting to be made into new spring dresses.  So when I finish up my Mood garment, I'm going to make a couple of these.

Yellow, emerald, burgundy and pink ponte knits

I've decided to call this summer's sewing "Fun In The Sun Summertime Dressing." I can't wait to add several of these dresses to the collection!

...as always more later!

Inspiration from a New to me Designer...

I see inspiration everywhere.  And after not much sewing for the last couple of weeks I was thrilled to be inspired by something again.  I found this dress in the April 2013 issue of Bazaar magazine...

I'd never heard of this line before so I hopped on over to the Saks Fifth Avenue site to check out the designer and their line.  I'm not sure if this line is designed by a woman, a man, or a corporation because everything I google comes up with the line but nothing about the designer.  However, can I say that if you like bold colored prints, you will love this line.  You can see it here at Saks Fifth Avenue in regular and plus sizes (love that!), at Bergdorf Goodman and at Farfetch.

This is the fabric I want to use...to which I will add black lace sleeves...

My TNT dress pattern will, of course, be the basis of this new dress.  I know it's loud and colorful, incorporating two of this summer's trends (bold colors/prints and lace), but I love the fact that I can get a two-fer in one garment.  So I'm pretty excited about making this one...look for it soon after I finish up my Mood garment!

...as always more later!

Even I can do better...

Okay so I got my butt in gear and finished off the Vogue 1250 dress.  However, that doesn't mean that I finished the Butterick 5147.  But I did get started on sewing the piping down and inserting the lining...as pictured here:

So can I talk to you a little about making this dress...well I'm gonna anyway. I made a typical sewist mistake,  I didn't stabilize the neckline so of course it stretched out of shape...this folks is where experience comes in.  Having been in this situation before, I knew a few tricks to "Make It Work."  

• First I opened the side seams and stitched them with the smallest seam allowance.  
• Then I stitched them again to reinforce them.  
• Pressing them open and flat gave me some more space.  

Next it was a matter of carefully matching the shorter lining to the stretched out neckline.  Some steam, a few carefully placed puckers and the lining and fashion fabric worked with each other...but I really should have double checked that neckline before I added the piping to it.  

Finally, I also should have added some ltwt. fusible interfacing to the neckline to hold the shape of the original neckline.  Next time I will double check this so that I don't make that mistake again!

Now I just have to tackle the armholes which are experiencing the same challenge. I'm only working four days this week, so hopefully the extra time will allow me to not only finish this dress but to also work on my Mood garment for this month...which I guarantee you won't be as involved as my Lace Challenge Dress!

Here's a sneak peek of the fabric I'm using for the Mood project...

Things are settling down at work and I'm spending some quality time in my sewing cave which always makes things right in my world...

...as always more later!

Vogue 1250 in Houndstooth Ponte

When I found this fabric on the interwebs, I knew it was perfect for another rendition of Vogue 1250.

I see this pattern around the sewing blogsphere a lot.  I seem to be one of the few full-sized woman making this pattern repeatedly and I can understand why. All those slim figures and flat tummies can make you rethink sewing this...but I really like the wearing ease of this dress...the fact that so many fabrics look amazing in this silhouette...and that it works so well with a jacket or cardigan.

Fabric ~
Houndstooth ponte from EOS

Notions ~
a little seam tape

I have no new construction tips to add.  I don't know why but I added some to the side seams which of course I had to remove.  I'm no longer using the back neck facing piece, instead using the stitch witchery fold down technique I noticed in ready-to-wear.  So other than the fact that it took me way too long to finish this dress, it was the perfect quickie to get my mojo back.

Honestly, I have at least one more summer version of this planned.  I found an amazing knit that will make a great dress.  I know that will be the 10th make of this dress and I wonder if I wore this silhouette for two weeks straight if anyone at work would notice?!

A parting shot of me and the shoes...and yes I do buy fabric to match shoes!  *LOL*

Updated to add that the shoes were purchased 

from Zappos in December 2012!

...as always more later!

The Great British Sewing Bee

So another week of no sewing in the sewing cave...with no desire to sew...it's sad really.  The very thing that makes my heart sing and gives me a reason to live (and I kid you not - I don't care how sad you think it is!), is the very thing I'm NOT doing and horrors of horrors NOT even thinking about!

The only sewing thing I've been doing is being obsessed with The Great British Sewing Bee.  The second episode is here if you haven't seen it already...

...and reading every blog post about it that I can get to...

I've listed a few of the blog posts that I thought were interesting reads here...

1. Miss Celie wants to be the next host.
2. Yes I Like That had some interesting thoughts about the Bee.
3. VickiKateMakes post made me think.
4. Chanel No. 6's opinion about the elimination process.
5. Ann's take on the age vs. experience conversation that's going on.
6. Tilly's Recap of being on the show.
7. Lauren's missing bits from the second show.

My favorite sewing board, which Ann Rowley is an active participant of, Stitcher's Guild has a wonderful conversation going on about the show, so check that out too.

...and in Great Britain Crafty Magazine has organized a blog tour touting the book that's associated with the show.  I found the blog posts halfway through the tour at Karen's blog, Did You Make That.  You should check the tour out!  Lastly, the book that's from the series can be purchased at Amazon.

That is the extent of my sewing or thinking about sewing for this week, although my GBSB obsession has filled quite a few hours and in my quest to see the second episode as soon as possible, to blow up my work computer!  Thank goodness for IT Techs!  *LOL*

Hopefully I will finish up the herringbone version of Vogue 1250 and my floral version of Butterick 5147, this weekend.  It will be nice to have some new clothes to wear to work next week.

...as always more later!

Bits of Me...

I've been crazy busy the last couple of weeks so very little sewing has been thought about...usually sewing consumes my waking moments but work and other things have encroached on my precious time.  Several times I've thought about writing a blog post but it's only been small bits, not enough to support a post.  So as an update, I've pulled all the bits together to form this post.

Honestly I don't know if I'll get a chance to sew this weekend.  I was suppose to meet friends today in NYC but since I'm feeling like a truck ran over me, I'm not going to make it which really disappoints me.  I think I'm just going to pull the covers over my head and veg for the weekend...anyway, here are the bits of me!

1.  Remember this dress...

Well I've gotten another idea for it which meant pulling some of the piping off.  So it still sits waiting to be completed.

2.  With one unfinished dress, you would think I would leave well enough alone. Nooooo, I cut out and started to stitch together another version of Vogue 1250. That is also laying unfinished on my sewing table.

3.  Y'all know that I have fabric issues.  Well my issues become more pronounced when I have no opportunities to sew.  Suddenly the call of fabric gets louder, stronger and more demanding.  Yeap, I bought more fabric...the boxes arrived earlier this week...

4.  Have you seen the Great Sewing Bee that just started to air this week in Great Britian?

You should definitely check it out, if you haven't already!  This is what a sewing show should be about.  There's also a great article about it in The Telegraph (thanks Ruth for the heads up!)

5.  I wanted to give a personal thank you to everyone who left a comment on the "A Sewing Machine Story" post.  There are some wonderful sewing stories there and I so appreciate everyone who left a comment.  Later when I can I will give you the back story on how that post came to be.

6.  As I stated in a post last weekend, I did not make the jacket that should have accompanied the MSN Lace Challenge Dress.  I had no desire to sew and even though I had Friday off, it was a very packed family friendly weekend.  So here are a few photos from the weekend...

My sister and I at church

  The grandbabies with coats on headed to church                           

It was a wonderful weekend ~ full of family, church and good food!

7.  On the bus earlier this week, I found this Chinese Fortune left floating on the seat.  I went to remove it and then read it...finally thinking this was so appropriate for me!

"Happiness lies in the joy of 

achievement and the thrill of 

creative effort!"

8.  One of the things that happened during my family friendly Easter weekend, was that I met a younger cousin who's just starting to sew.  So we will be going through my fabric collection, via Face Time, so that I can send her some pieces for her to continue her sewing journey.  Honestly, I love encouraging others to sew...gotta keep our artform growing...one sewist at a time!

I don't know if I'll sew this weekend since the Musinex couple have moved into my head.  I'm more inspired to head back to bed with my tissues and remote control to watch movies.  I do know that posts may continue to be sparse around here for a minute since I'm still in the throes of work projects. I need to find a new work/life balance. 

...as always more later!