Pages

Sunday 28 December 2014

Muslin marathon and Dahlia disaster


This is my third muslin of Colette patterns Dahlia dress. When I first laid my eyes on the pattern I considered it a candidate for this year's Christmas dress. I bought some nice plaid fabric and blue lining and was ready to go.


Then  alarming pictures started to show up on blogs, Instagram and Twitter. It looked like lots of sewists had fitting issues, especially around the shoulder section. O well, no need to worry. Not with my extra broad swimmer shoulders. Gaping neckline? Are you kidding? That never happens to me. Matter of lady cargo distribution, I presume. Boy, was I wrong! 
When I cut my usual size for Colette patterns it resulted in a bodice with enough room in the shoulders to wear a linebacker outfit underneath. Which was quite unexpected, since I had to widen the shoulders of my Moneta dresses. No need for a FBA, in fact I could take the muslin in at the bust. What??!! That's a first!
From the waist downwards things looked pretty good so I kept focusing on the bodice. The problem seems to be caused by the one piece raglan sleeve. I started by adding a dart, them I changed to a two piece sleeve and although the fit improved, I'm still not satisfied. Time was running out, so I put this conundrum aside for a while and looked for another pattern for a Christmas dress. Why not kill two birds with one stone and make a shirt dress for the autumn of 1000 shirtdresses challenge?


After tracing the bodice of M6696 I found the neckline too high for a festive dress. Burda Style 5/2010 #137 was another option, but after tracing that bodice it seemed too low. I don't want to sound like Goldilocks but when you have a larger bust size the line between just right and absolutely indecent is a very thin line indeed. I added an extra inch to the Burda bodice, adjusted the collar and lapels and changed the sleeves for the M6696 sleeves. For the skirt I wanted a 3/4 circle, which I drew on an old duvet cover to make a muslin.


The skirt looked fine, so I divided it into three parts (two front skirts with added button bands and a back skirt) and was ready to cut into a beautiful black jacquard. Only to discover my piece of fabric could not accommodate a wide midi skirt AND long sleeves. Back to the drawing board for a half circle skirt. To make a long story short: three days before Christmas my dress still looked like a frumpy duvet cover turned muslin.


Basically I had the choice to hurry along and try to finish this dress in time, or to sit down by the fire with a glass of wine, watch some movies, bake more cookies. Wine and cookies won.


Christmas was great, with good food and wonderful company. And of course when Foxgloves and thimbles, Canal couture and Sartorial sweatshop are celebrating Christmas together lots of sewing related gifts turn up under the tree!


Happy holidays!

10 comments:

  1. Oh, good choice! Wine and cookies always trump sewing room frustrations, lol! Happy Holidays!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quality time with family was great, even without a new dress. The baking was highly appreciated, so it was a good call!

      Delete
  2. Here's to wine and cookie:).

    Some dresses are not meant to be - and with the New Year around the corner, a fresh start is promised

    I'm glad you had a lovely Xmas, wishing you a Happy New Year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sarah Liz, hope you're having a good time too! My dress is coming together nicely. Maybe it will be finished in time for New Year's Eve, maybe it won't, it'll be fine either way. Deadlines are for work, not for sewing ;) !

      Delete
  3. I too am so glad you opted for wine and cookies. Deadline sewing is often a disappointment when you know you already have a perfectly suitable dress in the wardrobe. Why we do this to ourselves? I don't really know. I have a dress partly finished that I want to complete today and it isn't what I had dreamed up in my head but I need to make it work.
    Your Christmas festivities looked so lovely from these photos plus your IG photos and I really love that ironing board cover. It would make me like ironing a lot more I would like to think. Have a very happy New Year and I look forward to seeing more of your sewing projects and if I can give a little hint, forget Collette patterns. Too many issues for fit and not worth the price for so much grief.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As much as I dislike deadline sewing, it's a hard habit to break! When I picture myself in a certain outfit on a particular occasion it feels like failure when I don't finish the outfit in time. Silly, but I'm working on it ;). As for Colette patterns, I had good results with the knit patterns this year and the price of the pdf patterns is very reasonable for us in Europe, compared to the sky high costs of Vogue (which is my first choice of patterns nowadays, especially the designer range). I've been sewing Burda and Knipmode all my life and I just like to try indie pattern companies. Some work, some don't, that's part of the adventure I guess. The ironing board cover is really lovely, a much appreciated Christmas gift from my youngest daughter and her boyfriend. Those two are amazing cooks who cooked an awesome Christmas dinner for our family!

      Delete
  4. Good job knowing when to turn off the stress and just sit back and enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Still hard sometimes, but I'm improving. I hope you had a nice and relaxed time too!

      Delete
  5. I like the lipstick on the lady on the right. I've been on a search for the perfect "MY" red lipstick. I understand there is one for every lady. Of course I don't know why MINE is hiding, LOL.

    Cheers,

    Lyric
    https://www.sewlyricallyvintage.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, if I remember correctly she tried one of my lipsticks that day. Just keep looking for your perfect red, it's out there!

      Delete