A plaid designer dress

It's only the first of February and I've already matched last year's dress production! And what's more, I've made an A-line dress (last worn by me in the late 70s) and I used a plaid fabric. I've checked my wardrobe and this is officially the only plaid garment I own. So, quite adventurous for someone who made too many safe sewing choices in 2018. In retrospection I worked on automatic pilot last year and got a little bored by my own sewing. For instance, that one and only dress I made last year was my sixth version of Vogue 8379. All the more reason to do things differently this year!

 I want to try new silhouettes, work with a wide range of fabrics, colours and prints and use different pattern brands. It's been ages since I've sewn Burda or Butterick, to name a few.

And of course I'm going to sew ALL the dresses.

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The pattern I chose for my first dress of 2019 is a Knipmode designer dress from the 'Jurken van Janice" collection. It appeared in the November 2018 magazine and is also available online as pdf or paper pattern in European sizes 34-54 (bust 83-131 cm / 33-52 ", hips 92-138 cm / 36-54 ")

What caught my attention were the pretty design details. The bodice is cut on the bias, sleeves on the straight grain. A collar with ties and fringe at the bottom of the sleeves. There were no specifics given for the fabric that was used for the sample and I had a length of wool blend suiting that looked like a perfect match. I made a quick toile, mostly to check dart placement and to determine on the length so I had the best possible start for matching the plaid.

Everything came together well until I constructed the collar. Note to self: Shortcuts will backfire. Always include collar to test model!

Per the instructions I used lightweight fusible interfacing and the collar collapsed. I tried extra interfacing, a layer of silk organza and even a strip of horsehair canvas but the collar still looked limp, no matter what. I could make it look like the Knipmode sample for five seconds, but the slightest movement would throw the neckline off. 

I checked social media for other versions of this dress and everyone mentioned the same issue with the collar, except for sewists that were using a more firm fabric like ponte. But then of course the fabric lacked the drape needed for the bias cut bodice. 

I took the collar off and tried a few different options, like a cowl and an asymmetric collar. Nothing looked good, or in line with the rest of the design. I slept over it and then decided to go for what looked like the most obvious route. I reduced the neckline width by taking in the raglan seams and finished the neckline with bias tape and more fringe.

The dress is unlined. If I made it again I would probably use some type of very lightweight underling for the bodice, although it wears well as it is.

Making the fringe required some patience as this fabric has such a fine weave.

The threads were pulled out with a pin, right up to a line of zigzag stitches, placed to stop any further unravelling. And then I made another layer because I wanted more volume. For the sleeves I made a double strip and used it as a facing. The strips were serged together, stitched on the sleeves with right sides together and then understitched on the inside of the sleeve. A little press was enough to skip the topstitching as I liked the clean look of the pattern matched plaid and fringe.

Inside (left) and right side of the sleeve hem

Although this dress is not my usual style and I absolutely prefer brighter fabrics and some kind of waist definition, I quite like it. The plaid was a nice experiment but it feels a little too classic for me, especially when styled with pantyhose and heels. Tights, ankle boots and a chunky necklace make it work and I've already worn it for a variety of occasions. Apart from the initial collar issue it was a joy to make and the fabric was lovely to work with. 

Many thanks to Mr Foxgloves for patiently taking pictures in the snow and to the Furry Assistant for being the best support act during this production.

On to the next sewing adventure!

Velvet Knipmode designer birthday dress

When you're celebrating a significant birthday you need a new dress, right? And when you're going to spend your birthday in a castle it needs to be a posh dress!

After going through my pattern collection I decided this was the perfect occasion for one of the Knipmode designer dresses by Dutch designer Janice. It's from the October 2017 magazine, #26

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I chose a matte stretch velvet in a deep shade of emerald. The colour is very hard to capture and it doesn't help that most pictures were taken by candlelight. Although the pictures are a bit blurry, I hope their festive character will make up for that!

In the wine cellar

Now let's talk about construction details first before all that wine will distract us. Over the last few months I've been struggling with the fit of the Knipmode bodice block. Although I was making progress, I was not ready to cut that pretty velvet without making a toile first.

When I was looking for fabrics with a similar amount of stretch I found a loud mix that resulted in a Pippi Longstocking / Ikea employee type of dress.

On second thoughts, I probably would have been arrested for indecent dressing when entering Ikea in this prototype. That neckline was scarily deep! I raised the neckline (4 cm), thus creating a cheater FBA by adding length where it was needed.
 The rest of the dress was fine once I did my usual  adjustments: taking out 2 cm at the neck base and correcting the hip curve. Knipmode patterns are drafted for a X-shape while I'm 8-shaped with a higher hip curve. I shave a bit off at the lower hip and the same amount to the high hip. This is such a standard procedure I'm thinking of creating a cardboard hip curve template.
One other thing I should mention is that, although the line drawing suggests otherwise, the pattern has no darts in the back bodice. The center back seam provides subtle shaping, resulting in a nice overall fit.

Since I hadn't been sewing stretch velvet in ages I did a few test runs to decide on the finishes. The biggest challenge was formed by the front neckline. Instructions told to just foldover and stitch down, but to be on the safe side I added fusible seam tape first.

After fusing and topstitching I measured both bodice pieces against the pattern. No stretching had occurred so all was good! The skirt has three diagonal pleats, the bodice two. The lower bodice pleat is folded over the waist seam before the side seam is stitched.

When I put on the dress to decide on the length I found the skirt too straight to my liking and I tapered it to obtain more of a pencil shape, taking out a total of 10 cm of the circumference. I catch stitched the hems because I prefer the clean look over a twin needle or coverstitch finish.

I'm really happy with how this dress turned out and I will most likely make this pattern again.

I'll add some extra pictures, just because....partydress in action! I had the most wonderful time celebrating my 60th birthday with our family. Excellent company, great food, ample wine and whisky. All that, and a dress that was made to party!

Presents!

With the knight in shining armor

And with the real deal 💘

Bring on the next decade. Cheers!