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.

KM1811-21

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!

French jacket: the trim

This is the rough version of what will probably become the trim of my jacket. In my previous post I described how I wanted the vibrant colours of the lining to become part of the trim. I spent most of the long Easter weekend hand sewing and testing several ideas.

I started with a lightweight navy ribbon.

I used a chalk pencil and a quilters ruler to mark every half inch.

Using the narrowest satin ribbon (3 mm wide) I then made tiny stitches on the marks. This was a very slow process, as the ribbon had to be pulled through with extreme care to prevent damaging the base ribbon.

After many hours of peaceful stitching with nothing but the sound of singing birds in the garden to distract me, I finished all 4 meters.

The leftover lining, two strips of 2.25 m by 7 cm wide, didn't give me much to play with. I sewed tiny tubes and turned them right side out.

Together it looked like this:

Obviously I have to polish it up a bit. Some of the stitches got twisted during the threading process and in other parts the seam of the silk isn't in the right spot yet. I will go back and make it decent later on. I'm happy with the outcome. It's lightweight, flexible and will add a colourful touch to this summer jacket!
I'm taking a step back from the trim to pick up working on the sleeves.

Final decisions, like will I keep it straight and graphic, or add a more fancy effect,

whether I'll add fringe, and if so, how wide, straight of grain or cut on the bias, it can all be decided later. For now I'm happy with the options.

Back to more thread tracing and quilting!