Burda 7204 - Non Selfish Sewing Part I

My very lovely SIL, Miss Sharon, out in a  special request.  She was in need of a white dress to wear when she attends her Eastern Star meetings.  Not being one to turn down a fabric shopping expedition, I readily agreed and off we went.  Do you know how hard it is to purchase white fabric at this time of the year (in the Northern Hemisphere - it is probably all over the shops in the Southern . . . )?  In the end we picked up some white on white cotton fabric with dandelion clocks on - very cute.  She also settled on Burda 7204 - she wanted something pretty modern as she is about half the age of most of her companions at the meetings, but also something loose and flowy.  Due to medical reasons, she did not want to be constricted around her waist, so this fit the bill perfectly.

I made a shorter version of view 'A' with the sleeves of view 'C'.

Ah yes,  What I failed to mention is that Miss Sharon lives over an hours drive from me, so I got some basic measurements from her, and had to use my old (ie: too small for me now and even when it was the right size the lumps and bumps were in the wrong place) dummy called Hetty.  Now Hetty is not as animated as myself - nor Ms. Sharon for that matter, but when I get some live photos - I will post them!

This is a great 'quick and easy' pattern that I complicated by adding a full lining (lovely, soft Bemberg in 100% rayon) . . .there are only three pieces - front, back, sleeves and it came together quickly.  The darts that you can see above are supposed to be sewn on the outside, but I thought that that would add a bit too much bulk in an area that does not require it.  For my sewing buddies with more slimline boobages, this may well be a great pattern for you to enhance the area!!  I also chose to bind the neckline - I like the finish.

The sleeves are very cute - they are kind of oval shaped (ish!) and rather than use two layers of fashion fabric, I used the lining for one layer to make them a little more 'fluttery'.  Although I didn't follow all the steps for construction, I did follow the zigzagged sleeve hems, and it rather adds to the cuteness!!

The back has a vertical dart to add shape and is an interesting design feature.  I serged most of the seams and then stitched the seam allowance down flat - like a faux fell seam.  I think that this gives the finish a more classy look.
 

I made a long sash/self fabric belt in case Sharon wanted a bit of definition . . . .

 
And added some narrow lace to the hem - just because!

And, of course, I added a label.  I have had some new ones made up and I am really happy with my UK supplier.  As Sharon is Scottish, she will be tickled by the thistle on the label!

I am hoping that this dress fits, and is suitable for the occasion.  A slip/petticoat will  probably have to be worn underneath as this dress is not totally opaque.  It was a quick sew - made more complicated by the lining, and fun to make.  It is not a design that I would have sewn up for my self as I do not think it would do my body shape any favours.  It was interesting to make something for someone else - other than shirts for Mr. SDSC, I am quite the selfish sewist and it was weird not being in a position to try it on during construction.  It was a also not the only white dress that I made this weekend - they don't call be 'multiple makes Mary' for no good reason - and I will post about that dress later in the week!

How about you - do you make for anyone else?  If so, do you enjoy it?!

Roksanda Ilincic Inspired Dress

I have long admired the fabulous 'inspired' designer dresses made by the lovely Carolyn, amongst others, and have finally dipped my toes in the water.  Here is my inspiration:

 

Now, I know that you probably think that I am a little late to the colour-blocking party, but I am here now, so see me through!

This lovely dress was designed by Roksanda Ilinic, and boy, don't those colors pop?  So, after the success (in my mind) of my Pointer Sisters dress, I thought that I would jump in with some short lengths of linen that I had recently purchased.  After all - what other fabric would you be thinking of using in the middle of Autumn and the threat of snow storms at the weekend?!  Whilst I really like the look of the white, I was concerned that I may have some seams showing through, so I decided upon black, fushia and tan, with a soft dusky rose Bemberg Lining (for my Canadian sewing sisters, check out the 'bargain fabrics' wall in Fabricland - they move the old stock there quite frequently, rip the label off the bolt and sell it for $5/metre.  Bargain!)

I chopped up my pattern, trying to ensure that any vertical seams did not interfere with the darts, and that the horizontal seam on the back was as flattering as a vertical seam near your butt can be, and I was off.

I chose to overlock (serge) most of my seams, and then top stitched them down so that they looked like felled seams.  I should mention that this was done after basting the seams together and checking for fit (thank-you Mr. SDSC for being such a dab hand with the pins!) - I had to take out A LOT of fabric on the side seams of the fashion fabric, but not so much of the lining.  I used an invisible zip - I find them so quick and easy to set in, and left off the vent at the back.  The dress is hemmed rather short (for me) and did not need any extra walking ease.  I hand stitched the hem so that I could change thread color as I went round, and used self binding for the neckline and armholes.  Holy cow, doesn't linen bias binding fray?  So much for the 'bias' bit preventing that occurring!

Have you noticed how scandalously short this dress is?  You can almost see my knees . . . . !

Hmmm.  The back is a bit wrinkly in some of these pics.  I think some of it is due to my modelling (??!) posture, but I did make a bit of a pigs ear on the right shoulder (see below).  I may have to revisit the pattern and double check the back to smooth it out a bit.

I am really quite pleased with this, and have been busily pinning inspiration for more clothes.  I like that for color blocking it can be a great way to use up scraps (as long as I can work out grainlines!)  I did have a bit of issue with one of the shoulders where the lining does not quite hang properly - but not enough of an issue for me to remove the lining, re-cut it and attach again!!

Next up will be a dress with sleeves and a different neckline finish - but for now, I am rather pleased with my first designer inspired dress!

Pointer Sisters Dress

Oh yes, 'I'm So Excited, and I Just Can't Hide It', etc, etc, etc!!

After posting a muslin that really did me no favours at all, I received some great suggestions and comments from my lovely readers - thank-you so much!  And then we moved house, and I made some other garments and all the time felt terribly guilty that I did not follow up on these suggestions.  So here we are!  Based (very loosely) upon Simplicity 7740, I made a wearable muslin and I am toltally thrilled with the results:

Pretty cute huh?!  OK, so you can't really see much here - but that was the point of using a busy print!  So here are a few more photos:

Just look how short it is - you can almost see my underwears!!  I cut off about 6" (thanks gMarie) which is huge for me!  I am an 'ankle skimming' kinda-girl, but this length is certainly much more fashion-forward with this style and a lot less frumpy!

I had to add darts on the back neckline and make an adjustment to the back centre back seam to account for my promising dowagers hump (sigh), my parents were right - stand up straight and stop hunching your shoulders, they kept telling me as I was growing up . . . . .

I really like the way it fits round my waist and butt - I took loads in on the side seams and there is a sway back adjustment as well.

Apologies for the headless shots - either my hair was not behaving or Mr. SDSC managed to catch a less than flattering expression (obviously not my fault!!)

I know that there is still lots of room for improvement, but I am so pleased with this.  I ended up with just bust darts in the front (thanks Carolyn!) but added a very long vertical dart from my hips almost up to my shoulder blades in the back.  I bound the arms and neckline with bias binding, used an invisible zip and lined the dress (with a rather cheap lining - it is a wearable muslin after all!) and I feel very summery in it!

Here are a few close up photos:

I do like to add something in the inside of a vent like a button, or the eye of a 'hook and eye', as this helps stabilize the vent and prevent it tearing during wear.  I had a small shell button that fit the bill perfectly here!  I also like to sew down the lining either side of the vent to hold it all in place - elsewhere it just hangs free!

It is likely that I will wear a cardigan with this - I am not totally comfortable with flashing my upper arms:

So, what do you think?  I am ready to try another dress - in a solid color, and it will interesting to see how that works out.  This is what I have chosen:

Finally - thanks for the comments,past, present and future!  I learn so much from what you all say :)