As I stated in my last post, my dive back into sewing was driven by one particular social media post. For some reason (known only to the algorithm designers) my mask adventures led to an ad in my feed from Rebecca Page. The ad photo was of the Classic Dress, a style that just screamed my name.
I love a summer dress with a flowy skirt and a fitted bodice and I had to have it. But I was afraid. I remembered the last dress I made, an ill fitting affair that I wore two or three times before retiring it and the slightly too tight nursing tops. But the ad kept popping up in my feed like it was daring me to give it a try. So I did.
I ordered the fabric on line from a highly recommended source and the website even matched the thread, lining, and zipper for me. This so excited me that I didn't realize that the vendor was located in Manhattan's Garment District -- a mere ten blocks away (and only two blocks from my office!).
The pattern was purchased and downloaded, I measured myself, assembled the pattern and started. The instructions were incredibly detailed and guided me through every step of the process from my first French seam to the final hem. Going slowly and carefully, reading and rereading the instructions, I put it all together. I sewed, I pressed and I trimmed. At one point I realized I was running out of matching thread and switched to using white on the inside seams, conserving the lilac for the hem.
And suddenly I was done!
My first fitted garment in 20+ years! I was so excited -- and a little bummed that I was still working from home and had no one to kvell over it besides my family. Yes, I like to show off a little.
There are imperfections. The zipper shows a bit because I didn't have the right zipper foot. The pockets (yes pockets!) have some puckers where they join the seam. And, it is a bit loose. But I made it and love it!
This time I went to the fabric store in person. I roamed the aisles stroking and poking the fabrics and finally settled on two. One was intended for a short sleeve dress, the other for another, more casual, sleeveless version.
Once again I cut and sewed and pressed, confidant that I knew what I was doing since this was my second go at the pattern -- and this time I had the correct zipper foot! I was even confident about the sleeves since I had eased many a sweater sleeve into place.
Yes, you can predict what happened. I got cocky and made newbie mistakes.
This fabric was thicker and had some stretch to it. I hadn't realized the stretch issue when I purchased it but did realize that it was thicker. What didn't occur to me was that the thicker fabric would give me some problems when it came time to put in the facing. You see, I had decided to forgo the lining this time and do a facing instead since the fabric was totally opaque.
Silly me.
Once again I followed the instructions to a fault, including hemming the facing. That was the fault. Since the fabric was on the thicker side this made the facing hem too bulky, a fact that bothers me every time I wear the dress (which I do!). No, I haven't fixed it but I probably should. Lesson learned: there are different ways to finish the edges of a facing and hemming may not be the best one.
I had, however, learned my lesson about the invisible zippers from the first dress, purchased the appropriate foot (and many others) and this zipper is indeed invisible. There are still issues where the zipper starts at my neck and the pockets are still a bit wonky where they meet the seams and the dress is still a bit loose despite my using the size corresponding to my measurements. But here it is!
The second length of fabric that was meant to be another sleeveless dress was repurposed into matching skirts for my daughter and myself (the subject of another blog post due to the vast amount of learning that went with them).
Then I went on a bit of an adventure with workout gear and skirts. More about those in later posts.
Fast forward to July. I am now working from the office five days a week and am usually alone due to pandemic restrictions. Since returning to the office I have taken to roaming the nearby blocks to get some exercise and to check out the smaller fabric vendors. If I just want to get lost in the fabric, however, I still default to the larger, more well known store because, for me, a good browse is more comfortable in a larger space. I picked up some knits here, some voile there and had fun with my makes.
Then came the day of the fire drill. As happens in all office buildings we had an evacuation drill. Leaving the building is fairly quick but reentry can take up to an hour due elevator capacity. Knowing this, once I exited the building I decided to take an early lunch and headed over to the larger fabric store. Without any clear goal in mind I wandered the aisles and, while chatting on the phone with a friend, stumbled on the perfect poplin for a new dress. Then I found a fabulous light knit for a coordinating cardigan. I admit to crouching in the aisle stroking the knit for longer than was probably socially acceptable.
Using the lessons learned with the other two dresses and the garments in between, I pressed and cut and sewed. This version was lined with a thin, soft, cotton purchased from a hole-in-the wall shop near FIT (SUNY's Fashion Institute of Technology). The pockets are without wonkiness (yay!) but the zipper took three tries and I wound up doing some hand stitching to make it look more normal near the base. I just was not willing to redo the whole back yet a fourth time! I dare anyone to look that closely at the small of my back.
This one fits perfectly! It seems (seams?) that when I actually use the recommended seam allowance the dress is just right -- almost. In between dresses I purchased a social media promoted gadget -- a magnetic seam allowance guide -- so I am no longer eyeballing my seams and they are now the correct width and much more regular. Love it!
As for the "almost" part of the fitting, I realized that the neck didn't lie quite right. This prompted me to go back to the first two dresses and realize that it doesn't lie right on them either. The problem is my body shape, not the pattern. So, I made a small box pleat in the center of the front neckline and now it lies better. Another lesson learned. On the next go I will try to actually alter the pattern piece to fix it since I want the dress to lie a little closer to my chest without the added pleat. Oh, and I also hemmed this one properly. The first two I just folded up the hem evenly around. This time I had my daughter mark the proper hem placement so that the back doesn't look shorter then the front. That lesson was learned from the mommy and me skirts. But that's another story!
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