Ah well. Maybe next time.

(I started writing this at the beginning of October. Ummmmmmm...yeah.)

 

Despite having good intentions and sewing three of the five required garments, I did not finish in time to participate in the PR Mini Wardrobe Contest. I was on a roll and thought I'd have everything completed with enough time to take pictures and post reviews. Unfortunately, fussy fabrics got the best of me and I simply ran out of steam. Plus as Doctor T Designs noted, posting wardrobe plans on the internet is an almost-certain way to invite defeat. 😅

Fussy Fabric #1:  denim tencel twill (plan:  Burda 9-2006-108 / reality:  New Look 6299)

When I purchased this fabric, I was super excited to sew it. The drape and hand were wonderful and it washed well. There was a bit of crocking and bleeding, but I didn't mind in this case because it added dimension to the fabric. For all of its beauty, the fabric was a nightmare to control. It shifted horribly at the slightest touch and made it almost impossible to sew a straight seam. Patch pockets? Yeah, no. I tried interfacing the whole pocket; that made it too stiff. I tried interfacing just the seams for stability; the fabric legit laughed. 

 

fragile sewing mojo = not dealing with foolishness

It's a mathematical fact.

Fortunately the skirt front and back pieces were big enough where I could reuse them to cut New Look 6299.

The fabric was still challenging to sew, but I made it work. After it hung on my dressform for a few days, I was certain it was headed to the donation pile. But after I tried it on, I found that actually liked it. It's not at all what I wanted, but it's still a good basic that goes with almost everything.

Fussy Fabric #2:  rayon crinkle challis (plan:  New Look 6831 / reality:  New Look 6831)

 

 

I love sewing rayon challis. It has silk-like qualities with the wash-ability of cotton and there are often many wonderful, interesting prints. But it is a fussy fabric and has to be handled accordingly.

This particular fabric was EXTRA fussy, let me tell you. It had the dubious combination of being shifty and prone to stretching out of shape. 

 

Do you see this?! This is the side front panel stretched all to be damned. I didn't even handle it that much and it stretched a good 1.5 inches! The side front and center front panels had zero chance of matching. I had enough fabric to re-cut the piece and handled the rest of the garment with extreme care. Usually I pin cut pieces to my dress form, but I didn't this time; I figured gravity was an enemy.

 

I fused stay tape to the shoulder seams to prevent future stretching and will use stay tape around the armholes and other stretch-prone areas next time.

Once again, despite the difficulty in sewing this fabric, I really like the final garment. I used covered buttons since I couldn't find anything else that really went with the blouse.

 

Fussy Fabric #3:  lt. wt. cotton sateen (plan:  New Look 6704 / reality:  Simplicity 2599)

This fabric was the inspiration behind the colour scheme for the wardrobe plan and ended up being the biggest disappointment. Though it wasn't as fussy as the twill and challis, the fabric was oddly hard to handle given that it is 100% cotton. I used pins and weights to cut the fabric, but everything was still uneven. 

If I'm not sure about a pattern or fabric, I don't cut all of the pieces at once. I figure if things aren't going as planned, at least I have enough uncut fabric to do something else. For this garment, I only cut the bodice front and facing. I had so much trouble trying to sew the center front split and facing, I just stopped and changed directions.

I cut out an old favorite, Simplicity 2599. I'm almost finished with it (need to bind the armholes and hem), but I am 'meh' about the top. I still really like the fabric, but the whole experience has soured me and it's now been relegated to Area 51. This happens sometimes. 🤷

Without this piece, the rest of the wardrobe plan didn't make sense (to me) and was too monotone for my liking.

Fussy Fabric #4:  cream poly-wool crepe (plan:  Burda 6357 / reality:  donation pile)

The fussiness of this fabric was purely my fault. Washing it with a bright yellow-orange wide-wale corduroy turned out to be a terrible idea. See...I was thinking that since they're both light colors, I could wash them together with all other light colors. Terrible idea.

 

Not only did the corduroy bleed horribly (and permanently change the color of another light gray fabric to a puke pea green), the fuzz from the corduroy attracted itself to the poly-wool crepe. SMH

I tried removing the fuzz with a lint roller, but it proved to be more work than I was willing to commit. So the fabric is now in the donation bag. [See mathematical computation about fragile sewing mojo above.]

Of the original wardrobe plan, I completed Burda 8-2009-104.

 

 

I made this pattern before in a cotton shirting and really like it.

 

 

I wanted to make Simplicity 2339, but the fit was ridiculously off and I didn't feel like trying to make it work.

 

Simplicity 2339

Since I really wanted the double ruffle detail, I just took those pieces and added them to the Burda shirt.

 

Initially I used clear shank buttons for closures. After going through my button stash, I found these perfectly-matched blue and off-white two-holed buttons. I think I bought the buttons specifically for this fabric, but forgot I had them. Switching them out was the right decision.

Welp. 3 out of 5 completed garments isn't bad. I love what I made and everything works well with other clothes I have.

 

***

I have other sewn items (garments and handbag) to share along with the results of MakeNine 2022 and the annual sewing year-in-review. I hope to write about it soon. 

 

Happy Festivus everyone!

 

L

2022 Mini Wardrobe Contest

Pattern Review is running its Mini Wardrobe contest for the month of August. It's been a minute since I last participated in any contest - let alone the Mini Wardrobe. Timing for this contest has not usually coordinated with my schedule and lately I've just been too busy and stressed. This year, however, since the contest is happening in August, I might have time to finish. Maaaaybe.

 

The rules are to make five garments:  two tops, two bottoms, and a fifth coordinating item. Here are my fabrics and patterns; all but one piece comes from the stash.

 

1. mustard wool twill
2. powder blue/steel striped shirting
3. mustard/lapis blue cotton sateen shirting
4. navy and white rayon challis
5. cream wool crepe
6. denim tencel twill

This more than what is required because I intend to keep with the same color palette for fall sewing. I recently completed Simplicity 8601 in a navy/white rayon challis and it blends perfectly with this plan.

 

I've sewn Burda 8-2009-104, New Look 6831, and Kwik Sew 2895 before, so it shouldn't take too long to complete these garments. I made a muslin for New Look 6704; it looks promising.

 

Burda 6357 appears to be simple. The skirt is gathered to fit 2-inch wide elastic and hemmed with a ruffle. There are no other closures. Thing is, I don't know if I have enough fabric. We'll see.

 

I'm almost done with the ruffle-front blouse; it just needs buttonholes and buttons.

 

I've started working on the denim tencel skirt and it is proving to be a real bear. The fabric is gorgeous, but hella fussy for not being chiffon. I don't do fussy. I'm going to baste the side seams and see how it fits. I have zero qualms about trashing something that doesn't work for my soul. 😁 I have a couple of options that will work if this doesn't.

Alright, that's all for now!

L

 

 

Vogue 9299 (tunic/shirt dress)

I delayed making this pattern for so long because I didn't want to tackle fit. The reason I sew is because ready-to-wear doesn't fit my short, curvy body. I know I need to make several adjustments to most patterns, but the task makes the process so much longer and sometimes frustrating. I have to remind myself that the reward more than makes up for the hassle.

 

I am over the moon with both versions of this tunic/shirt dress. This pattern stayed in the sewing queue because I've seen so many wonderful versions by Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) and by another sewer, Karon, on Instagram.

 

The pattern has two lengths, three sleeve variations (four if you count the added ribbon on view A), and a sash. I made view B in the extended length with the sash. I'm short enough that this can be a dress, but because the side split is rather high, I wear it as a tunic with leggings.

 

Fabric & Notions:

• 3 yards cotton shirting (both versions)
• needle:  80/12 universal
• 7 x 1/2" buttons (both versions)
• light shirt crisp fusible interfacing (both versions) and Shape Flex (version 2)
• regular sewing and serger thread
• walking foot 
• scraps of tear-away stabilizer for sewing buttonholes
  

Size:  I cut size 14 in the neckline, shoulder, and upper third of the armscye. I transitioned to size 16 from the lower armscye to the side seam and hem.

 

Alterations:  First I made a 5/8" FBA and converted the dart to shoulder princess seams. Even though it's more work to create the princess seam, it's less hassle than trying to sew a big honkin' dart.

The pattern pieces don't include seam allowances at the princess seam; I added them directly to the fabric. Since I will likely sew this pattern a few more times, I'll create separate pattern pieces that include seam allowances.

FBAs always add extra width at the waist and hip lines. For this pattern, I trimmed the extra width from the side seam. The shirt is pretty loose fitting, so I didn't think I needed the extra width in these areas.

 

It's kind of hard to see the markings. In the above picture, the circle is the end of the side seam and beginning of the hem. This is where I trimmed off some of the extra width. I redrew the circle 5/8" in and retraced the hem stitching line. I hope this makes sense!

The muslin suggested that the upper bodice area was too long, so I removed 1/2" in length on the front, side front, and back yoke pieces. 

I removed the same amount in the sleeve, but added back 1/4" at the sleeve cap. I can't remember where I read the need for the correction. Something about making sure the sleeve cap has the proper shape? I could also totally be making this up. 😬

 

For the most part, I didn't have any trouble with excess ease when installing the sleeves. The green and pink dress sleeves were a little harder to set because the fabric was very stiff - despite twice washing and drying on high heat. The sleeves for the second dress went in with less fuss.

 

Finally for the second version, I added 2 inches to the wide end of the ties; I wanted them to be a wee bit longer when tied in the front.

 

Construction:  I sewed both dresses on the semi-industrial and made buttonholes on the domestic. For the first dress, I serged the side seams together. This made for an awkward transition to the side split hem, so for the second dress, I serged the raw edges and pressed the seams open. All other seams were serged together.

 

I cut two yoke sections and used the burrito method to attach.

Sewing the sleeve ruffles was a bit cumbersome, but not at all difficult:  create narrow hem, add gathering stitches, sew both ruffles to the sleeve stay, attach the whole unit to the sleeve.

I didn't interface the front self-facing on the first version because, as I said, the fabric was stiff. I did interface this area (using Shape Flex 101) on the second version since the fabric was lighter in weight.

 

 

I also interfaced both the inner and outer collar stands for the second version. The method I use for attaching a collar with stand interfaces the inner stand instead of the outer stand. This is because if the shirt is left open, the inner stand can be seen and should have more structure. I've found that not interfacing the outer stand can sometimes cause the whole unit to slightly collapse under the weight of the collar. So I used light Shirt Crisp (from Fashion Sewing Supply - highly recommend) for the inner stand and ShapeFlex for the outer. I'll probably do this from now on.

 

Fabric:  Even though the pattern envelope suggests 3 yards (2.7 m) of 60" (152 cm) wide fabric for size 16, I found that this was not quite enough. The sash pattern piece is really long and is cut twice. The sleeve ruffle piece is cut four times and sleeve stay, twice. These are also not small pieces, so I had to get creative with the layout. 

 

In the floral pink and green version, I didn't have enough to cut four ruffles and had to piece scraps together to make it work. You can kind of see that the top ruffle is not as wide as the bottom and has a seam near the front. I tried to orient this piece so that the seam wasn't too visible; this is the best I could do. I doubt anyone will notice.

 

 

I just barely had enough fabric to cut out the second version. If you decide to try the longer views of the pattern, I suggest getting an extra 0.5 yard/meter of fabric.

 

Finishing:  I used some sea foam green vintage buttons from the stash for the floral version. When it came time to pick buttons for the second version, gold easily won. I have plenty of buttons that match the colors of the fabric, but when I pulled the gold buttons, I could not resist.

 

 

The gold just gooooooes with it, right? It's so unexpected and unnecessarily flashy. Love it!

 

Conclusion:

 

 

I wore the floral version to a couple of appointments and got lovely compliments. I've yet to wear the other one, but will soon.

 

The second version is on my Bootstrap Fashion dress form and fits pretty close to how it would on me.

I am really happy with both versions. Though I finished the second one over a week ago, I left it in my sewing room on the dressform because it made me smile every time I walked in the room. It's just so colorful and cheerful!

***

I'm working on muslins for garments for the Mini Wardrobe contest on PR. The rules are posted:  2 tops, 2 bottoms, and a fifth item. Seems simple. I hope I can finish.

L