Oscar de la Renta Meets Butterick 5558 Wing Collar Dress

About a year ago this Oscar de la Renta boucle jacquard dress, which was $1890 at Saks (it's sold out, but for the moment is still on the website if you'd like to zoom into the details), caught my eye.   The fabric content of the original is poly/acrylic/polyamide, with a silk lining.  I looked forever for the perfect fabric.  It's tough to find a boucle that is lightweight enough to be pleated, so in the end I went a different direction with the fabric.

My starting point for this was Butterick 5558, which has the perfect collar/neckline and the empire waist.  This pattern has only two reviews, which surprises me as I think it is rather cute and purchased it before I ran across the inspiration piece.  Having made it, I am impressed with the drafting of the collar/neckline and recommend it.


B5558 is drafted with a peaked center front skirt, while the inspiration's bodice is straight across.  I prefer the straight across look.  The bust shaping as drafted comes from gathers; the inspiration has a dart.  Luckily, B5558 comes with a nicely drafted facing/lining for the bodice, and the lining has darts rather than gathers.  Two darts is too much for my bust, so I eliminated one of them, folding out the extra width (and did the same on the lining).

After a couple of hours of tedious re-drafting, I ended up with a front bodice that cuts straight across and has a dart.

The inspiration piece has pleating in the front skirt, but not with the volume and style as in B5558.  The back skirt of the inspiration is plain, though it has interesting seaming with the empire waist, a panel that goes to a little below natural waist, and the skirt below.  I don't understand the panel and did not copy it.   I would normally consider the plain back skirt a cheap coffin (lack of) detail, but here it seemed more sophisticated than a pleated back skirt.  Luckily, with that well-drafted B5558 lining were skirt front and back pieces with only a set of darts (rather than the voluminous pleats) and cut in an A line.



After the pattern was complete, I went to look at the inspiration piece again.  This time I noticed the curved seam detail on the skirt, which opens into the pocket.  B5558 actually has pockets, but they are standard side seam pockets.  Back to the drawing board, literally!

On the original, the curved princess piece has gathering into a single-welt-looking banded pocket.  However, with my rather stiff fabric I needed to avoid gathers.

Using the pieces from my Burda 10-2007-119 seamed frilled coat as a guide, I drafted a curved princess seam onto the skirt front lining pattern.  The side front has an integrated pocket piece, and a separate pocket is sewn on to the skirt front.






I was actually a little puzzled about how to sew this, even though I'd done it for my coat.  It was so long ago that I couldn't remember. Then when I was in Savasana (I'm not a very quiet-minded yogi) it came to me that it's sewn exactly like a side seam pocket, except even easier because you don't have to clip into the back's seam allowance.  First sew the separate pocket piece onto the center front (here I used the "right" shiny side as the right side of the pocket to make the pocket a little easier to slip my ID badge in and out of).  Press the pocket outward.  Then lay the side front piece over the front, right sides together.  Easy.   The seam allowances are pressed toward the front together.  I may use this detail again in the future, as it is sneakily easy.









To have room for the front pleats, I placed the "cut on fold" line of the front skirt (lining) piece 6 inches from the fold of the fabric.  When I was putting together the dress, I was annoyed with myself that I didn't think to line up the curved side/pocket seam with the bodice dart.  But then I had the idea to line up the outermost pleat with the bodice dart and all was well.

 The lining I placed 3 inches from the "cut on fold" line so as to ensure biking room; I did a single box pleat at CF on the lining.







The skirt as drafted is so short!  I lengthened it an inch in cutting, and ended up doing a serger rolled hem so I didn't lose any length.  It's just about right--with zero hem allowance taken up.  And, people, remember that I am 5'1"!  If I made this again, I'd add 2 1/2 inches to the skirt for adequate length and hem allowance.


























In addition to the short skirt, the bodice is very low cut.  Butterick is getting sassy in its old age, apparently.  The tailor's tack shows the original depth of the V opening; you can see on me that my 3/4" did not raise it to any kind of prudish level.  Someone with an actual bust would have to raise it significantly more.

The pattern comes in sizes 6-20.  I cut my usual 6 at the shoulders and bust.  It was the right size for the shoulders, but I could have used an 8 at the bust and an 8/10 at the ribcage(!).  The size issue is almost certainly due to my extensive redrafting of the bodice, though I would guess that this pattern does not suffer from the usual Big 4 Ease of Doom.  (The extensive bust gathering will give a small bust Empty Sack Syndrome, however.)

Despite my Broad Back Adjustment, I do not have a ton of arm movement.  The shoulder is more or less where it's supposed to be, though I could shave a little bit off the front armscye.  I think it just needed more than an inch of BBA, which is kind of ridiculous.  Again, this might have to do with my front bodice redrafting/SBAing, but the side seam sits pretty much exactly on my side so I'm not totallyconvinced.

Once the pattern was finally complete, which took probably 4 hours over several days, cutting and sewing were almost anti-climactically easy.  The instructions for the bodice are good, though they don't tell you which way to press seams, which annoys me.  All the seams I needed to know about were shown in later line drawings pressed, but it would have been nice just to have it spelled out (in case you're wondering, the shoulder is pressed open, but the back neck seam it continues onto is press down, so you need to clip the seam allowance).

The bodice front is cut with the integrated wing collar extending into back standing collar, so you need to accurately mark everything to line up the inner shoulder/neckline intersection.  I used tailor's tacks.

To get a neat finish at the back neckline and avoid having the zipper go over a seam bump unnecessarily, I used the same technique as in Simplicity 2337 and stitched the center back seam closed from the top to about 2 inches below the collar seamline, and installed the zipper below that.  The dress is a little hard to get in and out of because the empire seam catches on the bust when I lift my arms up and over to zip/unzip from the top.  But that doesn't have to do with having the neckline closed at the top.

Source: lyst.com via Trena on Pinterest

The fabric is a Maggy London brocade still available from Fabric Mart, though somehow I got it for $3.50/yd and it's now listed at $9.99.  The fiber content is no longer listed on the website, oddly; it's wool blend.  My guess is 30% wool, 60% rayon, 10% poly, but that is a total guess based on a burn test.  It's a really nice quality, presses very well, and can take heat.  I couldn't find a Maggy London piece made with this fabric. This Suzi Chin For Maggy Boutique Cap Sleeve Brocade Fit Flare Dress in Purple for $141 was the closest I could come; it's an acetate, though, so I think the wool blend probably comes from a more expensive line.

I actually used the "wrong" matte side of the fabric.  I prefer my clothes to be work-appropriate.  I just don't need fancy party clothes.


Alas, the finished dress definitely has a fancy party air because the skirt bells out in the rather stiff fabric.  But I'll still wear it to the office because, hey, I am a fancy lady.

Even as I was setting in the sleeves (I used my generic woven sleeve pattern, derived from Burda; I measured the sleeve cap and armscye of the Butterick to make sure they'd work together), I was uncertain whether I should just make this a long sleeve dress, rather than copying the original.  I decided that with the short sleeve it is a Fall, most of Winter, and early Spring dress and I would only not be able to wear it on the very coldest of winter days.

I turned up the sleeve hems, catching the sleeve lining, and then hand-stitched the hem to the lining only for an invisible look.



Now that they are in, I find the longer almost elbow-length sleeve surprisingly flattering.

This was a fun project, and the end result is an adorable dress, even if too fancy.  I will enjoy wearing it!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.  I entered it in the RTW/Designer Knockoff contest on Pattern Review.

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Thank you, by the way, for the advice on returning fabric to Fabric Mart.  I returned the two knits that were just the wrong colors for me and the overly metallic-ed linen.  Two weeks after I returned it I still hadn't gotten a credit or heard anything so I contacted FM.  I thought I had lost the tracking number from USPS for the package.  They still said they'd process the return.  I later found the receipt with the tracking number and sent it to them.  I have no idea if it arrived, but hopefully they believe me that I actually physically returned the fabric and was not scamming them.

Although it was only 3 fabrics of the *ahem* many I have purchased recently, I feel so relieved!  Everything else I love and have immediate plans for.  These would have languished in stash, making me feel guilty and annoyed.

DVF Grandie: The Big Reveal

I should have made clear in my last post that I had actually already drafted and sewn the final pattern when I posted about my muslin, before there was a consensus (and confirmation, as seen below) that there *are* seams in the front.  But, alas, I was still in the dark and drafted the front as one piece.

Both Nancy K and Loti asked about draping.  I don't know how to drape and though it would be an awesome skill to have, I just don't have enough free time to learn.  :(  I have only a few hours a week to sew and I would miss general workaday sewing too much to devote that time for months (or longer) to learning how to drape just to do a few projects a year.  Also, flat pattern works better with my non-3D mind.  I would never be able to unpin a draped project from a dress form and figure out what the heck I did!

After my first couple of muslins, I decided to try to be a little scientific.  Plus, making full sized patterns was getting really old!  So I played some paper dolls.  I drew a little front bodice and then traced it several times.  I slashed and spread it in different ways to see how that affected things.




The interesting thing to me was how similar--not how different--the patterns ended up looking, even though they were slashed in different places.  I decided to go with #2 for my final pattern, as it seemed like the most volume for the least side seam distortion.

I had learned from Muslin 2.1 that all the effort I had put into fitting the waist of my master pattern while still leaving it pull-on-able had been pretty much wasted.  I needed the extra width along the waistline to make room for the faux wrappy thing.  So in addition to slashing and spreading, I flattened the waistline curve in the front piece and reduced it a bit (but not fully flattened) on the back.  I also lowered the seam for the hip band, as I originally had it too high.


I believe the Grandie is fully lined, but for a silk summer top I thought a lining would make it too hot.  Not to mention, it would look best self-lined and I didn't have enough fabric.  I used a really lovely quality silk crepe from The Carol Collection.  I wasn't crazy about this fabric until I prewashed it (by hand in the sink) and then it revealed itself to be quite spectacular.

Rather than separate neckline and armscye finishes, I decided that an all-in-one facing was needed to ensure the top kept its shape.

To nicely finish the edges of the facing, I used Sunny Gal's interfacing trick.  Sew the lower edge of the interfacing and fabric, right sides together--so that the interfacing "glue" side is up.  Trim, if you didn't use a serger.  Then turn the interfacing up to the wrong side of the facing and fuse the interfacing in place.  The lower edge is neatly turned up without extra bulk.  It's a bit tricky to get a nice smooth edge over curves because you can't press it in place until you're ready to fuse, but a little bobble here and there is still nicer than a sergerd or zigzagged edge.

Although I have read several tutorials on sewing an all-in-one facing by machine without a CB seam (something like the burrito method for yokes), I really didn't want to add figuring that process out to this already frustrating project, so I kept the CB seam in my top and used my all-machine clean-finish technique. 



The hip band is also self-lined.  To keep the hem stable and add a little weight I interfaced the lower edge of the facing piece.  I didn't want the look of topstitching in this project so rather than do my usual method of sewing the facing to the wrong side, sewing the fashion fabric to the hem of the facing, and then topstitching the upper edge of the fashion fabric in place, I did this the traditional way and hand-stitched the band facing to the upper seam allowance.



I generally like to use French seams on silk, but with all the layers it would have been bulky in places.  So I did regular seams at the shoulders and the side seams of the band--seams that are hidden inside facings.  The only French seams are the side seams of the upper bodice.  When including a tie in a French seam, remember that it must be included in the first pass!



You want the tie to end up on the outside.  On the first "wrong side to wrong side" pass,  the right side of the fabric is on the outside.  So the tie goes on the outside too.  When the top is turned inside out and the "right side to right side" pass is made, the end of the tie gets sandwiched into the seam and the tie ends up on the outside.  (It always takes me great mental effort to figure these things out.)

The most difficult part on the final product was figuring out where to place the pleats and front tie.  I'm not sure I chose correctly, but it cannot be undone now without destroying the fabric so c'est la vie!



I tried on the top and pinned the pleats in place.  Then I machine stitched vertically over the pleats.
















Next, I took the tie and stitched it, with the end flush to the pleats, so the finished end of the tie was reaching toward the side on which it would be tied (sorry for my bad technical writing).






Once it was stitched in place, I flipped the tie over to the other side and stitched again, enclosing that raw edge.  When the tie is pulled over to be tied, the seam is hidden.

Source: farfetch.com via Trena on Pinterest

Alas, I did not crack the Grandie code.  I was hoping this would be a pattern I could use again with sleeves for Fall/Winter but I am not crazy about the final result.  Rather than cascading and draping, I just have a big bulge of fabric over the left side of my bust.

Sunny Optimist geniusly found this photo online where the seller had tied the top the "wrong" way, clearly exposing the seams.  Well, that would have been helpful!  With this information it would be a lot simpler to draft a closer approximation; I'm not sure I have the stomach to go back to this project.












However, although it wasn't fully successful, it was still a highly educational project.  I learned a *lot* about pattern manipulation, and I can imagine all sorts of other patterns that can be drafted using this method.  And plus, the paper dolls are so much fun and no risk/cost in materials (I use scrap paper).

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

DVF Grandie Blouse: Pattern Experimentation

There are a lot of PR contests that I enjoy, and the Ready To Wear contest is one I look forward to every year.  I am quite content to sew with patterns and very quick to correct real-life non-sewing friends who think I am a "designer," but drafting the occasional pattern challenges me intellectually and increases my knowledge of how to adjust and sew already-drafted patterns.

This year I went through my Pinterest boards and settled on Diane von Furstenberg's Grandie Top (originally $245).  It's a (deceptively) simple shape, and would be lovely with sleeves for Fall/Winter.  It's a great way to show off a beautiful piece of silk, and is office-appropriate without being boring.  Kind of the holy grail of patterns!  How hard can it possibly be to draft?

Oh boy.




The thing about this top, is that it has all that volume in the front, but after carefully looking at all available detail shots (it's available on multiple websites, all of which did their own photos, so I saw it from as many angles as possible), there do not appear to be any seams where fabric was added.  So the front *seems* to be all one piece.








I started by developing my base pattern, which I'll have to write about at a later date because I haven't taken photos of that.  I started with an old BWOF tunic because I don't have a darted woven pullover top base.  I would like to finish the process of  fully developing that pattern.

My first idea was to play off the pattern drafting for my McCall 6363 knockoff.  I figured I'd truncate the growth and add a tie on the end and Voila!

I also thought I'd try out the idea I had at that time of splitting the pattern vertically about 1/3 in from the opposite side seam to reduce the growth.  I do not have a 3D mind people; I did not realize that would add huge amounts of width to the neckline or the shoulder seam.  So I split the pattern just along the waist as before.




























Um, not voila.

 It was absolutely nothing like the Grandie top.  At that point I almost gave up on the idea.  I was so sure that my plan would work and when it was not even close I had absolutely no idea where to go next.

But after thinking about it for a while, I went on to muslin 2.0. I determined that the fabric all had to be added into the body of the blouse, no growths or extensions.  That means slicing and spreading, but where?  The Grandie top has a few small pleats in the side seam, so I started there, splitting at the side seam.



I was still not getting nearly enough volume.  I took another look at the inspiration top and noticed it had a pleat in one shoulder.  Another point for adding volume.  So I split at the shoulder and the waist, adding volume from both locations.

Apparently I didn't take a photo of muslin 2.0, sorry about that.  Suffice it to say there was not enough volume.

So I went on to muslin 2.1, splitting muslin 2.0 to add yet more volume.  Although the top drapes and cascades down from the armscye, the armscye itself is smooth with no pleats.  However, I thought that I might be able to get that cascade if I added some pleats there. 





I stitched up muslin 2.1 to see what I had.



Just ok.  Not that much like the original.  A whole lot of length added to the side seam, which is not the case for the original, and not enough width underneath the crossover.  The armscye pleats didn't add much to the volume needed for the front faux-crossover, so I did not keep that in the final pattern.

I was making progress but success was not guaranteed.  I went back to the drawing board to do some more thinking.

All photos are here.

Simplicity 2615, Prison Matron Chic

Pattern Review is having its Knock-Off Contest, which is one I always enjoy so I wanted to get in on the action. I chose this Derek Lam dress as my inspiration. When I first looked at the Derek Lam, it appeared to be a match for Simplicity 2615. However, when I went back to look at it, I saw that it is actually a wrap dress (at least to the waist), though Saks erroneously described it as "V neck." Further, the neckline is created by bands and the dress is gathered into the bands. However, at that point I had already cut out the Simplicity Pattern and wasn't in the mood to do a complicated knockoff so I just stuck with what I had.

The pattern is designed with a center front seam, which is left unsewn to the neck opening. I don't much care for the look of a center front seam, so I cut the CF on the fold. I thread traced the centers front of the facing and the dress, then lined up the centers and sewed a V to create the front opening. It took me a couple of tries to get it perfectly placed, but in the end I am happy with the opening. The fabric is very lightweight and I did not interface the neck opening on the dress, which was a mistake. I had to retrofit some interfacing into the corners on the dress.

As with my 1946 dress, I used Beth of Sunny Gal Studios' clean finish technique for the facing. It involves sewing the interfacing to the facing, right sides together, along the outer edge. Then you flip the interfacing to the wrong side and fuse in place. This time I sewed the shoulder seams of the facing and interfacing separately. I trimmed the interfacing shoulder seam to within 1/8 inch of the seamline. It creates such a neat finish! If you have to have a facing (and I hate them for their floppy ways), this eases the pain a little.

This dress is truly a bust. I like the pockets, but that's about it. The combination of gray color, the pattern forming a horizontal stripe, and the unfitted style all add up to Prison Matron Chic.

I tried to add a little interest to the sleeves by adding epaulet tabs. The tabs have lace on them and I sewed a decorative button at the top (the tabs are permanently sewn on). But maybe the military reference just makes the prison matron look even more pronounced.

Dressing it up with a colorful obi and statement necklaces likewise fizzles.

I do not finish 100% of the projects I start, but UFOs are not a problem for me. In this case, I wish I could have been able to just call it on this project and throw it away. But I felt compelled to finish it and spent way too long futzing with it, trying to make it wearable. I'm not sure I will even wear it once. I think it will just go directly into the Goodwill pile. Alas. But now that it's done I can finally move on to something else!

I was really drawn to this pattern, but I'm not sure I will give it another try. I think it might be more suited to a top than a dress and in a crisper fabric than I used. But do I want to risk another cut of fabric on this? I'm not sure.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here

Simplicity 6930, Ruffle Shoulder Blouse

I was first seized by this project two years ago and it has been on the "right away, sew it up" list since then. To be fair, I actually sewed it last June--only a year behind--but it hung needing the hem to be fixed for nearly a year before I got to it. The hem on this gave me fits, and the back hem is *still* crooked. I never understood why people hated hemming, but now that I've made so many tops recently I feel the pain! Skirt and dress hems never give me much trouble, but hemming a top is a nightmare. I have slightly crooked hips and shoulders and while everything kind of evens out by the time you get to my knees, shirt hems are a whole other story.

I saw this top first, the Abaete Lauren top, on Weekend Designer. He gave instructions for drafting the top, but I am more of a frankenpattern-er than a drafter, so I went through the archive to see what I could find.



My original plan was to make a princess seam top and catch the ruffles into the princess seam, as in Simplicity 2360. This vintage 1966 pattern has a side princess panel that seemed perfect. However, I realized I'd still have to draft a ruffle and felt unenthused. Then I hit on the idea of using the sleeve from the Duchess of Windsor dress, BWOF 03-2008-116. I had even made the dress before and had the sleeves already traced out. So much easier.


I adore the print on this fabric, though I'm not wild about the texture of silk crepe in general. It has a sort of "paint with water" look of smeary dots, and I love that it has both pink and red in the print so it matches either color skirt. Since it's a floral pattern I placed the pieces carefully to avoid the headlights situation. Or so I thought. Could I have done a *worse* job? Not only is there a GIANT flower centered absolutely perfectly on one side, the other sides looks small and saggy because of the slightly lower placed second flower. Thank goodness I had enough fabric to re-cut the front. I don't normally buy extra fabric so it was really lucky in this case!

As the envelope back shows, this pattern is drafted with a button back. I have ranted before how the button back discriminates against the single woman. I changed it to a center back seam with button slit at the top, figuring I could put a zipper into a side seam if need be. It turns out, this is very easy to pull over the head even with the button closed, so I even tacked it closed at the top.

As the fabric is slightly sheer, not to mention a little rough (this is not high quality silk crepe) I lined/underlined the blouse with cotton batiste. The sleeves are unlined and French seamed. I did a faux Hong Kong finish at the center back seam, and treated the batiste as underlining at the side seams, which are French seamed. I finished the neckline with a bias strip, the outer edge of which I hand-stitched to the underlining to keep it in place. I put in the hem by hand.

Consistent with most of my vintage pattern experience, there is a LOT of ease drafted into this top. My pattern is a size 12 for 32 bust. I have a 32 bust but my waist is a couple inches larger than it "should" be for a size 12. As far as I can remember, I didn't adjust the size of the pattern (though as I recall I lengthened it--my memory is hazy) and it came out HUGE. Although it's not portrayed that way on the envelope, the description of the garment is "overblouse." Maybe that explains the size? Anyway, I added front and back vertical darts to take up about 6 inches of ease (two 1.5" darts in front, two 2" darts in back). It is still quite loose and can be pulled over the head.


I am pleased with how well this knockoff turned out. My sleeves are not as ruffly as the original--if you visit Weekend Designer's post you'll see he recommends a circular ruffle, and the Duchess of Windsor sleeves are full but not a full circle--but they are dramatic enough for me. It looks fab with my Burda 01-2009-112 corset waist pencil skirt, if I do say so myself, and after much experimentation I found a way to style it with a red skirt as well (the belt was the issue--I wish I had a beige-ish one but haven't been able to find such a thing).

I'm glad I finally got around to fixing the wonky hem so I can actually wear it! I have no idea what I was thinking when I first put in the hem. Not only was the front hem crooked by at least 1.5 inches, the front was about 2 1/2 inches shorter than the back. So bizarre. And of course it still isn't right. I finally decide to put a hand hem in something and now I'm cursed to have to re-do it 3 times!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

Spring/Summer 2011 Designer Inspiration

Pattern Review's Knock Off contest will run in May, so it's time to get inspired!

I am not wowed by the selection of dresses online at Saks and Neiman Marcus this year. As usual, it is almost entirely neutral (aka drab and boring) colors with few prints. That's a hurdle I can overcome, but there is also a lot of unshaped clothing that is fitted with belts. As the old SNL sketch goes, "Just cinch it!" While I do enjoy loose, airy pieces in the heat of summer, a belt is actually way more sweaty than a dress that has shape at the waist with several inches of ease.

That said, there were some unshaped pieces that appealed to me. At least they have full skirts for biking. It is very inconvenient, this lifestyle change of bicycle commuting. Last year I put a lot of effort into sewing fitted and pencil skirts but I cannot bike to work in them! It's okay for skirts, I guess, because theoretically I could wear a biking skirt to commute and then change at work. But I just hate carrying extra clothes around for no reason and I don't want to walk into the building in the same raggedy skirt every day. Not that such a skirt is raggedy because it doesn't even exist yet (I'm thinking black A line knit). And for dresses, just no. I don't want to wear an entirely different outfit to commute in.

In the land of knock-offs this summer, Simplicity is the clear winner. Other than my vintage Stretch & Sew peasant blouse, *all* the matching patterns are Simplicity (including one New Look).



I like the features on this dress: the back yoke with gathered lower back; the pleated neckline, and the pseudo-raglan sleeves formed by the yoke.

When I saw it, I immediately thought of Simplicity 2594 (which is the same as lower priced It's So Easy 2418). It has the yoke and the gathered back below the yoke. The yoke would need to be extended in both directions and the front redrafted into pleats instead of a cowl, but I think these changes would actually be less complicated than they sound.

I have been trying to decide what fabric I have that would work for this!







Now, the gorgeous silk fabric in this Derek Lam would set you back a pretty penny. The description says only "silk" with no information on the weave. It doesn't look like charmeuse, but it also doesn't look sheer enough for voile. Possibly a lightweight twill weave?

I can really see this working with a silk cotton, one of my favorite blends. I am lusting after this one, only $22.74 per yard! Maybe when I have sewn up my entire stash I can justify that purchase. Give me about 15 years.... Or maybe I can get it for my birthday. That's a little closer in time, but I suspect the fabric will be gone in 4 months. Thinking about it, I have a lightweight gray rayon with a small print in stash that would work.

Although the fabric is unattainable, the pattern is a good match for Simplicity 2615. The only difference I can tell based on the level of detail available is that in the Simplicity the ties are threaded through a long casing/belt loop in the front and tied in the back and the Derek Lam has a separate sash tied in the front.

Exact same pattern.
Sash tied in back=Becky Homecky.
Sash tied in front=high end designer.

Very simple equation.



A fitted dress! Here we have the classic sheath with a roll neck collar. Where have I seen that before? Oh yes, New Look 6968. Here the pattern is somewhat different, as the designer version appears to have princess seams and the New Look has bust and waist darts in the bodice. I can't tell whether the Teri Jon has a waist seam because of the belt, but I think it does as you can see princess lines breaking the print in the bodice but the print on the skirt appears continuous.

The standout feature here is the collar. The New Look roll collar has a little extra flip thingy, but I have the pattern and from my perusal of the directions a while back the flip thingy is not an integral part of the collar and can be left off. Too bad my floral print pique is already spoken for!



For some reason this dress really grabbed me when I was browsing. It is entirely impractical for my life so I kept going. But I had to go back and snap it. I don't know what it is I love here. I am not really into the 70s Studio 54 vibe, which this has in spades, and it really REALLY does not fit into my lifestyle. There is no conceivable event, place, or occasion for me to wear a dress like this. The only place I can even picture it is for dinner at an expensive beach resort in Ibiza or on a yacht. Believe me, nobody has invited me onto their yacht lately.

It actually would not be hard to make, barring the difficult fabric. My trusty vintage Stretch & Sew 1582 Peasant blouse, pattern source for 3 knockoffs so far, could be adapted to it with the sole change being the deep V back, though I wouldn't go that low; lightweight flowy silk without a bra would be vulgar in real life, even on a IBTC founding member like me. I suppose that's why I picture it in a bathing suit situation; it wouldn't matter if your bikini band showed in the back and through the low front slit, so it would solve the bra problem.

If anyone wants to invite me to their mansion on the French Riviera to party with Brad and Angelina, I'll get right on this project. I will warn you that I would probably use the wrong fork at some point.

I had been planning to make the Michael Kors striped shift I discussed here for the knock-off contest, but it doesn't have much of a wow factor *and* looking at it more closely I see that it has studded ribbon trim on the shoulder and side seams. I am not a studded ribbon trim kind of gal, so my "knock off" would not be faithful to the original. The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking Derek Lam.

Of course, all this depends on how tired and sewn out I'll be after my bike trip! I get back on May 15 and the contest ends the 31st. I started this week with 7 things on my to-sew list. Only one of them was somewhat complicated and it is done! (Well, done-ish; an hour or so of hand-sewing remains.) I'm down to six things to sew: two skirts (one zip, one elastic waist), a top, a shrug, and two scarves.

T minus 15 days--I leave two weeks from tomorrow!

All my inspiration photos are here.

Are you joining the knock off contest? What are you sewing?