New Look 6648, Butterfly Wing Knit Top

New Look 6648 has been a perennial favorite at PR, but for some reason very few people have made this butterfly wing view, perhaps because it is an insane fabric hog.

This was one of my quickie makes before my trip to Italy in October.  We were going to have cool but not cold and probably wet weather, so I was looking for transitional tops.  This is probably too much fabric to wear in the heat of summer, but for early fall it was perfect.  I also wanted tops that could go with leggings.  Though this isn't long (I seriously cannot find any long tops that will work for my wide-hipped, belly-pooched self), the volume up top is a nice contrast to a fitted bottom.



The top is very simple and only required a little bit of alteration.  As usual, I shortened the crossover for a small bust adjustment.

This is still quite drapey and I ended up tacking the two sides together at center front.  This is always a defeat for me--sewing should mean never having to tack a wrap style into place!  But at least I didn't have to resort to the safety pin of shame.





The lower band is drafted as a straight rectangle.  I altered it to have a tiny bit of waist shaping--you can see the bulge about 2/3 of the way down.  The bulge is the bottom of the band; only the top layer is gathered so the bulge is not in the center.  The top and bottom edges are the waist and are a little bit smaller than the bulge fold/hip.









The instructions have you gather the side edges of the band, then stitch.  I find it harder to do that than to sew the seam, then put in the gathering stitches on either side of it.














Once I pulled on the threads to gather the upper ruched band to the fit the under non-ruched band, I used my walking foot to zigzag the gathers in place.




















The small amount of waist shaping I did at the cutting/sewing stage on the band was definitely not enough to deal with my swayback.  Before attaching the band to the bodice I took a large dart at the upper edge of the band at center back. Next time I will just cut it with a CB seam pieces and integrate the dart into the seam.













I gathered the outer layer of the band before stitching the dart, so there is ruching in the dart.  It made for a very thick dart, which I cut open and trimmed before attaching the bodice to reduce the bulk.  Taking out this width in the band required slightly gathering the bodice before attaching it to the band, but this is in line with the style.

I finished the neckline by serging clear elastic to the inside at the raw edge, then turning under and twin needling.










I wore this for our beautiful day of psuedo-hiking in Bergamo, Italy (we were mostly on a road, so it wasn't much like hiking).  Admittedly, it looks a little weird with my athletic skants here.
















However, it does look good with skinny jeans, which was the whole point!






The lighting in my new photo spot in the house is still quite challenging, but I'm sort of getting there.

With this closeup you can notice that the crossover is tacked if you think about it, but I don't think it's *too* obvious.

All in all, this fabric hog is worth the fabric in my opinion.  It's a fun look that hides a multitude of pasta!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

New Look 6067, Triple Dart African Print Dress

 

Source: rstyle.me via Tatiana on Pinterest

I am still looking for a pattern for my special mustard wool fabric--purchased two years ago now!--and decided to give New Look 6067 a try.  The triple front darts add visual interest, and the slit neckline is a different look for me.  I like it in the dress at left (it was on Piperlime but no longer available; I have no idea who made it or how much it cost). Thanks to sewisewedthis, I now know this is the Milly Mariella Windowpane Tweed Pencil Premium Work Dress, $187.









I did my usual litany of adjustments (broad back, small bust, etc.), including swayback adjustment.  For dresses with a seam at natural waist, I split the swayback adjustment between the bodice and the skirt, as you can see.  Unfortunately, I should also have shaped the center back seam and taken just a little more length out.  Scroll up to the composite and you can see the swayback problem.  Ick.  I'll have to wear it with a belt every time.


Since this was somewhat of a wearable muslin, I considered making the front bodice as drafted, but in the end I just couldn't see that ending well at the bust, so I took small tucks out of each of the three darts for a small bust adjustment.  The dress fits well across the bust, with comfortable ease but not Empty Sack Syndrome.



The way the dress is meant to be finished is actually quite nice.  There is a separate front lining piece drafted with a normal waistline dart and facings.  You are meant to stitch the facings to the lining (the facing needs to be fashion fabric because it will show a bit at the front neckline).

This is a cool cotton summer dress and I didn't need an extra layer, so I just did facings.  To ensure plenty of facing coverage and avoid flipping and flapping, I lengthened and widened the front facing, as you can see at right.


As I suspected when cutting, the back neckline gaped a bit so I added 1 inch wide darts and modified the back facing pattern to suit.










I used the Sunny Gal technique for a neat-finished facing of sewing the interfacing and the facing right sides together along the outer edges, then flipping and fusing the interfacing.  The saggy neckline on my Simplicity 2177 fresh on my mind, I interfaced the fashion fabric of the front neckline in addition to the facing.

A nun might find the front neckline as drafted just a tad prim, so I lowered the front neckline by 3/4 inch and lowered the slit opening by two full inches.

To get the slit to show, I gradually increased the seam allowance as I got closer to the neckline, adding 1/4 inch in total to each side (for a 1/2" opening).  I might go in and take out even more, as the slit still doesn't show very well in wearing and it just looks like a very high-necked dress.




The cap sleeves are meant to be lined, with the lining used to finish the edge.  Again, I didn't need lining so I hand rolled the sleeve hem.  I serged the edge then folded the width of the serging to the inside and then the inside again.  This is not an official blind stitch, but I took up only a few fibers of the outer fabric for each stitch. (click on the photo to enlarge and see the stitching)






I ended up cutting the skirt a bit short and therefore had only a 1/2" hem allowance to work with.  Hem lace to the rescue!  It's sewn with a machine blind stitch.  I used maroon thread in the bobbin to coordinate with the lace and brown thread in the top thread to coordinate with the fabric so everything would look nice.

I lengthened the back slit for bike riding and it is very easy to bike in. I originally cut the skirt a little wider in an A line, but I mocked it up along the stitch lines for the drafted tulip shape, and with the slit I had plenty of leg movement.

I added side seam pockets, but side seam pockets are not a great match with a tulip-shaped skirt.  I may have to just hand-stitch them closed as they gape a bit. Not enough to notice they're pockets, but just enough to make my hips look even wider.















I am very pleased with the way the print placement worked out for this fabric, one of the African prints my friend brought me back from Liberia.  The only things I did in my cutting layout were to make sure I wouldn't have a floral bullseye over my bust and to minimize how much the baby poop light brown color was near my face (it's so close to mustard, but it's just not).  The way the print flows so well from the bodice to skirt and the left and right front bodice is just a lucky coincidence!

The triple dart detail is rather lost in my print, but I do think it is cute.  I'm not totally sold on this pattern for my special fabric though, *sigh.*  I am the Goldilocks of darts--the Simplicity 2177 darts were too high, and these darts are just a little too low.  I need to find a pattern that has the darts just right!  (But has interesting design--not just a plain sheath dress.)

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

New Look 6639, Girl's Tee

So I was cleaning out my closet recently and came across the green polka dot skirt at left, which I made for the One Pattern, Many Looks contest in 2007 from Out of Print McCall 7526. Obviously my taste has changed since then because all three versions just got the boot.

I generally give my gently used but still serviceable clothing items to the Goodwill (I'm very careful to make sure it is still a nice item; worn out, stained, etc. become rags or go in the trash). However, I am always ambivalent about donating sewn items because I fear they just throw them straight in the garbage, no matter how well made, because they are "homemade" and who wants that? And, legitimately, there is no tag with sizing information, which creates more work for them.

However when I dropped off my most recent load I walked through the store (everyone is always talking about finding patterns and fabric at their Goodwill, but I have never found such a thing). My eye was caught by a pair of RTW pants that had suffered a very slapdash swayback adjustment, with raw edges everywhere, on the rack. My sewing is better than that. So maybe there is hope for my sewn, donated garments yet.

Anyway, when it comes to things I've sewn, I'm even more selective about donating than ready-to-wear and this skirt did not make the cut. The style is not in any way "in" right now and it takes very specific tastes to wear it. Tastes that strongly coincide with being under five years of age. Hmmmm.... I think there's still life in the old girl yet. My niece, Marvel, agrees:



Do you know how hard it is to find a plain t shirt pattern for kids? It's so odd. You'd think that all the pattern companies would have a t shirt and elastic waist shorts pattern, but they don't. I finally spotted one in New Look 6639, which also has a jumper and leggings.

This project was way more complicated than it should have been. The first time I did it, I realized after it was entirely finished that I had cut the fabric--stash about two years old from the G Street $2.97/yd table leftover from a no-pattern ruffle back skirt--on the crossgrain. It's not a 4 way stretch. She wouldn't have been able to get it over her head, the sleeves would have cut off the circulation in her arms, and it would have grown toward the floor the second she put it on. So I cut off the skirt (I had serged it to the tee). The second time I made it, I had cut the fabric on grain but I had cut the tee full length and the "waistline" would have been almost to her knees and the skirt dragging on the floor. Cut the skirt off again. Cut the t-shirt off at the waist. Sew the skirt back on. Finally, success, and luckily it was the perfect length.

The pattern is perfectly serviceable. I love that it comes in a huge range of sizes, from 3-8. So you can use it for five years! It has a neckband, which is fine but the draft isn't great. It's a rectangle piece of fabric and it is drafted to be as long as the neck opening. It should, in fact, be a little shorter so that it sits flat. You can (sort of) see that it sort of pooches out at center front in this side view.

Marvel was very pleased with the dress and immediately put it on in the McDonald's playland and began dancing around. I would call it a success! She totally loves dresses. When my dad ended up in the hospital my brother and his family came to visit and when I saw Marvel she immediately started pointing out the features of her dress, such as the floral print and the bow at the waist. She is an avid follower of my sewing via my flickr account, so she knew I would understand. I can't wait until she's old enough to come do a sewing internship with me!

All photos are here and the review is here.




And for more adorable kid pictures, here I am with Fox! I finally got to meet Cash and Fox, which was very exciting. Cash got a little fussy when I held him, but Fox was my buddy. I can't remember if this was taken before or after he spit up into my cleavage. Jet was too busy running around and playing to have his picture taken, but there are always new pictures of Cash and Jet (and more of Marvel and Fox) on my sister in law's flickr, like this really sweet one of all four kids.

And just for good measure, here I am with my sister's boys. We are heavy on nephews in my family. It's a good thing my one niece loves dresses!

New Look 6429: How can this be?

I've had my eye on New Look 6429 for years. There are 46 reviews of it on PR and it looks good on everyone, no matter their figure. So I figured it would be perfect to use on one of my cute FFC knits to make a low-stress, quickie addition to my wardrobe for Germany (yes, we're going back to October again).

I did my usual SBA for a wrap style, shortening the wrap line to prevent gape and merrily cut an 8, which is allegedly for a 31.5 inch bust.

This sucker came out HUGE. Ugh. I hate the Big 3 and their stupid ease. Who wants to look like that, especially in a knit? And while I love the princess side panel design of this dress, it means that there is no bodice side seam and therefore no way to alter the dress after it's cut out and put together. Normally I just tweak the fit at the side seams, but here there was nothing to be done.

I also felt like the left side underlap was too short.

I do like the cuffs and collar, so that's something.

I was completely disappointed in how this pattern came out on me. Although I shortened the neckline it is still way too wide and I had to do that hideous thing where you tack it in the middle *not* at the natural place that it overlaps so the line is distorted. I feel like the skirt is more A-line than represented. I didn't use the neck facing and it looks horrible, but that's all on me. Luckily(?), this fabric was low quality so although the print is cute I didn't feel like I wasted it.

I still like the design elements of this pattern, but I'm not sure if it would be worth the amount of effort it will take to alter it so it actually fits my body (further shorten wrap, narrow side princess panel and front princess seams, take skirt in at waist, narrow skirt width). Since I'm already at the smallest size on the pattern, I'd have to grade it down 2-3 sizes and that is so much trouble. I'm not ready to junk it yet, but it's definitely on the back burner.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

New Look 6394 Maxi Dress

This is an oldie but goodie. I made the first version over 13 years ago for my 21st birthday and wore it at my college graduation as well. Around the same time I made a short casual version out of a rayon that I've worn as a beach cover up and occasionally a dress off and on over the years. I hadn't made it since, but had better sense than to get rid of the pattern.

Then Cidell went off on a maxi dress tangent. I resisted for a long time, pleading height issues, or perhaps lack thereof issues. But eventually, she wore me down, and this seemed like the right pattern.

I've learned a lot since the first time I made it, and a lot of what I've learned is how to treat my small bust. So I gave the front bodice pattern an SBA:



OK, fine, I have to admit that I didn't narrow the dart on the pattern piece until after I made the dress and the dart pokes out way too far. It's lost in my big print, but it's definitely pokes out way beyond my bust. Lesson learned. It's funny because I've been working on a post about SBA and I couldn't find a photographic example of a bodice pattern with a narrowed bust dart because I haven't sewn anything with a bust dart in several years. I just find them impossible to work with my bust. So I can excuse myself for forgetting that step.

As you can see, I shortened it below the armscye, tapering smaller at the CF point where the left and right bodice meet up so as not to lower the V. Then I shortened it at the shoulder (because with a smaller bust there is less distance between ribcage and shoulder), taking a wedge-shaped tuck that is deeper tuck at CF (about 1.25") to reduce that distance more and smaller (about 1/2") at the armscye.

The shortening at armscye was because I thought the bodice too long overall; I also shortened the back about an inch. I think it could stand to be shorter still, but it's not grotesque.

I loved this fabric when I saw it on the $2.97/yd table at G Street. Something about the big painterly lines and the little touches of yellow just made it perfect. It turned out to have a weird sort of coating on it; it was hard to sew and the needle left a trail of little puncture lines behind it. I suspect it was some sort of home dec or something.

When I was cutting, I was in a bit of dilemma about the print for the bodice pieces. I actually cut two more after I posted the two choices presented, but ultimately I went with the second one from that post. I'm thrilled with my choice, actually, and I love the way one side is black-with-white and the other is white-with-black, and it sort of matches with the way the print is positioned on the skirt as well. I had intended to put in side seam pockets, but I forgot and anyway I put the zipper down the left side (I hate back zips and avoid them whenever possible). The dress really needed pockets, so I cut them to sort of balance/echo the print placement on the bodice and I like them.

My tip for this dress is about the lining. When I went on my "I'm getting rid of my car!" trip to Ikea, I picked up some $1.99 Knoppa twin-sized sheets. They are a poly-cotton blend with an almost waffley/gauzy texture. While I don't think they would be great to sleep on (they don't list the thread count on the package...), they are EXCELLENT for lining/underlining. The waffle texture is very breathable and kind of makes it "stick" to the fashion fabric, while the poly in the blend keeps them from wrinkling. They're not entirely opaque, but two translucent fabrics here made a solid. And $1.99? After spending $5/yd on cotton batiste last time I was at Chic in NYC, I decided I needed to be a little more circumspect with it. For some projects, only the best batiste will do. But for other things, like this project, the $1.99 sheet is actually better. Now I have to figure out how to get back to Ikea somehow.

I feel like Angelina Jolie--minus the boobs, babies, and Brad Pitt--when I wear this dress. I've worn it twice and both times was complimented on the street (unlike its poor earlier "ugly dress" sister).

All photos are here.

That's a Ugly Dress!

I've done so much stash confessing lately that you all probably think I've stopped sewing to give myself more time to buy fabric. This is not the case! Though my current stash yardage in/out count on PR is a bruising 88 in/44 out (ouch!), I actually have been sewing up a storm and have many projects backlogged to review and many more in the pipeline. Of course, the pipeline often turns into a pipe dream, but hope springs eternal and all that.

One project up for this weekend is my Ugly Dress (its new official name). In our recent podcast, Cidell asked me about some of the remarks I get on the street about my clothes. I have what might charitably be called a "distinctive" fashion sense (Retro Fantasy, babay!). I think a lot of people enjoy seeing my clothes, but others are not impressed, and because I'm dressed in such a noticeable way what I'm wearing becomes public property for commentary. I accept that.

I am sure, given the size of my stash, that it will shock you to learn I sometimes have a hard time letting go of things. One of the things I haven't let go of was the dress I made for my 21st birthday in *gulp* 1995, and wore to my college graduation in '96. It's a calf length dress, which has been out of fashion for the past 13 years, but now the long dress is back. I busted it out a while back and enjoyed the nostalgia of wearing this dress that has so many memories for me. I called it my "Juliet" dress when I made it, because it made me feel like a romatic heroine. I used to wear it with a straw hat. Anyway, I was walking home from work and a girl on a front stoop yelled at me, "That's a ugly dress!" I yelled back at her, "Thank you" and kept walking.

**UPDATE**Cidell photographed the dress during our photography extravaganza, so here it is:



I went back through my pattern stash and was relieved to find I still have it! Because everything comes back, there's not point in getting rid of any but the really ugly patterns.



I've already got it cut out of some of my G Street bargain fabric, but I screwed up the front bodice a bit. The black stripes are really, really wide so there are only a few areas in the print the bodice could be cut from where it wouldn't just be solid black. I love the left bodice, and how it matches up with the print on the front skirt. This is the original right bodice I cut. I love the motif on this, but I was concentrating so much on placing it so it wouldn't be right at the center of the boob that I didn't pay attention to the angle. So with this combo, rather than coming together in a V (the whole reason I cut the bodice on the bias), the stripes run parallel:



Unfortunately, I didn't have any scraps with that motif left. I cut out a new one. This one has the stripes coming toward each other in a V pattern, but I think the balance of black and white is off. There's too much black for how white the right side of the skirt is. There really aren't any more suitable scraps, though I'll probably look through them one more time.



What do you think?

**Legal Disclaimer**Participation in the solicitation process is for entertainment purposes only. The Slapdash Sewist is not bound by public opinion. The Slapdash Sewist has been known to make up her mind by soliciting opinions and doing the exact opposite. The Slapdash Sewist assumes no liability for suggestions not followed. Void where prohibited. Available only while supplies last. This offer expires in three days. Opinions provided after expiration will be even more irrelevant than opinions provided before expiration, as the dress will should be sewn this weekend. Thank you for playing. Have a nice day.**