Monday 8 July 2013

Cowboy shirt-dress

After completing my May Burda Challenge, I thought I would crack on with my June one before it got too far into July... I've been thinking a lot lately about an old favourite sleeveless shirt-dress, which is now sadly too small. I bought it at a second-hand shop and (at the time!) it fitted like a glove. Or rather, like a well-fitted dress. I also loved it because it appeared to be hand-made (or possibly altered and hand-finished). It was lovely and always made me happy when wearing it.

Whilst looking for summer dress inspiration I also came across this dress from ModCloth, and fell in love with the print and Western styling.

When I saw the shirt-dress in the June Burda, I thought I could make something that draws inspiration from both of these. I rummaged through my collection of quilting cottons, and found a lovely Western print, which was perfect.

Pattern description

BurdaStyle Magazine 06/2013/120: Fitted shirt-dress with short sleeves, stand collar and shaped patch pockets.

Pattern sizing

36-44. I cut the 42 on top and graded out to the equivalent of 46 over the hips.

Fabric used

Quilting cotton bought many years ago from eQuilter.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope when you were done?

Not really, as I made several design changes!

Were the instructions easy to follow?

A bit mixed for this one. Most of it was fairly straightforward, but then the part where I actually needed the instructions (for the collar), were pretty opaque. For me, it required a bit of pinning and checking things ended up in the right place before sewing. It's the same finish as for the blouse I made for my March Burda Challenge, but with a collar with a separate stand piece. I'm sure the instructions are fine for anyone who's made a collar before! Something to note too is that (unless I'm being blind) there is no mention of finishing the long edges of the facings. I did this automatically, but it might catch out a beginner.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I rather like the collar on this pattern, it seems to fall nicely, although it sits a lot closer to the neck (and therefore higher) on me than in the pictures in the magazine. I really don't like the big patch pockets, but that was easily remedied by leaving them off.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made

I wanted a sleeveless dress, so removed 5mm of ease at the side seam at the bottom of the armscye. I also reshaped the armscyes to give a slightly cut away shoulder.

I made a 2.5cm FBA. In order to do this, I traced the dart onto a separate piece of paper, then cut the pattern at the waistline. I could then do the FBA as normal, taking out some of the excess in the side seam rather than increasing the waist dart too much. I could then tape the skirt back on and re-trace the dart into the new position.

I tend to need a CB seam to get the fit right, especially in woven garments, so I added this, shaping it in at the waist and neck (and shortening the CB of the collar and stand by the equivalent amount). I also widened the darts at the waist (front and back) and made the back darts a few cm longer at the top. I made a 1cm swayback adjustment, remembering to add this length onto the bottom of the skirt at CB. I lengthened the entire dress by 4cm.

The only thing I really didn't like about the pattern was the shaped, wrap-around hip pockets, as I was rather worried they would just accentuate my hips. I chose to add in-seam pockets instead, and also a tie belt.

Construction details

The order of construction was the same as Burda's instructions, with a couple of detours to sew the pockets and finish the armscyes.

The pockets were sewn in the usual way for side seam pockets - Sewaholic has a nice tutorial that explains it much better than I could. I stabilised the front pocket openings with strips of selvedge.

I decided not to interface the collar at all as the quilting cotton is fairly sturdy, and I wanted a softer, more casual look. I cut the under-collar on the bias. There is also a seam in the middle of the inner collar stand, but that was just to make economical use of the fabric!

As marked, the top button is very low. I started the buttons just above the bust point level, and also added two more at the bottom. The buttonholes and buttons are reinforced with small rectangles of fusible interfacing, applied to the facing. Again, I didn't interface the entire facing, in order to keep a softer look.

The armscyes were finished with a bias tape facing and topstitched. I used shop bought satin bias tape for this and for the collar finish.

The topstitching was done with regular thread, but using the straight stretch stitch on my machine. This gives a nice effect, almost like saddle stitch (which is rather appropriate given the print pattern). I originally planned to create a faux Western-style pointed yoke on front and back with topstitching, but decided against it in the end. I added thread loops for the belt.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I probably won't sew this exact pattern again, at least not in the near future, simply because I have a vast array of shirt-dress patterns I want to try out. I definitely want to try a princess seamed dress (like my original inspiration dress), and one with a more shirt-like collar and placket (rather than lapels). As I made fairly significant changes to the fit, and converted it to a sleeveless dress, it's sort of hard to recommend it, as I don't know how the original pattern truly is! However, I do like the collar very much, which I essentially left unchanged, so I can recommend the pattern on that basis.

Conclusion

A second project in a row that I'm super pleased with! I like the fit I've achieved, a good balance of airy and flattering. There are still a few minor fit issues, and the bottom of the front darts are a bit iffy, but they sort of disappears in the folds of the fabric so I'm not too worried about that. It's still pretty good considering I didn't bother to muslin it. I also need to clip the back darts as they're pulling a bit, but I want to work out how I'm going to neaten/reinforce the clip before I do that.

I'm still searching for my perfect shirt-dress pattern, but I think this successfully captures the essence of both the inspiration dresses, without being an exact copy of either. This dress is definitely going to be worn lots this summer!

Oh, and here's bonus photo of my May Burda Challenge peplum cardi-jacket out and about. The top is also me-made, and those paper bags contain croissants...

Monday 1 July 2013

Peplum cardie-jacket

I originally chose pattern 05/2013/101 for my May Burda Challenge, but this was a disaster, and I didn't finish it. (The details: it was ridiculously low cut, too short, too "maternity", and the strap placement was really wide. The whole thing looked generally awful on me. Plus the fabric I chose, a poly charmeuse, was horrible to work with.) So, after a little break, I reviewed the month's patterns again and picked out this one. I need more cardies and light jackets (making one was part of my extended MMM'13 challenge), and I realised that this would look quite smart made up in a more stable knit.

Pattern description

BurdaStyle Magazine 05/2013/109. Cardigan with gathered peplum and choice of short or long sleeves. Front fastening with either hooks and eyes, or loops and buttons.

Pattern sizing

36-44. I cut the 42.

Fabric used

RPL double knit from Fabric.com.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope when you were done?

Apart from the peplum, it looked pretty identical.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes, pretty straightforward. The instructions for the finishing of the front edges and neck are a little awkwardly written, but it's clear what is intended. The instructions call for the sleeves to be set in, rather than put in flat, which is more usual in a knit. I did set them in, as I wanted to keep a smarter, more "jacket-y" look.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I really like the way of finishing the neckline and front edges. The tape along the front edge provides stability for the fastenings and the way the neckline binding is sewn means the finish is super neat.

I didn't like the amount of ease on the sleeve cap: 4.5cm - for a knit! I lowered the sleeve cap to reduce the ease to 2.5cm. Normally for a knit, I would have zero ease, but I wanted to keep a slightly smarter, more "tailored" look here. I didn't like that the peplum was gathered, so I drafted a new piece for this (see below). The gathering would probably be fine for a very slim person and in a very lightweight fabric, but I am not slim and the fabric I used was too thick to gather neatly. Also, be warned, the peplum is very very short if you use the dimensions given.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made

As mentioned, I drafted a new peplum - this is effectively two semicircular pieces, drafted much the same way as circular skirt, with the centre front and back on grain. My peplum is 20cm long at the back and sides, and 18cm at the centre front. For me, I found this was long enough to wear with trousers, but short enough to wear with a skirt or dress.

As well as reducing the sleeve cap ease, also mentioned above, I made a dartless FBA, using the same method as I detailed previously. I added 1.5cm (per half) in width, and 2cm in length.

Construction details

All the exposed seams were constructed with my serger (or neatened with the serger in the case of setting in the sleeves). I used a poly grosgrain ribbon for the front facings and to reinforce the shoulder seams, and shop-bought satin bias binding for the neckline. I also made bias tubes for the button loops, rather than using cord as suggested.

The instructions leave the sleeve and peplum hems unfinished, but I didn't want this look. For the peplum I neatened the edges with the serger, then just turned up a narrow hem and topstitched it (with a single needle). I wanted to keep a bit of stretch in the sleeve hems, so I topstitched them with a twin needle.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

I would wholeheartedly recommend this pattern. I really like how this has turned out with the heavier knit, but I think it would look great in a light knit (as it was intended), so I may well be making another one! It's (mostly) fairly quick to sew up, and has only 4 pattern pieces. Super easy - although the binding needs attention so that it keeps accurate and neat.

Conclusion

At last, some sewing success!!! I'm super pleased with this, and I can already see it being extremely useful as a summer jacket/cover-up. I can't wait to wear it!