Yay! Back to sewing!

And it's a dress! Well, sort of. Or is it a jumper?

This pattern has been seducing me since I first laid eyes on it.  First, I thought the proportions could work well for a petite, shorter person. And you know how I love to mix patterns. BTW, Kenneth King has an interesting article on Pattern Mixing in the latest Threads. 

I will be doing View C which has a solid back, not the strappy back. The strappy back is just too too, at least for me.  I want this to be something I can wear to work with a black tee or such and some black boots. 

A few words about this pattern: Two weeks ago my husband and I drove for seven hours to the Cape to attend a wedding and see our big family. For two of those hours I read and reread this pattern. It looks complicated but if it is broken down and planned out it is quite easy. There are no zippers, buttons, topstitching , etc. It is all pretty straight sewing. But it IS challenging. The challenges are getting the right mix of fabrics in the right combination and fitting. Once that is settled is is all straight sewing.

Whew, those dots are making me dizzy! I have four fabrics, a solid black rayon ponte with a nice drape, a deep cherry red piece of patterned slinky whose color I adore, a knit rayon polka dot and a sheer black point d'esprit mesh knit.  

They are all very drapey but similar in weight and stretch so it should work. The black mesh will be underlined with a layer of the polka dot. Next came planning out what pieces got which fabric. I've always been good at holding color and design in my head so I didn't bother with sketching but I would recommend it if you are thinking of this pattern. Many of the sewists on PR that reviewed this pattern found the sketching very helpful to keep track of what went where. There are 14 pattern pieces! I have a notebook that I used to keep track of my choices.  Next came the fitting.

Again, Pattern Review was very helpful with fitting advice and I highly recommend you visit the reviews if you plan to make this garment. Cocosloft and Star G  have great versions and there are several others as well. Just search Vogue 9108. You will see many people have taken out some of the incredible fullness in this design. First, all that knit will be quite heavy and will pull on the simple bodice, not nice. Next, the amount of volume is HUGE. One sewist took out 58 inches from the hem width ! I wanted a compromise between the two options so took out a total of 24 inches from the skirt width. Keep in mind these are odd fitting pieces so this fit part is pretty challenging. I decided to go with a size Medium with the theory that I could take out any more if needed. It is hard to tell what is needed when it is just in cut form. I tissue fitted the muslin on my form but that wasn't much help. I am so not a tissue fitter!  I can easily adjust the seams if needed so I will stay with the larger than usual size.

If you look at the models on the pattern cover, the bodice appears snug and I am guessing  is pinned in the back for the photo. But if you look at the completed garments on PR, the bodices seam much fuller with a deeper armhole and wide bodice. Some made alterations to use this as a sleeveless dress by raising the whole dress through the straps. By using the larger size I can decide if I want to have a loose or snug bodice. Not sure yet!

One thing to be aware of, which the photo above shows, is that the pockets are rather "kangaroo" and do not fit the garment flatly.  They "hang". They are deliberately wider then the piece they are attached to. This made altering a little tough. In the end I got it done. I took one inch out of the skirt all around  near the bodice and may shorten the the other bands as well. Not sure yet. So 24 inches removed from the width from various pieces and so far one inch from the length. I am not taking out more due to the shoulder strap issue which will become more obvious as to why later on.

The pattern calls for no interfacing but  Step 1 tells you to interface the " pockets, Pocket edges on side front and upper edge with fusible tricot interfacing." Luckily I had some in black on hand So be aware you may need interfacing which is not spec'd on the back of the envelope.  I would at the least interface all the pocket edges no matter the fabric.

So much about the fit will be dealt with as the pieces go together. Hopefully that will work out.

Before I started cutting out I made a pile of each fabric and then put the pieces to be cut out in that fabric on top. I would have gone crazy otherwise.

Next was time to mark. But first I hand basted the black mesh to the polka dot bodice front. For the rest of the marking I thread marked with different colors for circles, squares, etc. I wrote the legend down on the pattern in case I forget.

Once everything was altered, cut out and marked, I made new piles. Once you are ready to sew this pattern is it quite simple. You put the front together, then the back, then add the sides and done. So I made piles for front, back and sides of all the pieces needed. Whew, I think I am finally ready to put this under the needle! That probably won't happen till next weekend but I really feel the worst is behind me. Fingers crossed.

*******************************************

I hope all who celebrate had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day filled with bounty and surrounded by friends and family. We were blessed to share in the spirit of the day with our oldest daughter and her family over a long weekend. The kids made igloos out of the twenty inches of snow that fell earlier and had a great time. Friday evening we went to the new micro brewery that has opened in our little village. One of our blessings is incredible water and made this the perfect spot for a brewery. It is a gorgeous property and lots of fun to visit and share a beer. Here are DD and I sharing a sampler.