Butterick 5861 and I'm ready for Woodstock!

 

I really enjoyed making this top.  I know, the fabric is a bit crazy but I like it. I have always been a fan of Picasso and this print sucked me right in because of that.  The construction was unique and challenging, the fabric a delight to sew and the pattern a design that brought me back to 1968 and fantasies of bell bottom jeans with embroidered gussets and me and my friends with our thumbs out on the hiway hitch hiking. Yeah, we actually did things like that back then and survived.  

I have a lot to say about this top so grab a bev and have a seat. It was a fun ride, so much so that I've already started on tunic #2!

Pattern:

I saw this pattern, Butterick 5861,  made up in a FB group I frequent and just fell in love. I am generally not a tunic person but the style of this one, the options for embellishment, and the memories it brought back all came together to motivate me to search it out on the web. I kept waiting for it to go on sale and it just wasn't happening at that time.  Then one of my cyber sewing friends, una amiga Boricua, Ada Garcia, of Puerto Rico, messaged me and told me she had the pattern in my size, would never make it and would gladly GIVE it to me. What could I say? We talked, figured it out, and next thing I knew this lovely graced my mailbox. Thank you so so much, again, Ada. Besicos!

There are issues with the pattern so I will get those out of the way first. It is HUGE in the bodice. I made the smallest size, a size 8 for a 31 1/2 inch bust. The bodice for this size is 50 INCHES! What you see above takes out 4 of those fifty inches! Thank you, PR, for the heads up on that!  

Next the neckline, on a petite, goes lower than I am accustomed to. That's OK. Generally, I wear my necklines a little higher and have already cut version #2 without thinking but would cut it higher in the front. I also have two rather heavy beads on the front ties and I think they are pulling it down. So you may want to reduce volume if you make this unless you would like that extra ease. 

This is a pattern where you really have to pay attention. I will come right out and say this is not a beginner's pattern. You will quit sewing on those shoulder yokes. I will get into that further on. I love the shoulder yoke detail shape and placement.  They fit perfectly. 

This pattern is long as well.  I cut off 3 inches. I have a mini skirt on. It would have been as long as the skirt if I hadn't so watch that length!

Positives: The volume, while a lot, is comfy and gracious. I solved the volume issue with a thin belt. I prefer to emphasize my waist anyway. 

Much better proportion, don't you think? 

I also cut back my sleeve length two inches but that was a general petite thing. I love the sleeve fullness. 

This pattern has shirring in the back at the waist which I do like but it will get hidden by the belt. More on that in construction. 

The pattern offers 4 interesting views. Two button down the front with long tucks and one of those has a contrast band.  Then there are two that don't button down the front but have insets at center front. The CF insets have tie closures and surface embellishment that matches the surface embellishment also on the shoulder yokes. I love the shoulder yokes on this top. 

I did no surface embellishment or insets on my version. I wanted it very plain due to the vivid design of the print fabric.  I accomplished that by simply cutting the CF on the fold and adding a faced slit.  More on that in a bit. 

Fabric:

This is from Fabric.com and described as a "Telio rayon slub challis". It was a delight to sew. It had a tendency to shift and ravel like most rayons but this was tamed with spray starch. I cut out my pattern pieces and by the second piece saw this problem. I proceeded to cut and then  took them all to the ironing board where I sprayed each seam area lightly and ironed with a dry iron. Then I repeated the process. All seam edges got this double starching.  After that the pieces were put back on their pattern tissue and trimmed and recut as they had stretched out of shape in that process. You can see the distortion below. A lot of recutting and a lot of scraps to prove it! 

Starching kept the raveling to a minimum.  I would definitely sew this fabric again,

Construction:

I made changes to the construction due to my fabric and style choices. First change was making all seams into French seams. Next I decided to use the Burrito method for the faced shoulder yokes but let's start with the elimination of the embellished inset at upper center front bodice first. I decided to make a simple slit neckline at CF and even did a practice version on a scrap first just to be sure I could pull it off.  There was enough going on with my fabric choice and I felt no further embellishment was needed. 

A line was established down center front. A piece of the fashion fabric was fused to woven cotton fusible. It was cut into the shape I wanted for the facing, which was small, and the edges were serged. 

I simply sewed down the slit in a 1/4 inch seam and sewed across the bottom in a small curve. No fuss. 

Next come my changes to the shirring on the back of all the views. I went into this in detail in a previous post as I know a lot of people out there are making shirred garments right now and those elastic threads are failing. This method, which I detailed here, is stronger and I personally like the look of the triple zig zagged elastic better. It's a little fussier but you don't have to wrap any bobbins with elastic thread and I do detest doing that. 

Now it was time to deal with the shoulders. The pattern has you simply treat the two layers of the shoulder yoke, top and facing, as one and sew it into the sleeve and bodice with a simple seam.  I wanted something cleaner than that. I did a classic burrito method which was really simple here. 

I sandwiched the sleeve between the fashion fabric and the facing piece and stitched all three layers together. Seam was then graded, pressed away from the sleeve and voila!  This unit was then attached to the bodice front and back with French seams, all clean. Nothing on the inside of this garment is open other than the serged inset facing edge and bottom hem. 

A lot of attention has to be paid her to where the yoke piece fits in on the sleeve. One maker on Pattern Review inserted it upside down/backwards.  The longest edge, opposite the neckline is stitched to the gathered sleeve. Of the two remaining short edges, the longest edge of those two goes to the front bodice and the short edge goes to the back bodice. Follow the notches down on the sleeve if you are confused, The pattern instructions are very confusing on this. Just take your time and it will make sense. Here is how it all lays out.

Like I said, this is not a beginner pattern. 

After this it was smooth sailing with French seams easily accomplished on this fabric. The last challenge was the neckline. This requires a long bias strip that was first sewn into tubes/ties other than the neck area. That was left open to be sewn separately to the neckline and then finished with hand stitching on the inside. I did mine opposite. It just seemed to lay better when tied if I did and I fell stitched it on the front side with tiny stitches. You can get a better idea of how that came out on the close up above of the shoulder neckline area. Just click these to get them larger. 

On my next version I will interface the bias strip in hte neckline area just to help it lay a bit flatter. We'll see how that goes. 

In Conclusion:

I really enjoyed this pattern. Why? It was very challenging, the fabric, the design, the construction, my chosen changes and the pattern itself. I really enjoyed making it. It is definitely not for a beginner, IMO, and that is something I very very rarely say. I am happy with the outcome, WITH A BELT, and know I will wear this a lot. I wore it on Thanksgiving and it was a hit. Left a lot of room for turkey, too! I recommend if you are up to a challenge and looking for a top that is comfortable and feminine and will work on any woman's shape.  You just never know when the sixties will call and want you back. You'll be ready!

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This is a peek at version #2. The fabric is far less cooperative, a rayon georgette crepe or what we used to call "crepon". The shoulder insets and CF inset, well, I did my own thing. I made bias tubes, tied them in knots and ran them down the pattern pieces instead of the turned tucks the pattern calls for. More on that later! Six hours making  tubes and knots!!! Happy Sewing!...............Bunny

A Tale of Two Simplicities!

Hello, sewing friends! I held off posting until both the pants and the top were complete for this outfit. While I fell in love with this rayon/lyocell blend for the top, little did I feel the Autumn vibe it would give off when I bought it. I had also planned and cut the long pants and later wished they were cropped but but hey, we can't avoid the change of the seasons and I am now one new outfit ahead of the seasonal game! 

Both patterns were fun to sew but provided challenges with my efforts to make them work for my petite frame, nothing related to the pattern itself. I liked the fresh look of the wrap scarf on the top and as for the pants, we are seeing those tulip hems all over Pinterest and I was brainwashed. I will review the top first and then move on to the pants. 

Top Pattern:

This is Simplicity 9143, a top that offers a simple, plain front bodice and mandarin collar.  View A is sleeveless with a breast pocket and View B, my choice, has elbow length sleeves with a one inch hem and a small slit. View B also sports a "wrap" that is inserted into the shoulder, armscye and side seam and has very long ties. The pattern shows it simply tied in front as you would a shawl, very pretty and quite unique. Here it is tied that way:

It is very pretty but on me it was an overwhelming bit of fabric volume, at least in my opinion.  We'll fix that later! But it is lovely this way too. 

Another issue with this pattern for petites are the sleeves. The shoulders are dropped on the model so I went with that and fell it contributes to the soft look. If you click on the link and look at the sleeves they are right at elbow length. I learned many years ago this is a very bad length for me--boobs and being short does not work well with sleeves that end at boob level. But, silly me, ever the hopeful one, thought, well, that model is tall and these patterns are made for much taller women so this will come past my short little elbows. Uh, no. We'll fix that later too. No way was that staying. But again, it is a lovely sleeve if you are not five feet tall with boobage and a volume type bodice. 

Other than those two issues I did my usual. I did an FBA for a C cup. I did my usual petiting of the pattern in the upper chest area and I looked at the details. I cut the mandarin collar down by a 1/4 of an inch. I love mandarin collars but again, many years ago I realized Big Four mandarin collars were really too high on my long neck and I cut out a quarter inch from the height of this collar. It is still the same length but not as deep and it worked out just right. 

These buttons are from my dear friends inheritance and vintage wooden balls. There have fine inscribed designs on them and were just perfect for the shirt. I am just concerned about washing. We shall see on that one. 

Top Fabric:

This is a rayon/lyocell blend. It is fairly lightweight and drapes beautifully. It was my first, out of covid visit to Joanns buy. They have really upped their game with their challis offerings. It's good to see something supplanting those shiny poly faux silks. I used SF 101 in the collar and that was about it for interfacing as the CF facing was folded in and the layers made for the needed stabilization. I washed this on gentle, warm wash and hung to dry. It did not shrink at all for me.  I have found the contribution of the lyocell to the rayon to have made it far less prone to wrinkling.

I did try something that Linda Lee of the Sewing Workshop swears by and that is sewing all wovens with cotton thread only. Not sure I am on that bandwagon but I am going to give it a try for a few garments and see what I think. It does make for a prettier topstitch,  and I often use cotton thread just that way.  I am learning lots of things from all these Vlogs I have been watching lately! My next garment will have a really interesting new technique as well. 

Fit Issues:

I will just bullet point these:

*Did an FBA for a Ccup

*I "petited" the area between bust and shoulder seam as you can see in this tutorial here.

*Removed a 1/4 inch from the height of the mandarin collar.

*Here's the biggy. I found the sleeves, as mentioned, at a visually bad length for my height. However, I had them completely made, slit, hem and all before I realized this. I added a 14x9 inch rectangle that I folded in half and seamed on the ends to get a finished "add-on"  to my sleeve. The short ends would provide the slit that would line up with the already hemmed and completed slit. Here's a pic that may make it more sense and it is very photoshopped for contrast so you can see it better. 

It put the sleeve hem in a much more flattering spot and I liked the look of the long double slit. I make almost all my sleeves 3/4 length when I can. 

Things I would do if I made this again:

* For petites only, I would cut the wrap height down a little bit. By this I mean the bottom edge from where it leaves the side seam to the point where it becomes a tie. It just has a lot of volume and this reduction in height/length I think would work better for a shorter frame. 

What I did that was not in the pattern:

I  SELF-FACED my "wrap" pieces. On this pattern you will see both sides of that wrap when you tie it so keep this in mind. By facing it with the same fabric, it worked out beautifully and I think gave the wrap a better weight and drape. This is a challis, so quite lightweight. I highly recommend this move. 

I also backed each side of the collar with interfacing. This fabric is just too slithery and ravel-ly to do otherwise. I used SF101 because in my covid stash it was all I pretty much had. I block fused the fabric BEFORE cutting and also double checked the pattern before sewing. Yes, it had stretched, interfacing fused and all, and I did have to remark and re-trim . 

All the seams are serged and the side seams were serged before sewing, important, due to hemming the corners. 

I recommend mitering your corners for a "better" look. It's easy enough and there is loads out there telling you how to do it. 

I love this design but I think there is a bit much volume in it for me as shown. I was playing with the ties in my mirror and discovered that I really like to wear it like you see above. The sashes crisscross in the front, so less volume, and then wrap to the back where I tie them at center back. It gives me a bit of my shape back and yet I still have the fun of this lovely  design. It's great that you can try and wear it either way. You also can get a good view of how the sleeves worked out in this pic as well. Now for the pants!

Pattern:

Simplicity 8922. This is an elastic waist pull  on pant with 4 different cuff(?) variations. I chose the "tulip" cuff which consisted of a section that had curves instead of corners and they overlapped each other at the bottom of the legs. The legs go straight down, making for a very comfortable pant.Again, my challenge was the petiting of this pattern and it was trial and trial again. How long should the cuff be? Where should the pant leg end and the cuff begin? 

Since I used my sloper for the upper pant shape as it matched the width of the pattern perfectly, it was a matter of figuring out the length of the cuff but before I got into that I got into my usual inspection of the pattern details and asking myself, "do these need to be made smaller for a smaller person?" and they did. 

First, I altered the shape of the "tulip". The pants I had seen online had very pronounced tulips and these, as you can tell from the pattern, are nearly straight down. I took my hip curve and shaped them to turn in more sharply. The front and back pieces were stacked so they would have matching seams when I cut. 

Then I lined up the pieces and took an inch off the top of the tulip. I planned to sew a 3/8th in seam there. 

I sew/basted the pants together and they were too long, not to long to wear, but too long to show off the tulip detail. These needed to be shorter but I  definitely did not want a real cropped pant either. I took the seam in another inch deeper and it worked. You can see how deep they are. I suggest you baste in your stitching before you decide how the length works for you. It took quite a bit of play to get it right. 

I have started another pair of pants from this pattern, View A. I have come up with a very specific and easy way to get the right length on the pant and cuff for any height person and will publish that on Sunday, in three days. I think it will be a big help to any making these pants and to get a good proportion on them. It will work for any one super tall or super short like me and even a lot of in between. So come back Sunday for the next post and there will lots more specifics on getting these cuff proportions to look their best without the hassle I had on the first go round. 

Fabric: 

These pants are made with a rayon/linen blend. They are rather lightweight and despite their dark demeanor really nice on a hot summer's day. They are not lined but I DID face the tulips with self fabric. I am glad I did as I think that gives the nicest finish. The pattern recommends a tiny hem for the edge of the cuff. With the right fabric I think that would be OK but in this one I think it would have cheapened things. Also, by facing the cuff, weight was added and that helps the pants to hang better and not wrinkle as much. 

Construction:

This was pretty straightforward pull on pants construction, no pockets, so it went together quite quickly. Getting the cuff to pant leg ratio worked out took the most time. After that it was quickly done. I also found one other issue with the tulip cuff. Those I have seen online have the overlap of the tulip happening so the high point of the overlap is at the center of the foot. In this pattern it actually turns toward the inseam. All notches and seams matched perfectly. I made sure it overlapped and those notches were correct as well.  So the tulip effect is not very obvious when you look at these dark pants. I am planning to make them out of a khaki twill and play with the cuff to get the overlap to land at center foot.  They still look great and I think the details will show better in a lighter fabric. I highly recommend this pattern. I have been working off my sloper and all the pants have been wide leg but I really think I need to do a new pants sloper. I did this one before I lost weight  and today I faced the fact that it is a bit large and I know where it is large. I am going to make one more pair of pants with some simple adjustments and see if that will do the deed before I start the whole pants sloper thing again. Fingers crossed that I may not need to do that. You know its all about that crotch situation. 

Sorry this project took so long but I did want these two items to go together for you. Again, little did I realize how Fall Forward they would look, but they are pretty, I think, and definitely comfortable. I do have a couple of summer projects still left in me and they won't take as long as this, I hope! Depends a lot on the weather. Hubs and I are in the throws of house repairs and painting the house exterior with the two of us doing 90% of the work. It's all good and looking so different and nice. We are calling it  the Retro Ranch with vibes of Chip and Joanna!  I am excited about my next project. I will be trying  a new and different technique, as suggested by one of the Vlog gurus. 

If I am looking a little piqued here, I am. A tummy sort of thing hit me today but I was determined to get the pictures taken and this post up for you all! Tomorrow will be a better day! 

This Japanese Painted Fern is on of my favorite ever plants. It is doing well here and quite hardy. Enjoy!.................................Bunny

The Walk in the Woods skirt

The Walk in the Woods skirt is done and I love it. It is very comfy, cool and I like the look. Here's the deets:

Pattern:

There is none. I worked up the design myself which utilized the fact that I had two digitally printed panels to work with. One panel made the front and the second panel was split in half to make a back that would accommodate a zipper. Luckily the print is nebulous enough to not require precise matching.  I wanted a curved bottom edge and slits up the side. The waistband is elastic. 

Fabric:

This is a rayon knit. It is thick enough to be decent and is digitally printed with the design of a forest with blurred out details, rather pointillistic.  The colors are warm. Actually "warm and fuzzy" would be a good description. It is yummy to wear. I THINK it came from Emma One Sock but it is not on their site now. They do have some exceptional digital prints on their site. I can see this fabric working in the winter with boots and a sweater yet it is very comfy to wear today which is brutally hot and humid. Love skirts in the hot weather!

Construction:

This was a no brainer for the most part. I put an invisible zip up the back using Kenneth King's method which is one of those things that once you try there is no  going back. It is so simple and the results are great. For the waistband I used an 1 1/4 wide waistband elastic. I needed it to be fairly wide to cover my tumtum with short tops like the one I'm wearing. The panels were not shaped in any way but the fabric was thin enough to gather up on the elastic really nicely and fairly bulk free. After putting in the zip I had several inches of fabric to turn over the waistband elastic as you would a facing on the zip but I stitched the elastic into that seam as well. It snugs up really nicely on the waist. The elastic is secured at the zip, as mentioned, and ditch stitched into the side seams as well. No twisting! 

I wanted the curved hem and that was easy enough to draw out with a French Curve. As I did each of the four sides I matched the same numbers on the ruler to the fabric edges. The small hem was then interfaced with tricot and turned once. No ravelling with this knit so I wasn't about to add the bulk of a double turn, just no need to. Then I did my favorite knit hem technique, sewing on the very edge and then sewing a bit away, in this case about 3/8 of an inch. At the curve the interfaced hem was clipped and that handled the curve just fine. I used a 3.0 stitch length but the nature of this knit just sucked in the stitches and they look smaller. 

You can see how smoothly the back hangs with the zip. My hip to waist ratio is such that it really works better to add a zip rather than have a full pull on type of elastic waistband. The length was really determined by the most flattering layout of the digital print. I brought the darker stripe up to the waist area instead of the hips which  a longer version would have done.

In Conclusion:

This is simple, basic skirt construction, wide enough to not fret over fit other than length and the waistband elastic. I have actually ordered another digital print panel design that was so much an impulse buy and can't wait to make that up in a fuller, more classic version with a flat waistband. It was an impulse buy but I think it will be one of those things I will wear for years. I won't be using a pattern for that one either. Hey, maybe there's a future in becoming an Indie designer of rectangle pieces of fabric.............just kidding...........Bunny
ETA 08/01/18: Just want to say this has turned out to be a big thumbs up garment. It is so comfortable in this heat and so easy to wear. I've garnered compliments every time I put it on and look forward to wearing it in the winter with maybe a black turtleneck or sweater. I would make another pictorial digital print in a rayon knit in a heartbeat. ...Bunny

The Walk in the Woods skirt

I've started working on an interesting fabric from Emma One Sock. It is a luscious rayon knit with soft shades of greens and beiges, not my usual color choice. I knew I wanted to make a skirt and spent a lot of Eureka midnight moments waking to how I would go about this. I knew I wanted a slender soft look, not a big full gather,  and a curved hem. The big challenge was how to deal with the waistline. This skirt would go with the olive linen top I just made. I will review when done but here are a couple of points I am dealing with now.

I decided to drape the front panel on my form to see what I thought would be the right layout. It wasn't.  The print is horizontal and you can see that having that wide swath of beige and the print above at the waist is just not working. Luckily, I have enough fabric length to move this up and have the beige at the waist line. I draped that and it looked so much better. I am so glad I did this draping before putting in the Inviz Zip. This change will alter  the skirt from a ground hugging maxi to a more ankle showing look, which I think in the end will look better on my five feet. The volume in those super long skirts can sometimes just swallow a shorter babe right up. Hey, I'm thinking positively here!

Because the fabric is lightweight and tends to curl a tad,  I had to give a little extra attention to keeping the seams in line.

I pinned them parallel to the edge far back enough to let the presser foot not be bothered but also did pins on the vertical to further secure the edge from curling. I will stitch the back seam in and proceed to do Kenneth King's Invisible Zip method, love that and thank you Professsor King. Then it will be proceed to the waistline and get it done quick. My inspiration, BTW, was the Style Arc Indigo Maxi but I did not want any pockets. We'll see how this ends up. I am winging it and not using a pattern.

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I have begun making my own Greek yogurt in my Instant Pot. I never knew yogurt could taste this good. It is unlike ANYTHING you can get retail, so very easy and thick and rich as can be.  I've done two batches so far and make a batch weekly. To die for. I use the recipe from This Old Gal (who is not old at all.) Her directions are so very clear.....................Bunny

Vogue 9305, an asymmetrical delight!

I am really pleased with this top from Vogue 9305. It is basically four pieces with turned up hems and edges. Doesn't get much easier! It goes together quickly and is great for a bit of instant gratification.

First, let's get a bit of housekeeping out of the way. I wore this with flowing white linen pants, perfect combo, this past weekend. They are in the wash and I didn't want to hold up the review so used this white cotton twill number. This flow-y top definitely styles better with the softer, wider legged, slightly cropped white linen pants. Next, as we start anew here, you will  my find my photos have me with no makeup other than lipstick, just warning  you. I have  recently developed excema in my eyes. It is responding well to treatment but makeup, even foundation or concealer around the eyes is out Thank heavens lipstick is fine! So you may find my face not quite so dressed up. I do miss my makeup as I love that girly stuff!

I had to lighten the pics a lot to give you a better grasp of the detail and fabric.

Housekeeping  done so let's move on to this top!

Pattern:

Vogue 9305 is described by Vogue as a "fitted tunic with sleeve variations and shaped hemlines."  Vogue warns that the wrong side of the fabric will show and it does so keep that in mind when purchasing fabric for this design.

You will notice in the photos that the junction of the left and right side is at the left hipbone. I felt this wouldn't be that flattering for me and chose to make that intersection closer to my natural waist and thereby elongating the leg, that petite thing!  Aside from vanity, I also felt raising that slit would help me cut this pattern down to my petite frame. It seemed to be a better proportion for me. On the last post there was discussion about this pattern possibly not working for those of shorter stature. I disagree. With the right adjustment I think I got it to work.

Above you can see I removed 3/4 of an inch from the upper chest. I knew these sleeves would be too low, as they always are for me, so didn't hesitate to just tuck out some length strait across the upper chest and into the sleeves.  The next length reduction was from the lengthen/shorten line on the pattern near the waist. I took out 2 inches there. The last reduction was  a bit above the half way mark  for the curved right front hem. I took another two inches out there. The same amount was taken from the right front flounce piece as well as across the back in the same three places. This got the longest part of the tunic about 6 inches above the floor which felt right for my five foot frame. Removing all this length meant the side seams had to be trued before cutting and that is the white paper you see on the sides of the pattern pieces. I simply used ironed on freezer paper. You can see the 4 or so inches where the flounce connects to the right bodice with a serrated line above.

I did more altering to the pattern as well. Based on reviews I lowered the center front collar two inches and removed a half inch from the rest of the collar. I recommend this. It may enable you to make this dress without a center back seam or closure, further insuring this design to be a quickie construction. I am able to easily get it over my head now.

No FBA was done this time but I have lost a bit of weight so no need.

Fabric:

You can really get a good idea of the fabric in this photo of the rear on my form. It is a rayon crepe in a navy and grayish tie dye colorway.  It prewashed beautifully with no shrinkage. Hard to believe, right? The tie dye pattern runs along the grain for the most part. The fabric is VERY flow-y which I think this design warrants. You will also see here that I didn't have enough fabric to make this tunic or at least to make it so the design ran on grain. By deciding to add a waistline seam to the back of the garment and cutting  the upper back bodice on the cross grain the amount of yardage worked . The back skirt was on the length. From the get go I did not want a back seam or  closure but unfortunately laid my new back bodice out without the benefit of clear thinking and put the fold 5/8 of an inch out, thinking it was a seam. I did not have enough fabric to recut and just moving it over did not work with the sleeve design. To solve this the back bodice gained a center back seam, which actually was a 5/8 inch tuck. This put everything into the proper place and life went on. Here is a closeup of the neckline to give you a better idea of the crepe finish to the rayon. All of the pictures have been lightened substantially so you can  better see the detail and fabric.

Construction Detail:

Easy peasy!!!

I serged all edges before construction to eliminate the raveling this fabric could provide. Hem edges were simply serged and turned. The underside of the hem is visible with the flounce but it blends in and works. For the neckline I did a French binding, aka, double fold bias binding, that I understitched and turned to the inside. I really didn't want topstitching here. There is a lot of weight hanging from the neckline edge and shoulder seams. To secure it I took some light grey DMC floss and embroidered French knots all around the neckline. Shoulder seams were stabilized with selvedges. Do you cut off all your selvedges and keep them in a jar for these moments? Comes in handy! 

The center back seam was eliminated by cutting the back skirt on the fold. The back bodice also would have been cut on the fold if I hadn't mucked up but the tuck came to the rescue. 

I suggest cutting the neckline larger as it is quite close for a summery look and probably not that comfortable or flattering. Doing that, along with cutting on the fold eliminated any need for a closure, making this quick pattern even quicker. 

In the end:

I would definitely make Vogue 9305 again and recommend it highly. It CAN work for petites with the right length alterations which are easy to do. Make sure you use a fabric that is not stiff. A well washed linen would be lovely. Stabilize those shoulder seams as they carry a lot of weight and it wouldn't be a bad idea to stabilize the neckline too with a light tricot fusible in the binding or on the neckline seam, extending a tiny bit into the bodice. I really hope to see some of you try this pattern. I think it could be quite flattering on the large, the small, the short and the tall. I can see it being made in a chiffon and going over a strapless or tank-ish jumpsuit. Highly recommend! Vogue, you hit  a home run with this one!

Next up....................the Burnside Bibs. Can this grandma carry off  Rosy the Riveter meets Mr.Greenjeans?..........Bunny

Vogue 8630

This is the view as I look straight down at my toes while wearing my muslin. See that toe peeking out? The muslin came out surprisingly good and I am sure having the various cup sizes made it work. The "C" fit perfectly except for my usual excess between apex and shoulder and that was easily fixed by deepening the shoulder seam.

The big issue, and really only other issue was what you see in the picture above. This happens to me a lot in dresses. I have wide hips. I have a relatively small waist. This means a big dart in the front of the garment whenever one is specified. But this is where it gets weird. I have a short front crotch rise. My lower tummy has always been very flat, almost concave. Is that a tilted pelvis? I think it could be from what I've read. I have made darts in pants that are probably half the length that you would normally use. The dart ends so that the end of it is filled out by my mature tummy fluff. But it can look weird doing that sometimes and it looked weird with that fix on the muslin. In the pic you can see the long dart puffs out beyond my tummy and has tons of dead air underneath. Its all very weird. I've run into this many times over the years and my solution is to turn the dart into a pleat. The fullness gets released softly and falls straight down instead of puffing out like the dart.   I don't have this problem in the back because my booty generously fills out the back darts in the skirt. So that point lump has been converted to a pleat and it looks better.

Here's something I learned from Sandra Betzina. If you fold the pleats outward, your tummy will look flatter and your hips wider. If you fold the pleats toward center front, your hips will look narrower and your tummy more fluffy. I folded them toward center front. I also pegged the skirt. Short women with wide hips can look pretty dumpy with the side seams hanging straight toward the floor. But pegging a skirt can make those wide hips look even wider. Think of an inverted triangle. I go easy on the pegging tapering in to 3/8ths of an inch at the side seams. Any more is not good but this small amount really helps.

I was all set to do some brilliant matching for you but turns out I am not that brilliant, or this print is barely matchable. The horizontal repeats once and that repeat is  only a quarter of the pattern. The length repeat is 24 inches. While I had a fair amount of extra fabric, I would have needed a huge amount to make it work. I tried, I really tried. As close as I got had me with two giant flowers with big dark centers either right on my boobs, right under them or on the hills of my buttocks. To use the less defined fabric for those areas did not work with the limited horizontal matching I could do because of the one  and a quarter repeat horizontally. SWhat you see above is the beginning of the game. An hour and a half later is was decision time. It was either ignore the print completely or try to get the flowers off the boobs and find a "rough match" that would not glaringly stick out. I think 've made it work with the second option and hope the print is camouflage enough to look OK. I think it is.

One thing I really like about this pattern is the shaping. Above you see the center back  and how it curves in toward the waist on the left instead of just being a vertical line. Nice on that one, Vogue. The center back of the skirt is also curved in so this would work well for those swaybacks. I did not have to do any swayback adjustment and that really surprised me. 

At this point all is cut out. There are three layers in the skirt only, fashion fabric, the net layer and the batiste underling. The bodice is fashion fabric and underlining only. Seams all have the Honk Kong finish added where they can be. I like to do that seam finish as much as possible before construction of the garment. It is so much easier that way. Don't you love that antique gold color charmeuse for the binding? If you are interested there is a tutorial on doing the Hong Kong seam finish here. 

Why no muslin pics? Well, Mr. Avedon did a poor job  of them , taking them from way too high at a weird angle.  Given that he was cleaning every window and screen in the house, a chore we always share, and I was in the studio all day, I was not in a position to complain. I thanked him very much, tried to do some mirror pics of my own but that is not something I've ever been good at. At least you got to see my bulging tummy darts. I am going to hit this again big time tomorrow so I can get it out of the way. Still waiting for my hat to arrive...................Bunny

Vogue 8630

Right about this time last year I wrote about making a dress for a wedding with this fabric. I had the alligator shoes to match. What I didn't have was the time. At the last minute I caved and bought a little red knit number from TJ Maxx. That worked well but I have still been so wanting to make this same dress. Try again! I think I may make it this time. I am determined and will budget time each day to get it done.

The pattern chosen is really simple and I have seen some nice results on PR. The collar is really lovely, a design that flatters my narrow shoulders and long skinny neck. The dress is a simple sheath with a waistline. I prefer that to deal with my swayback. I will be doing the sleeveless version and like how the collar becomes a bit of a sleeve. The belt? More than likely self fabric. The fabric? Above you see a 100% rayon dress fabric. It's a bit heavier than usually seen but has a lovely drape, The collar will be an matching white linen, a heavy texture to match the rayon. Construction? It calls for a lining. I won't do that. Since rayon can "hang out" and potentially droop on a very humid hot day, I am going to underline it instead. The last wedding I went to, not far from this one, was extremely hot and humid and I think the underlining with Hong Kong seams will work better to support the rayon. I am going to interline with cheap nylon net. WTH.....I read about this some time back. A designer used this to keep dupioni silks from becoming totally wrinkled and the netting goes between the lining and fashion fabric. Again, to hold the shape and prevent wrinkles on a hot summer day. I am anxious to try this technique and feel I have nothing to lose here. Can't wait to report how that goes.

The zipper on this design starts two inches below the neckline and is hidden by the wide collar. Here you can see my beginning muslin. The form is tilting and no side seams are sewn. My sewing plan has me finishing the muslin tomorrow. Just looking at this I am thinking the neckline may be too wide and will show straps. Or do I go strapless? If I had more time I would build in a corset but not this time! The upper back is looking wide, which usually happens. I don't like the simple unsewn slit for a vent and think it looks a bit cheap. I think I will make a more tailored vent instead. We'll see. I also think I will hand pick the zipper, maybe with some beads.  This garment is definitely planned for dry cleaning only. I also think I will need to peg the skirt. Not sure on the length yet. Your vote may help me there.

I also have ordered a hat to go with my outfit and it will work great with this dress as well as with nothing else in my wardrobe. Once I put down my plastic on the hat I was committed to making the dress. So I am focusing on this bigtime. I still have a long queue of projects I want to do including bags and some more linen pieces. Spring has finally arrived here with it hitting the eighties today and yesterday. Yay!  So vacation and it's mandatory after vakay catchup is out of the way. The now dry green yard is calling but this dress has priority. Stay tuned.......Bunny