Sewaholic Cambie dress #2

I dove in to the Sewaholic Cambie dress one more time to see if I liked it more with some modifications.  It felt like this project took forever and I was glad when I reached the finish line.  I'm wearing it to a wedding this weekend and there were times during construction when I felt like the fabric choice was going to make me look like I was IN the wedding as a bridesmaid. My initial thought was, "I'm making a bridesmaid's dress and I'm not a bridesmaid!" but my next thought was, "Hey! I made a bridesmaid's dress!" I'm not worried about that anymore.  I think it turned out well. 

For this version, I omitted the waistband and lengthened the bodice by 1 inch.  I also opted to add some pleats to the neckline and finish it with a tie belt.

 

I used this silk crepe de chine from Mood for the main fabric and this silk organza for the lining.  I've never worked with organza before.  The crepe de chine felt a little slippery when I started.  When I finished working with the organza and went back to the crepe de chine, it was like working with quilting cotton.  Organza is shifty.

 

This was a project where my imagination tacked on a lot of time.  My original thought was to leave the waistline plain like this....

 

...but then I didn't really like the finishing on the waistline (more on that later) and felt I needed to add something.  My first plan was a belt with an enormous flower detail on it.  I started cutting the petals out and then decided against it.  My next plan was to add the same pleating at the neckline to the waistline.  After some texting consultations with a friend and my mom, I decided against that too.  My third idea was just to go with a belt.  The right belt is hard to find.  I did a tie belt on this dress and liked it a lot so I went with it on this one.  I like it.  When in doubt, add a tie belt.  And if I ever find a regular belt I can have two options.

 

 

As you can tell from the above picture, the dart on the main fabric and the dart on the organza didn't line up when I stitched-in-the-ditch.  You can tell in the picture but I'm not so sure it's noticeable in person.  I initially lined up all darts and side seams but that resulted in excess main fabric in the front so the mismatched dart on the left side is what I went with in the end.  I want to be very clear that I cannot stand to stitch-in-the-ditch.  I have an edgestitching foot and I still find it to be a very painful task.  I did it three times and then decided it was good enough. 

 

All seams are French seams except for the waistband.  I initially serged it which led to an incredibly bulky waistband.  I then went back and pinked the edges which helped. 

 

 

I like the pleated detail along the neckline a lot.  My only regret is that I made them a little taller than I should have.  They are prone to falling down a little in the middle.  I catch-stitched them together on the back side and that really helped.  To make the pleats, I cut a very long piece of fabric that was 3 inches wide. I folded this in half lengthwise and pressed.  Starting in the middle and working towards the right side, I pinched fabric together on the backside and folded it to the left. 

I repeated this until I had enough for the right side.  When working towards the left side, I pinched the fabric on the backside and folded it to the right.  I basted the pleats and then basted them again to the front of the dress before sewing the lining and main fabric together.  I serged the raw edge on the shirt end.  When I reached the end, I opened up the last pleat and folded the serged edge back inside the pleats.  I knotted the end of the serged edge so I just tacked that down inside with a hand needle. 

 

It's an easy thing that adds an interesting detail to this neckline.

 

 

I did a rolled hem for the first time on the hem and also along the edges of the tie belt.  I tried and tried to get it to look right on my own but I couldn't figure out why those loops kept showing up to the left of the right needle stitching. 

I posted a question on the RTW Fasters Facebook page and received good feedback about adjusting tension.  However, it still didn't work.  I went to my Bernina dealer for some handholding and when I got there she said she was going to show me how to do a rolled hem but first she needed to find a screwdriver to take the left needle out.  And that's when I knew instantly what my problem was. I unthreaded the needle but didn't take it out, so the loopers were looping as if the left needle was making a stitch.  I was so thankful to have the answer that I didn't bother to be embarrassed. 

 

I said after making my first Cambie that the waistband really bothered me but I've worn it twice so apparently it doesn't bother me that much.  It's fun to see how a different choice of fabric using the same pattern changes the finished look. 

 






 



Polka Dot Minoru

I finally made a Minoru!  I wanted to make this months ago but never got around to it.  It's a good thing I didn't because I recently found this navy and white polka dot polyester fabric online at Mood and it's perfect for this jacket.  It's a nice quality reversible polyester that is easy to press and easy to sew.  I love it!  The top is a size 4.  The midsection is a size 6.  The bottom is a size 2 but I could have gone down to a 0 simply because I'm not pear shaped (not because I'm a size 0).

These is nothing to say about the Minoru that hasn't been said already.  It's a great every day jacket with easy to follow instructions.  I did French seams everywhere but where I attached the collar to the main jacket.  I added inseam pockets using the Burdastyle tutorial and figured out how to sew them with a French seam using Debra Moebes tutorial over at Sew Mama Sew.  My pockets are at a comfortable place for my hands but I should have put them in an inch or so higher because they run into the hem. 



You can see the reversible side on the wrong side of the hood (sort of). 

 

 

The back:

 

The lining is a bright gold polyester satin from Hobby Lobby.

 

The jacket was completed 48 hours ago and already I've worn it walking my dog Winston.....

...cheering on the KC Chiefs to a victory...

...and hanging out at the pumpkin patch.

Make a Minoru today.  You won't be disappointed!

 





 

Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt

 

This Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt is my favorite of the things I've made so far.  It was my first time sewing with rayon challis and I liked it so much I'll use it again. 

I used a stabilizer to keep the fabric from shifting during the sewing process and tried not to handle it too much. 

I also chose to underline (again) the skirt.  I need to buy a book on how to add linings.  If the pattern doesn't call for a lining then I don't know how to add one myself. 

Once again I had problems with picking the right size.  This is the first Sewaholic pattern I've sewn.  Based on my waist measurement I chose a 10 and tapered down to a 4 in the hips for my muslin.  The waist was huge so I sewed a straight 6 for my final product.  I could have tapered down in the hips since there is a lot of volume in the size 6 for me.  However, during the muslin phase I discovered that I had graded down right in the middle of the pocket and that complicated things.  Also, I think grading that far between sizes is probably too much.  I should have done another muslin but I was too lazy. 

I like the tabs and pockets!

This skirt was super easy to make. I used the serger to finish the seams.  It was my best job so far but still not as good as I'd like.  I just noticed there is a Crafty class on serging which I desperately need to sign up for.

I did a catchstich on the hem.  It's a big hem to sew by hand but I just like it so much better that way.