Amazing Fit Little Black Dress

One thing high on my autumn sewing list was a little black cocktail dress. Despite having a bulging wardrobe of dresses, I still have moments (often ten minutes before we're due to go out) when absolutely nothing in there seems quite right. A little black dress seemed like the perfect solution.

The pattern I used was Simplicity 1249 - the princess seams and raglan cap sleeves of View B were exactly what I had in mind for my cocktail dress. The pattern is from the Amazing Fit series which come with a choice of pattern pieces for cup sizes (B to DD) and separate cutting lines for  different hip types (Slim, Average or Curvy). Cup size is determined by the difference between your full and high bust measurements, so based on this I went for a C cup in size 14 and used the Slim cutting line for my hips. The pattern pieces were almost identical to my dress block which was really encouraging.

The theory behind Amazing Fit patterns is that you partly construct the dress, then baste together key areas such as side seams and shoulders. The seam allowance in these areas is a generous one inch, which gives plenty of room for fine tuning the fit. Once you've adjusted the fit to your liking, the seams are sewn as normal, basting stitches removed and seam allowances trimmed down. This seemed like an awful lot of faffing about to me, but to be fair, I did end up making some fitting adjustments so it was worth doing it this way. The instructions also included lots of fitting guidelines which were handy to refer to.

My basted together dress was perfectly wearable, but a bit mumsy, so I made a few adjustments for a tighter fit. I took out some fullness underneath the bustline by pinching out the front side seams and I also took in the waist and hips at the side seams by about ⅝". The general bust area and shoulders were a great fit, as was the front neckline, YES! I often have to make adjustments in this area to combat gaping, so this was particularly satisfying.

Construction wise, everything went to plan and amazingly there were no mishaps! Princess seams are a bit of a plain to construct because there's so much clipping and pressing involved to achieve a smooth line. I spent a long time at the ironing board with my tailor's ham, but it was time well spent as the seam lines on the finished dress now lie nice and flat. For fabric I used Prada crepe-backed satin from Minerva. The crepe sheds a lot of fibres, but otherwise it's lovely to work with and a really nice quality, perfect for a cocktail dress. The other big advantage is that it's self lined, so no separate lining required, yay! The dress closes with an invisible zip and the neckline is finished with a facing, all very straight forward.

This dress is only the second black garment I've made (this skirt was the first one) and I don't think I'll be making another one in a hurry. Karen's tips for sewing with black fabric were helpful, but I still found it a very difficult colour to work with. It was a nightmare to pick out stitches, even wearing my reading glasses, and there were times when I just had to make a stab at where they were as I literally couldn't see a thing! Thank god the zip went in first time, that's all I can say!

I hardly wear black as I don't think it does much for my colouring, but I'll be making an exception in this case. I'm so pleased with the fit on this dress, it's a simple design but it really does flatter your curves. From now on if I'm stuck for something dressy to wear, this will be my answer - just sling on a necklace and I'll be good to go!  x

A springtime Granville

If you were looking forward to reading a long blog post all about Granville - Arkwright's long suffering nephew from Open All Hours - then I'm sorry to disappoint you. This post is all about shirt making, and one shirt in particular, the Granville pattern from Sewaholic. I couldn't resist adding a picture of Granville though, look at his little face! And his Fair Isle tank top!

Despite admiring Sewaholic's patterns from the sidelines, I've only sewn a couple of them (the Pendrell, Renfrew and Alma). There always seems to be some little detail about their patterns that I don't like, or I don't think will suit me and I haven't actually bought one for ages. The latest releases were an exception - as soon as I saw the Granville pattern I knew it had my name on it. A classic, fitted shirt with princess seams to the back and shaping to the waist to give it the fitted look I'm always after. I bought the Granville as soon as it was released.

Alice at Backstitch had also recently asked if I'd like to review some fabric, so I saw this as a good opportunity to try out a nice, crisp cotton. I settled on one of the Timeless Treasures Sketch fabrics in Red. I love a crosshatch design and this particular colour has a really subtle, crosshatch finish. If you like your crosshatch a bit bolder, then Cherry might be a better choice - it's a bit more obvious.  The fabric is a good match for this pattern. I wanted something lightweight enough for a shirt, but crisp enough to hold the shape of the collar and stand. It's just the right weight and washes and presses perfectly. I also like the fact that it looks like a plain red fabric, until you get closer and notice the crosshatch detail - fancy!

I found the clear buttons in my button box and couldn't work out where they'd come from (maybe the sewing ghost put them there?!) Then I remembered - they were from an old duvet I'd thrown out. Not quite the classy lineage I'd imagined!

When I've made Sewaholic patterns before, the fit has always seemed pretty good on me initially. I'm the opposite of the pear shape that Sewaholic patterns are drafted for, so I've always used my bust size and graded down at the waist and hips. When I'm wearing the tops, I've noticed that the bust often feels a bit tight and constricting. So this time round I took a tip from Mary over at the Curvy Sewing Collective and altered the front bodice piece accordingly. I traced a size 8 for my bust and waist, grading down to a size 6 at the hips and added a one inch FBA (full bust adjustment) using Mary's excellent tutorial. This gives more room in the bust but retains the lovely shaping at the waist and hips. I also shortened the whole pattern by an inch.

The other change I made was to convert the sleeves from long, cuffed ones, to short. A bit drastic, but I just don't wear long sleeved shirts. Ever. Short sleeves are much more practical for me and the fact that I made mine without a cuff or sleeve band means I can still just about get away with wearing them underneath a cardigan. 

As far as construction goes, I found some areas a little challenging. I should point out that I've never actually made a proper shirt with a collar and collar stand before, I've made plenty of shirts with notched collars and flat collars, but not this sort - so it was a bit of a departure for me. The written instructions were adequate, but I would have liked a bit more direction in a few places, notably when you add the button bands and sew the collar and collar stand. I felt that the diagrams weren't that clear, and once or twice I actually found them misleading. I figured it out in the end, but it wasn't an easy process! Putting together the basic shirt, yoke and buttonbands was pretty quick once I'd worked out where to fold the front bands. The collar on the other hand, took almost an entire day to get right! Maybe it will be an easier process next time round when I know what I'm doing?!

The inside yoke has a lovely clean finish - luckily I found the instructions for that bit to be perfectly clear! All the seams are pressed together and overlocked before being topstitched. It's worth taking a bit of time with your topstitching as it does give a professional finish to the shirt. especially round the pesky button bands and collar areas.

Fit-wise, I'm pleased to report that the FBA was a complete success, there's plenty of room across the bust but the shirt still remains fitted because of the shaped waist. I could kick myself for not paying more attention to the button placement though. I usually use this tutorial, but decided I knew better this time round. Clearly I didn't, as there's still a bit of gaping. Gah, so annoying, especially as the rest of the shirt is near perfect! The one fitting change I'd make next time would be to move the bust dart up by about an inch. I did measure it before I did the FBA, but something obviously got lost in translation as it ended up a bit low.

Whingeing aside, I do like the shirt a lot and I would definitely recommend the pattern. It's beautifully drafted and I think the classic style would work with lots of different body shapes. Believe it or not, I lack a plain, red top in my wardrobe, so this simple shirt will go with everything: jeans, skirts, shorts, trousers. I love how it looks untucked too, it's just the right length! I'm so pleased to have kicked off my summer sewing with such a wearable shirt! Next up, something in barkcloth I think...

Fabric was given to me free of charge for review. All views my own.

Vintage red dress

After a mini splurge at EmSewCrazy recently, this vintage beauty fell into my hands. It's Butterick 8629 from 1959 - a simple sheath dress with 'figure following lines' (love that description) and kimono sleeves. I was inspired to make a red version of view B after seeing Kathryn's beautiful red Annalotte dress. The bodice section on the Butterick pattern is a little like the By Hand London Anna pattern (minus the tucks), so this seemed to be a sign for me to blatantly copy her.

The pattern is a vintage size 16, which sometimes fits me, it all depends on the year. In this case the bust was fine (36) but the waist and hips needed a lot taking off. Working on this dress was the first chance I've had to use the skills I learnt at the Pattern Drafting weekend and it was a success of sorts! I laid my block on top of the pattern and shaped it to match up with the Butterick pattern. Straight away, I could see that my main adjustments would be to shorten the bodice by an inch, and to take a whopping seven inches off the length of the skirt section! I also changed the darts to match the darts on my bodice block, which wasn't quite so successful. In fact the bust darts are still wonky - I gave up after about 20 attempts to get them right - I'll have to come back to them in a few days time! It isn't perfect and I did need to make quite a few on-the-spot fitting adjustments after the initial muslin. but I'm quite pleased with it for a first attempt.

Once I was happy with the fit, the dress was 'Quick 'N Easy' to make, just like it says on the packet! The fabric I used is a crepe-backed satin kindly supplied by Minerva Crafts as part of their Blogger Network. Now I'd read lots of great reviews about this fabric, but annoyingly in this case, I ordered the wrong one. The fabric I ordered is from their general crepe-backed satin range, which is perfectly fine, but the fabric everybody has been raving about is their Prada self-lined crepe. DOH! Despite this, the fabric I used is ideal for a party dress, although the crepe side probably has more of a sheen to it than I was expecting. It also sheds fibres faster than the speed of light, so be prepared for lots of sweeping up if you use it! The most fortuitous thing about it though is that it has a slight stretch, which means I can just about get the dress on WITHOUT A ZIP!! Talk about a result! Getting it over the chest area is a bit of a tight squeeze, but the built-in satin lining actually aids this process.

I dispensed with facings and made self-binding instead, using the sating side so the binding matched up with the inside 'lining' of the dress. I actually cut the binding strips on the straight grain rather than the bias - the slight stretch of the fabric means it's still able to curve around the neckline but it doesn't stretch out too much, which was my worry. It seemed to work anyway!

Inside view: neckline finished with satin binding

This is a beaut of a vintage pattern - simple and elegant with that unmistakable late 1950's look I love. Once I've nailed the fit on those pesky darts, I can definitely see myself making it again.

My impression of the lady on the pattern envelope...

Talking of vintage patterns, this is my third and final make for my Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge, hosted by Marie at A Stitching Odyssey. I pledged to sew three vintage patterns in 2014 and that's what I've done! The other two are my raincoat from 1973 and my white 1950's sleeveless blouse, so I now have a vintage trio for 2014 of red, white and blue. Purely unintentional I swear!

Have a good weekend! x

The kit was given to me free of charge as part of the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network. All views my own.

Ultimate Trousers

Trousers are one of those garments that seem to put the fear of god into many sewists. They're really not that scary - in fact I can think of countless sewing tasks that beat trousers hands down: sewing on the bias, sewing with silk, bound buttonholes, invisible side zips and, my personal nemesis, hooks and eyes (uuurrrggh). In reality, once you've made a few pairs of pyjama bottoms, you have the basic skills for trouser making, the hard part is perfecting the fit.

I was surprised to discover that I've made quite a few pairs of trousers in my sewing life. The wide legged vintage-style trousers I've sewn (here, here and here) are actually very easy to fit and sew, and given the width of the legs, not that different from PJs. My Juniper trousers fitted well, but that was more fluke than skilled fitting, as my body shape happens to be a good fit for a lot of Colette patterns. My Gertie Capri pants and sailor shorts required a few adjustments, but in both instances it was just a case of taking in seams on the hop. I've never actually sat down with a trouser pattern and tried to work out how to get it to fit to my shape. Well, not until I encountered the Ultimate Trousers pattern from Sew Over It that is.

I was sent the pattern as a thank you for pattern testing the Betty dress in the summer, but because I'm fickle and the sun was out, all I could think about was sewing dresses. I liked the shape of the pattern though: easy, darted front, ankle length and a classy slim fit and I kept seeing great versions pop up on sewing blogs. My attention was finally caught when Winnie decided to use the pattern for OWOP. Her advice? Once you perfect the fit, it's a great pattern. So I set out to perfect the fit.

To do this, I made not one, but two muslins. Gasp! I made a full sized muslin to check the (ahem) crotch area and legs. Then, once I'd sorted out the legs, I made a second muslin from waist to thigh, incorporating my adjustments. Sew Over It patterns don't have a great deal of ease and are very true to the pattern measurements, so be honest when choosing which size to cut out! For reference, I made a size 10, which is a 28" waist and 38" hip. The first muslin wasn't too bad, but I noticed the back waistline pulled down at the centre quite noticeably. After consulting the fitting post for the Ultimate Trousers sewalong, I knew that this was because my derriere was taking up a bit too much room and forcing the waistband down. A fat arse adjustment was therefore needed! To do this, I added ½" to the centre back seam and ½" to the top waistline. This created more room in the bum area and, very pleasingly, ensured that the waistband was parallel again. I did a smaller adjustment at the front, for my less-than-flat stomach.

The only other adjustment I made was to taper the legs in the calf area by a total of 1" each leg, using the tips from the same sewalong post. I hemmed the trousers by just ½" rather than the recommended 1" and the length is perfect on me. Beware though - I'm only 5'2", so if you want an ankle skimming trouser and you're tall (or even normal height) you may need to lengthen them. If you prefer a cropped length, you're laughing.

The fabric I used is a navy stretch cotton from Sew Over It.  I only needed 1.5m for the size I made, but I bought 2m for contingency. When it arrived, there was a bit extra included as it was the end of the roll - perfect for two muslins!  The fabric is quite lightweight, so maybe not suited to winter wear if you feel the cold. It's also VERY stretchy and, perhaps predictably, now that I've worn them a few times, they're a bit big around the waistband - grrr. I'm certain this is all down to the fabric though - if I was making them again in a non-stretch drill for instance, I'd do exactly the same adjustments. Once the trousers are washed, they shrink back to their normal tight fit, which is what you see in these photos. Be warned, though, they are a very tight fit - as Karen remarked when I was discussing them with her, "there's nowhere to hide!", which is definitely something to consider if you're thinking of making them!

The actual construction is a cinch, the only pieces are trouser legs and facings. There's a side invisible zip, which I managed to insert without any tears. Sadly, I still can't tell my left from my right, so it ended up on the wrong side! This is a great pattern to practice your trouser fitting skills on because of its simplicity. There are no waist bands or fly fronts to worry about, so you can focus purely on fit. I like the fit I managed to achieve and will almost certainly make them again, perhaps in a plain, black drill. I was even contemplating a gingham pair at one point, but I think that might have been the Prosecco talking! Happy Thursday. x

The Ultimate Trousers pattern was given to me free of charge for review. All views my own.

Jennifer Lauren Vintage: Afternoon Blouse

Yay! Hot off the press today is the Afternoon Blouse - a brand new PDF pattern from lovely sewing blogger Jennifer Lauren.  I was lucky enough to be a tester for this pattern so I can tell you all about it. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin…

The design of the Afternoon Blouse is based on an original 1950's pattern, cleverly updated to give it a modern edge. Jennifer has also spent a lot of time perfecting the construction and shape of the blouse to make it super easy to fit and sew. In fact it's so easy to sew it can be made in just one afternoon (geddit? the clue's in the name!)  I was asked to pattern test right in the middle of a busy period, and then lost a precious day's sewing because of the teacher's strike in the UK (I had to entertain my children and was twitching towards the sewing machine like a junkie). In the end I did only have one afternoon free to make it, which was a nice challenge as I could test out whether the blouse lived up to its name. Of course it did!

From a sewing and construction viewpoint, the blouse is super easy to sew:

- No darts or tucks

- No zips, buttons or other fastenings, it just slips over your head

- No sleeves to set in (the blouse has one of my favourite vintage features - short kimono sleeves)

- Very few pattern pieces - just a front, back and facings

Hoorah!

Making the blouse should have been one of the quickest sewing projects in the history of the world - if I hadn't been such a half wit. The following is ALL my own fault, I hasten to add, and nothing to do with the pattern. I made such a silly sewing mistake I couldn't believe my own stupidity - gah! After looking at the size charts, I decided that I would cut a size 8 at the shoulders, waist and hips and a size 12 at the bust. The pattern is constructed with grown on sleeves, so blending between the sizes is an easy job. My fatal error was chatting to my mum whilst I was tiling the pattern together. I was so busy gassing away, I clean forgot to grade the bust to a larger size and just cut a size 8 all over. The pattern tiled together so perfectly I decided to cut the blouse out from the fabric there and then, still not graded at the bust. The ridiculous thing is, I didn't even realise my mistake until I actually sewed the blouse together and tried to get it over my head! Having wrestled it on and then off again, I suddenly worked out why it was so tight…. The tragedy is that I didn't have enough fabric to re-cut it so just had to let the side seams and centre front seams out as far as possible. I'd say the bust is now more like a size 10 and is still a little tight, which makes me think my original plan of a size 12 would have been perfect. Grrrr. The fit everywhere else is perfect.

I was particularly pissed off at myself because the fabric I used was so lovely. I chose a red shirting with a slight sheen from Offset Warehouse after my usual trick of seeing it on Dolly Clackett's blog and wanting some of the action. I found shirting to be the perfect fabric for this blouse. It's crisp and holds its shape, but has just enough drape to do justice to the feminine styling. The shirting I used is my perfect shade of red too, I'm very tempted to get some more for another project...

I would say the only slightly tricky bit is sewing the facing to the neckline, but I think if you do as Jennifer advises in the instructions and just take your time, then it's pretty straight forward. The neckline is finished with a decorative i.e. non functioning button - a good opportunity to use any pretty vintage buttons you've been hoarding. I think the decorative neckline is more noticeable if you use a fabric in a solid colour. Having said that, my next version (which will be in the correct size) has a busy pattern, so I'll be interested to see how it looks.

Style-wise I think the Afternoon Blouse will be a really useful addition to my wardrobe. It has the vintage look that always lures me in, and which I've already found goes perfectly with all my high waisted trousers and skirts. It also has a casual, modern look so you can team it with jeans or shorts in the summer. I don't have any photos, but I can confirm, hand on heart that it does look flattering untucked. And believe me, for a blouse to pass my rigorous untucked test, it usually has to be fitted and darted to within an inch of its life.

If you'd like to introduce a bit of vintage flair into your life with minimal effort, then hot foot it over to Jennifer's Etsy Shop where you can purchase the PDF pattern.  I think it's a lovely pattern and I don't think there'll be too long a gap before my next version appears on this here blog! Have a wonderful weekend! x

The Afternoon Blouse pattern was given to me free of charge for pattern testing. All views my own.

Crepe muslin trials and tribulations

I've been working on my first ever muslin for the Crepe Sewalong, and, as mentioned in my last post, it's become something of a trauma.  My first stumbling block was the sizing of the pattern. It was WAY off, which was disappointing, as the last Collette pattern I used was a perfect fit - I barely had to make any adjustments.  But that was a skirt and my bottom half is a standard size, the problem is with my top half which isn't quite so standard.  Collette patterns are cut for those with a reasonable sized bust which is good as that's what I have.  However, I have a very narrow back so my measurements aren't standard (32E if you must know).  I came up against this same problem when adjusting my new dressform (see last post and yes, I know it's supposed to be a Christmas present but this muslin has become something of an emergency!)  The back section was as tightly closed as I could get it, whilst the front section looked like an autopsy victim - wide open and gaping right down the front.  I still had to put a bra on it and stuff it to get the exact measurements.  But it now exactly mimics my measurements which I'm delighted about, and which was the whole point of buying it after all.  

Anyway, back to the muslin, because of my bust/back anomaly, the first muslin I cut out was really baggy and looked dreadful.  In fact it was so ridiculously baggy I re-cut it to the next size down.  

Ridiculously baggy muslin

Still no good though, so I went back to Gertie's blog for advice.  I basically then did everything she advised, as the fitting issues she was having were exactly the same as mine:

The back had too much bulk, even pulled across as a wrap, so tucks were needed on each side.

The shoulders also needed taking in, along with the side seams.  However, it was at the front where the most work was needed.  Look how much excess fabric there is.

Another horizontal tuck right across the front was called for.  I also took some small tucks out at the sides of the neckline so it didn't gape so much.

Much improved but still not too flattering

This was WAY better but it was still baggy under the bust. I get this a lot - there's basically a shelf where the bust is, and then unless it's fitted well, the fabric falls straight down to several inches in front of my stomach, making me look pregnant (which I'm not). I read a bit more of Gertie's blog and she started talking about reshaping a dart for a more flattering bustline. YES, that's what I'd been waiting for all this time!  I also moved the dart down and the combination of both these adjustments seemed to work

Lovely new fitted muslin 

The new muslin still has fold marks on it and the darts are very quickly sewn and not pressed (I was getting very frustrated by this point) so they look a bit pointy, but essentially it's a very good, flattering fit.  Here's the back.

I still don't entirely know what I'm doing when I'm transferring the muslin changes to the pattern pieces but my method of winging it seems to be working.  Gertie really has pulled out all the stops for this sewalong, she's an amazing teacher and I'm so grateful. Despite all the huffing and puffing, I would never have been able to adjust the fit so well on my own.  The next step will be cutting out the real fabric (which fills me with horror) ... x