Converse shoes inside the locker at Spa Castle.

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Looking for trouble.

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In search of Japanese pattern books.

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Sometimes balancing sewing and real life is tricky and I know I’ve been lax at documenting my sewing projects lately.

Here’s what I’ve been up to, sewing-wise:
- Finished striped long dress
- 90% finished on high-low jersey dress, hem self-drafted
- Finished sheer chiffon skirt
- Cut metallic denim clovers, all parts sitting in a plastic bag on my windowsill for a week now
- Tracking down some Japanese pattern books (Drape, Drape 1!)

What else I’ve been up to:
- Went to a spa (?!) for the first time in my life
- Staying out really late
- Freelance app project

Hopefully everything will settle down soon so I can photograph and finalize the rest of my projects that I’ve already been wearing.

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I actually finished this last week but haven’t had a chance to photograph it yet.

Total knit convert.

In staunch rebellion of all the vintage projects I’ve ever worked on, I’m hand-studding a denim jacket. Hopefully I can finish it before Fall gets here.

I’d love to participate in Me Made May 2012, but since I’ve had my fashion about-face, I really don’t have enough homemade clothes that I can wear on a daily basis that fit this style.

Successful garments I’ve made thus far:

That leaves a total of … 3 items. I really do love the idea of Me Made months though, and I might do this myself (just not when it’s May.)

So I finally joined this century (or this decade).

Dress: Simplicity 2178
Shoes: Steve Madden
Belt: vintage (80s?)

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Front view.

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Front view, 2.

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Side view, 1.

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Pattern used:

Simplicity 2178.

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Pattern Review

Pattern Description: Misses’ dress in two lengths, Cynthia Rowley Collection.

Pattern Sizing: Sizes 6-14. I ignored the bodice and cut a size 12 skirt.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? It would have, but I swapped out the bodice entirely.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn’t read the instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Likes:
- I really like the asymmetrical neckline

Dislikes:
- The way this was constructed, the bodice was very fabric hungry
- I hated the gathers in the bodice, and used my own self-drafted side shoulder block for the top
- The gathers make the skirt look like a hot mess
- The hem needs a facing, why?!

Fabric used: Rayon.

Pattern changes or design changes made: Many!

I used a self-drafted top for the bodice, since I hated the gathers that were happening everywhere. I got rid of the waistband piece. I kept the asymmetrical draped skirt, the floppy bow part, and the shoulder strap since I felt those were the core elements of this pattern. I pieced together the ties instead of cutting them all in one piece. I also lengthened the skirt by about two inches.

I also did not cut out the bodice facing but used seam binding for the edges. I added an invisible zipper, and serged the hem and top-stitched it, not using the hem facing.

Any problems encountered while sewing this pattern? None.

Which sewing machine(s) did you use for construction? The Featherweight for the straight stitching, the Hello Kitty one for the zipper, and the serger for the seams.

Will you sew it again or recommend it to others? I might make the longer version of this at some point. It’s very unique-looking, so yes, I do recommend it. But the construction is more complicated than it needs to be.

I also finished the Cynthia Rowley dress over the weekend, but it was cloudy that day and I need to wait for a sunny day to take decent photographs.

Better photographs and pattern review coming soon.

Top view. (Everything actually doesn’t look so bad until we get to the hem.)

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Neckline view.

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Inside view of neckline.

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Cuff view.

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I did end up finishing the basic top after all, just to get some practice on finishing it. Not too bad for my first haphazard knit project.

Pros:

• It fits! With no muslins!
• Really flattering
• Really comfortable
• Did not take long to make
• Neckline doesn’t look that bad
• Sleeves don’t look that bad

Cons:

• The hem looks a hot mess, but not so bad when it’s worn
• Neckline is still way too wide (pattern issues)

The neckline I added on based on Google tutorials and Renfrew instructions. It turned out mostly ok except for the wavy floppy parts.

The cuffs I folded over once and stitched down, straight stitch using a ballpoint needle.

The hemline I serged, then folded over once and stitched down, straight stitch using a ballpoint needle.

Does anyone have any advice on why my hem looks really wavy and how to fix it? When wearing it it actually doesn’t look that awful, but it looks really dodgy on Smurfette.

What I’ll do differently in the future:

• Fix the pattern so it’s a standard t-shirt
• Beg, borrow or steal a twin ballpoint needle
• Pick a better knit that’s not see-through
• Pick a more flattering color
• Fix the hem (help?)

Look! Smurfette (my dressform) is wearing a knit. And it looks flattering on her! Those are my serger threads that haven’t been snipped yet hanging from the sleeves.

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I used View B. It looks nothing like the pattern because I made some alterations already.

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I decided to use McCall’s 6556 in view B with no pocket, since it was simple and had two pieces. I cut an extra small and still thought it was way too large, so I raised the armhole by three inches and lowered the neckline.

Pros:

• No making muslins
• Serged the seams
• Faster to sew than wovens, took about two hours from cutting to here
• Very flattering
• Very comfortable

Cons:

• Color is not very flattering
• Jersey I picked is too thin (a little transparent)
• Arms too tight (convert into a t-shirt?)
• Sits too low on the shoulder

The pattern had 5/8 seam allowance built into it, and trying to gauge a 5/8 seam allowance on the serger was way too difficult. I didn’t envision this as being my muslin, but the color isn’t very flattering and the arms are a little too tight (but not ugly-looking). The jersey is also very translucent (which can be remedied by layering). I’m on the fence about finishing it as a project, but since it took so little time to make and I need the practice on finishing the neckline, I might finish it and make the best of it.

My goal is to replicate one of my favorite knit t-shirts. This version is close but I need to make some modifications (with different jersey) so it can be even closer.

Esteemed Sewing Assistant, “helping.”

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I started buying modern patterns this week, and wanted to know if Club BMV is worthwhile. The nearest Joanne’s from my house is in New Jersey (really far away) and I’ve always gotten most of my patterns online. Does anyone have any advice?