Navy Dress part 3

After several days had passed since wearing the dress for the first time (to the wedding), I had been 'away' from the dress long enough to re-address the 'issues' I had with it before wearing it again the following weekend. I called my sister, who came right over to help me evaluate it. I put it on. Immediately, she could tell that it needed to be shorter. Bummer...but I kinda knew that it was too long. I even knew the back was longer than the front, but because of that vent/kick pleat and the number of times I had sewn and ripped it, I had been VERY reluctant to rip again to hem the dress shorter. But I knew that was what was needed, so I was willing.

She also thought the Vneck should be lower, and again, I agreed (hem up, neckline down!). Plus, she wanted me to tighten it up UNDER the bust...contouring the princess seam a bit. So I began working on the neckline and princess seam adjustments, planning to take the dress to her house afterwards so she could mark the desired hem length for me once the alterations were done.

I messed with taking that princess seam up and letting it out about a thousand times! I was adjusting the tiniest amounts...sometimes barely a thread's width! Eventually, I got it to suit me.

Lowering the neckline was no treat, either. I had understitched the facing and there was a lining involved, so 'internal access' was limited! I did have to rip out the thread chains I had used to tie the lining to the hem and that made it easier to get up inside the lining. Actually, I had ripped the stitching and understitching once before...when I first realized that the front was a little shorter than the back, I tried to let out the front shoulders. I ripped the neck facing (not fun...black and navy!) and did let out one side. But it made so little difference that I decided it was not worth the trouble, so I didn't bother with the other shoulder. So I was really looking forward to ripping the neck again, this time to lower it. Not. But I did it and it made a difference...and improvement!

So now I was ready to get the hem marked to shorten the dress...

When I took the dress to my sister's house so she could pin up the hem for me, we also decided it would look better if I reduced the hem circumference....tapered/pegged the hem a bit. So when I got home with it, I had to redo the sideseams (yet again!) to taper the hem before I could begin the actual hemming! But tapering made a WORLD of difference in the way the dress looked! Before, with the hem being as wide as the hip area, the hem actually looked WIDER because my body has less F to B depth at hem level, so the dress hung wider and less deep than at hip level where my body thickness forced it to be deeper and therefore, less wide. By tapering the hem, this reduced the visual width at hem level to be more similar to the visual width at hip level. To determine HOW MUCH to taper the sideseams, I opened PMB and compared the width of the hem using both the STRAIGHT and TAPERED Hemline Sweep. I decided that since the program reduced the hem at each side seam by .75", that is what I would also do...I tapered each sidedseam from hip level to a point = .75" inside at hem. Better!

Unenthusiastically, I struggled through shortening the dress, which entailed a lot of ripping at that back vent. And remember the interfacing that I had fused to the bottom of the dress, so my hem handstitching wouldn't show? Well, turns out, that hem showed anyway, despite the interfacing and my best efforts at hiding those stitches. It was just the nature of that fabric. Well, shortening the dress removed a lot of that interfacing. Since the original hem stitches showed anyway, I decided that THIS TIME, I would just hem the dress using the blindstitch of my sewing machine, rather than take the time to hand stitch it again. Turns out, it had about the same 'invisibility' as before and was much quicker!

After taking in the dress under the bust, my arm mobility was decreased somewhat as compared to the first time I wore the dress. It was still not too bad, but I was aware of the difference. I think I needed a higher armhole, especially as the dress became closer fitting.

I had originally envisioned this dress having beaded trim around the neck but had run out of time before the wedding. I had time now, though (or so I thought!). DSis suggested trim at the sleeve hems would also look nice. So together we went to our local Hancock Fabric store to see what they had. I found a black trim that I could sew beads to...I had plenty of beads at home that would work.

At home, I measured and cut the trim pieces to length, secured the ends to prevent ravelling, then began hand-beading them...ON THE DAY OF THE PARTY! Yep, it was the day of the paty by the time I got to this part. I was running way behind on this remodel! And I don't work fast!!! It was after 4:30 pm when finally got all the beads sewn onto the trim, but the trim was not yet sewn onto the dress! BTW, it was during these hours that DH decided to 'clear' the camera's memory card... sigh.

As it got later and later, my stitches got bigger and bigger...I was sewing as fast as I could to finish sewing the trim to the dress! Finally the trim was on. I made new thread chains to reattach the lining to the dress hem and I was DONE!

I actually finished the dress at 6:30...the party started at 7:00!

I flew to my room to touch up my makeup and comb my hair and we were outta there! And we arrived right on time! It was a good dress for the occasion...Une Grand Souire...a wine tasting and art auction. I looked as good as anyone else there (better than some!) yet didn't look over-dressed.

The pictures of me in the dress were taken after arriving home later that night. I hope my hair looked better earlier!

Navy Dress Part 2

I have been trying to update my progress on this dress, but have failed miserably! It HAS been finished and even worn...twice now! But it was not an easy project! This thing has almost kicked my butt!!! Everything has been more complicated that it should be!

I spent time researching how to do the facing at cb when there is a zipper there...in the end, it was easy, but I *thought* it would be hard so was apprehensive. Basically, I have made everything harder than it needed to be, which *is* my Modus Operandi!



But let me back up a bit...

Since I didn't want to compromise the 'breathability' of this fabric, I chose NOT to underline the dress, as I DID plan to line it. So I fused strips of interfacing above the hem area, so that my hem stitches could catch something other than just the fabric, and hopefully, be invisible. More on this later.

I inserted an invisible zipper...hadn't done one in a while...and my stitching was not quite as close to the zipper teeth as it needed to be to remain 'invisible'...so I stitched each side again a bit closer. Then I zipped it closed. Ackkkk! The cut edges of the neck were not aligned...I had allowed one side of the zipper to shift! I had to rip out one side of the zipper...which had been sewn TWICE!!! And in black thread...on a black zipper. I had to go sit outside on the deck in order to see well enough to rip!

I had taken lots of pictures during the construction of this dress, but DH accidently deleted them before I could upload them to my computer. sigh. He was putting them onto my computer in anticipation of his taking the camera with him to his parents house, and he was doing this while I was very busy and unable to supervise where all my pics were on the memory card and where they should go on my computer. Some were deleted, some were not. sigh.


Next was the French pleat at the back hem. This kick pleat is the slit with underlap kind...oh why did I have to do a French vent? A simple slit would have looked just as nice, even showed a bit of leg! But I planned this without regard for that. And lining a French vent is tricky if you haven't done it in along time, epsecially if you have never been the one to make the pattern! Anytime I have done this in the past, the pattern was made by a professional patternmaker and a template was provided to 'adjust' the lining. Well, this time, I had to make my own pattern and figure out my own 'template' for adjusting the lining!!! And of course, I did it wrong at first...allowed too much seam allowance on the lining edge, so that when the edge of the lining was sewn to the edge of the vent flap, there was excess lining width. Had to rip and resew. Then realized I should have HEMMED the lining before sewing it to this edge of the vent flap. Rip again, then hem and resew. Sheesh! of course...my pictures detailing the steps are gone. sigh. I can show the end result.

Once the zipper was in and the princess and side seams were sewn, I tried the dress on. It was 'roomy' to say the least! I had allowed 5" of hip ease and 2" waist ease...apparently that was too much. I took in the sideseams from above waist to the hem to remove 1" circumference...better.

There was still a fullness above the bust, especially on one side. I decided this was because I really needed a bit more length in the front bodice above the underarm level, which made the front bust level a bit too high. I need an additional 3/8" front length....which also would draft a larger bust dart...but that is for next time! I decided I couldn't fix the Bust Height problem in this dress so I moved on.

I had not yet set the sleeves, but the depth of the armholes was bothering me. I was afraid I had drafted the armholes too deep. I do have square shoulders and often need to raise the AH depth, but had failed to do that. duh. Then I realized that the AHs had stretched....why hadn't I staystitched? duh. I put the pattern on the ironing board and aligned the garment onto its pattern and steamed the AHs back to size and shape, then used some fusible tape to keep them stable...sorry, that picture was deleted. sigh. I'll take one of the fusible product I used to 'fix' the AHs.

Now on to the sleeves: The first set of sleeves were bad (cap height was too low, and I had not allowed enough cap ease), so I redrafted, created and cut new sleeves. This time, I basted the sleeves in! Still not perfect, but usable, once I rotated them a little to look/hang better.

But before I made those new sleeves, though, I wanted to address that b-AH. I was considering trimming out the back armhole, as if removing the 3 clicks outward that had I added during drafting by using the AH Shape tool. I felt like the back was too wide, but I sure did hate to try this, as once cut, this alteration could not be undone! Finally, I did it. And the new sleeves went in nicely!

When cutting out the sleeve lining, I forgot to cut the front underarm area a bit higher than the pattern (to allow extra fabric so the lining will have room to go over the underarm seam allowance)...so I figured I might as well NOT cut the back higher either....so then I had to decide HOW to do the sleeves. In the end, I just sewed the lining's armhole to the garment's armhole...to treat them as one. Then I lined the sleeves separately...then inserted the garment sleeves into the dress by machine, and sewed the lining sleeves to the lining AH by hand. Not my preferred way to do it, but it worked!

The dress feels wonderful as I put it on. I lined it with Bemberg rayon...my first time to use this. I really like the way it feels! I had some issues sewing it, though. I didn't change needles between the shell and the lining, and after sewing nearly ALL the lining seams, I realized I had 'loops' on the bobbin side every now and them...and had to go back and reinforce some of the stitching. I don't know what would cause this, unless it was the needle size.

Then I wore the dress to the wedding. It wore well...was comfortable and allowed adequate mobility. However, I felt like I looked like my grandmother. I was NOT happy.

Navy Dress Part 1

I'm still working on the dress, but at least I am in the sewing stage! Today, I will finish cutting out the lining and begin assembling and inserting it into the already sewn dress. Well, the dress's sleeves have not been inserted, but other than that, it is 'already sewn'.

I decided to go with a shoulder princess-seamed version; Vneck; with 3/4 length sleeves (the cap sleeves I was considering just didn't do my body any favors); vent/kick pleat in the back seam. I am making it 'just-below-the-knee' length...I chose 43" as my finished back length. I also made this straight (as in, no flare) but again, I am not sure that was the best choice either! Those 'hams' just under my back waistline (on each side) are trying their best to be the star of the show!

The fabric is a navy poly/rayon blend, and it is either a jacquard or a matelassee...I have no idea how to spell that, and am not even sure of the pronounciation! I goofed when I cut out the center back piece...I was on the phone while cutting, so my attention was diverted when I layed that piece onto the fabric after cutting the other 3 pieces--front, side/front, and side/back---which all fit nicely across the width of the fabric. I cut those 3 pieces, then pulled more fabric onto the cutting mat to lay out and cut the CB, sleeve, facings, etc...and, well, I was distracted and forgot to consider the pattern repeat! In this picture, you can see how that CB and Side/Back would have related to each other...I had to slide the back piece upward, as in the right side, to align the design repeat. So I cut a new CB piece that DID keep the fabric's repeat aligned! Thank Goodness I had extra fabric!

Regarding the pattern...

• I found that I needed to draft with 2" extra hip ease than desired, because the long front dart extensions need to remove a full inch on each side...for a 2" reduction in front.


• And it turns out that using a Side/Hip placement of (+0.5..moving the SS/hip backwards) gives me mirrored sideseams, which is desirable to me! Although this initially makes the front pattern WIDER than the back pattern at hip level, after I sew out the long front waist darts, the back becomes wider than the front...which is more logical, since there is a bum back there!

I think I might have to tweak my CFL measurement just slightly (for next time) to provide a bit more front length to make garments better conform to my shape...that is, I need MORE than just 'adequate' front length if I want the garment to sit closer to the rib cage under the bust, as opposed to falling straight toward waist.

I drafted this with 7" of hip ease , thinking that after I sewed out the front waist darts, I would have 5" ease. Well, 5" turned out to be too much. I ended up sewing out an inch at both waist and hip...all the way to hem. So 4" hip ease and 1" waist ease turned out to be good for me on this dress. My choice of bust ease was 1.5". More on drafting this later...

I had to put my jacket project aside to finish the heart/frog art project, and now I have moved on to a dress! I will be needing a dress to wear to an upcoming wedding, as well as to the "Une Grand Soiree" where this frog/heart (and others) will be auctioned. So I am working on a new pattern.

I have been refining the fit of my basic Torso block...using Patternmaster Boutique software (PMB). My original plan was to do an Empire style, but the muslin showed that I would need a lot more length in the bodice portion to force the fabric to 'return' to the rib cage under the bust (for a closer fit), and I really don't have time to work that out right now, since the wedding is on Oct 25. So I changed plans and will do a more simplified style. I am considering princess lines vs. just using darts. My basic idea is to do a cut-on cap sleeve...but that depends on whether or not I can get one to suit me. I printed a pattern to test, and was not thrilled with the area where the sleeve cap's hem meets the AH...I almost wanted to 'round off' that corner! Hmmm....

Last night I watched a show I had recorded called LIPSTICK JUNGLE. These ladies wear amazing clothes! One of the characters is a fashion designer, so there is a smattering of 'fashion' there, but the female lead characters are dressed VERY well.

Anyway, in the episode I watched last night-

http://www.nbc.com/Lipstick_Jungle/video/episodes/?vid=737984#vid=737984
-I counted 3 or 4 dresses with cap sleeves! When the episode began (after the recap of previous shows), the first scene showed the 'fashion designer' character (Victory) on a tour boat wearing a red dress with a very nice cap sleeve...I 'paused' the recording to study the sleeve, and sure enough, the cap meets the armhole at the same place on the body where the arm meets the body. *THAT* is the problem with my PMB cut-on cap sleeve...the notches are too high, so the cap meets the AH too high. This helped me realize my instinct (to want to 'round off' that corner ) was a good one; I just need the validation!

I wasn't absolutely positive this sleeve was cut-on, as opposed to sewn in, but that was my impression.

There was another 'top' (that NICO was wearing) that had sleeves which almost looked like the 'casual' ah without any sleeve...just barely a cap at the top and much less shape to the armhole edge. Nice. Many of the cap sleeves I have seen are definitely 'sewn in', though.

My own dress will not be full-skirted, as this one is...mine will be straighter. And I have not finalized the neckline shape yet!

Now that I have worked out the measurements and settings for the shoulder/bust area (again!) I am once again looking at getting the distribution around waist and hips correct. I have been messing with moving the SS at waist and SS at hip both forward and backward, trying various combinations, etc. But just using the muslin that I have sewn so far, it appears that the BEST solution is to use SS/H=0, even though that makes the back have that odd shape...you know, where there is hardly any waist indent on the back pattern. This is because I must use WAY more ease at hip than at bust** (**PMB gives me about 1.5" MORE bust ease that I ask for, so to get an equivalent amount of hip ease requires asking for more than I ask for at the bust level.)

After sewing this muslin, I may find I can use less hip ease, but I am thinking I need 5" for a dress. But here is the deal...I LOSE 1" of that hip ease in front when I extend the front darts to the hem!

And THAT is my latest revelation...

I remember several years ago, when Lisa was looking into her PMB drafts and asked users about their front waist darts...and whether we needed them to be shorter or longer (many were complaining that the darts were too long at the time)...anyway, *MY* response was that I thought MINE needed to go down to my knees! I was kinda kidding, but actually, that probably *IS* what was needed!

Look at the picture of this Mueller draft, here>>>

Ya know how the front has the long 'extension' of the front waist dart? Well, I have FINALLY realized THAT is my problem with PMB. When I use the front waist darts, I have always gotten a poof of fabric at the release. So, I assumed I needed larger back waist darts than front, and have been trying to accomplish this for years now. But my muslin is telling me that I need to actually *sew out* the long front dart-- all the way to the hem! Just eliminate that excess in front...which WILL make the front dart narrower (if you measure horizontally from the dart's waist point over to the long straight edge of the lower dart) and will make the overall hip ease *less*, with more of the total circumference in the back (where I need it).

Now, my PMB patterns don't have this long extension of the front waist darts. You have to KNOW you need to remove this excess. It helps to extend the front waist darts, as I have done in the image above.

I have mentioned before, on chat list... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/patternmasterusers/patternmasterusers/

...that, when I use a PMB princess style, if I slide the Side/Front pattern over to align to the Front pattern at hip level, there is a GAP created at bust level. Well, this need to sew out the front excess totally explains that gap! If I make the PMB waist darts go all the way to the hem, the GAP at bust level disappears! duh. What took me so long to figure this out? Or, to 'accept' this...sometimes I know what my pattern needs to look like, but still 'fight' it...wanting it to look more "normal"!

Anyway, so that is what is happening now.

Prince at Heart

I finished the art project I was working on. I have posted more pictures here, if you want to see them. I am calling this "Prince at Heart".

*

The piece began life as a white resin carved winged-heart which was given to me to decorate. I painted it with a green wash, then another, then clear coat, brown wash, clear coat, teal wash, green wash, more green....well, you get the idea. I just kept going until it seemed 'done'. Then a final clear coat.

*

But it was just a green heart...nothing special about it! So I finally decided my embellishment would be a frog. This was one of those sand-filled little things you can sometimes find in stores, but never when you are looking for them! It was originally yellow with fuscha feet...but I painted it with Dye-na-flow #820 (Emerald Green). After that dried overnight, I painted it again, this time with Lumiere #565 (Metallic Bronze), and used Lumiere #568 (Pearl White) on his belly.

*

But I was sure that just paint alone wasn't gonna do it...he wasn't 'special' enough. So I pulled out the beads! Actually, I went to the store for beads... I used a 'Mahogony Mix' of Czech glass beads on his back, and used Delica "Topaz Rainbow" on his sides and nose. The beads that are scattered on the heart were from stash...also from Czech glass mixes...as is the dark red 'heart' bead on his back.

*

Beading through fabric that has been painted is not easy! I had to frequently use jewelry pliers to pull the needle through the fabric. I got best results by using 2 needles...one a small beading needle and one a #7 embroidery needle. I strung beads with the long thin needle, then couched them to the frog with the embroidery needle.

*

To attach the frog to the heart required drilling holes into it. I determined the placement, then drilled 4 tiny holes with a 1/16th" bit. I shaped jewelry wire pins and hand-sewed them onto the underside of the frog's legs (and hands?) then pushed the pins through the heart and coiled the wires to hold the frog tightly in place.

*

Well, I didn't like the placement! He was too high on the heart. So I cut off the coils, unsewed the pins from the frog legs...made new pins and sewed them onto the legs...drilled NEW holes for the front legs, putting the back legs into the holes previously used for the front legs...better!

*

But now there were extra holes in the heart. They were small, and I was ignoring them at first, then I stuck a bead on a pin and inserted it into the hole....YES! So I drilled MORE holes in the heart and added more beads to the heart, including the dangling heart bead that the frog is intent on reaching.

*

This was donated to the Wings Cancer Foundation, to be sold at auction at their 'Une Grande Soiree"-- A Wine Tasting and Art Auction

Saturday, November 1

7:00pm - 10:00pm

Clark Opera Memphis Center

Well, the pattern for the jacket was NOT good...but at least I figured out WHY. I was suspicious about it from the start...the style changes as well as the basic block I started with!

Re: the style changes...duh...I (wrongly) started out with a pattern that has 2 waist darts per pattern piece instead of just one. Since there was an extra dart, I (wrongly) moved it to the new style line (wrong, since that is the place to put the waist reduction!). Anyway, I figured it out and did a new pattern!


Also, the basic block I started with was an experiment in itself. I used the Casual Silhouette with a lot of dart override, putting quite a bit of the front dart into the front armhole, in an attempt to loosen up the fit (to make it more casual). Well, this creates a vertical mismatch of the front and back armholes. Overall, I probably could have worn it, but I wouldn't love it. So I didn't make it! I started over, with the knowledge that I cannot use that much dart override (I should have known that anyway!).


Pinning the paper pattern together to try on was extremely helpful! I could readily see when things were not good. I did this for the NEW pattern, too...tried on the paper pattern. It was quite evident that I had NOT added enough hip and waist ease! Reprinted and tried on again. Better...so I cut this one in fabric. It was pretty good...had to extend the bust darts all the way to the BP, though (this is a waist dart)...but so far, that is the only 'alteration' that was needed.

Here's the pattern:
I have yet to set the sleeves, though. I will evaluate the back neck depth once the sleeves are in.

I also changed the placement of the split in the back of the sleeve to correspond with the back panel seam...I hope it doesn't turn out to be too low on the arm! Oh, I also curved the sleeve seams (after printing) like I did on the previous pattern.

The side panel is slightly wider now at underarm and much wider at the hem area...I added .5" bust ease and LOTS more hip ease! Zbust=3, Zwaist=4, Zhip=5. I made this one slightly LONGER than the previous one, but I suspect I will want the shorter length. Now I have options!

I am afraid I have widened the front shoulder measurement too much, and subsequently, narrowed the front neck just a little too much. The front neck width matches the back neck width now, but I think I need to go back to having the back neck width just slightly wider than the front neck. I have decided this depends on the placement of the shoulder seam: when the SS at neck point is placed more forward on the body (as I have it now), the back neck (on the pattern) can be slightly wider than the front neck width (on the pattern). I think.

I have been working on an 'art' project this week...and I use that term loosely! I volunteered to decorate a resin heart...it is 'carved feathers', so basically, it is a pair of 'wings' that form the shape of a heart. I was given this to decorate, and it will be on display in the gallery, then later sold at auction to benefit Wings Cancer Foundation, the charity/support organization of West Cancer Clinic.

Here is the gallery:
http://www.wingscancerfoundation.org/index.cfm?section=2&page=24



This has been difficult for me. I come up with thousands of ideas, then dismiss them as 'stupid' or 'depressing' or impossible! So my end result will be mediocre, I am sure! >g< So far, I have spent the past week painting it. At first it was painted a pale green, then antique-washed with a darker green...then I put a clear coat on it. Then I 'antiqued' it again with a thin wash of brown. Then some gold/silver/dark green....then a slight wash of teal on only SOME of the feathers. More clear sealer. It actually looks halfway decent now, but is totally boring. I have done nothing to it except paint it. It needs more...something to make it 'special'. I was going to wrap copper wires around it, but it just looks silly. I'd like to use beads. I really just want to drill several holes in it and insert arrows! ;)

I have also been working on a pattern for a jacket I wish to make. I started with a basic block and rotated darts here and there...this is what I have printed (today) to try test in a muslin:

I am a bit concerned about the shape of the panel. As you can see, there is a gap between front and back waist and hips, as my bust is the largest measurement, plus I added more ease there (also not sure if that was a good idea!). I am unsure if I should change to the PINK lines, to compensate for the waist/hip excess, or if that will make it too curvy. I have printed and will test.
Oh, and there are no seam allowances at the neck, hem and front edges...this will have binding.
Oh, phooey! I just realized that the sleeve seam and the back panel seam will NOT meet up at the AH...I'll have to address that!