another hole in one, a few more to go!

The (always time consuming) pesky set sleeves have been pinned, gathered and stitched in to submission. I am always annoyed at how much time it takes. But the end result is worth it. Sleeves that fit!

One thing I will say about this dress. Its a good job I added in a longer zip by accident (had one spare so used it instead of buying a new one) as otherwise I think I would struggle to get this over my hips when putting it on. It’s that tightly fitted.

This evening has been spent on all the invisible insides, neatening everything up with my overlocker. The lining is acetate and frays terribly.

Next step, attach lining. Watch this space…..

its shaping up nicely!

There is a point when you are part way through a new project and you are either full of confidence or struck by a shaft of doubt. Is this really going to work as intended? After carefully marking out al my darts and sewing front and back together this evening I reached that moment. My dress in progress didnt look very shapely.

I approached my mirror with a mixture of hope and trepidation. I need not have worried. After taking in the side seams about a cm each side just above my hips, they appear not to be burda shaped, it all fits beautifully. In fact its pretty fitted, and I would say the bodice has very little ease.

Given the cost of the fabric this is all a bit of a relief! I’m making some design changes to make it more “me”. I’ve created a V neck at the front. Am glad I didnt do a deeper one as I think the shoulders would be sliding down due to the V at the back. I’m going to have to redraft a facing for the front as the existing one no longer fits. I’m adding self made bias tape to the neckline using the red fabric left over from making the over skirt. I’ll use this round the sleeve hem as well. Plus a self made red fabric belt for when I’m not using the over skirt.

So – progress so far!

burda(ned) by choices

 I will never tire of the colour red!

Well, no sooner have I finished one project my mind is on the next. My blog name is well chosen! Given the still wintery season my inclination to wrap up warm has led me to focus on the woollen options in my “pattern wish box’. Recently I added a few burda patterns, something I have until recently previously avoided after warnings about their brief instructions. 

I liked the designs for some of the vintage reproductions and am busy prepping the fabric for Burda 7178. I’m going for the option with the sleeves, over skirt C and am modifying the front neckline to look more attractive. It’s the only element I dont like. I’ve gone for a dark brown wool for the dress itself and a bright red lighter weight wool for the overskirt. 

It will be interesting to sew the main dress fabric, as it has a slightly velveteen texture, and it has a real nape to it. I’ve made sure that it flows in the right direction. I once had a velvet dress which had a nape that really showed whenever I ran my hands over it. Not great. Fortunately when designing your own dress this can be avoided! I also like the chance to put something together which is both classic (in style) but with a twist.

New year: new dress

The final finishing touches have been added and it’s time to give this dress a twirl. It’s taken a bit longer to make than usual due to minor interruptions like a new housemate moving in and all the marking required. However, we now have butterick 5559 with lengthened sleeves and substantially lengthened length (a whole 12 cm and it was still nearly too short).

What can I say about this dress? I think it’s very flattering, I love the fabric and colour and I have nothing else like it in my wardrobe already. I havent worked much with jersey or tucks so it was nice to gain some experience. I found it hard to find a nice wool jersey, there is so much polyester out there which is not my cup of tea.

This cost about £20 in supplies which I think is not bad for the result. It would most likely (if I could find something like this in a shop) cost much more if I had bought it. Plus then there would have been the fitting issues, and little annoyances like fabric distribution – I had to take this in at the hips as it looked baggy.

 

Well, on to the fun bit – the photos. So here we are!

 

butterick 5559 – ticked, tacked and tucked off

This latest project has been a prep experience like few others. The amount of marking, pattern alteration and pinning has been substantial due to the level of tucks and darts required. However now the end is in sight I am feeling rather pleased with the results. There is still a little bit left to do(final press, trimming of seams and fem the sleeves) but the results are nearly in.

I was attraced to this dress after seeing a never ending stream of happy reviews on pattern review. That many thumbs up was worth exploring. By coincidence my chosen fabric looks identical to the colour of the dress on the pattern cover which is unintentional but amusing.

So without further ado here is a small preview of what is soon to follow (just love this fabric, over 80% wool jersey!):