Saturday, April 30, 2011

Summer Dress - Butterick B4978




Hi

This dress was made for Easter. I am so glad I started at the end of March because it was time consuming. This was mainly because I adapted the pattern and secondly because of the hand sewing required. The dress is a semi fitted, flared and lined with a back zipper. The fabric is silk chiffon and silk satin.



I had previously made the dress in a cotton / linen fabric last year. It is wearable but I was not happy with the drape, it feels stiff. I also did not like the midriff band. SO I thought how hard can it be to extend the bodice from a princess line to the waist. I made a muslin and was reasonably happy with the fit on Margret. I made the lining which required considerable tweaking. The outer fabric was not as bad because it is less fitted.

I also made other changes, the pattern asks for the skirt to be cut on the bias which I did not have the fabric to complete, I also omitted the front slit because it is time consuming and I worry about fraying. I hand sewed all the trim on the wrong side because I think it leaves a better finish. All the seams are French to avoid fraying. The invisible zip went in better than expected possibly because I inserted the chiffon and satin together. I could not face putting the zip in with just the chiffon. I am not sure if this is correct but I think it will increase the life of my dress so please forgive me if it is a crime.

I am happy with the outcome the dress is delightful to wear, however it is far from perfect and I hope I learn my lesson that I should have given the pattern up and found a new one that did not have a midriff band.

As I am sure you have noticed the last three garments are chiffon and dresses. This is because my local fabric store recently had a 50% sale and the silks were irresistible. Also until this year I have not had the confidence to try chiffon and I am excited to find both patterns for it and my ability are equal to the challenge.

Cheers Lara.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Summer Dress - Butterick B5177

Hi all

I returned to work in Feb and have been busy.  I did not realise how long it has been time goes so quickly.  I have been sewing so I will hopefully upload some new garments as soon as I have photos.

This dress is made from silk crinkled chiffon and lined with silk satin.  It is very cool for summer and although the photo is not the best it is flattering as I was complimented by many of my friends.  I did lengthen it by one inch.  The lining has the shinny side out as the frill is showing.  I don't normally like fills on the end of a dress however it makes this dress more fun and full.  The pattern is easy but time consuming with all the heming required. For more details please see the Patter Review link.