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.

Summer Dress - Simplicity 2360

Hi

Last week I sewed a wearable muslin of the Simplicity dress.  I have finished the silk chiffon, lined with viol.  These fabrics are not recommended by the pattern but I think together they are OK.

Cheers Lara

Wearable Muslin Part one - Simplicity 2360

Hi

I am on holidays at the moment and have been sewing alot but I don't have very exciting things to show for my efforts. 

This summer dress and the lining is made out of cheap cotton voil from my stash and is a wearable muslin for some silk chiffon I have waiting. 

The muslin was worthwhile because I struggled with lining the sleaveless dress. I added the lining because my silk is sheer and will need interlining.  I wanted the lining to be machine stiched at the neck and arm holes for that RTW finish.

As there is no back seam the fabric needs to be flipped and folded in a unusual way to allow it to be pulled out.  In the end I found the technical information I needed on Pattern Review.com.  If you are looking for the details this information is clear and easy to understand. The link below will save you searching time.
http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/review/readreview.pl?readreview=1&ID=1618

Other alterations I made to the pattern are I aided one inch to each neck shoulder edge and I used ties from the side seam instead of a belt.

Cheers

Lara

Christmas Dress - Vogue 8574

Hi

This is my favorite dress as I feel great when wearing it and it is very versatile. Originally I made it in 2009 for a friends 40th birthday, but have since worn it to many occasions. Its last outing was for Christmas as we were in Sydney on holiday and going out for lunch at a good restaurant. This dress is very cool to wear because of the empire line and both the lining and dress material are silk. The dress fabric was from the Vera Wang collection sold in 2009 by Fabric.com, I purchased because it was recommended by several blogs and I was very pleased when it arrived.

Any way the pattern is from the Very Easy Vogue range. I it dose not have a separate pattern for lining I just cut the same as for the dress. I like to line my dresses because I think they are much more flattering that way.

I did struggle with fit as you can see in the lining photos. I think this was a technical and skill problem and hopeful now I have a dress form won't happen as often. My philosophy with sewing is that I only unpick when absolutely necessary as it is deflating and can lead to outfits not being completed. Hence I left the misaligned lining at the zip. I have since learnt from a dear friend about easing in fabric when it is not aligned.

Self Drafted Summer Shealth Dress

Hi

This dress is a self drafted sheath dress that is easy to make and wear in the hot summer months. I always have this type of dress in my wardrobe and as it was 36 degrees on New Years day it was a comfortable choice for visiting relatives to wish them happy New Year. It is stretch linen and does not need a zip.

Cheers Lara