The Beautiful Princess Dress

Remember how I went fabric shopping last month  and Little Man became totally obsessed with a yellow floral print with birds on it?  He would pull it off the table and I would put it back on and steer him off to pick out fabric for himself for summer pjs. Then he would abandon the search for pj fabric and wander back and pull out the bolt of yellow floral again and I would put it back again.  This went on and on and then he finally won me over by telling "Mommy.  You should really buy this to make a pretty dress for yourself.  You will look like a beautiful princess in it." Of course I added it to my pile on the cutting table at that point.  Who wouldn't on that particular recommendation?

I had thought initially I'd just make another Rebecca Shift like my Bluebirds of Happiness dress, but then when I mentioned shift dress to the lady cutting my fabric she said that she envisioned it more in a flouncy circle skirt.  I stuck to my guns and bought 1.6m, which I knew would be just enough for the shift and started home happy with my plan.  As I drove home though I started thinking - it's over an hour, so lots of thinking time - and I started wishing I'd bought more so I could do a flouncier dress.  I considered the fact I already have a shift dress with birds on it.  Did I really want another one so similar? And so the fixating began.  Then I started thinking maybe I should make another Jenny instead.  And maybe, just maybe I could squeak out a quarter circle skirt with my fabric - which I probably could have, but that still didn't seem flouncy enough. I mulled things over and then I gave in completely, measured out how much more fabric I would need and then had to bide my time until I could get back into the city to buy another length of it.  (thankfully they still had lots on the bolt, so I wasn't worried they'd suddenly sell out before I got there again!)

With all the fabric bought, pre-washed and dried, I dug out my Jenny pattern that still had my alterations from last year on it, measured the waist band to find out what number I'd need to calculate a half circle skirt and then had an epiphany!  The Lorelei dress I used for my wedding dress last summer used a circle skirt.  So I dug that pattern out too!  Whoot!  It worked.  No fussing about with making my own pattern and no need to do mathematics! (Bonus!!!) Although I wasn't really going to do math.  I was going to let By Hand London's app do the math instead, but that's not the point.  The point is I had a ready to go skirt pattern instantly in my hot little hands.

The dress went together really quickly.  I was just about to put the zipper in - the second last step in making the dress - when two things occurred to me.  First, I realized I should possibly try it on just to make sure things were fitting right.  Second, in an attempt to add a pop of solid colour I had done a bright red contrast waistband and realized it was quite possibly a very misguided attempt.  So I stopped what I was doing and tried it on at which point I confirmed that the pop of colour at my midsection was a TERRIBLE idea.  It was like a beacon pointing directly at the spot I carry all my excess weight.  I might as well have put a neon sign saying "HEY EVERYONE!!! LOOK HERE!!!!!" I also confirmed that my dress was too big.  Argh.

I briefly thought I could just take the easy way out and take the skirt off, flip the bodice and waistband inside out and just put the zipper on the other side since I had lined them with the main fabric.  Those hopes were dashed when I remembered that I'd accidently cut my bodice lining upside down so all my birdies were perched on their heads, besides which I really did need to take it in anyways. So it languished on my desk for a few days while I worked up the "oomph" to make a date with my trusty sidekick, the seam ripper.  Nothing kills the sewing mojo faster than requiring an epic journey in taking apart an almost finished garment.  But then I reminded myself that I wanted to take part in the Dress Up Party that Sara is hosting over at Sew Sweetness and knew that if I didn't tackle the dress soon I never would.

Motivation restored, off came the skirt, then the waistband, and then I reworked the fit by taking in the side seams 3/4" on each side and continued on my merry way.  I finished off the zipper last night and hemmed it this afternoon.  I did get my pop of solid colour after all too.  I can't remember where I read about it, but recently I saw a circle skirt done with a bias binding hem.  Where has this been all my life??? It was the easiest finish ever! Just sew on the bias binding in line with the hemline, flip it to the inside, press and topstitch it down. Done.  Easy as that with no worrying about trying to ease all that fullness of a circle skirt into the hem and have it still look nice and crisp once it's done.

Hopefully my dress fits Little Man's vision of a "princess dress".  I think now that I have this dress finished, I really need to knit another Andi Satterlund cropped cardi to go with it.  And I think it needs to be red.

Outfit Along 2014

It was dicey for a bit, but I'm really excited to tell you I've finished my outfit! I actually finished! Whoooot!!!

This outfit presented more than it's fair share of challenges along the way. From major gauge issues on the cardi to major fit issues on the dress. I will admit to feeling defeated on more than one occasion. Things hit rock bottom the other night when I attached the bodice to the skirt and tried the dress on only to find that despite doing two muslins my fit was still off and my dress fit like a sack.  I was ready to throw in the towel on sewing forever! Luckily, I was talked down off my ledge and given some good advice. It gave me the "oomph" to get out my seam ripper and get to the bottom of my fit problems and correct them.

I'll give you a tip here, if you are sewing a fitted dress over a period of time in which your measurements may have changed, don't assume it's your skills or ability that is at fault! When one of the ladies over in the Scientific Seamstress Lab group on Facebook mentioned measurements the light bulb finally went off. I grabbed my tape measure and much to my surprise my measurements had changed significantly enough that the root of the problem was suddenly very clear, and it wasn't my ability to follow a pattern. I was sewing the wrong sized dress. Empowered by that knowledge I forged ahead and took in seams, shortened the bodice and reduced the width of the skirt fabric.

Finally success! An outfit that fits!!!

Unfortunately my cardi now has a bit more ease than anticipated as well. I guess I could go back to snacking with wild abandon and gain back those few pounds I've dropped because I'm definitely not at the point that I want to rip it out and begin again for a third time.  Although that might be a bad idea because then my cardi will fit, but my dress won't. Perhaps the better option is to just decide to be ok with the extra room after all.

I only did a couple of very simple modifications to the two patterns despite all my frogging back on Myrna and the fit issues with the Jenny Dress . For Myrna, I did only two sets of waistline decreases instead of five as called for. In retrospect I could've done three sets and still not had too much negative ease, but hindsight is 20/20.  For Jenny my only mods from the pattern were to cut a narrower skirt so as not to have quite so much volume at the waistline and I added pockets. I do love pockets!!! I used the pattern piece from the Washi Dress pattern instead of drafting my own.

The final assessment of the 2014 Outfit Along? Well worth the effort! I'm really happy how my outfit turned out and I really enjoyed the process despite all the frustrations and setbacks. I'd definitely sign up again if Andi and Lauren decide to host another one!

A Pretty New Pattern!

I'm taking a bit of a break from my Outfit Along outfit today. We need a bit of separation. Even if for a few minutes or hours.  I've suddenly found myself battling with fit issues with the dress and now a bit of conundrum about the cardi has cropped up as there was a significant bit of gauge errata that popped up late last week for the pattern. I'm at a crossroads with only one sleeve left to go - rip out and start over again from the beginning for a more form fitting sleeve or go with the slightly baggie sleeve and call it a day because the rest of the cardi fits perfectly to my liking.

Gauge. You are my arch nemesis!

So instead I'm obsessing thinking and talking about something else right now instead.  I just bought a new pattern this week from E-Beth Designs that I'm super excited about! I've been seeing the Lorelei Women's Dress* popping up all over the blogosphere lately and I've been absolutely taken with it!

It's everything I love! A twirly skirt (with a tulle petticoat!!!), a fitted bodice and a pattern that will fit me without a whole slew of alterations! WHOOT!!!! It's got a nice retro vibe to it too that I've always really liked.

I can't wait to get sewing this dress. But first I have to find the perfect fabric. I've been scouring the net, and I've checked Fabricland in the city (although just briefly as the boys - including N who I dragged along with me were all getting a bit antsy from being in there beyond their time limit). I hope I find my fabric soon! Did I mention I can't wait to sew this dress?

I have a fancy dress in mind, which it is truly perfect for, but then I've come across several more casual knit versions in the last few days. AHHHHHH! Pretty dress + comfort = win/win for my summer wardrobe! There's a good chance you are going to be hearing a lot about this pattern from me over the coming weeks!

I'll have to let you know how the fabric search pans out. In the meantime, I'm going to go take a look at my new pattern and see if I can't get a jump on things by starting my muslin for it!

Ready to cut out and paste my printed out pattern pieces together
and then onto cutting out and sewing a muslin!

*this post contains affiliate links - if you purchase from E-Beth Designs through the links in this post I do earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you

Progress!

I could have alternatively name this post "Demonstrating the Importance of Gauge" because do I ever have a photo to show you!

I've been making some good headway on my Myrna Cardi for the 2014 Outfit Along. I've knit enough now that I'm beyond the point I discovered my gauge disaster and started over, which always makes me feel good. Once I hit the point that I'm no longer slogging to get back to where I was I feel somewhat energized by a project and my enthusiasm is restored. The getting back to that point really feels a little like torture if you ask me - it's kind of painful even though the effort is worth it in the end!

Anyways so I've been motoring along. I'm now at the point of starting the waist shaping! I didn't actually rip anything out before I started re-knitting. Instead just grabbed a new skein of yarn and worked until it ran out, which took me to half a row short of where I had stopped on the first attempt. Before ripping out I thought I'd take my new sweater off the needles and try it on for fit. I'll admit to a healthy dose of paranoia that it would be a disaster again, but my fears were unfounded. Things are looking MUCH better now! I was curious about the comparison of the two so I lay the new one atop the old one and OH. MY. WORD.

This, folks, is a perfect example of what can go wrong when gauge is not followed. Look at the size difference! The bottom cardi was knit on the 5mm needle size suggested in the pattern, that I somehow thought I had achieved gauge on - clearly I hadn't - and the top cardi is knit to specified gauge on just one needle size down at 4.5mm. Isn't it crazy what a difference it makes?

Evidence of the importance of gauge!

Now, I should say I've just slowly over the last few years come to understand how important gauge can be. I used to never bother with a swatch. I also used to knit a lot of strangely sized garments come to think of it... Go figure. But if this doesn't hammer it home for me, then obviously nothing would!

So things are progressing nicely with Myrna. Now! What about Jenny you ask. I'm happy to report that things are going well on that front too!

Jenny in progress!

Yesterday I took a bit of time to cut out my fabric and this morning, while the little guys were playing I took advantage of the peace and quiet and started sewing. I had the main part of the bodice done before the first squabble even broke out! I think the real Jenny has been easier to sew than the muslin Jenny was! It somehow just flows so much better when I'm not fussing around with the steps pretending I have a lining when I don't. (Now there is something I never would have imagined saying... The garment is easier to make with the lining. How's that for all kinds of crazy????)

I'm hoping to get some time to finish Jenny over the next few days! I have sew many things I want to make this summer!!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

So, I haven't had a whole lot of success on the Outfit Along front this week.  It's getting me a bit frustrated but I'm determined to keep going.

My first frustration was my muslin. Thank goodness I decided to make a muslin for my Jenny dress. Lessons learned and all that from my Rebecca Shift. Had I not done a muslin I would have ended up with a totally unwearable dress. Or unwearable for me anyways!  I ended up with the bodice/waist seam hitting about a an inch and a half  too high. Yikes!!!! I'll let your imaginations run wild with where that empire seam landed. Not good. Not good at all.

So not to be daunted I fixed my pattern, following the same width, but cutting two lines below to increase the front length. Of course when I started sewing my second muslin I completely forgot about my pattern adjustments and ended up with a very puzzling looking front of my bodice when I lined my notches up and stitched.

Something just doesn't look right here...

I was so perplexed I posted a photo on the Scientific Seamstress Lab Group's Facebook page begging for help.  I followed what they told me to do (line up the bottoms), yet was still confused as to what had happened until one member suggested I had sewed it the wrong way. I ran back down to the sewing room to check and the lightbulb finally went off. No, I hadn't sewn it upside down or backwards - although at the rate I'm going lately that wouldn't have been out of the realm of possibilities. It was indeed very much the correct way as I discovered when I unfolded my pattern as though I hadn't been "frankenpatterning" sizes. Ah ha! Of course things were looking weird and the notches no longer lined up. D'oh! All I need to do is round out the armhole curve that was left a bit wonky from the shift and it'll be good.

Muslin done, seams where they are supposed to be, fit good. Yay!!!!!!! I think, judging by my muslin, that I will choose to do the lower neckline instead of the higher one and I am debating using the wider option waistband.  But at least I'm a step closer to my dress being started!

My Myrna was coming along fabulously.  Or so I thought.  It is a quick knit and within a few days I was ready to start the waist shaping.  Except I had a little voice in the back of my head telling me that it was looking more than a little bit large for more than a few rounds.  Finally I decided to heed that nagging voice and put my Myrna on scrap yarn.  OH MY WORD!!!!!  It's huge. Close to a 49" circumference at the bust. And long. Way too long. The armholes are close to 12".

I have no idea what happened. I did a gauge swatch. I swear I did. But in re-knitting a new gauge swatch there is no earthly way I got gauge on the first one using the 5mm needle I had been knitting with. Not a chance. So? What gives? Did I grab the wrong needle when I started actually knitting? Was I drunk when I measured my swatch (that seems a touch doubtful since I haven't had so much as a sip of wine since Christmas)? Did I forget how to look at a ruler?  Who knows! All I know is that I'm starting over from square one and hoping for the best.

So there you have it. Not much progress at all, but as they say, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Hopefully things go smoother from here on in! (please, please, please go better!!!!)

Outfit Along 2014

I've got a new project on the go now and it fits right in with my summer wardrobe building plans! A few weeks ago one of my favourite designers, Andi Satterlund, of Untangling Knots announced an "Outfit Along" for the months of June and July. I was quite excited and knew as soon as I read her announcement that I was definitely getting in on the fun. The best part about this "along" is that Andi and her co-host Lauren of Lladybird want us to have an outfit we love when we are done so participants aren't restricted to the chosen patterns, which are Andi's latest cardi, Myrna and Simplicity 1803.

I absolutely love Myrna, but Simplicity patterns and I rarely get along fit wise so I'll be sewing a different dress for myself. So here's my plan:

My cardigan will be Andi Satterlund's Myrna and my dress will be Sis Boom's Jenny Dress. Here's the rest of my plan:

I'll be knitting Myrna using Berocco Weekend colour way 5972 Marigold and sewing Sis Boom's Jenny Dress using Soaring Free in Clear from the Safari Moon Collection by Frances Newcombe for Art Gallery Fabrics (which of course I bought online from my fave shop, Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory - which, by the way, has a new home at http://bobbieloufabric.com!)

I hope you'll either join me in the Outfit Along and create your own new summer outfit or that'll you'll drop by to see my progress as I make mine!