McCall's 7591 Maxi Dress in Italy

Fabric Homecoming

Back in December 2017, I made McCall's 7591 maxi dress using Italian Cotton/Viscose Challis. The dress was in my carry-on luggage when I visited Italy last month. It was lovely to wear it in Venice. 

It was great that the dress was loose-fitting and the skirt was unlined because Venice was hot and humid. You want air between you and fabric.

McCall's 7591 View D can be worn day and/or night depending on the fabric you choose. To make your dress work, fabric must be soft and drapey. 

I love this dress enough to recommend McCall's 7591 View D.

Pattern: McCall's 7591 View D 

Fabric: Printed Italian Cotton/Viscose Challis from Elliott Berman Textiles

You can also see the dress on dress form on my previous post 

McCall's 7591 Maxi Dress

Follow me on Instagram @sabotenfree to see more travel photos from Italy!

See you when I sew something :)
Until then, happy sewing💛

$100 Sewing Machine

***日本語の記事は英語の記事の下をご覧ください。

I bought Brother XR-65 15 years ago. I think the price was a little over $100. Back then there were not many petite-size clothing available so I needed a basic machine to hem up my skirt and pants. What I wanted for the machine was really simple - straight stitch, zigzag stitch, and button hall. Just thinking about how much joy that the machine brought to my life over years, it is one of the best $100 I have ever spent.

All the things I have posted on this blog were sewn with this $100 machine. There are some clothes that I have worn more frequently than others.

Vogue 8784 Cotton Wrap Dress
Great day dress that took me from workplace with a casual dress code to day trip to a winery.

Simplicity 2443 Cynthia Rowley Jacket

Cotton double knit made this jacket really comfortable to wear. I love the hand stitch detail all over the jacket. 

Hand-Painted Cotton Skirt

After so many wears, this skirt still keeps its shape thanks to the horsehair braid hem.

CH Cocktail Dress
I love everything about this dress. I spent long hours to analyze the original design and mix and match patterns... it was pure joy. I have already worn it so many times, but my closet still has a designated room for this dress.

But really, what you can get from $100 sewing machine is not just custom-made dresses. Beside sewing techniques, you learn about fabric, yarn, and fabric mills. You read up on your favorite fashion designers and fashion history. You get to know yourself - your size, body type, and what works for you. You discover colors. You find yourself being able to spot high-quality material and construction during shopping. You will acquire art of living through learning sewing - and it does not require high-end machine to begin with. 

My Brother XR-65 started to make noises and jammed often while I was sewing the maxi dress last month. I think the time I graduate from the beginner machine has come. So this post is a thank-you and goodbye note to my Brother XR-65, a super awesome $100 sewing machine.

長年愛用してきたブラザーのミシンを買ったのは15年前。確か100ドルちょっとでした。当時アメリカではまだ現在のようにPetiteサイズが普及していなかったので、ジーンズの裾上げなどちょっとしたお直しを自分でしたかったのです。ちょこちょこお直しをするうちに、自分にぴったりの服を着るにはいっそのこといちから作ってしまえばいいのでは、と思うようになりました。

これまでこのブログにのせてきた服はすべてこの100ドルのミシンで縫ったものです。作った服は出来上がった直後に捨ててしまわなければ普段実際に愛用しています。そのなかでも特に頻繁に着ている服というのも存在します。

でも…100ドルのミシンで得られるものってカスタムメイドの服だけではないんです。裁縫技術のほかにも、布や糸、布を作る世界中の老舗の工場について学んだり、好きなデザイナーやファッション史を読み込んだり。自分のサイズや体形、似合うもの、似合わないものを知ったり、色についての知識も増えるし、買い物に行けば一目で高級な素材や縫製を見抜けるようになっていたり。服作りを学ぶということはart of livingを会得することでもあり、高級なミシンを初めから使わなくとも身につけることは十分可能です。

さて、ずっと愛用してきたミシン、先月マキシドレスを縫っていると今まで聞いたことのない音を立て頻繁に糸が絡むようになってしまいました。15年…そろそろ寿命かな。そろそろこの初心者用ミシンを卒業するときがきたようです。

McCall's 7591 Maxi Dress

Pattern: McCall's 7591 View D 

Fabric: Printed Italian Cotton/Viscose Challis from Elliott Berman Textiles

https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m7591

McCall's 7591 View D is a pullover blouson style maxi dress with elastic waistline. The pattern calls for tricot lining for the bodice but I used self fabric. The skirt is unlined. As per my petite alteration (I am 5'2"), I shortened the bodice an inch and the hem three inches. 

My motivation for this project was that I wanted to make a long dress to wear for the San Francisco Opera. Unfortunately, the finished dress was too casual for the evening concert so that I chose another dress... but that was okay!!! Now I have a new maxi dress for spring. 


Update 7/14/2018: You can see the photos of McCall's 7591 on me here => McCall's 7591 Maxi Dress in Italy
 

突然サンフランシスコオペラに行けることになりました。週末、プッチーニ、トゥーランドット。サンフランシスコのオペラハウスはサンフランシスコ講和条約署名の舞台となった美しい建物。折角だからロングドレスを着て行きたい…。たった2日で仕上げるにはテストドレスを作って型紙を直している暇はないと判断して、選んだ型紙はMcCall's 7591 View Dです。型紙のパーツ数が少ない上ジッパーも不要なので手間もかからず、2年ほどミシンに触っていなかった自分にとってリハビリ的な意味でもぴったりなプロジェクトになりました。仕上がったドレスは想像していたよりもカジュアル過ぎたので、オペラには以前作った赤黒のカクテルドレスを着て行ったんですけどね。

今日は冬至ですが、アリゾナの春は早いので、このドレスが活躍する日もきっとすぐのはずです。

Black Shawl

My Facebook post a night before the trip back in September:

"Want to make a shawl in two hours. 
 It has to be all hand-sewing to retain softness. 
 Wish me luck! 

明日からの旅行に急遽持っていくことにしたストールを作るところです。柔らかさを殺さないように全て手縫い。２時間で仕上がるのか??? その後パッキングは終わらせられるのか??? なんともチャレンジングな夕方になりそうです。"

Of course, it took so much longer than two hours to finish. 

Fabric: Mixed content woven purchased from Emma One Sock
Dress: McCall's 5466 + Vogue 8555

I was truly fortunate to attend opera at the Semperoper/Le Nozze di Figaro and the Wiener Staatsoper/La Traviata in this me-made outfit. The trip was a blast and I will be ever thankful to the person who took me there. 

Hello Again!

I have to admit that I once used this beautiful fabric as a tablecloth for a dinner. Luckily nobody spilled wine or anything on it, but even if that happened, I could probably pretend that the stains were part of the painted design. For that, this was the perfect fabric for a tablecloth. 

However, I wanted it to be a skirt. 

Fabric: Hand-painted canvas-ish cotton purchased from Emma One Sock  
Lining: Polyester or acetate lining fabric purchased from Fabric Mart
Pattern: Skirt from my TNT dress (modified Vogue 8555 - out of print) plus belt from Vogue 1247
Cardigan: Elie Tahari

To support the hemline, I first thought of applying fusible interfacing. However, when I opened up my interfacing bag, I discovered few other choices: silk organza, netting, and a bias strip of hair canvas. I grabbed the hair canvas simply because it was ready to use. 

I was happy to see that the hem interfacing made a difference in the overall silhouette of the skirt.  

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! 

Cat Only Post - Leonoir

Box, or sink, that is the question -

Have a great week, everyone!

Simplicity 2648 Flower Sheath

As if I could never have enough sheath dresses... 

Fabric Love Story...

The Fabric I chose for my third S2648 is matelasse from Elliott Berman Textiles. It was love at first sight, however, the price was not so pretty:$55/yard. I decided to wait and keep my fingers crossed, and hoped this beauty would not sold out until their anniversary sale.

On the night before the sale, I was so relieved to see that the lovely matelasse was still available.

The order confirmation e-mail was still in my old e-mail account:

Thank you for your order. Your order number is ****, placed 04/10/2012 at 01:44AM.

1:44AM? I did not hit the order button as soon as the date changed in the East Coast. That was a mistake. I received this message from the seller the following day:

Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:28:14 -0400

Subject: re: Prada item

Dear Yuki: 

Thank you for placing an order with us. It is ready to ship, however, item MB-17473 Designer Matelasse. Prada. France is available in 1-3/8 only. If it can still work for you, I will charge you for 1-1/4 yards. So far the item is marked as SOLD OUT in your favor.

Oh...
While I was busy loading more fabric to my shopping cart and making tormenting decision to delete many of them, other smart shoppers around the world bought this fabric.

Of course I immediately let them know that I still wanted it, but with only 1-3/8 yard, my original plan of making A-line dress with my TNT, M5466 + V8555 had to be changed. 

Regardless, I was so happy that I could grab the last piece of the bolt because the real thing was so much more beautiful with a gentle drape and a soft hand. 

Both sides are equally beautiful, romantic, and oh so dreamy...

... and if you trim away white layer around flower motifs, the fabric will look like this:

I could combine these four "sides" any way I wanted: I could use the side of white background for bodice and melange for skirt, or sheer for center front and others for the rest, etc.

Honey, We Need to (Geek) Talk...

By the way, it is easy to know how many combinations you get to play around. Just type this formula in Excel:

= number of "sides" ^ number of pattern pieces

For example, I have four sides to play with and S2648 has ten pieces:

4 ^ 10 = 1,048,576

Oh wow, I get to play around more than a million combinations!? That is amazing!*

Now, Back to Sewing...

For lining, I could not think of any other but red silk. This is the same china silk that once rescued my daughter's concert dress. (You can read the story here: Adding Length to a Ruffle Dress )

After the lining was attached, this dress had been on the dress form for about three months. Everyday I saw it and grew to like how the red lining peeked out of the neckline. When I finally made time to finish this dress, the first thing I did was manipulate the lining to make it look like piping. All I did was trim the seam allowance so that it would function as cording, wrap the lining over it, and hand-sew it into place. 

I will probably wear this dress to the Tucson Symphony Orchestra's concert which gives me another chance this year to listen to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. The theme of the concert? The Power of Romance - Isn't this fabric perfect for that?  

*Long story short, I settled with only using the melange background side. Life is too short, seriously.

Simplicity 2648 White Sheath

Simplicity 2648

Simplicity 2648

The fabric is textured cotton which I purchased from Michael's Fabrics more than a couple of years ago. It has scale-like woven pattern. 

I used the pattern Simplicity 2648. Because the fabric was not opaque enough, the dress needed to be lined. I omitted the neckline and armhole facings but applied interfacing instead, and finished armhole with a bias tape binding.

If you will be sewing a white dress this summer, it is a good idea to make a muslin and fine-tune the fit. White makes you look larger, so an impeccable fit is a must.

Happy sewing everyone!

Yet Another Vogue 1247 Skirt

One of the perks of being petite is that we need less fabric (Yes!). I was able to cut both a dress (Simplicity 2648) and a skirt from 2 yards of 60"- width fabric.

The skirt pattern is a good old Vogue 1247. I still wear my orange (Vogue 1247 Rachel Comey Outfit) and white (Vogue 1247 White Skirt) V1247 skirts quite often so why not add a printed version to my wardrobe?

I added the length even more to my already elongated TNT to make the most of the beautiful cascading print. The hem hits at the lower part of my knee.

Just so you know, if you are careful and always place an on-fold piece on fold, your skirt front should not have a center seam. You see, mine does... go figure. 

Lastly, saving money is never a purpose of my sewing (always fabric first!) but getting both a dress and a skirt of great quality fabric for less than $50 is no doubt a steal - especially when those garments are custom fit!

*** 

Leo thinks Arizona is too hot already... 

Happy sewing, everyone!

Simplicity 2648 Sheath Dress

Simplicity 2648

I had a great time working with this lovely fabric: CH Cotton Stretch purchased from Emma One Sock

This print reminds me of Gustav Klimt's Kiss:

Image Source: Wikipedia

The fabric was from Carolina Herrera Resort 2012 collection. You can see the entire collection at http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/2012RST-CHERRERA.

Carolina Herrera Resort 2012 Look #5

Carolina Herrera Resort 2012 Look #7

Carolina Herrera Resort 2012 Look #8

Pattern: Simplicity 2648 View B Size 6 

I raised the neckline by 5/8", changed the shoulder angle, and shortened the bodice.

What is great about Simplicity Amazing Fit collection is that you can choose SLIM/average/curvy fit option. When I started sewing long time ago, articles on pattern alteration were almost always about how to make things bigger, not other way around. So this collection is remarkable and I hope it continues to offer slim option. 

Skirt has a vent on the back.

Simplicity 2648 Back

 And I am still obsessed with Hong Kong finish. Hahaha.

Simplicity 2648 Inside

If I use this pattern again, I may change arm facings to bias facings or combine arm and neck facings and redraw as one piece.

Simplicity 2648 Facings

Until next time, happy sewing!

New Look 6261 Sheath Dress

My New Look 6261 sheath dress is done! I wore it yesterday and went out with my daughter who chose to wear similar dress by accident. 

New Look 6261 on me (left) and RTW knit dress on my mini-me (right)

Side and back view:

New Look 6261 Side

New Look 6261 Back

Pattern: New Look 6261 View B with Sleeve C in Size 8

I shortened bodice by 1 1/4", skirt by 1", narrowed back by 3/4 ~ 1". These are my usual adjustment, and as a result, back and skirt fits well.


HOWEVER...


My fundamental mistake on this project was that I did not make a muslin.

The neckline gaped so much that it looked like an ill-fitting armor... I ended up pinching excess fabric out on the wrong side and sewed it. 

In addition, there are pleats formed at waist darts. I took the most laziest approach and just let those pleats be pleats. Haha. With the center pleat running down, these pleats may look like a part of the design... no? 

Another thing to note is that horizontal design would not match above bust darts. 

Lingerie Guard:

Although the instruction does not call for, I wanted to add lingerie guard to this dress. I have never made it before, so first I observed RTW. The photo below is a lingerie guard of my Elie Tahari dress:

You need snaps and thread loops to replicate this. I came across this wonderful post at www.coletterie.com. Sarai demonstrates how to make thread loops by machine.

Coletterie   Tutorial: Making Thread Belt Loops with Nancy Zieman  

Using zigzag stitch to make thread loops seemed to be a brilliant idea. I gave it a try. To be honest, it was a little tricky to zigzag over six strands of thread. Here I used three strands instead and it still worked.

You will need large-eyed needle to work with this thread loop.

Here is my first me-made lingerie guard.

Conclusion: Despite some fitting issues, I love this dress. This stretch cotton fabric was great quality and very easy to work with. I have gotten many compliments yesterday including one by a total stranger - this probably means that those pleats did look like a part of the design! Of course flaws are less noticeable in this busy print. Just one more reason to love printed fabric!