Butterick 5211 or Duras Dress

Fabric: Border-print silk charmeuse from Fabric Mart
Lining: China silk
Pattern: Butterick 5211

Butterick 5211

Changes I Made: I lowered front neckline, omitted facings and center back seam, and added lining.

Construction Note: This pattern is simple and easy. Only difficulty I had was making a narrow hem to finish the sleeve opening. I am not really proud of what I had done because I ended up with ripples. I see the same problem at the neck opening also. It looks like the war between me and slippery silk continues… hahaha.          

Inspiration:

When I saw this pattern I immediately thought of The Lover written by Marguerite Duras. It was specifically this part of the book.  Please allow me to quote in Japanese first because I was thinking in Japanese at that time.

「わたしはずっと長いあいだ、わたしだけの服というものをもっていない。わたしの服とは言ってみれば袋のようなもので、母の古い服の仕立て直しだが、その母の服というのもまあ袋のようなものだ。(中略）わたしはこういう服を、袋をかぶるみたいに着て、ベルトを締めてかたちを崩す、と、これでおきまりのわたしのスタイルとなる。」

愛人　マルグリット　デュラス　著　清水　徹　訳

English translation of the same part:

 “For a long time I’ve had no dresses of my own. My dresses are all a sort of sack, made out of old dresses of my mother’s which themselves are all a sort of sack. … I wear these dresses as if they were sacks, with belts that take away their shape and make them timeless.  “

The Lover, Marguerite Duras, Translated by Barbara Bray

Of course the original book is written in French. It is a shame that I do not own it…

More view of Duras dress

"Sack" version:

Side:

Back:

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Now, I want to take a moment to say thank you again to Mrs. Mole of fit for a queen for the One Lovely Blog Award nomination! It is truly amazing that a talented person like her (just look at her blog!) thinks my blog is worth the award. (I am trying to pick ten bloggers to pass the awards but, oh boy, it is too difficult!)

I also want to say thank you to Rhonda of Rhonda’s Creative Life for featuring my blog. As many of you probably checked it already, her recent Wednesday Showcase is a wonderful collection of so many talents. If you are new to browsing sewing blogs it is definitely a good place to start.  

Last but not least, thank you to all my readers and blog friends; Thank you so much for visiting and following my blog, kindly leaving your comments, and sharing your world through your blog.

Wishing everyone a wonderful year ahead!   

Love,

Yuki

Vogue 8684 Paisley Dress - Completed

I finished my dress today! Vogue 8684 is a simple pattern and easy to put together. The dress is very comfortable to wear.

The fabric was just so lovely to work with. This was my first time working with silk shantung and I found it much easier to handle than silk charmeuse or chiffon. Only difficulty I had with this fabric was a pattern placement. I decided not to match the print, however, the paisley motifs at the waist and the skirt on the right in the picture almost match unintentionally! It looks like I tried to match the matif and failed it! Well, except that, I love what I made.

You can read pattern and fabric detail here.


 



Inside view:

What did I do after finishing this dress? I ate doughnuts! Rhonda from Rhonda's Creative Life posted this wonderful recipe on her blog recently. I knew I was going to try it because I love simple cake doughnuts. It was easy to make and  fun to watch every doughnut puffed up really good. The sweetness was just right for me. You can find her recipe here.

Until next time, cheers to you all!

Vogue 8684 Paisley Dress

Since I have tremendous amount of fabric love, a starting point of my sewing project is often a fabric rather than a purpose. This project is no exception. The fabric is silk shantung from Elliott Berman Textiles. I bought two yards of this beautiful paisley silk few seasons ago.

Draped over the dress form

Pattern: Vogue 8684

I have been wanting to try this pattern because of the diagonal darts in the front bodice and the raglan sleeve. I thought it could be a charming day dress.

Vogue 8684

Pre-muslin Alteraion:

1. The length of the bodice was shortened by 1".

2. The center-back cutting line was redrawn straight. This is a must alteration for my thin back. Without this alteration I always have an air porket in the upper back regardless of which company's pattern I choose.

Back adjustment

3. Two pieces of sleeve pattern were merged into one piece. It is just my personal preference.

4. Misprinted circles on the bodice front piece were corrected. The small circle should be 3/8" away  from the cutting line yet it is printed 5/8" away. I moved both circles to the correct places.

Correcting the misprinted dots

I made a muslin out of $1/yard fabric from Walmart. The picture was taken after lowering the neckline.

Vogue 8684 muslin

Post-muslin alteration:

1. The neckline was too high for me. I made it 1" lower in the center front. This change made the neckline look more like a pattern envelope picture.

Lowering the neckline

2. I chose not to alter the skirt length. It hits my knee at the perfect place. This also means that the skirt will be short for the tall ladies. (I am 158cm/5'2" tall.)

3. I added lining. This was easily done by joining both fabric and lining together at the neck opening.

Adding the lining



Understitching

The bodice after adding the lining

The dress could be done last night but it did not happen due to an emergency - well, it was a very happy emergency. My friend called me just after midnight and told me that her water broke! I drove to her house in my PJ to babysit her two-year-old daughter. After eight hours later, she gave a birth to a beautiful boy! How exciting!!!

You will see my next post with pictures of my completed dress pretty soon since I only need to hem up the sleeve to finish it.

Until then, cheers to you all!

Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 Part III - It's All Done!

I finished my Milly inspired dress today. :)



Front

Back

The inspiration for this project was this Delia dress by Milly.

Milly Delia Dress from nordstrom.com

Pattern: Vogue 8182 and Vogue 1086
(For pattern usage detail, click here to go to my previous post.)

If you follow Vogue 8182's instruction, you will end up with exposed zipper tape inside the dress. I did not like it when I made this pattern before, so this time I covered the zipper tape under the lining instead. To do so, I left lining unstitched about two inches from the left side, attached the zipper (kept lining free), then hand-sewed the lining to the zipper tape.  



Zipper Opening

Inside View of Zipper Opening





































Fabric: Printed silk from Gorgeous Fabrics. It looks like this fabric has an intermixed design of paint splatters and plants in vibrant colors. It is light weight and has a fluid drape. It leaves a stitch mark so make sure you know what you are doing when you sew this fabric.

Stitch mark

By the way, I have been trying a new (to me) approach to sewing this week and it worked great. It is simple. I sew just a little bit in the morning for about 30 minutes before I start a regular busy day. I was surprised to find that knowing my project is progressing (even if it is a teeny tiny little step) has a positive impact on my mind throughout the day. I love it!

Sewing in the morning sunlight

Until next time, cheers to you all!

Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 Part II - Bodice and Midriff

Hello, everyone! I hope you all are having a great weekend.

Today I have finished bodice and midriff. :)  Both are Vogue 8182. As I noted in my previous post, I substituted midriff pattern with  midriff lining pattern for a cleaner waist line.



Vogue 8182 Front

Vogue 8182 Back









I think the trickiest part of Vogue 8182 is attaching the midriff to the bodice. If you are making this pattern, basically you "sandwich" bodice seam allowance between midriff and midriff lining, both right sides together, then you press midriff and midriff lining down. Be sure not to stitch lining all the way to the left side opening if you want to cover zipper tape under the lining later.

* * * * *
By the way, if your cat stares at you from behind your sewing machine for VERY long time, you may want to check his/her water bowl...

Mommy, I'm thirsty!

Until next time, cheers to you all!

Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 Part I - Pin, Baste, Repeat...

My spring break sewing is all about Milly fabric. Earlier this year I got this silk from Gorgeous Fabrics and planned to make a dress from it. I thought that Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 combination would work.   

Milly Delia Dress from Nordstrom.com

Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086
Crinkled Silk Chiffon Dress




















I startred this project in January but all I could achieve while taking the classes was cutting skirt parts. I admit that I am not fast when it comes to cutting and marking. I become even slower when the fabric is slippery and has a fluid drape...

This week I finally finished cutting all the parts. Since I mixed and matched two patterns, I probably should specify what I really used.


Vogue 1086 (Left) and Vogue 8182 (Right)


Bodice and bodice lining: Vogue 8182 view A; I raised front neck line.

Midriff and midriff lining: Vogue 8182; I wanted a clean waist line, so I omitted gather, meaning I used the midriff lining pattern as the midriff pattern.

Skirt: Vogue 1086

Skirt lining: Vogue 8182 view A; I placed the pattern on the lengthwise grain, not on the bias.

What I was forgetting about this pattern until this morning was that there was much basting involved in the process... It was not difficult, but rather time consuming.

I am so happy that I have finished all the basting on the bodice and the midriff today.

*   *   *   *   *    

Meanwhile, I baked chocolate chip cherry muffins. I followed Nigella Lawson's chocolate chocolate-chip muffin recipe from foodnetwork.com. These muffins are delicious! Her recipe adds cocoa powder but I did not use it. I added dried cherry (soaked in rum and water for about 30 minutes) and 1/8 teaspoon of salt.

Yum!

Until next time, cheers to you all!

McCall’s 5377 (Out of print) Square Neck Empire Dress

Hi, everyone! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Today I want to share my first ever recreation of the designer's look. I was inspired by a picture of Adam + Eve dress featured in shopbop.com's Spring 2007 hard-copy catalogue.

Inspiration

My Version

Fabric: Cotton/silk gauze and Habotai silk lining from denverfabrics.com
Notion: Lace from trimfabric.com  ribbon/button from JoAnn store

Pattern: McCall's 5377 (Out of print) View C without bow and frill

To achieve the look, I applied lace trim on the band by zigzagging along the horizontal design on the lace. The catalogue picture did not tell me anything about skirt hem but I thought lace trim hem would be nice. I also made long button holes just under the bust so that they serve as ribbon loops.

Button and loop closure

Ribbon loops

Lace hem

So, this is how my favorite game called recreating RTW started. I've been addicted to this game since then.

Are you addicted, too?



Until next time, cheers to you all!

McCall's 5466 + Vogue 8555 Test Dress

This dress, the second test for my CH floral jacquard dress project, was made last summer. After I made the first muslin from Walmart remnant fabric, I decided to play safe and make one more muslin before I start cutting the jacquard fabric.

Fabric: Vera Wang Lavender Label brocade (polyester 76% cotton 24%) and matte polyester lining from fabric.com. (I made a skirt from this brocade before.)

Pattern: Again, McCall's 5466 (bodice) and Vogue 8555 (Skirt)

I learned that I should not sew the side of the bodice before turning it right side out. I also had to redo zipper a couple of times. It was frustrating, but it was a good practice before stitching more expensive fabric. I now understand the purpose of making muslin. It’s not only fine-tuning the fit but polishing the necessary technique before sewing the real thing.



Until next time, cheers to you all!

Vogue 8379 Wrap Dress

Here’s another dress that I made few seasons ago.

Fabric: Rayon knit from emmaonesock.com. This is one of those “unnamed CA boutique designer” offerings. It’s pretty good quality for the price. (Does anyone know who this mystery designer is?) I like that this knit is opaque but not too heavy.

Pattern: Ever popular Vogue 8379. I made view B without collar. I did my usual petite alteration – shortened the bodice, sleeve, and skirt, and narrowed shoulder. I love that this dress does not require button or zipper.



Needless to say, this is DVF knock-off. It’s chic and comfortable. It’s also a great choice for travel wardrobe. I recommend this pattern just like so many other sewists do.

Until next time, cheers to you all!

Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 Crinkled Silk Chiffon Dress

Fabric: Overlay is crinkled silk chiffon from emmaonesock.com. Underlining is crepe back satin. Both underlining and lining are polyester from JoAnn.

Pattern: Vogue 8182 (bodice) and Vogue 1086 (skirt). It was my first attempt to sew a side zipper opening so I was nervous. Luckily, it turned out okay. J

UPDATE:

Pattern usage detail in     Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 PartI - Pin, Baste, Repeat  

Some construction tip in Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 Part II - Bodice and Midriff 

                                                    Vogue 8182 + Vogue 1086 Part III - It's All Done!

`

I made this dress few years back. Why am I looking at it now? It is because I am thinking to make another dress out of these patterns. The inspiration for the project is Delia dress by Milly.

Milly Delia Dress - nordstrom.com

The silk charmeuse and china silk are washed and ready in my closet. I can start this project tomorrow if I finish all the homework today. Well, Milly dress is absolutely fabulous motivation to study, isn’t it?!

So, until I come back from Studyland, cheers to you all!

McCall's 5466 + Vogue 8555 Rope Print Dress

Inspiration - Carolina Herrera Rope Print Dress

This cap sleeve shift dress was my second winter break project. I made a muslin out of canvas fabric of similar weight with no problem, however, it looked horrible on me! It was a perfect example of what a petite woman like me (I am 5'2" (158cm) size 0) not to wear – shift dress made from stiff fabric. I gave up on the challenge of making the exact same dress and opted for an A-line dress.

My version

Fabric: Cotton canvas from Sawyerbrook and Ambiance lining from fabric.com

Pattern: Again, the hybrid of McCall's 5466 (bodice) and Vogue 8555 (skirt). For this dress I cut the bodice front as one piece by omitting the center front seam.

I’m in love with this TNT pattern! I can see myself using it again and again in the future.


Until next time, cheers to you all!