Princely purple silk Faille with sparkling black jersey knit – Vogue 8980 and Vogue 1314

There is something magical about the color purple.  Yes, it’s noticeable, vibrant, and regal.  It’s a royal color worn by noble throughout the ages. The color purple is also associated with power, ambition, luxury, wealth, dignity, grandeur, peace, independence, and wisdom.  

 

So, you can understand why I am drawn to the color. It symbolizing many qualities that I am or hope to be.  Simply, it is beautiful and I love the many shades of it.  I paired this mysterioso purple silk faille with an audience high-low full skirt, Vogue 8980.

 

It’s not your typical box pleat skirt.  It is made of circles: full and half circles. I like how to circles come together to create beautiful drape and shape.  There are a few small pleats about the waist, but the majority of the fullness is formed by the cut of the circle.  To sum it up, this skirt is huge.  It took about 5 yards to make it.

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I only added a few inches to the length. Additionally, I used tulle to underline it and completely lined the skirt attaching it at the hem.

I could have used a stiffer interfacing in the waistband though.  There was some creases across the small of my back.  Not too, too bad as the cropped top covers it.

 

For my sparkling top I used  glamourous poly-lycra jersey with star burst all over it.  Very pretty, but the glitter was a little messy.  So I shake, shake, shook it until most of the glitter fell off leaving me with enough sparkle to make the top unique compared to the typical t-shirt cropped tops.  Underneath all the glitz is a lovely texture knit that has a fair amount of stretch. 

  

Initially, I thought I would complete the look with Butterick 6285, but after making it I didn’t like the outcome of it.  I ended up using Vogue1314 to create a little cropped t-shirt styled top.  It’s not what I originally envisioned for the fabric, but it was doable.  I did notice, though, some winkles in the bust area.  This knit does have more stretch than the previously used knit for this pattern.  I will see if I can tweak it a bit to remove the winkles. 

Overall, the outfit is very good.  It was my last garment modeled for the Haute Couture Club of Chicago fashion show 2016.  Although it’s not what I originally envisioned; it works and I will wear it.

Parting Shot:  One of my favorite music artists, Prince Roger Nelson, made his transition yesterday (April 21, 2016).  He was only 57 years old.  The world has lost a great musical genius.

Happy Sewing!

C

"I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.  People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see He's always trying to please us back."

Alice Walker, "The Color Purple"

Notes on a Pattern - Butterick Retro Dress 5209

I made a muslin of the bodice last spring, but failed to make the dress. Somehow I always manage to have more on the to do list than I can finish within a given season. So before I add more to the list, I decided to talk about this pattern in hopes of finishing the dress within the next few weeks..

This pattern is not new.  It was republished a few years ago. Many have made it with great success.   But, of course, we all come in many different shapes and sizes.  So I decided to go ahead with posting how I worked out the fitting adjustments for me.

The FBA was fairly straight forward. I always have to add width as well as length. At the fullest of the bust area is where I need the most length.  In the past I've added length evenly along the lower edge only to remove it later.  For this bodice I used a size 16; but could have used a 14. Using the 16 I did not make the width as wide. And I may have to shorten the neckline a bit.  I also added about 3/4 inch to the midriff in the same area. Most of the time I end up removing any excess in the side seams. It always good to have some extra just in case.

 

For the back, I made my usual prominent shoulder blade adjustment. This was pretty easy too. The resulting width requires me to add a dart to the shoulder seam.  So that the length of that seam matches the length of the front shoulder seam. Easing the excess in doesn't look as nice as the dart.  The same amount of width was also added to the back midriff in the same area.  A small sway back adjustment on the midriff to remove the excess fabric.

After looking at the finished bodice muslin, I decided to add an inch to the length just in case.  I almost never make the muslin for the skirt of this type of dress.  My hips are somewhat on the narrow side and my back side is on the flat side too. :-0   So there isn't much to worry about as the skirt is gathered.

 

Other than that I think this dress is very simple to make once all the fit areas are addressed.

More details on Katch.me:   

Parting shot:  I just received this beautiful Jason Wu orange, navy, tan geometric silk wool.  Isn't it beautiful?

Maroon Double Cloth Lace - Simplicity 1314

My eyes light up with joy when I see something beautiful.  And that was exactly what happened when I saw this Maroon Double Cloth with Lace from Mood.  At first, I imagined a high-waist pencil skirt.  But when the pretty cloth arrived to my surprise the yardage was more than I requested.  It must have been the last on the roll, because it included this tag.  No matter the circumstance, I was too happy to get a little more and couldn't let it go to waste.  So I decided to make Simplicity 1314 again.

There is nothing wrong with getting a little extra mileage out of your pattern.  Especially if you've spent time making fit adjustments.  My first look made from it was "Cookie Lyons" inspired, from the hit show, "Empire".  This time I wanted a more sophisticated look.  So I paired my maroon lacy double cloth with black neoprene from a local fabric store in Chicago.

All of the descriptive information is the same as before.  I made view B. For the most part the pattern was ready to use without more adjustments.  But I did want to bring the neckline closer to base of my neck.  With most patterns I find that the necklines are very wide.  This makes it difficult to keep the garment on the hanger.  Also, I had to take it in along the sides about three more inches.

My likes for this dress are, of course, the fabric.  And all the things I mentioned in the first review.  It was even easier to sew this time.  I consider this a sloper, a basic princess seam dress that is very easy to sew.  I definitely recommend it to others and will probably sew it again for myself.

That's all for now.

Happy Sewing!
Cennetta