Dress M5269

I had no special occasion in mind when I decided to make this dress. I was inspired to try this pattern after reading Ann's, Gorgeous Things, review on PR. Ann is so creative. She made an exquisite couture garment from this simple pattern. For me, I stuck with the basic design for making my version of this dress.

Pattern Description: MISSES’/MISS PETITE DRESS: Straight, fitted, lined dress, below mid-knee has princess seams, yoke front, back zipper and cap sleeves with pleats; dress A has back slit; dress B has flounce; dress C has ruffle with stay forming bubble. I made view A.

Pattern Sizing: 4 - 18, I made size 14.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?Yes.


Were the instructions easy to follow? There was nothing complicated or confusing about the instructions.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked the style of the dress. At first, I thought about making view B but decided to make view A because I tend to gravitate towards dresses/skirts with a flounce or fullness at the bottom.

Fabric Used:Polyester satin and lining from TDW.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: Yes. I did my usual alterations: FBA, broad shoulders, sway back, and added two inches to the length. I inserted an invisible zipper instead of a regular one.

Added accessory: I made an belt (optional) to wear with this dress and another that I plan to make for the summer. The making of the belt is in the previous post.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Maybe view C. Yes I would recommend it to others.

Conclusion This dress is classic, but stylish. It's easy to wear.

Belt for Dress M5269

One of the things I've been trying to do lately is feature out ways to use remnants from previous sewing projects. Over the years, I have accumulated several boxes. So with this project I decided to make a belt. The inspiration for making this belt comes from Cadena Fashion magazine. This is one of my absolute favorite inspiration mags.






Here's the dress belt combo.
I used S6763 to create the roses for it.
I added a finish piece to concile the raw edges of the flowers and leaves.


The Process:

Belt - To make the belt I cut two stripes of fabrice 4 inches wide 35 inches long. I fused interfacing of the same size to each piece. Then I sew them together leaving a 4 inch opening in the middle of one of the long seams. Turned the belt to the right side, pressed and stitched the opening closed. Three Hooks and Eyes are sewn on for closure.

Roses and stems - I cut three roses, four leaves, four stems, and three finishers. The leaf is a circle piece of fabric with four notches separating four even quarters of the circle.


Fold the circle in half.

Bring the outer ends to the middle of the half circle. Baste along the curve edge twice for gathering.

Fold the flower piece in half and stitch for gathering. Baste the finish piece and pull the thread to slightly turn the raw edge to the wrong side of the fabric.

Prepared flower pieces for assembling.

The pattern instructions only suggest rolling the flower onto itself to form the rose. I'm always afraid it will come undone without securing it with stitches. So as I roll I stitch the outer fabric to the forming rose. Then I stitch the formed leaves to the rose in the same manner.


Once the leaves are attached to the rose, I slip stitch the finishing piece to the base of the flower.

The finished roses are then assembled and attached to the belt as desired.


I added stems after the photographed process. They can be created using basic spaghetti strap construction.

The Sewing Divas recently posted An Alternative for Real Buttons: Make a Dior Rose.

Purse M4679

I had about 1 yard of material after cutting out my dress. So I decided to test drive this bag .

M4679.

Pattern Description:
SOFT HANDBAGS: Package includes patterns and instructions to make lined handbags bag A, B - 16" W × 12" H; bag C - 14" W × 10" H; bag D - 6" W × 4" H; bag E, F - 17" W × 10" H; all measurements are approximate and exclude handles or straps; bag A, C, D, F have contrast sections; bag B has purchased handles; bag A, B, C, E, F have inside pocket.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Pretty much. I omitted the tassel and used one fabric color.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Basically. I had a trouble getting the zipper stop section at the top of the purse toto roll out evenly.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the style of this purse. Clutch bags are popular these days. Nothing to dislike. Linda, Danvillegirl, has a similar bag pictured on her Wists list on the homepage of her blog.

Fabric Used: Leftover polyester satin and lining purchased from the TDW.


Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I made no changes.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?Yes, This is my prototype for making a leather version of this purse. This year I want to practice making some leather accessories.

Conclusion
I like this bag and would recommend it to others.

Jacket M5530

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I made this jacket help spruce up the dress made from M4930.
After I completed it, I didn't like the jacket with the dress. My sister came over yesterday; saw the jacket; and decided that I should make one for her. She is not a fan of animal print a solid purple, red, or black fabric will do. While she had it on, I took pictures. As far as fit, it's a little big for her; but this jacket is more suited for her body shape than mine. Here is my review:






Pattern Description: MISSES’ LINED JACKETS: Jackets A, B have princess seams, collar and sleeve length variations, topstitching and button closure; jacket A has collar ends slipped through loop and three-quarter length sleeves; jacket B has stand-up collar and long sleeves; jacket C is lined to edge with front princess seams, front and back elastic, gathered collar and button closure. I made view C.

Pattern Sizing: 4 - 18. I made a 14 with alterations.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The instruction were easy to follow. The pattern pieces went together with no problems. I omitted the top stitching at the neckline. I didn't want to risk ruining the finished neckline with uneven top stitching.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the style of this jacket. The combination of the fabric (faux far) and the collar is what I like the most. My dislike is that it doesn't quite suit my body shape. I'm a little top heavy and short waisted. It makes me look bulky on top. Other than that nothing to dislike.

Fabric Used: I purchased the faux fur from Jo Ann's last year February/March. The lining is polyester lining purchased at the Textile Discount Warehouse.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I did a FBA and length the jacket by one inch.



Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes, I plan to make view C for my sister and try some variation of view A for myself.

Here are a few pictures of me wearing my jacket with M4930:




Conclusion This is a stylish jacket that can be made up in a variety of fabrics. I would recommend it to beginners.

Dress M4930

This dress was made from a Palmer/Pletsch teaching pattern M4930.

Pattern Description: MISSES’ LINED JACKET, DRESS AND PANTS: Hip length jacket has front darts, side princess seams, pockets in front princess seam and two-piece sleeves with buttonhole and button; knee length dress has princess seams, back zipper and extended armholes; pants have fly front, front pleats, back darts and side seam pockets.

Pattern Sizing: Sizes 8 to 22. I made a size 14 with alterations.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Pretty much.

Were the instructions easy to follow? The pattern pieces included cutting lines to make various alterations to achieve the "perfect classic fit". But the instructions didn't include directions on how the make the adjustments. Also included is an order from for the reference books at a discount price. I guess this is they way of encouraging people to purchase the books.


This is one of five dresses that I made muslins for in October 2007. I chose it for the simplicity of the design and the trumpet shaped skirt. I found that the more pieces required for the upper body, the easier it is for me to achieve a good fit. Like most of us I do not fit a pattern straight out of the envelope. I have to do a sway back, broad shoulder, and full bust adjustments. Over the passed few years, my weight has fluctuated five to twenty pounds. With each metamorphosis of weight gain or loss, it's redistributed differently. Getting the right fit can be a moving target. But this pattern helps address that issue.

Fabric Used: Polyester gaberdine from Jo Ann's and the polyester lining from the Textile Discount Warehouse.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:I made the three adjustment mentioned above. I also added two inches to the length of the dress; I'm tall. This dress did not call for a lining; so I underlined it to add some body. And finally I lower the center neckline by 3/4 inch and added trim to it.





Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I will probably make some of the other pieces to this pattern. I have other dresses that I would like to try.



Conclusion This is a good teaching pattern. This dress is simple and offers the sewer an opportunity to test other sewing techniques.

Haute Couture - Part III

"Vogue Sewing" c1982, features a few couture techniques in Chapter 9 (The Custom Touch). It discusses the hidden details that distinguishes a dress from "The Dress". These distinguishing details include: underlining, lining, hand application of a zipper, bound buttonholes, inside waist stay, foundation supports, fabric stays, weights, (covered snaps, hooks, eyes, and buttons), hong kong finish, hand-rolled narrow hems, etc. There are some sewing and design fasionistas that feature haute couture sewing techniques on their blogs. Here are a few links of interest:

This fall Erica B. and Laura created beautiful Chanel jackets. Belinda's Sew 4 Fun as an excellent tutorial on bound buttonholes. And the Sewing Divas have several posts on couture sewing: Haute Couture and Couture.

Haute Couture - "To me it means only 2 things: (1) A particular and very specific type of business model for custom clothing manufacture unique to France, where it was invented and still maintained in a much diminished state from its heyday in the 1950's, and (2) it's a particular type of sewing that primarily uses hand sewing for most of the garment construction . It does not apply to: accessories, home dec, cosmetics or anything made in a factory."

Phyllis,
The Sewing Divas

Returning to Work

Wednesday was the first day of work for me since December 18th. I am exhausted. I feel like I've been working seven days straight. Go figure?! I want it go see P vs. A. Don't have the energy. I want to finish my two dresses and jacket (minor work needed: hemming and pressing). Don't have the energy. I want to start writing my five reviews (dresses, jacket, purse, and belt). Don't feel like it. Oh well. May be I'll get something done tomorrow.

..., I sure do wish I was independently wealthy.