Today, I'm sharing a little Dior inspiration. These photos are from the Dior Fall Ready To Wear Collection 2019, posted on the Vogue Fashion website. Every model is wearing a bucket hat, from casual to evening. Most are adorned with a veil. I hope you like the section of the collection.
I decided to participate in Carol's September Hat Challenge. It was an opportunity to get one more thing off my sewing to do list. You see, I'd plan to make a Dior inspired hat months ago when I saw an ad in a fashion magazine. Carol's challenge was all I needed to get moving on it.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and my mask making, I've been going through bin after bin of fabric searching for cottons to use for masks. In my search, I reacquainted myself with all the beautiful remnants I have stored away for the perfect accessory project. I pulled several pieces from the bins and tossed them into the washer to freshen them up. I chose to use this lovely brocade from Vogue Fabrics and a medium weight black faille from Mood Fabrics for the hat; Remnant lining from a coat that I made last year and a 1" gross grain ribbon leftover from a skirt project. That's a lot of leftover pieces. Good thing is I've documented my sewing journey on this blog and in journals to help me keep track of all the wonderful sewing experiences that I've had over the years.
For my project, I used a Patricia Underwood Vogue pattern, (V7784). It's OOP, but you can find a copy on Etsy or Ebay.
There are seven lined hats of various shapes and sizes. I used view D. The brim on the pictured hat appears to be stiffer than my brim. But overall the design and look of the hat is the same. Next hat, I'll interface the entire hat for a stiffer finish.
The instructions were easy to follow and there weren't any confusing steps. I did make a few changes though. After stitching the under and upper brims together, I under stitched the outer edge for a polished finish. Then I proceeded with channel stitching the brim. Because the back brim is smaller than the front, I decreased the distance of the stitching beginning at three inches before the center back and three inches after the center back. Also, I contrasted the under brim with the back faille because there wasn't enough of the brocade to make two brims.
I bought this pattern almost two decades ago. Simply, I liked the design/style of the hats and knew one day I would make them for myself or for someone. Luckily, this pattern was perfect for the inspired Dior hat. My favorite part of this view is the detailing on the crown and the channel stitching on the brim.
This was the first but not the last hat. I already have remnants ready to go for the second one. A dear friend was over yesterday and she loved the hat. My DD wants to take my new hat! So, already I need to make at least two more of this view alone. ;-)
I do recommend this pattern to others. Especially, those who want to use up some of their short yardages and who may consider this as a gift item. It's easy to sew and the instructions are simple. The end results is a beautiful hat custom made to your desire.
Happy Sewing!
C
Fall is in the air and it time for me to start planning what I want to sew in the upcoming months. To continue my general wardrobe capsule planning, the next color theme is blue and red. My planning strategy was born out of the fabric colors in my collections. I have several yardages of blue and red tones.
Above is a picture of my color palette fan, the same palette that I use to purchase fabric, to show you some of the blue and red tones that will be appearing on my blog this fall. The overall palette fan has limited shades of blue and red. I'll also include darker shades of blue and red, like black navy and maroon. These two colors will be the principle shade of the garments that I will make.
I'm not done with the Green Wardrobe Capsule. There is more to come. My plan was to include two more garments with the first segment, but I decided to start the new capsule for fall.
Another project is my McCall M6041 jacket that I started a started sewing a few weeks ago. These are just a few things I hope to make during the fall months ahead.
Parting Shot: One of my favorite restaurants, Francesca's on Taylor Street, near downtown Chicago, is permanently closed after many, many years of service. This was the gathering place for me and my dear co-workers and friends. We celebrated birthdays, Christmas, Fridays, pay days, etc. at this wonderful place.
Happy Sewing!
C
Finally, I posting about the fourth garment in my Green Wardrobe Capsule. It's been three weeks since the last post. My goal was to post a "Notes on a Pattern" next. But because I was "distracted" by so many other things, I never got a chance to post it. So today I decided to go ahead and post a complete pattern review of NL6594 instead.
This dress took more time than I expected. My adjustments were a little off. Not making a muslin before hand caused a little set back. I ended up making the bodice twice. Thank God I had enough leftover fabric to do so.
Anyway, this fourth garment completes the first segment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule. Here is the review.
The pattern description is so unbelievably vague. My description - Dresses with fitted bodice, front midriff, and slightly flared skirt; side zipper. The dress comes with multiple length and sleeve variations. It is available in sizes 8 to 20. I made view C with shorten skirt and 16 with modifications.
I used a beautiful kelly green tencel twill from Mood. The fabric is super smooth and easy to work with. It's also very fluid and light on the body.
My dress does look like the dress on the envelope. But I expected it to be a little more flared. As usual, I did make a few changes for fit and construction. Those changes didn't change the overall silhouette of the dress.
First, I made several fit adjustments to the tissue pattern. Those changes include:
After making the changes, I really needed to make a muslin. Because there were areas where I needed to do a little more tweaking. These changes weren't identified until after I almost completed the bodice. You can image I didn't want to pluck all of those seam apart. I decided to cut a whole new bodice, which in my mind took less time to do then taking the first one apart.
Last thought on that: Make a muslin.
Construction changes:
The instructions provided with the pattern easy, simple and typical. Nothing confusing in them.
There are a few things that I like about the style of this pattern:
I don't think I really have any serious dislikes. There is one thing I don't like; and that is, side zippers. I prefer back or front closures. One of my goals with making this dress was to fit a likeable bodice that I can interchange with other skirt designs. This one I'll make again.
A nice little dress that I recommend to others. It is not a difficult dress to make I'd rate it average. My dress is good. But I will tweak the bodice just a little more. Then I make it again with a fuller skirt.
This completes my review of my fourth garment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule. I wanted to make one more dress for the summer season. But, Fall is upon us. So, I will start a new capsule: Blues and Reds. More on that later.
Happy Sewing!
C
Hi everyone,
I'm working on my fourth installment of my Green Wardrobe Capsule, New Look NL6594 . I made the pattern adjustment months ago. And cut the dress out last week. The same day severe storms hit the Chicago land area. Major damage throughout the city and surrounding southern suburban resulting in hundreds of fallen trees and power lines. My power outage lasted from Monday afternoon until Thursday evening. Sadly, many are still without power.
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| Veterans' Park in South Holland |
I hope to write my next post in a few days. It will be a "Notes on a Pattern" post. With a follow up post of my finished dress. Sewing for myself has been a challenge lately because I'm still making masks, caps, head wraps and bonnets. My goal this month and the next is to finish the my green wardrobe capsule and to start a new capsule. One that will coordinate with some of the green garments that I've already made.
Anyway, I wanted to drop in give a little update. I hope everyone is well and staying safe during this pandemic.
Happy Sewing!
C
