KwikSew 3921 Toddler's Dress

An adorable toddler's dress pattern from Kwik Sew. However, it is not a kwik sew! What with bias binding, set in sleeves, back zipper, gathering, loops and buttons, and 4 different fabrics, it takes a while to create. I think well worth it though.

Kwik Sew describes it as "dresses with lapped front bodice, waist inset, gathered skirt with contrast panels, center back zipper, and neckline and bottom edge are finished with bias cut bondings. View A has decorative loops and buttons, and full length sleeves with contrast cuffs. View B has short sleeves finished with bias cut bindings and decorative ribbon trim at waist". I made View A but in retrospect I think I should have left off the buttons and loops on a garment for a two year old. They are decorative, not functional, but she has not ever had a button on a garment and is way too interested in them. I hope she doesn't pull one off and swallow it. Yikes! Bad grandma.

I made this for her second birthday. She is tall for her age and her measurements were bigger than called for size 2. So I made size 3. As you can see, right now it is way too big for her. I guess better too big than too small.

The instructions are good
 for the most part. I would not recommend sewing a tiny tube and trying to turn it for the loops. I started with that approach and it was just about impossible to turn. I cut a new strip and folded it in and top-stitched it. Much, much faster and easier. 

I used quilting cottons all from my stash and I used an invisible zip because that is what I had on hand.

I hope to make this again, next time in brighter colors. She wore it out to a cafe on her birthday and received many compliments as she pranced around, dancing and lying on the floor.

Vogue 1618 Issey Miyake

I finally made this Issey Miyake pattern from 1985. Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to a project! I've been thinking about this one lately because it seems to be on trend now. Miyake designs were never about trends but classic in their on unique way. Even so, for some years this style seemed too loose and too drapey. Now I feel comfortable with that silhouette once again so I brought out the pattern, found fabric in my stash and plunged in. As often the case, it was hard to find a second fabric to work with the first. Once I settled on black it wasn't hard to find that in my stash too.

Here's the envelope description: "Very loose fitting, pullover top with right front drape extending to side with strap, back diagonal seams, concealed cap sleeve on the right side, and wrist length sleeves. View A has a slouchy collar. Straight skirt above ankle, or straight legged pants with elastic waist and mock hem bands. The skirt has a shaped hemline and the wrong side shows". Although it is described as ankle length, you can see that the short side is knee length. The skirt is one piece wrapped around at an angle.

As this is an older pattern, there is only one size per envelope. My pattern is size 14. I folded out 2 inches of width on the top as I usually cut a 10 at the shoulders. It is still very over-sized. The skirt fit as a normal size 14 would.


Miyake is so original, there are usually spots that are counterintuitive and instructions are tricky. Fortunately the only spot that was like this on this design had a very good sketch. Sometimes words are not sufficient.

I love the draped front and odd strap across. Maybe I would have liked to make the top a wee bit narrower. Love the angled skirt. There is no way to make the short part of the skirt longer without the long part also being longer. I shortened the skirt so it wouldn't hit the floor but that brought up the short part to above the knee.

I used a wool gauze stripe and black ribbed cotton knit. On the top the gauze is attached to the black knit although it looks to be a separate draped garment. This is definitely a fun and funky Miyake ensemble that I will enjoy wearing.

Vogue 1277 Koos Swing Jacket

I made the very wonderful Koos Van Den Akker swing jacket released in the fall of 2011. Big, curving pieces of varied fabrics stitched together to create a work of art. Can you tell I am happy with my jacket? As this is very loose fitting you can use a smaller size. My bust measurements put me in a Large but my shoulders are only a Small so I used that size. I could probably have cut the XS also


The sewing is mostly not difficult. The welt pockets and flat felled seams are the tricky parts. You can choose to leave those parts off and then the jacket is average difficulty. The hardest part of this project is picking your fabrics and cutting them out. There are very awkward and large pieces that use a lot of fabric and leave a lot of waste.

I used light weight wools, faux suede and silk dupioni, all miraculously from my stash. Some of these wools have been waiting to emerge from the cupboard for 25 years. Even the red dupioni was in my stash. I had enough of that to make a blouse, and enough of the faux suede to make a skirt. 


I didn't alter except to shorten the sleeves (my usual need). I even left the collar at its full size as I wanted to be able to fold it to show the red silk. To shorten the sleeves find the straight grain line on the pattern piece and fold out what you need (or lengthen) perpendicular to that grain line. True up the edges.

The main thing I changed was the construction method. Using the lining piece as a base I laid the pieces on top of it, wrong sides together, overlapping to match seam lines, pinned them in place and applied the bias trim over the stitching line and topstitched. The pattern would have you stay stitch each long edge, sew each of these long curved seams with right sides together, trim, turn, press . Lots of work and probably resulting in stretched out seams. Before doing it my way, stitch the bottom edge right side together and turn so that the bottom edge hem is finished. Then apply the pieces one at a time.

The best thing I did to make this go well was to use double sided fusible tape on the back of my silk bias strips. Once fused in place it was very easy to topstitch the strips down without wavering about.

Doing the flat felling was very fussy and took some time. It is especially awkward to do it on the sleeve seam as it gets quite narrow near the wrist. The only reason to do this is to make it reversible. Well, and to look nice inside. I will probably never wear this reversed.

I left off the pockets. I had cut out the pieces thinking I would do them but at the end I decided I like the flow of the design as it was without the pockets breaking up the design lines.

I did the quilting topstitching on the sleeves but decided against it when I got to the body of the jacket. I didn't think my particular fabrics needed any further embellishment. Since I had top-stitched the bias tape through all layers there was quite a bit of stitching on the inside already.

Another thing I did to enhance the look was to add lightweight wire to the outer edge of the front and collar. I thought of this after the jacket was done and I thought the collar looked a little floppy. It wouldn't stand up the way I wanted it to. I had on hand some Design Plus Shape 'n Stay lightweight wire. Perfect. I was able to squeeze it between two stitches into the channel formed by two rows of topstitching without even opening a seam. Now I can shape the collar and front edge as I want them to be. Sort of like wired-edge ribbon.

I'm thrilled with my combination of fabrics. In the past I've often not been very successful with combining different fabrics so this feels really good. I love the dramatic style and potential for artistic expression.


To go with the jacket I made Neue Mode 23304 with the silk dupioni and Kwik Sew 3295 with the black faux suede. The reviews of these are linked in the right column.

Vogue 8776

Pockets

Not the best outfit with this: long sleeves and pants would be better

Back

Open (I like it better closed)

Vogue describes this as a semi-fitted, unlined cape with convertible collar, lower side front seams with pockets and stitched hems. I guess it is a cape. I think of a cape as not having any arm openings and this has them. They providelimited mobility though so maybe we should just go with "cape".  I used size M which is one size smaller than my measurements as usual in an unfitted garment. I made View C, the longest one.


The designation "very easy" is wrong IMO. The slit buttonholes and slit armholes are a bit confusing I think. 

I love the unusual style and shape but I'm not so sure I like the low wearability factor. 

I used a raspberry red boucle that has been in my stash for many years, maybe 25. All this time I thought it was a woven wool. Once I got it down from the shelf I discovered that it is a knit, with a backing similar to fleece. Probably not all wool either as the moths had showed no interest in all that time. I'm quite happy to have this bulky fabric off my shelf. Now if I just had more closet space!

This fabric made the project much harder than it would be with a lighter or thinner fabric. Because of its bulk the buttonhole slits and a few other places were hard to maneuver and required careful hand stitching to make it look right. Because it is a knit, stretch was a factor in sewing seams. I didn't think about it ahead of time as I should have so some seams stretched as I sewed them. The bottom armhole openings grew as they are not reinforced at all. The top armhole openings are doubled with the self facing so they stayed more in shape. Fortunately I used a lining fabric for the pocket lining which helped to stabilize the pocket edge. I left off the extra buttons as the fabric was a nightmare and I knew buttonholes would look terrible.
Have you been watching Project Runway Allstars? Mila made a cape somewhat similar to this pattern. The silhouette is the same but the arm openings are vertical and there is no collar. Very sharp looking.

Sewing Workshop Tosca Dress

This is my third version of the Tosca Dress. Yes, you could say I like this pattern. Yes, the underarms are low but, no matter, I wear a tee shirt with the dress. Think of it as a jumper. This time I left off all pockets as well as the tucks and hem bubbling. Don't need that with this incredible fabric. First version. I don't think I reviewed the second version which I made from linen last summer. 

The fabric is a wool gauze, almost sheer, with an interesting folded and reverse appliqued border on one edge. I did not do this wonderful-ness myself but bought it looking like this from FabriX in San Francisco. The hardest part of this project was figuring out how to use the fabric. Fortunately, when this fabric was spotted, I was shopping with my friend Dorothy. We both were stunned and amazed by this fabric and wanted it. We discussed possible ways to use it. I think she was the one who thought of the Tosca Dress. We had both made this dress already and recognized its potential. She made her version with this fabric some months back. In fact she found a perfect china silk at Thai Silks to use as an underlining so I used that too. 

So not only do we have matching dresses, but we used the same fabric for our tee shirts. Joann's had cotton interlock in the right color to harmonize. We could dress as identical twins. People already ask if we are sisters when we shop together. Why not dress alike? Well, okay, maybe we won't do that.

Close up of the border.
Close up of the collar.
Side back

Anyway, I heartily recommend this pattern to you.

Fashion in Harmony: Chinese Lantern Skirt

I posted a review for the Chinese Lantern circle skirt on PR and I see that my widget linking from here to there has gone awry. Try as I might, I cannot get it to return with my review photos and the links. 

With the Thinker

With the column

Mystical View

This skirt is so totally easy to make. 

Back view

You cut 2 circles, cut an opening in the center for the waist on one circle and the legs on the other circle. Offset the circles at right angles, stitch together at the circumference, add elastic or drawstring for the waist and you are done. Looks much more complicated than it is.

In this version I used a wool jersey which is, of course, a knit. Because of the stretch-ability of a knit it is easy to walk in this skirt. If you are using a woven as I did in my other version, it may be necessary to make the leg opening larger than the waist opening. Depending, of course, on the size of your waist.

You can see, if you compare the two versions, how the draping differs between the two. Both really quite nice. I see more of these skirts in my future.

The Square Version
Reviewed here

Egad! I've been remiss!

Dish side, 1/8th of the total

I see that I haven't posted since October. True, we were in Jackson Hole twice, Christmas and New Year's happened, and other little things got in the way. I haven't even done much sewing although I have made a few things. I'm working on reviewing those that I have photos of at this very moment.

Teapots, 1/8th of this side

I have plans for new projects of course, but can't seem to get started yet. My kitchen and bathroom were painted last week which involved chaos. When I say kitchen you must understand that, in addition to all the excessive normal kitchen ware, I have many collections on display (cat teapots mostly). All things, including inside the cupboards and drawers, had to be removed as the insides are painted as well. While the painters were here we couldn't really cook anything as the room was draped in plastic. Thank heavens we have a second bathroom because that room was draped also. Although they finished their work last Friday, I am still living in chaos because I was told not to put anything back on the shelves for 5 days. Dishes stacked on the floors, pots under the chairs in the dining room, big boxes in the laundry. You get the picture. I think tomorrow I will wait no longer. Everything goes back in place. I cannot create fashion in such a situation!

After all this the kitchen will look exactly the same except the paint will not be chipped in places. I took lots of photos so I would remember where to put everything.

Vogue 1135 Chado Ralph Rucci dress

 A beautiful dress designed by Ralph Rucci. Intriguing shaped tucks circle around the bodice, skirt and sleeves. Vogue calls this a "lined, A-line dress, fitted at bust, with all over shaped tucks, below elbow length kimono sleeves, gussets, side front slit and back zipper. Braided, self-fabric belt is attached along seam. Asymmetrical hand rolled hems". I see that it is now OOP after only 2 years. Too bad.

This comes in size AAX (4-10) and DD (12-18). I usually cut size 8 or 10 at the neckline, shoulders and sleeves, do a FBA and add extra for waist and hips. My measurements put me between 16 and 18 but I know that is way too big for me above the bust. This time, though, it looked tricky to do the usual FBA and even to add at the side seams because of the tucks, side panel and gussets. Just way too much fuss. The pattern front gives the actual garment measurements at the bust, waist and hips. I saw that the 16 would be a little bit bigger than I am so I cut that planning to do necessary shoulder alterations at the overarm seam. The necklines hardly varied from size to size so I didn't worry about that.

The instructions are very complete except for assumptions that a skilled sewer should be aware of, like trimming seams. Lots of couture techniques such as fusing interfacing over all seams, hand rolled hems, and lining. The side panel and gusset are the only really advanced parts and the instructions are very complete for that part of construction. I guess getting the tucks lined up across the seams and zipper is also a bit tricky. I found one small mistake at step 34 where they forget to mention stitching the facings after instructing you to pin them. They do show the seams stitched in the drawing so that is a no brainer.

I used a poly/rayon/lycra Ponte with a miniscule stripe from Joann's. The pattern calls for moderate stretch knits only such as wool jersey and matte jersey. I read that the original designer dress was made of interlock or double knit. I think that is a better choice than jersey because of all the seams. The stability of double knit made this a lot easier to get all those seams and tucks to be smooth.

I didn't want to use wool, although that would be beautiful, but I knew it would irritate my skin with such a high neckline. The pattern calls for lining (with stretch charmeuse or stretch Crepe de Chine) which would help with the skin sensitivity issue. However the neckline facing uses the fashion fabric. The lining is entirely optional as it is there only to hide all the interior construction. I left it off as I am very concerned about being too warm in this style.

I recurved the outer sleeve seam to make the shoulders narrower and I tapered the back zipper seam in an extra inch starting just below the neck down to below the waist. I shortened the dress 5 inches. Design changes: I left off the braided belt as I want to wear necklaces with this and felt it would be too busy with the belt. The seam under the belt was not sewn into a tuck so I went back and added that to the seam at the end when I decided not to use the belt. This necessitated undoing about 6 inches of the zipper application in the back so it would be better to decide to do this earlier in the game.

I notice in the photos that some of the pieces look darker in color as though I used the opposite side of the fabric or cut them facing a different direction. It puzzled me when I saw the photos. It is caused by the varied grain directions which reflect the light differently. I followed the grain lines carefully so that is just what happens. It isn't that noticeable in normal light.

The slit looks alarmingly high on the model in the photo on the pattern envelope. I stitched mine as indicated and you can see that, on a person of normal height, the slit is not that high on the thigh. My DH's initial reaction was that it looked to be a nun's gown. When he said that I decided to keep the slit.

As I didn't add the lining nor do the hand rolled hems nor make the braided belt this didn't take much longer than many dresses. Of course mine isn't quite couture but it is fine enough for me. Now to have some cool enough weather to wear it!

Vogue 1210 Sandra Betzina dress

Not crazy about wearing it this way

Catching up with some garments I made in the past few months. This Sandra Betzina dress is super comfy to wear but the weather has been way too hot for sleeves and any fabric with lycra in it. Maybe in the next few weeks I can start to wear it. Easy and quick to sew. I should make it again.

Travel wardrobe

I'm back from a great trip to Ukraine and Russia. The Russia part involved Moscow and St. Petersburg linked by cruising along waterways between the two cities. This involves the Volga River, many canals, and the two biggest lakes in Europe. How does this relate to sewing you may ask? I sewed most of my wardrobe, some specifically for this trip, and some already on hand. I was going to sew more including this top, which was under the needle of my machine on the eve of our departure, when I suddenly had to rush my DH to the emergency room. Such drama! He had fallen on our sidewalk (replacing a sprinkler at 8 pm the night before a trip without being packed.... dumb idea) and gashed the back of his head. 6 staples and we were home after 5 hours at 1:30 am. We kept telling the personal at the ER that we had to catch a plane in the morning so hurry up. Well, we didn't really say that. So that top did not get to go on the trip! (side bar: the doctor gave me a tool for removing the staples in 8 or 9 days in case we couldn't get to a doctor or clinic. Are you kidding me? I couldn't see going to a doctor in Moscow but on the other hand, me removing staples stuck in my husband's head? Fortunately, I found a nurse among our fellow travelers who was happy to help out. Trauma averted).

The basis for my wardrobe was this green ponte jacket for which I used Sewing Workshop's Onde Jacket. I wanted a longer jacket to cover my longer tops and one with handy pockets. It also needed to be loose enough to go over two or three layers and work under my Babette rain jacket. The Onde worked perfectly. With it I wore black ponte Marcy pants and skirt from Vogue 8697, purple ponte Marcy pants Vogue 8712, the purple ponte vest I made recently, a new Butterick 5679 top in a chartreuse animal print, Vogue 8582 Marcy top with high neck and long sleeves of black ribbed knit.

There were other things too but those were what I wore the most. Because it was chilly and damp I often layered a top, a thin black sweater wrapped across my front, the Onde jacket and my raincoat. A few times I even threw a black fleece shawl over that. Hard to imagine all those layers now that I am back home where it is still 90+ degrees.