A Perfect Wrap* Dress & a Not So Perfect Photo Shoot (Simplicity 1653 review)

Do you hate taking garment photos as much as I do? It took me 30 minutes to get this underexposed pixilated shot, all the while dreading the awkwardness of having to explain to our new neighbors why I was preening and fake laughing in a shared hallway.

Yesterday, I finished a happy dress. A dress that hugs, but doesn't squeeze. A dress that drapes but doesn't gape.

A dress that makes you want to touch your hair for no actual reason.

Today I tried to photograph it, and my happiness turned to ANGRY TEARS.

Our new apartment faces an alley. So even squeezing myself against the window on my tip-toes at the brightest part of the day, I can't get enough natural light to take a proper indoor picture. So I covered my flash with some white interfacing to soften it, with mediocre results.

Also, my old Canon Rebel XSI hates me and refuses to autofocus in self-timer mode.

Also, I have covered every wall of our apartment with bright paint, cartoons, and sci-fi art, leaving no neutral backdrops to be found.

I extended the self-fabric belt around the back for more waist-hugging points (as recommended by the Slapdash Sewist in her review).

But I digress. You're here to make yourself an amazing happy dress, not to pity my photographic incompetence.

The Inspiration

Diane von Furstenberg-style wrap dresses—a cornerstone of my Personal Style Uniform #1: "The Dress That Always Fits."

Amy Adams rocks a green DVF wrap in American Hustle.

The details:

Pattern: Simplicity 1653 Amazing Fit mock wrap dress, picked up for free at a Brooklyn Sewing Club pattern swap.

I stand in awe of this woman's ability to stand in such shoes. I can barely handle kitten heels for a few hours.

Fabric: $6/yard ITY jersey from Spandex House (where else?)

Notions: foldover elastic (to bind the neckline and crossover for a snug, no-gape effect), 1/4" Steam-A-Seam Lite (to hem the sleeves and bottom).

Sizing: This is one of those heavenly patterns with multiple cup sizes in the package. I made the size 12 with a D cup bodice and the "Slim" skirt based on the stretchiness of the fabric, my love of negative ease and my hatred of gaping loose necklines. (By my actual body measurements, I would have made the 16. Also, I may not be actually "Slim" but I have narrow hips in relation to my frame).

Modifications

I bound the neckline with tightly stretched foldover elastic (FOE) instead of just folding over and stitching, which would have been a sure recipe for gape disaster.

100% gape-free neckline. You can do this.

I'm not sure FOE is the best elastic for this, but it's what I had lying around. I serged and stretched it, then folded it over and topstitched with a zig-zag. Here's the underside—kind of hard to see, as the FOE is gray.

Even my FOE wasn't quite snug enough at the back neck—I ended up making a giant (4") dart in the center back to make it lie flat. (Husband helped me pin out the bubble, since I couldn't reach).

I also found the order of construction in the pattern baffling. So I came up with my own:

Good thing I wrote this down, since I started this dress in May... and didn't get back to it until December

I extended the self-fabric waist belt around the back for extra waist-hugging points as recommended by the Slapdash Sewist in her review.

Construction Notes

• I used my sewing machine to baste, top-stitch and sew darts, and my serger to sew the final seams.
• I basted the sides and back to check fit as instructed (it is an "Amazing Fit" pattern, after all). It felt like Too Much Work at the time but I'm glad I did—it was just a smidge tight, so I went with 5/8" side seams instead of the 1" built in.

Wear for...

Work...

Why yes, this is a perfect hallway in which to have a pretend phone conversation.

...Date Night...

My knitting is NOT going to fit in this vintage purse.

...And occasions on which you randomly jump up and down in hopes of getting a funny photo...

I do not advise doing this in heels. Luckily my ankles are still intact.

In sum: make this dress for yourself!

If wrap necklines are your thing, please go make yourselves this perfect knit happy dress right now. It has a great flexible fit system and fun details: raglan sleeves! a self-fabric belt! cool waist pleating!

Plus it's as adjustable as a wrap—minus the risk of your skirt blowing open in the middle of a crowded city crosswalk (ask me how I know).

Bonus photo: Z helps me with some pinning!

*Mock wrap, actually.

Done! Scarf-Collar Floral Knit Top (Jalie 2921)

My Jalie scarf-collar floral top: quick, easy and satisfying. Now officially my favorite top I own! Wore it to work Friday and received two unsolicited compliments (by which I mean, they were given without me blurting out "I-made-this-top-what-do-you-think?!" first).

Inspiration: After three of my four secret sewing doubles (Katie, Elizabeth AND Kristin) made fabulous versions of this top, I knew I had no choice in the matter.

Sketch:

The pattern: Jalie 2921, the ever-popular scarf collar top.

Pattern Description: Close-fitting (negative ease, baby!) v-neck knit top with various sleeve length and scarf collar options. Front is 2-piece.

Pattern Sizing: Includes wide range of sizes, from toddler girls to plus-size adult woman. I made the S (34" bust) overall, but as per Katie's tips traced the size V (37") for the bust and front sleeve armhole (to adjust for my 37" bust).

Even with the full bust adjustment, there's still about 3-4" negative ease across the bust--just enough to make it fitted, but not enough to distort the side seams when I wear it (unlike all my RTW tops!). The waist (which I tapered back to the smaller size) has a few inches of positive ease--I'm not sure if that's good (hides squishy post-baby belly?) or bad (too boxy, if something so fitted can be called boxy).

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

Were the instructions easy to follow? Not really, because the illustrations aren't very clear. I relied on bloggers who had been kind enough to show the process.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Love the close form-hugging fit, love the v-neck, love the tie neck. And it's a great basis for a TNT pattern!

Fabric: Poly (ITY?) geometric floral jersey from Metro Textiles in NYC, with a fun 1960s vibe to the print. It's one of the many not-quite-right fabrics I bought for the dickey of my Mad Men dress. $6 for 1.5 yards, I believe, and I still have enough left for a sleeveless top. It's really awesome and soft and substantial and has a great drape and cling to it. Sadly, like most of its polyester sisters it does NOT press, so the hemming was a bit difficult.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Did a cheater width FBA (see above link in sizing), and added half an inch to the length, too.

Construction notes: All seams done on serger, and the hem and sleeve hems topstitched on my conventional sewing machine with a twin ballpoint needle.

I usually stabilize knit shoulder seams with an inch-wide strip of self-fabric cut along the vertical (i.e. with much less stretch), but I tried to do something new and use clear 1/4" elastic. It was a disaster--the shoulders bunched up and gathered awfully--and I had to unpick miles of serger seams and go back to my tried and true method.

Successes:

• My first truly successful non-maternity knit top EVER.
• One down on my spring separates plan!
• It is super awesome and I love it.
• I have a TNT top pattern!!!!

Room for improvement?:

• In my excitement I completely forgot about pattern matching and pattern placement, mistakenly treating this as a small-scale floral...when it actually is a medium-scale floral with quite a big repeat. This especially sucks because it has a center front seam. And I really shouldn't have put the lightest area right over the belly.
• I don't know about all the positive ease at the waist--I might make the next version with zero ease.
• Hello major swayback issues! (though I'll probably often tuck this in).
• I sewed the little hole that the scarf is supposed to be pulled through shut... and when I tie it the inside of the V of the neck flips/droops forward a bit.
• Undecided on how I feel about the sleeve length--maybe cap sleeves would be better on me.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Oh yes and yes and yes and super yes. This only took me three evening stints to do (one to alter and cut the pattern, one for the serging, one for the topstitching) and I bet it will go faster next time.

Wear to: Work, home, weekend, date with husband, playground with daughter... Everywhere!

Conclusion: I'm so glad I decided to take a break from my misery-inducing alteration-intensive Mad Men dress and make a quick fun spring knit!

Full outfit details:

• Top: me-made, tie-neck knit blue & green floral top (Jalie 2921), in ITY knit from Metro Textiles in NYC
• Corduroy skirt with flounce: Anthropologie (gift from Mom when I went back to work after baby)
• Tights: Spanx brand reversible tights (my favorite--they're super sturdy and one side is black, the other is dark brown)
• Chartreuse heels: Gentle Souls, from forever ago
• My daughter is wearing a dress and leggings from Old Navy. But where are her shoes?!

How's your seasonal sewing going?

Mini-Wardrobe Progress & Setbacks: Cardi/Jacket Muslin!

With a little over a week to go for the mini-wardrobe contest, I have one finished polka dot top and... a muslin of the double knit chartreuse cardigan jacket (yes, I know I said I was going to switch to lime... but I'm a chartreuse girl at heart). To refresh your memory, here was my sketch of the jacket:

The pattern is McCall's 5529, a belted unlined raglan-sleeved cardigan/jacket with peplum (oh how I love a peplum!), designed for wovens or stable knits. I believe it's out of print in the envelope edition, but I bought it as a download from SewingPatterns.com and tediously taped it all together:

And here are the flats:

I started with view B, with the more gathered/ruffled peplum and self-fabric belt. I went with a size 14 and did my usual major FBA. Since I haven't had a waist in some time, I shortened the bodice by about 4 inches to make use of my "empire waist" (aka underbust).

I had no illusions of making a wearable muslin this time, so I used some hateful, stiff, wrinkle-prone and cheap-feeling red cotton lycra knit with a similar stretch to my doubleknit fashion fabric and wrote all over it with permanent marker. I didn't have enough for all the pieces, so I arbitrarily cut the sleeves off at the elbow (which I WON'T do in the final!) and left off the collar for now.

I'd never made a jacket per se before, but I have made a raglan-sleeved hoodie, and the construction for this was just as quick and easy--made from a knit, it's really a glorified girly sweatshirt.

Below is the result, before belting. I tried it on with the polka dot top and a shirred skirt similar to the one I plan to sew for the contest. (Apologies for the awful low-quality flash photos, but I had my camera set wrong and by the time I realized I was just too tired for a redo.)

Initial thoughts:

• My FBA didn't quite do the trick. It is a jacket, after all, meant to be worn over other things. I think I need maybe another inch or two total width for it to meet more easily in front. Also, the horizontal bust dart is too low (it should point to the apex).
• Gathered peplum + gathered skirt = gather overload. It's just too much fullness all over. So for the final, I think I'll switch to the smoother circular view C peplum.
• The back fit seems just fine.
• What is UP with these SLEEVES? I love raglan tops, but... the sleeves themselves seem too loose/baggy... and the the armhole is too deep which means it feels super-tight and pulls in a nasty way when I lift my arms. Is this just the nature of raglans and I've never noticed before? Do I need an underarm gusset? How deep can a raglan armhole be? I guess I need to dig through my reference books...
• Speaking of sleeves, it's pretty hot out lately--I wonder if I should make them short, instead of full-length? Then again, long sleeves are good in chilly air-conditioned offices...
• The back length is good, but the "waist" seam in front is too low, nowhere near my "empire" waist.

Of course, this thing is meant to be belted. So I grabbed a random belt to test the effect, and then tried it with the front pinned up for a proper empire look:

Much better, right? It's almost a cute peplumed bolero. Maybe I don't even need the collar--I could just bind the edges, maybe with some cute foldover elastic.

I'm going to think about it for a day or two, and in the meantime try to finish my skirt and muslin the Parfait dress...

IF my sewing machine cooperates... That's the setback I mentioned. My normally hardy Viking Platinum 730 seemed to be having some major issues with tension and skipped stitches last night. I'm hoping it was just that crummy red cotton lycra fabric, so I'll test it tonight on a plain woven... but if she has to go into the shop, I'll probably have to give up on the contest unless I can make substitute garments with a serger/hand-sewing combo. Maybe this could explain my shirring struggles?

Finished: My Polka Dot Preggo Jalie Tops!

So I FINALLY finished one of my PatternReview Spring Mini-Wardrobe Contest pieces, the black & white polka dot top. I even wore it to work today!

Pattern Review: Extensive maternity modification of the popular, infamous (and now out-of-print) Jalie 2005 "Choice of T-shirts" pattern. The poor thing is barely recognizable under all my changes!

Inspiration: I needed 4 pieces for the mini-wardrobe contest that could combine to create at least four outfits. I decided to do 1 top, 1 (reversible) skirt, 1 dress/jumper and 1 top/cardi/jacket.

For the top I wanted to sew something that would be fun and interesting on its own--but quiet enough to pair with the patterned skirt, and fitted enough to go under the jumper/dress. The latter was the real challenge--I have a lot of top and blouse patterns with plunging necklines and fussy detailing (gathering/ruching/bows/whatnot), but in order to pair with the Parfait dress, I had to go with a relatively high round neckline and a smooth silhouette.

So I selected the simplest top pattern in my stash: a fitted, non-maternity, short-sleeved crew-neck T-shirt. Then I went to town with my rulers, tape, scissors and curves to make it into the scoop-necked, cap-sleeved, full-busted maternity T of my dreams!

As for the print... you might have noticed... but I like polka dots.

Photos:

The polka dot (wearable) muslin ranging free in the wilds of Brooklyn, paired with a $2 thrift store skirt. (And yes, I am almost always this pale!):

Front view detail:

Back view (shown here with my BurdaStyle "Melissa" maternity skirt modification):

Read my entire excruciatingly detailed review, with explanations & photos of how I did the modifications after the jump!

Polka Dot Perfection!

Polka Dot B&W Maternity Top in Progress (Jalie 2005), originally uploaded by M1khaela.

Don't you just love it when you make a ridiculous number of major pattern design and fit alterations AND THEY ALL WORK OUT?

I still need to finish the neck, arm and hem but... it all worked! I did everything I said I would in my post about the muslin... and somehow I got just enough room in the bust and belly for it to be comfortable, but still form-fitting. The length is great now. And the armhole is no longer pinching. Oh, I love it!

When I post pictures of the final and all the alterations, you'll see how little the pattern pieces still resemble the Jalie 2005 original, but it was a great starting point.

And with that... I'm off to my neighborhood farmer's market before it closes to enjoy the sunshine!

Polka Dot Muslin!

With only 11 days to go in the PatternReview mini-wardrobe contest, I finally have one finished... muslin!

But it's a good one! This is my maternity modification of the infamous Jalie 2005 "Choice of T-shirts" pattern:

I started with a size V (intended for a 35" bust) based on my high bust measurement and flat pattern measurements (I compared to some favorite Ts I still wear) and the fact that I tend to like my knit tops close-fitting. From my flat pattern measurements, it seemed like this would result in a final 36" bust measurement.

Since I have a 41" full bust, I did a 1.5" FBA (adding 3" total across the front). I also scooped out the neckline (crewnecks do NOT work on me) and shortened the short sleeve considerably for an almost-cap-sleeve effect. And I did a maternity tummy adjustment, adding a few inches of length and width across the belly. (Don't worry, I'll post step-by-step photos of how I did all these alterations when I show pictures of the actual finished final object!)

I used less than a yard of the rayon/poly/lycra orange-and-teal polka dot jersey I got recently from Fabric.com. It has 40% one-way stretch, which is close to the 50% stretch of my ITY jersey B&W polka dot fashion fabric.

Here are the back and side views:

So what's the verdict? Mostly I'm happy, but I'm glad I made a muslin first.

• The shoulders fit! This is fabulous, since I have narrow shoulders and many reviewers have complained that the larger sizes of this pattern have silly-wide shoulders.
• Hurrah for my new scooped neckline! Just the right width and depth--it won't show my bra, but leaves plenty of room for a necklace.
• I do like negative ease, but the polka dots are actually distorted across the bust, so I think I'll add another half inch (1" total) to my FBA.
• The belly adjustment wasn't quite enough, either--it's a bit too short for my liking (especially since I want to twin-needle hem the final version!) and it's pulling a bit across the tummy.
• I'm digging the new shorter sleeve length--I was going to make the final in a 3/4 sleeve, but this might be more fun. And it'll be even a little shorter when hemmed.
• What is up with this tiny little armhole?! I'll have to enlarge it a bit.
• As for the back... well, all my RTW shirts and dresses crumple/wrinkle like that, too--I believe this is what as known as sway back. I'm not going to add a center back seam in order to fix it, as I just don't think it matters enough in a knit top I'll only be wearing for less than 3 months (I'm due June 18).

Despite its few flaws, this muslin is totally wearable--I think I'll finish the neck, sleeves and bottom with a narrow rolled hem wooly nylon finish on my serger...

But not until AFTER I finish the final version for the wardrobe contest.

How Do You Self-Rate? + Real-Life Sewing Encounters!

Surprising as it sounds, sewing bloggers do not spend all their time hunched over their machines churning out jealousy-inducing garments--or over their laptops, pencil behind ear, composing unfairly witty posts. Sometimes they make forays from their fabric- stuffed caves to go... fabric-hunting. Or even, as took place this past Friday lunch hour, to eat falafel:

From L to R: Elizabeth, aka eword10, of Sew A Beginner, Peter, aka Peter in NYC, of Male Pattern Boldness, Trena, aka nicegirl, aka The Slapdash Sewist and yours hugely pregnant in pink truly. Invisible: Tricia aka clioinbrooklyn aka Clio of Clio & Phineas. (Image blatantly borrowed from the Slapdash Sewist's blog recap since I forgot to bring my camera)

In between the usual sewing-nerd-type chatter about patterns and color and seam finishes and fabric stash overload we got onto the anxiety-provoking topic (for me, at least!) of self-rating oneself as a sewist. How do you know when you're not a beginning sewer anymore? What is the magic combination of experience and skill set that rates a self-promotion to the land of intermediacy?

Now five of us are PatternReview members and some of us are on BurdaStyle as well. Both social sewing networking sites ask you to rate yourself by skill level, and these ratings appear on your profile, next to forum posts, and alongside your pattern reviews. BurdaStyle makes things comparatively painless -- the only options are "novice," "intermediate" and "expert." But my beloved PatternReview has a five-tier system (depicted in the above illustration.) There's no clear criteria given--it's up to the seamstress/seamster, though there have been discussions over the years on the PR Message Boards.

Of the five of us who met up on Friday, all self-classify as "Advanced Beginner" on PR, with the proud exception of the Slapdash Sewist (who ranks herself as "Intermediate", since no one would believe someone who has reviewed and made over 160 patterns, many of them super-crazy-complex, to be a "beginner" anything). This despite the fact that Elizabeth makes boys' shirts with perfectly pointy collars and lovely lined & pleated wool skirts, or that Peter can match plaids, make jeans, jumpsuits and fancy dresses and spin soiled sheets into club collar gold.

Yet both Peter and I classify ourselves as "Intermediate" on BurdaStyle... since we're obviously not just "Beginners."

Perhaps I'm making too much of a small thing--what does it matter exactly how you grade yourself, as long as you're having fun sewing (which I SO am)? Still, I'm a goal-oriented gal, and in my head I imagine all the fun sewing mountains I might climb to inspire a self-promotion "Advanced Beginner" to "Intermediate"--constructing a fitted underwire bra? a somewhat-tailored jacket? a men's button-down shirt?

I know I'm not just a plain old "Beginner" Beginner because:

• Duration: I've been sewing since I was five, at least a few years of that with some seriousness and dedication.
• Garment types: I've made fitted woven dresses and skirts (some lined, even!) that actually look good on me. In the knit garment department, I'm pretty handy with tops, baby clothes, sweatshirts, skirts, lingerie (including supportive, if not underwire bras), and dresses.
• Hems, seams and seam finishes: I'm totally cool with blind hems, hand-sewn hems, rolled hems and twin-needle hems (the latter two being recent achievements). I can straight stitch, zigzag, pink, serge, miter, get around curves... I'm even getting the hang of reasonably even topstitching. I press (pretty decently) as I sew...
• Machine prowess: I've used a variety of sewing machines, am very comfortable with my beloved Viking Platinum 730, and recently have gotten quite cozy with my Kenmore serger.
• Patterns: More and more I take pattern instructions with a grain of salt and substitute other construction orders/methods/techniques. I've made traced patterns from magazines and (mostly) remembered to add in seam allowances.
• Fitting/alterations: I know my way around several types of major FBA and pregnant tummy adjustments and am not afraid to move and add darts, gathers and other fullness control methods as needed.
• Drafting : I've been trying out some very basic drafting (full skirts, changed necklines) and having a blast.
• Fastenings: I can insert zippers (invisible and not) and hammer on snaps.
• Fabric: I have a pretty good handle on how to cut, care for, and use a variety of fabric types and weights in knits, wovens, cottons, and wools. I cut on-grain and I carefully match my patterns to fabric and prints. I'm getting there on understanding interfacing types and sewing with stripes and plaids, too.
• Also: I THINK and READ and TALK and WRITE about sewing. A lot. Probably way too much.

Still, I've never...

• ...made a successful pair of pants. We will not discuss the elastic-waist gingham disaster of 1999.
• ... applied patch or welt pockets.
• ... come even vaguely close to tailoring anything, or even making an unlined jacket.
• ... made a blouse or shirt with a real proper collar and cuffs (in fact, I've only made one collar in my life).
• ... achieved a perfectly-eased sleeve cap.
• ... made a single buttonhole, bound or otherwise.
• ... managed to sew with slippery silk without repeated cursing/weeping.

Among other things. So an Advanced Beginner I shall stay--for now.

How about you--how do you rate yourself? Is this something you even think about at all? Are we sewists prone to real (or false) modesty, or just anxious that we'll be secretly scoffed at if we "over"-rate ourselves?

My Plum Polka Dot Maternity Mini Wardrobe Storyboard!

(Click image to enlarge to much bigger and more readable full size).

As I mentioned before, I'm super excited about PatternReview.com's Spring Mini-Wardrobe contest.

Considering that the one-month contest has already begun and I have not a muslin to show for it... and that I start childbirth classes tomorrow... and that I am taking two of PR's online sewing classes starting this Friday (on facings and underlinings, both with Sarah Veblen)... and that I've never made any of the above patterns, never mind altered them for third-trimester maternity... I'm surprisingly hopeful I can pull this off. Yes, I'm reckless! Just RECKLESS!

There's just one problem. I started planning this last week and bought most of the fabrics online, but now that they have arrived, I find myself worrying the whole thing is just too darn monochromatic, even with punchy colored shoes and/or necklaces (or maybe a scarf?) And that's just not me. I have nothing against gray in moderation, but I seldom reach for it--all my favorite jackets and cardigans are pink, or orange, or green, or red, or plum, or chartreuse...

So I'm thinking this would be a BIG improvement:

(Click image to enlarge to much bigger and more readable full size).

...If I can find the right fabric. I went to Paron's and their Annex today and they had many lovely rayon blend double knits, but they were all various shades of pink, purple or orange. (FYI, wool or pure poly double knit would be way too hot & sticky for pregnant me in spring). And what I'm really craving is chartreuse. Fabric.com has some of the same fabric I got in gray from them already, but the digital swatch doesn't LOOK chartreuse to me--more like mustard:

So I ordered a bunch of swatches of their different double knits--the one above and also ones in turquoise and various shades of green from lime to emerald. And I'll keep poking around the Garment District. I just don't want to look like a boring pregnant plum & gray grape, it's just not me!

Oh, and a note about the patterns--I'm a little bummed that my top pattern is just a plain Jalie T-shirt (which I will redraft to a scoop neck), but I sketched a variety of more interesting tops (twist, surplice, etc) on my digital croquis and they all just competed too much with the lines of the Parfait dress. At least it's in polka dot!

Update: Forgot to mention--as you can see in the top image, I thought maybe I could punch up the plain gray jacket (if that's what I'm stuck with) with some trim, as in this RTW example:

PatternReview MiniWardrobe Contest Sneak Peak

Here are my sketches in progress for PatternReview's Spring Mini-Wardrobe Contest. The one-month contest starts Monday, so I'm trying to finalize my fabric/color choices--but first I needed to visualize how these non-maternity patterns would actually look altered to fit heavily pregnant me (and not those tiny envelope models). This is only my second PR contest entry and I'm beyond super-excited!

The challenge is to make four pieces that coordinate to create at least four outfits. For the individual garments, so far I've got:

1. Dress/Jumper: Colette Patterns Parfait
2. Unlined Peplum Jacket: either McCall's 5936 or McCall's 5529 (below). Either way, made in double-knit for comfort.
3. Reversible elastic-shirred-waist skirt: Burda 7910.
4. Either a fitted knit top or fitted knit dress tight enough to wear under the other dress or skirt as a top of sorts.

Here's the other jacket option I'm considering--it's an unlined cardi-wrap raglan with peplum. I don't love the total look nearly as much, but I'm worried the other jacket would be harder to make (I've never made a jacket EVER) and less versatile/practical for my third-trimester spring. Plus there's a weird gap between the skirt and the jacket--I suppose that would be filled by the top, though.