After some teasers in the last post, here's the finished product of what has been my only garment sewn in the last 2-3 months (more on that later)- a dress made from Burda 7132.
I made some small alterations to the pattern, mostly in the form of wedges in the back bodice and at the bottom on the front bodice. Evidently I am not as...buxom...as the pattern suggests. My first version of this dress has some sight gaping at the center front neckline, but this one doesn't!
This make is totally a 'use the stash' project, as each fabric is something that I bought a remnant of at the fabric store (or had remnants of at home), and pieced them together to make it work! The back of the skirt is my own solution to not having enough of the pastel zebra print - I think it works.
The pattern does not include a lining, but I knew I had to add one since the fabric is so pale. (Photographed that for this previous post.) I underlined each piece: hand-basting them together then securing the edges with my serger before I constructed the dress. I left the basting in until I was ready to finish the seam allowances.
Admittedly, I'm not super stoked with the funkiness going on at the back of the dress regarding the rippling. I didn't have this problem the first time and I'm not sure what's going on with it now. Maybe I need to alter the princess cut of the bodice and add another dart in the skirt?? Good thing the hair is long, I suppose. Ha!!
The real focus of this project was the insides. Though I went for a lazy serged finish, I did whipstitch every seam allowance to the underlining, meaning that this dress will never have funny lumps or bumps due to a rumpled seam allowance. This is something that I get really annoyed by, and have always stitched down the first few inches of an allowance, especially at an arm hole or neckline, but buying and reading part of Claire Schaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques inspired me to try something different.
You may be thinking "a sleeveless dress...in January?!" but there's something you should know about me and my genetics. We are normal-temperatured until we do the slightest amount of work, and then we need to basically be wearing gym shorts and tank tops. So, even in winter time I find myself wearing sleeveless dresses with cardigans and scarves, only to slowly peel off outer layers through the day as I practice, play, and teach. Cardigan is always back on for teaching, though. ;)
The lack of garment sewing isn't for lack of work, as hinted at by my previous post. Since Christmas is passed and the item bestowed to its rightful owners I can announce that I've been working on a quilt since late September to give to my sister and her husband as a belated newlywed present. I was working on it until December 22, when husband and I drove to TN for family Christmas. Hand-quilted it all but the border, and have the callused and red fingertips to prove it. Sister really appreciated it and really liked the colors. She has to send me photos because I forgot to photograph it before wrapping it. Doh! (But perhaps this gives insight into how last-minute its completion was.)
It may be a bit before she can get me pictures, so in the meantime I'll keep on with other sewing posts. I am really excited to see how she will be able to use it!
I made some small alterations to the pattern, mostly in the form of wedges in the back bodice and at the bottom on the front bodice. Evidently I am not as...buxom...as the pattern suggests. My first version of this dress has some sight gaping at the center front neckline, but this one doesn't!
This make is totally a 'use the stash' project, as each fabric is something that I bought a remnant of at the fabric store (or had remnants of at home), and pieced them together to make it work! The back of the skirt is my own solution to not having enough of the pastel zebra print - I think it works.
The pattern does not include a lining, but I knew I had to add one since the fabric is so pale. (Photographed that for this previous post.) I underlined each piece: hand-basting them together then securing the edges with my serger before I constructed the dress. I left the basting in until I was ready to finish the seam allowances.
Admittedly, I'm not super stoked with the funkiness going on at the back of the dress regarding the rippling. I didn't have this problem the first time and I'm not sure what's going on with it now. Maybe I need to alter the princess cut of the bodice and add another dart in the skirt?? Good thing the hair is long, I suppose. Ha!!
The real focus of this project was the insides. Though I went for a lazy serged finish, I did whipstitch every seam allowance to the underlining, meaning that this dress will never have funny lumps or bumps due to a rumpled seam allowance. This is something that I get really annoyed by, and have always stitched down the first few inches of an allowance, especially at an arm hole or neckline, but buying and reading part of Claire Schaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques inspired me to try something different.
You may be thinking "a sleeveless dress...in January?!" but there's something you should know about me and my genetics. We are normal-temperatured until we do the slightest amount of work, and then we need to basically be wearing gym shorts and tank tops. So, even in winter time I find myself wearing sleeveless dresses with cardigans and scarves, only to slowly peel off outer layers through the day as I practice, play, and teach. Cardigan is always back on for teaching, though. ;)
The lack of garment sewing isn't for lack of work, as hinted at by my previous post. Since Christmas is passed and the item bestowed to its rightful owners I can announce that I've been working on a quilt since late September to give to my sister and her husband as a belated newlywed present. I was working on it until December 22, when husband and I drove to TN for family Christmas. Hand-quilted it all but the border, and have the callused and red fingertips to prove it. Sister really appreciated it and really liked the colors. She has to send me photos because I forgot to photograph it before wrapping it. Doh! (But perhaps this gives insight into how last-minute its completion was.)
It may be a bit before she can get me pictures, so in the meantime I'll keep on with other sewing posts. I am really excited to see how she will be able to use it!
