planning for fall

We are back from vacation and I'm taking a short break from selfish sewing. I'm a little frustrated with some fitting issues with the Darling Ranges dress.  Plus, I put on a few lazy pounds during our stay in the south which doesn't help fitting! So it seemed like a good idea to put that on the back burner for a little while to tackle something I'm really excited about - a winter coat for baby girl! Over the weekend, I very carefully traced the pattern, prepared my fabrics and then had the genius idea to baste together a "muslin" out of my flannel interlining. The coat will be a moderate investment of time and materials and I want it to be perfect. So I plan to take my time.

These days, I am thinking quite a lot about how to make things last. We are working on finances right now and really feeling the pinch of providing for three children with two in school. So I've been considering ways to use my sewing skills to help with household finances. I'm pondering and researching ways to sew things that will last baby girl (and myself) a good long while but still look good. There will be more discussion of that to come.

For this coat, I am planning to build in room to grow and I have some details to work out before I dive into the actual construction. While the fit for a child's coat doesn't have to be all that perfect, this muslin allowed me to test the length and fit before cutting expensive fabric. It's close enough that I can still use this as my interlining, but I could see that I might want even more length but maybe somehow less roominess in the chest. Do you have any tricks for extending the life of children's clothes?

However, I'm waiting on a new tracing wheel and meanwhile I want to make something really simple and fun. I picked up this lovely and irresistible print at Dana Willard's book signing at Whipstitch. Yes, I know I keep saying I'm avoiding the quilting cottons, but that's how they are. They're like sirens. And anyway, they really are fine for little girl playclothes. This is a Moda print, so it's much softer and nicer than others. I just love it, but it is a bit large and loud. I can't decide which pattern. She has plenty for summer wear, so we need to start planning for fall into winter. Opinions, please!

Simplicity 1880 sew along reveal!

Finally I have finished pictures to share! I’m pleased with this dress.  I wanted a casual summer dress I could wear on regular days and I think this works for me. This dress has a slightly high waistline, so that gives me the shape I need at my almost smallest bit.

Note that the waist on this dress is pretty snug compared to the generous ease in most Simplicity patterns.  Although I’m a mix of sizes, I usually cut for my shoulders and the waist and hips will fit fine anyway because of the ease. For this dress, I had to grade out one size under the bust to the waist and cut the skirt in the larger size.

This pattern offers some great options, with both a wrap bodice and a shirtfront with collar as well as several different sleeves and a sash.  All the pieces fit together without a hitch, though I should note that I didn’t actually take the time to set my sleeves properly. I knew it wouldn’t be terribly obvious with my fabric choice, so I got lazy.

There were a few things I didn’t love. The front and back skirt are the same pattern piece. Are you the same size on the front and back? I’m not – and thank God (or Pilates) for that! This seemed like laziness on Simplicity’s part. To fix this, I cut one skirt in a straight 16 as my front skirt. For the back skirt, I graded out sharply from the waist all the way to the largest size.  This created a back skirt that skimmed over my hips rather than clung to my back muffin top. Much more attractive.

I made my usual adjustments: an FBA and a sway back adjustment to reduce the extreme poof of the back bodice. I fully lined the dress in cotton voile and I added this handy little waist pocket for my crackberry!

Thanks to Sunni for hosting, inspiring and supporting all our efforts with so very many thoughtful and useful posts. It must have been a lot of work and it was all carried out with great professionalism. Check out the Flickr group for other great examples.

And thanks again to the team at George Aubrey Photography for the pictures!

knitting again

It’s been months since I picked up the knitting needles. There was a little sweater last fall with lots of stripes that got mostly finished when I decided the many color changes were just too much of a hassle. I gave myself permission to scrap it. Then I mostly finished a tiny cropped sweater in a luscious yellow yarn but it got hot a little quicker than I thought and it seemed pointless to finish. I think it will likely fit next spring, so I let myself off the hook there too.

The fact is I've been obsessively sewing for myself since about February, though I haven’t been able to share much of it, and not knitting at all. But faced with a two day drive to my parents’ house, I needed to sort out a knitting project fast. I very responsibly decided to work with yarn I already have or finish long hibernating projects.

I have been meaning to try wash and dish cloths for some time now. It took me a long while to understand the fascination of knitted dishcloths. Have you noticed how some people are positively obsessed with them? My mom bought some dishcloths at a craft fair and I saw that scrubbed pots shockingly well. Later, someone gave me a washcloth from a bridal shower. It felt shockingly luxurious in the tub. Previously, the work to reward ratio on hand knitted washcloths seemed unbalanced. Hours of boring knitting in exchange for a quick-to-wear-out and cheap-to-buy-in-stores utilitarian item? No, thank you. Now that I've tried them, it seems perfect. A few hours of a relaxing hobby for a guaranteed-to-turn-out-perfectly small piece of luxury? Yes, please!

They can be done quickly, inexpensively and if it goes wrong, it’s really no big deal. Anyway, it’s not going to go wrong. It’s just a square of knitted fabric. After a little consideration of stitch – soft stockinette for a washcloth versus bumpy garter for a scrubby dish cloth –  and not too much surfing through Ravelry, you’re on your way. I didn’t bother with expensive organic yarn. I just used the natural color of Lily Sugar and Cream. Perfectly soft enough, though I’m sure the Blue Sky cotton they use would be heavenly.



This simple stockinette cloth with a seed stitch border comes from the Purl Bee. I liked the little crochet loop they added.  You can always count on the Purl Bee for a tasteful modern update on a classic. I’m really pleased with these results.  I may try a little eyelet pattern with the next one, but I do think the stockinette is essential to the luxurious feel of a wash cloth. I have a plan to make a few of these and then convince the kids to help me make soaps to wrap up as a mother’s day present, shhh!

This afternoon, I’m getting some pictures taken of my dress from the Fashionable Stitch sew along. I can’t wait to share them!  On Thursday, there’s a signing for Dana Willard's book at Whipstitch in Atlanta I’m considering driving down for. Is anyone else in the area going?



Simplicity 1880 Sew Along: how to line the bodice

Last week we were here for a few wonderful days:

and I got behind on my dress for the Fashionable Stitch sew along. Over the weekend, I was able to catch up. Since the topic for today is linings, I thought I'd share my lining strategy for this dress. The wrap front and cap sleeves complicate my usual method, but it's still possible to have a nice neat lining.

I bought this fabric planning an unlined summer dress. But as I worked through this project, I decided that this fabric would hang better, stick to me less and just look nicer with a lining. The fabric is a sort of flocked cotton, kind of like a swiss dot, but more like a broadcloth, so it doesn't really glide off the body.  I have been following this ingenius lining method for my sleeveless dresses for a while now, but I had to tweak it a little for the wrap bodice and the cap sleeves.

The fabric is a nice navy, but very difficult to photograph. I've had to overexpose things to show the details. I apologize for the poor photos, but I think you can get the construction idea. The lining fabric is cotton voile, which also makes it tricky to see difference. Remember that the main fabric has the little raised dots and the lining is smooth. 

Start with a fashion bodice assembled at the shoulders but open in front and at the side seams and a lining/facing bodice also assembled at the shoulders and open in front and at the sides. The sleeves have been attached flat for this method. (Note that I created one piece out the the front and back yoke.) I attached the facings to lining pieces cut from the main pattern piece, using cotton muslin for interfacing. You could skip the facings and just have a lining, but the facings do add some structure and longevity

 The first step is to pin the bodice to the lining/facing at the neck with right sides together. There are lots of pins here because even though I stay stitched the opening, I found I needed to ease the bodice on to the facing to prevent stretching. Stitch.

 Press flat to set the seams, then grade the seam allowances. This means trim the seam allowances to different widths to reduce bulk. Trim the seam closest to the outside of the dress the longest, because this will be the most visible. Then press the seam allowances toward the facing and understitch the facing to the seam allowances close to the stitching line.

 Clip into the neck curves so it will lay flat and clip the seam allowances where they meet other seams to reduce bulk. Turn and press the neck edge.

Here is the finished neck edge with understitching.

 The cap sleeves are so little, I figured I could treat this as if it were a sleeveless dress. Since the pattern called for a sleeve facing anyway, this really worked well. Next, pin one cap sleeve to the facing with right sides together and stitch just the hem of the sleeve, not the underarm seam. Press flat on both sides and trim seam allowances.

 Now for the magic part - and no matter how many times I do this, a little part of me is never sure it will actually work - you pull the front through the shoulders and turn the whole thing inside out. If you're unsure whether you have it assembled correctly, pin it all together first and turn it to check.

 Press the seam allowances toward the facing. I used a sleeve roll to get inside the loop. Understitch the sleeve as well, start from the front sleeve and stitch a little, then readjust your fabric and stitch some more. After you reach the middle, start again from the back to finish understitching.

 Press the sleeve flat and repeat for the other sleeve.

 Nicely finished neck and sleeves - inside and out! I love this.

The results of this method are really quite professional.

 To finish, sew the sides seams of the bodice, cap sleeve and lining in one swoop.Pin right sides together, taking care to line up all the under arm seam lines. Stitch and press flat on both sides.

Again, I like to trim the seam allowances where they meet to reduce bulk.

Press this seam open on both sides, then press the armpit flat. Bodice finished!

Now the dress is ready for the skirt. Overlap the front bodice, per the pattern instructions, then attach the skirt to the bodice unit, leaving the left side open for the zipper. Then attach the skirt lining by sandwhiching the bodice inbetween the skirt and the skirt lining and stitching the lining to the waist seam allowance close to the seam line. This will encase the raw edges. Leave the lining open a few inches near the left side to attach to the zipper later.

What do you think? Do you have other lining tricks to share?