Tag Archives: Dress

Rocking the double denim look

05/08/2010 9:56 am \ 18 Comments \

So here is my new dress, Vogue 1152, with more me-appropriate sleeves (for the “before sleeves”, see the post below).  I’m very happy with this now, will be perfect for a casual day-dress suited to the simple warm days not now very far off on the horizon…? (said hopefully)  Today being still just a little cool I’ve opted to try out at styling the latest double denim trend, and wear the new dress with my old jeans underneath… tres cool, no?
So the key to making the new double denim trend work is to definitely not have the same denim head to toe, take a look at the pictures just below…  no no, no and er, no.  Too avoid this very dated “denim suit” effect the modern interpretation is to mix it up in terms of colours/shades and texture.  So on the bottom half I am wearing my trusty ol’ denim jeans which have the two tone stone-washed look we knew and loved er… only a few years ago, and on the top half the lightweight chambray dress in a much paler shade of indigo.  And I’m thinking this isn’t tooooo bad!  But if the double denim thing still offends you;  relax, I will definitely be wearing this sans jeans before too long…!
Below is my review of this pattern.

Details:
Dress; Vogue 1152 with minor variations, cotton chambray
Jeans; Little Big, from Labels




Pattern Description
Loose-fitting dress has front and back princess seams, front and back gathers, front insets with contrast piping, back elastic casings, self-faced yoke, left side invisible zipper, short sleeves with pleated cap and gathered lower edge into self band and curved hem.  Length is 2″ above knee at centre front.
Pattern sizing
8-14.  I cut size 10
Did it look like the drawing/illustration on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
Essentially.  I altered the sleeves and fiddled about with the fit somewhat.  Also I have a suspicion the dress in the photo on the pattern envelope has a big bulldog clip at the back to make it nip in at the model’s waist like that… either that or the dress has been fitted to her shape like I did with mine.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
yes
What did you particularly like/dislike about this pattern?
I liked the look of it from the envelope photograph; the V-neck, the prettiness and the shirt-dress vibe it has without being a shirt-dress
After finishing I decided the puffy sleeves didn’t suit me, and ended up changing them.
The dress ended up being (for my taste, too) loose-fitting; just as described, and close to how it is illustrated in the line drawing on the back of the envelope but not in line with how the dress appears in the photo.  And the back elastic casings are situated too high I think.  I had to alter it to look less “maternity”
Fabric used:
Cotton chambray
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Shaped the bodice sections to bring it in more at the waistline and also to take away some excess fabric in the bust-point.
Added another single casing with elastic on the back, additional to and underneath the double one stipulated in the pattern; also to help define the waistline better.
Eliminated about 1″ in sleeve width, and the lower gathering and sleeve bands completely.  I simply narrow hemmed the ungathered lower sleeve edge instead.
Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
Yes I will sew this again.  I am planning to make this out of a light chiffon-y stuff for a fancy springtime lunch dress, but am going to implement even more design alterations than I did with this one.  I would recommend this pattern; as long as you are aware the dress is looser fitting than it appears in the photo.
Conclusion:
It might sound like a tale of woe, but I am very happy with this dress now.  I definitely prefer my version of the sleeves, although if the dress were out of a lighter weight fabric the sleeves may flop down like in the envelope photo and look better than they did in my cotton chambray version.

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A visit to the Art Gallery…

02/08/2010 7:03 am \ 3 Comments \

Paid a visit to the Art Gallery of WA today, to view an exhibition and also to celebrate a birthday of a dear friend in our group…
I won’t mention the name of the artist because to be blunt I thought the works were quite hideous and grotesque although on a small (very small) positive note they did make food for thought.  All I could think touring through the exhibits is how on earth the artist was getting funding to put out the work, because the works were very costly and labour intensive.  They were sculptures, mostly very realistic “monsters” made out of silicone and adorned with real human hair and glass eyes to look like horrible deformed creatures out of a very unethical geneticist’s chamber of horrors of cloning/genetic experimentation gone wrong…  just shudder-ous (not a real word, just describing my reaction)  Our tour guide was excellent, raising discussion questions about the future of genetic research and experimentation into issues such as cloning and surrogacy and how far we human beings are prepared to go in these areas, and how much more accepting are our children of scientific “fiddling about” with the natural order of things than the current generation.  These are issues that I, with my scientific background, am already fairly familiar with and have already had some debate …
Viewing this exhibition has made me wonder about the point of art, all over again.  Beauty or politics?  Political art is so far removed from artistic art that I wonder if we should find some other category for it to reside in…  I personally thought this artist’s talents would be put to better use for humanity manufacturing limbs and prostheses for landmine victims (say) or amputees and that is the pragmatist’s view…  but then the scientific debate is important, and how important is the art in the role of stimulating that debate?   There was no beauty and we are accustomed to expecting some beauty in our art.  I do like some beauty, sorry.

A definite feeling of spring in the air, today is practically hot!  Am feeling a bit too wintery in this outfit even…  I’m starting to think about the upcoming Self Stitched September.  Should I try to go all self stitched, or (as is my usual habit) incorporate a few store bought basics?  Maybe I’ll start out going all self-stitched and see how I go.  And as for taking my photo everyday… this will be a time challenge.  But I’m still excited about it.

Details:
Dress; Burda 8511 with some modifications, purple silk hessian
Cardigan; Country Road
Belt; had since a teenager
Tights; Kolotex
Booties; Django and Juliette, from Zomp
Bag; Gucci

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Takes the Bronze

30/07/2010 8:41 am \ 22 Comments \

My new cocktail dress…
I’m kind of in love with it.  Wish I could be wearing it all day, if that was in all way appropriate (might attract a few sideways glances in the supermarket, for one)  And as for my work in the office… well the pussycats might appreciate that I went to the effort.  Oh, hey you look great, but really, you shouldn’t have.  Not for us.  Just going to be vying for prime position on your lap as usual, is all…
I did meet some gals for morning tea this morning, but as I was easily the most dressed up (in exactly this outfit, my new favourite since I finished it, and have worn it three times in the last three weeks now) then the new cocktail dress would have been a tad overkill.  Sadly.
The flavour of this design is kinda eighties, I reckon.  The silhouette is reminiscent of the costumes we were treated to on Dynasty; the exaggerated shoulders (and how cool are they?!!!!) the peplum.  The mid-knee length.  The clever designer of this pattern however has taken the essence of that genre and given it a modern little twist.  The asymmetry of the collar treatment.  The jagged uneven teeth on that peplum.  I think that’s why I was drawn to this new design.  Classic shape but with an edgy funky strangeness about it.  A slightly off, not very faithful interpretation of a shape now considered way old hat.

Details:
Dress; Vogue 1155, “antique” silk taffeta
Shoes; Misano, from Labels
Bag; gift from my husband, early on in our marriage

Pattern Description
Semi-fitted, lined, above mid-knee length, fully interfaced dress has princess seams, midriff, peplums, two piece short sleeves, wrap front with buttons, hook and eye closures
Pattern sizing
6-12.  I cut size 10
Did it look like the drawing/illustration on the patten envelope after you had finished sewing it?
yes, except I had added 7.5 cm to the overall length, and ended up overlapping the fronts a bit more to get better coverage
Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions were clear.  Bear in mind this is an Advanced/Plus Difficile pattern.  There is a rather bewildering instruction in one part; steps 28-31 would have you sew the midriff section to the bodice, then sew the midriff facing at the ends of the midriff only, turn right side out and handsew the top level of the facing on the inside.  (??)  A far better method to complete this part is the traditional way, ie, right sides of the midriff and midriff facing together encasing the bodice, the sew the three layers together in one clean seam.  This is how I did it.
What did you particularly like/dislike about this pattern?
I love the design, and how it looks.  Totally love those sharp out-there shoulders.  It has pockets!  How many evening dresses have pockets? precious few and there should be more…
The shape is a little boxy for my tastes and not as fitted as I would have liked, so I made a few fitting alterations to get a bit more shape into it.  I  also didn’t like how the entire dress was to be interfaced.  Iron on interfacing has it’s rightful place, but for an entire dress?  I don’t think so…
Fabric used:
Silk taffeta, or silk dupion
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
The instruction to apply fusible interfacing to every piece gave me pause.  Eventually, because I was using very stiff fabric which has a lot of its own body already, I decided to just interface the facings, as traditionally.  I also interfaced the sleeve cap pleats once sewn in place, as these need to be quite stiff to look good.
I added 7.5cm to all skirt and skirt facing pieces, as I thought the dress looked very short on the pattern photograph.
Step 28-31, sewed the midriff facing and midriff to the bodice in one clean seam, rather than in the piecemeal method outlined in the instructions.
I have a narrow torso, and removed about 3cm width here overall,  graduated around each of the midriff sections. When it came to sewing on the buttons and hook and eye closures it was still a little loose about the midriff and the skirt gaped a little more than was comfortable for me, so I also overlapped the front pieces a little more (another 3cm) than indicated in the instructions.  Overlapping the fronts a bit more gave a better fit for me and made me feel better covered up.
Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?
I might sew it again.  I wouldn’t mind a black version now!  I would recommend this pattern to advanced seamstresses who like garments with an edgy look, as well as a sewing challenge.
Conclusion:
Well, I adore my dress!  Although I reckon this could be categorised as much a coat as a dress.  The construction is just like a lined coat.  And the closure, very coat-like too.  But I feel very modern and sharp in this and am excited about wearing it to special occasions!

Later edit: You WILL need a petticoat or slip with this dress as it gapes considerably when you are seated.  I made one using Burda 8071 in silk satin of the same colour, sitting 2cm shorter than the dress.  It works beautifully.  To see the slip, go here.

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On growing old gracefully

26/07/2010 7:02 am \ 3 Comments \

Today met my girlfriends for a get-together and debrief after the school holidays…

{You know how when something is troubling you, a good bit of advice is to write a long letter to yourself where you can purge all the negativity out of your system?  Then you are supposed to rip up same letter and toss it out?  Well I just did that with this blog post.  I had written a long rambling lot of introspective balderdash…. I knew it was kinda silly when I wrote it, and even my husband came home and advised me it was not worthy…  the long and short of this is that the “blah blah blah” that was here before is gone from this blog.  If you have already read the first draft of weirdness and scratched your head wondering where was the expected sewing, knitting and fashion, well I apologise sincerely.  Sometimes one needs to vent.  And vent I did.  Sorry!}

Man…  as an afterthought; what on earth am I wearing? back to business… today wearing the khaki and air-force blue colour combo I predicted would be my staple for this winter.  Well, the denim is close enough to the “dirty” blue I’m loving; and the texture and colour of my scarf works just perfectly right for what I wanted, considering I dressed without much thought this morning.  Some of my favourite ensembles have been the result of a rushed thoughtless random grabbing of separates…

Details:
Dress; Cue, found secondhand and refashioned here.
Jacket; Ezibuy
Scarf; knitted by me from various wools
Leggings; Metalicus
Boots; Andrea and Joen; from Uggies

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TGl Friday

23/07/2010 5:09 am \ 3 Comments \

Today was meeting friends for morning tea, and another friend for a walk later (and afternoon tea afterwards, no doubt!)  It’s a tough life.  My office work can wait until tonight, methinks… and it would be a crying shame to waste a beautiful day like today.  Of course if I said that every day I would get absolutely no work done whatsoever…! but meh.
This is the “Weird Bodice” dress from last winter, that I love for its flattering olive shade, flattering for me, that is; and cute flippy skirt, but has a strange bodice design that needs covering up.  I went for some cheerful happy colours to go on over the top.  I’ve always had a thing about red, and have always worn a lot of it.  I think it suits my hair colour.  This winter it seems to have dropped off the fashion radar, apart from the currently all-the-rage LRD (little red dress for evening wear).  The shops are filled with drab putty neutral shades, and the ubiquitous BLACK.  Seriously, I was out with a friend a week or so ago, and we passed a boutique where everything on the racks was black, and I mean everything.  It was a marvellous thing, well, it certain had us marvelling, but not in a good way.  Are Perthies so boring in our colour choices, that an all-black shop would stay happily in business?  (bearing in mind it was in a high-ish rent area too)  Bizarre…

Details:
Dress; Burda 7897, olive bamboo/cotton mix
Cardigan; Metalicus
Scarf; Frangi, from Tie-Rack
Tights; Kolotex
Shoes; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes
Bag; Gucci

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Olive and grape

11/06/2010 5:20 am \ 4 Comments \

Hilariously I started out this morning dressing with a view to wearing my suit jacket I’ve been talking about.  But it didn’t look as good over this dress as well as I’d envisioned in my head, and a few discarded variations later and with time running out before I had to be somewhere else I settled on this outfit; without the jacket!  Nuts!  I’ll have to put a bit more thought into an outfit next time, perhaps when I’ve got more time.  Been a bit hectically busy this morning (as obvious from my weird facial expression here, sorry).
This dress is a favourite from last winter, made using Burda 7897 and out of some lovely fabric that is a mix of bamboo and cotton.  This pattern is now discontinued, and I’m not surprised.  The bodice is … funny.  I should have got a clue when the photograph on the pattern envelope depicts the model with her arm folded firmly in front of her chest, I suspect now to disguise the … funny … bodice.  Actually I love this dress, in spite of the bodice.  It’s nice and warm (because I lined it fully) and I love it’s dark olive green/grey colour.  It’s a smudgy muddy colour that goes well with so many brights and other winter shades.  I always wear it with something over the front though, hiding that “funny” bodice…
I also made the skinny self fabric belt using a buckle I picked up in an op shop.
I totally love these Metalicus tights (and am so glad I got them before the self-imposed Wardrobe Refashion shutdown on shopping!)  I’ve worn the navy ones a few times and this is the first time this winter I’ve worn these mossy olive green ones.  Love!  Actually I’ve been playing with the idea of making my own tights… got some fabric and I’ll keep you posted…
Today’s random picture below, I think this little fellow thought I might feed him, he came right up beside me!

Details:
Dress; Burda 7897, olive green bamboo/cotton
Scarf; Alta Linea, a gift
Tights; Metalicus
Boots; Andrea and Joen, from Uggies in Dunsborough

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From sack to svelte

03/06/2010 2:17 am \ 11 Comments \

A wardrobe re-fashion:
I had been planning to make myself a useful LBD for winter this year but struck gold at the secondhand shop… I felt incredibly lucky when I found this at a price less than fabric would have cost me!  It’s a Cue dress, which is quite a good label in Australia.  It’s made of a good quality sturdy stretch fabric.  He he, I just checked the label which says viscose/polyester/nylon/elastane mix, which sounds Hideous with a capital H!, but is actually feels pretty good to wear.  It’s a still-fashionable sombre dark charcoal.  The only problem with it was it’s sack-like shape.  Unfitted tunics were the IN thing a few years ago in Australia and I am guilty of buying, or should I say sewing, into that trend myself too, see here… Yikes!
This year I prefer a more fitted look.  I have no wish to be asked when is the baby due, thanks… and yes, that has happened!!
Luckily the zip in this dress is in the centre back, making it an easy matter to bring in the side seams at the torso tapering down to the hips and sew in a couple of unobtrusive long darts on the front.
Voila!  New gothic chic!

Details:
Dress; Cue, found secondhand and altered by me
Petticoat; Metalicus
Tights, Kolotex, David Jones
Booties; Django and Juliette, Zomp

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“Jailbreak” dress

02/06/2010 12:56 am \ 18 Comments \

Remember this fabric and pattern?
Well I made it up over the weekend and submitted a review of the pattern to Pattern Review.  I’m still getting the hang of that site.  The other day I realised (lightbulb going off!) that the C beside your review meant there were Comments!!  Also finally worked out how to link to my photos to get a bigger photo displayed, a lot of my comments were complaining, and rightly,  that only the thumbnail photo wasn’t enough…!  I think I might sign up for a bit longer; at first I just signed up for the free month trial and am debating whether or not to continue with a paid membership…
Anyhoo, here is my review of Vogue 1087.  I know this dress seems a bit out of context for Australia, it being winter and all, and I still have some winter sewing to complete before I can get onto spring wardrobe planning.  But I just went ahead on a whim…

Details:
Dress, Vogue 1087, cotton jersey knit
Shoes; Sandler, from the Salvos op shop




Pattern Description:
Fitted dress, below mid-knee, has pleated and tucked front forming wrap effect. Front extends to back at sides, back has zipper and hemline vent. No side seams.
Pattern Sizing:
12-18
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished sewing it?
yes
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Steps 12-14 were a little tricky to work out. I’m not sure how it happened, but I had the wrong front lapping over after this stage, so I had to go back and unpick and fix this up.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I didn’t like that it would be very difficult to adjust to custom sizing.
Fabric Used:
thin stretch jersey knit
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
According to the pattern, the darts on the back of the skirt are supposed to be facing out (sewn wrong sides together). I don’t think so. Mine are on the inside of the skirt, where they should be. And I inserted thin strips of bias-cut woven cotton under the zip tape to stabilise it.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I would sew this again. It’s a beautiful dress.
Conclusion:
One thing I can’t understand about this pattern, and didn’t even before I started, is WHY DO YOU NEED A ZIP IN A STRETCH FABRIC DRESS? However I went ahead and inserted an invisible zipper as instructed. And now the dress is finished I can still slip this thing over my head no worries, with no need for a zip. Next time, I’m leaving the zip out…!
As I had chosen a striped fabric the biggest difficulty I had in making this dress up was matching the stripes up in inserting the zip, in stretch fabric no less. And when you factor in the joining of four pieces (L & R bodice and L & R skirt) all on your zip, matching the stripes becomes even more tricky. The instructions did say not suitable for striped fabric, so perhaps it’s my fault. But I really like the final look of the dress in stripes! And I got them matching perfectly, so it worked out.
Step 23, the pattern instructions say to finish the neck edge, you will also have to finish the armhole edge here, although it doesn’t say so…
Next time I make this, I will also either interface the back neck facing, or cut the pieces from a woven non-stretch fabric. This would give a better finished look.

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