Polka dots, pockets and pink elephants

As I was searching for cotton fabrics for a project I'm working on I stumbled across this fabric.

Perfect!  Quirky with a retro vibe I knew it would be perfect for an apron I was donating as a silent auction item at a Charity Wine Tasting Event.

I even knew exactly what design I'd use.  A vintage apron pattern, Advance 6607.  It has no copyright date, but according to this site I estimate the design to be from 1953 or 1954.

 Because this vintage pattern is a small, an 8-10 but no waist measurements provided, I choose to create my own waistband, adding a slight curve to mimic the apron's curved hem. I also increased the apron ties to measure 32" each. My goal was to make it easier to fit a number of different folks in various sizes.

Can I just say that I seriously wanted to keep this one for myself?

 I mean, I love everything I sew. (Well, almost everything...but that's another story for another day.)

And if you listened to my interview on the Sew Forth Now podcast you know that whatever I'm currently sewing has that special place of being favored.

But look at those pink elephants!  They obviously have indulged in one too many cocktails.

And those pockets!  Large enough to hold both the vermouth and the gin.   Or your martini ...

The back is as adorable as the front with its big pink and gray polka dot bow.

I found some one serving pre-mixed modern martini mixes to add to the apron for the auction.

And I am happy to report that the final bidder was beyond thrilled with her new apron.  As soon as she knew she had won it she put it on.

That, combined with the money it brought it for the fundraiser, made me glad I didn't keep it for myself.

Besides, I can always sew another one can't I?
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Edited 7/27/11:  Hey! I forgot to mention where I found the fabric and a few of you have asked.  They are both Michael Miller prints that I purchased at Treadle Yard Goods.  I've found them online also - at Hancock Fabrics and Fabric.com for starters - just Google "Michael Miller pink elephants".    

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Yabba, dabba, doo! McCall's 6319 or yet another knit dress

Okay, enough with the "teaser" photo.  Here's the dress:

McCall's 6319 with wide belt

It's McCall's 6319, another easy to sew sleeveless knit dress with interesting neckline options.  I planned  to sew view C, the dress shown in gray.

Image from www.mccallpattern.mccall.com

Oops! Not paying close attention while cutting out my pattern pieces meant I ended up with view B.

McCall's 6319 with narrow belt

That's okay. I like that view also.  

But that off-center v-neck combined with the fabric I choose reminds me of Wilma Flintstone.  

Good think I didn't accessorize with my big white beaded necklace...

(You didn't see it before I mentioned it but now that's all you can think of right?)

The entire bodice is lined which I found to be a nice touch as it finishes the neck and armhole edges very neatly.  The instructions provided for lining the bodice are excellent. You stitch together one shoulder seam in both the bodice and lining, leaving one unsewn. The armhole and neck edges are then stitched together and the lining is turned through the unsewn shoulder seam.  Simply slipstitch that shoulder seam lining together and there you have it - a nicely finished inside.

The waistline casing is created when the skirt and bodice are sewn together. And did you notice the not so nice finished edges?  Yea, everything doesn't have to be a work of art.

The pattern was 99 cents. The dress fabric was purchased on clearance at Joann's for about $6.  The lining was a small piece of knit left over from another project. The 1/4" elastic for the waist was maybe 50 cents.  For a dress that will see one (maybe two) seasons I didn't waste my time changing the thread in my serger so the seams would look pretty.

I thought the zipper detail on the shoulder of view A (the white dress) was kinda fun and thought I'd add it to this dress.  However a quick peek at my zipper box revealed the only metal zipper I had near the correct size was a taupe.  So, thumbs down on that idea.

By the way, if you do choose to add the zipper detail, if you follow the instructions you'll have a functioning zipper on your shoulder.  You could just sew it to the shoulder after the seam is sewn,which would be a lot faster.

Oh, before I forget.  Sizing.   I felt this one had plenty of ease in it.  Enough that there was no FBA done on this dress....and I took the side seams in a bit.  So you might want to flat measure the pattern before you cut it out.   Which of course I did not do. Do as I say, not as I do...


From the back it just looks like a simple knit dress. I like it when the back of the dress gives no hint as to the fun design in the front.

So there you have it. Another easy knit dress from McCall's.

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Coming soon

Another summer knit dress - McCall's 6319.

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Doing an FBA on the McCall's 6070 Maxi Dress

Thank you for all the fabulous comments on the maxi dress!  It appears I'm not the only one who decided to wait a bit before deciding to sew a maxi dress - and from the sounds of it I'll likely get to wear this one for more than just one season.  

Which makes me happy cuz this baby is one super comfy dress.

Anyway, as I mentioned on maxi dress post I used the pivot and slide method to alter the bodice.

McCall's 6070, Image from www.mccallpattern.mccalls.com

I knew looking at the bodice of this pattern that I would need to increase the bust fullness as well as add to the lower front of front bodice.  I figured I'd only need to add a bit as there appeared to be enough ease (the gathers) in the bust.  I choose to do a small  FBA - a full bust adjustment for those of you who asked...you know who you are :-) on this dress pattern, McCall's 6070.

I'm sure there are numerous ways to do a small FBA, but this is how I did it for this pattern. 

1) Cut the pattern piece along the cutting lines.  Place the pattern piece on top of a large piece of paper (I use tracing paper from Blick Art Supplies). Trace around the entire pattern piece. 

2) Determine how much you want to add to the bust and divide by two.   I wanted to add about an inch so divided by two meant I would make my mark at 1/2".

3) Next I secure the pattern piece to my cutting board with a pin at the top of the armhole and move the pattern piece until the bottom of the armhole is at the mark I made in step two.  The red lines in the photo show the original tracing lines of the pattern.  Trace around the "new"armhole.

4) I then move the pin to the and secure the pattern to the cutting board at the bottom of the armhole and pivot the pattern piece until the front met the original front line I traced.  Trace the "new"side seam.

5) Now, pivot the pattern piece until the bottom matches the original bottom line you drew in step one.  It's the red line in my photo.  Did you notice the "new"armhole and side seams that you drew?  They're the green lines in my photo.  I added additional length to the center front simply by drawing a new line (bottom green line).

6) Last, but not least, don't forget to draw the grain line and pattern markings (like dots) on your new paper pattern piece.

As always, keep in mind that I'm not a pattern-maker and learned how to alter my patterns a lot of experimentation, reading sewing books and lots of trial and error.  If there's a better way that will achieve a better fit please chime in.

That being said, I'm happy with the fit.  And that's the main thing isn't it?

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McCall's 6070 Maxi Dress - better late than never

So what does one wear to an outdoor graduation open house when the humidity levels are predicted to insanely high and the heat index predicted to be over 110 - and still look semi-fashionable?

A knit maxi dress of course!

After seeing the dress Bonnie sewed earlier this month I stopped by the local fabric store intent on purchasing that  Simplicity pattern. However McCall's patterns were on sale so I ended up with McCall's 6070.   I mean a maxi dress is a maxi dress, right?

McCall's 6070, Image from www.mccallpattern.mccalls.com

The pattern is marked "Easy", which it is. There's very few pieces - a front, a back, a neck tie and skirt.  

The back, with it's V cross over and neck tie, is just as interesting as the front.

The fabric is a knit from SR Harris Fabric Warehouse.  I'm not sure of the blend - maybe a cotton/lycra - but I'm  not sure.

Sewing took about three hours - only because it takes some time to do the gathers under the bust and the skirt.  Of course that time didn't include the pattern prep - meaning altering the bodice with an FBA.   For this dress bodice I used the pivot and slide method. Be sure to come back as I'll show you how I did it in a future post.

 

If you're thinking you'd like this pattern better grab it while you can. It appears it may be out of print (OOP) as it's currently in the clearance section on the McCall's site. 

Because I like to sew stuff after the trend is heading o-u-t. 

That's just how I roll.  

Oh, and the humidity and heat was indeed stifling, but the open house was wonderful anyway.

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7/19/2001 - edited to add link to blog post on how I did the FBA alteration for this dress. 

7/19/2001 - edited to add that I added 1-1/2" to the length of this dress and it's still short enough to wear without heels. I'm not exactly on the tall side (about average height) so check the length when you sew this one.

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Doing an FBA on Vogue 1250

Yesterday I mentioned that I did a small FBA when sewing the lilac version of this dress, Vogue 1250.

While the dress already has a lot of ease in the bust area, I felt a small FBA would help keep the look a bit more true to the original design on my figure.

 "But there's no dart on the dress!"

Yea, that always used to throw me too.  But after doing about a gazillion* FBAs I'm much braver about slicing and dicing.

(* a bit of an exaggeration as I've only been doing FBAs for about 10 years).

Keep in mind that this may or may not be the "correct" way to do this, it's just the way I did it.

How I did the FBA

I cut the bottom portion of the dress off just below the shorten and lengthen line and set it aside. That way I was only working on the bodice portion of the dress.

I drew a dot on the pattern piece at approximately the bust apex. Next I drew in lines for a dart - one to the armhole just above the dot and one to the side seam.

I cut the line from the bottom up to the armhole.  I spread the line apart by about 3/4 of an inch and placed pins at the dot. Notice the bottom portion looks like a triangle? That's okay.

I cut the dart line from the side seam to the dot, then spread that open enough so that the lower opening is no longer a triangle. Both lower lines are now parallel with one another.

I carefully unpinned the pattern from the cutting board and slipped tissue paper underneath the openings. That tissue paper stores use to wrap your purchases in came in handy.

After taped the tissue in place. I used medical tape which I like to keep on hand for altering patterns. I also reattached the lower portion of the dress pattern to the bodice.

And there you have it, an FBA on the dress pattern.

And I'm glad I did the alteration.

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Vogue 1250 - that easy to sew DKNY dress

Once upon a time, a long time ago...

Okay, it wasn't that long ago.

It was only this past April.

So let's begin again.

Once upon a time, a few months ago, I sewed two versions of Vogue 1250.

The first one was sewn from this lovely bold print (from SR Harris of course).

I thought the fabric would be perfect as the dress had few seams allowing the bold print to show off.

Alas, I was less than thrilled with the result.

"But" I thought "maybe it wasn't the fabric at all, but the fit!"

So I did a small FBA on the bodice pattern

And sewed a second one.

In a lovely lilac knit (also from SR Harris) 

"Hmmm" I thought, "better, but I'm still not sure. Maybe it just needs a little tweaking."

 So tweak it I did.

Two plus months later.

On the lilac dress I removed some of the excess fabric on the lower back bodice and took in the side seams in a smidge.

And now I like it.

Ahhh. I love stories with a happy ending*, don't you?

* A happy ending for the lilac dress anyway. The bold print dress is tucked away in the closet mourning the fact that it may never see the light of day.

(I'll show you how I did the FBA in tomorrow's post)
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McCall's 6356 - we have a winner

Here it is - the completed striped knit top from McCall's 6356.  It's going to be a great casual top to toss on with jeans.

I can also pair it with a long skirt for a more "artsy" look.  A bit out of my comfort zone but doable.  By the way, the skirt is a black linen Sewing Workshop Lotus skirt I sewed about ten years ago. 

The top can also be paired with simple black pants on those summer days at the office when I'm looking for something quick, simple and casual.

I talked a lot about the construction process yesterday, in this post.

However there are a few more things I'd like to mention.

First of all, the diagonal upper front drape is created with two upper front pieces; the upper one is gathered and the inside one is the stay.  Both pieces are basted together and then sewn to the lower front in that diagonal seam creating that great draping.

Fabric. 
Gwen made a comment on the previous post about needing a lightweight fabric because of all of the ruching and draping. And she's absolutely correct.  This striped knit is a lightweight cotton / polyester jersey purchased from NeedleNook Fabrics.  It was fabulous to sew and lightweight enough to work perfectly. 

Sizing.
The pattern is available in XS (4-6),  S (8-10), M (12-14), L (16-18), XL (20-22) and XXL (24-26).  Based on the pattern description of "close fitting" I choose to sew a straight M.

Remember I mentioned yesterday that a tight fit is needed in the hip area to keep the side ruching in place?  Mine ended up a bit loose - it still works I just need to fuss with it a bit.  And even without an FBA I discovered enough ease in the bust area.

So I would suggest you baste your side seams and check the fit before sewing those casings, especially if you fall into the smaller side of the size range as I do.

Conclusion
I'm liking the top and will be sewing another before the summer season ends.

Check out Bonnie's red top (view D) and Heather's view A striped version (the inspiration for this one).

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Striped knit top with ruched sides - thoughts on McCall's 6356

A knit top is almost done - McCall's 6356 - view B sewn from a soft striped cotton/poly jersey knit.

A few thoughts on the pattern.

The sides of the top are insanely long before being ruched.  Just look at the length of this back pattern piece.

See? Before the elastic is sewn to the side seams the top is long enough to be worn as a dress - or tunic if you're not too sure about baring that much leg.

The pattern instructions tell you to sew the side seams in a double stitched seam. No problem, that's what I did.  Using a very narrow zig-zag stitch (0.5 mm width, 3.0 mm length) to give the seam some room to stretch.

Don't add the elastic per the instructions - which are to sew through the center of the elastic stretching as you sew.  Well, you can do this if you want to, but I tried it on this top, but discovered that a small casing produces a nicer look. And it's easier to do.

Now the elastic alone won't create those side gathers on its own. As you can see it's still more tunic length.

The top relies on a close fit through the hip allowing you to pull the side gathers up. 

Even though the pattern instructions don't include this, I stabilized the shoulder seams using stay tape. Clear elastic would work well also.

Another thing I did was stabilize the back neck edge using black French Fuse as the back neck edge is finished by turning under and stitching.  

The stabilizer gives the back edge a nice finish, especially since this knit it fairly lightweight.

The sleeve is two pieces - a sleeve and a sleeve stay - with elastic at the lower edge.  The sleeves are sewn together at the hem edge and a casing is created. The elastic is hidden when the sleeves are done so it's a nice clean finish.

Tip:  Measure the elastic you need for your arm rather than cut according to the elastic guide provided. My upper arms are not tiny by any stretch of the imagination - I like to think it's because I work out. The elastic was a bit tight on my upper arms the first time around.

I also added a 2" wide strip of black French Fuse to the hem before hemming. I added a 1" hem and sewed using a double needle.

It looks like this pattern is a winner.

All that's left to do is figure out how to use the self-timer on my new SLR camera and get a photo posted.

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