Three sewing machines for one simple dress??

I have been participating in a month long Instagram event. #bpsewvember. Every day a topic that we need to follow. An early one was WIP Work in progress.IMG_0767

 

So it was time to get cracking.P1120453Of  course I used my serger, this is a knit fabric after all. But unlike my previous dress, I had to rely on more than one machine.P1120455I thought it would just be two. Here I am using a twin needle for all the hems. Gives a nice double row of stitching. Mimics a cover-stitch machine, no I don’t need one, really I don’t have the room…..  just trying to convince myself that I REALLY don’t need one.P1120456The problem with my relatively simple machine is there is only room for one spool. I’m not the first sewer to come across this problem, hence the external spool holder. Works wonderfully! Twin needles need two spools of thread.

And then… turns out I needed to sew two short rows of gathering stitches. The thought of changing out the twin needle was too much. It is very hard to thread that thing, the machine can’t thread both side. SO….P1120452Machine no. 3, the straight stitch only one.P1120454Top is finished and lovely, are you seeing what I’m seeing a big black dot right in the middle. The more I look at this fabric I realize I was plain lucky – I could have had circle in very inconvenient places – like right over my boobs.  Never thought of that when I bought the fabric.P1120463It all worked out and the dress is adorable, which begs the question, WHY AREN’T I SMILING?  You’ll have to ask the photographer that question. (me).P1120468A very quick sew, 3 hours at most, using ITY knit which is soft and clingy.  The V-neck line sits beautifully, I credit both the pattern and the fabric.P1120473And… here is my black dot again, right in the middle of my back!  P1120474Closer look at the lovely fit in front.  No special treatment here. I have read enough advice about how to reinforce such a neckline so it won’t gape. I’m wondering if because it is a separate piece of fabric it lies so well.  It isn’t on the bias as it would be if the fronts were one piece instead of two.  P1120479Of course I will use this pattern again. If I use a thicker fabric I won’t have the pleasure of twirling the skirt like this, another fun aspect of this fabric.

Leah

Winter dress

Although it still feel like summer, I’ve started my winter sewing. IMG_3793I must confess to really liking the Big Four pattern companies.  I HATE to print and tape together patterns at home, which is what one often has to do when buying an indie pattern. Or else I have to pay $15-18 dollars plus shipping for a printed indie pattern. I will do so from time to time if the pattern is unique enough, but I find that the Big Four know what they are doing and I am getting very adept at hacking the patterns.

Love the peplum, do not love a V-neck for a winter dress, I tend to get very cold on my neck.P1120254I didn’t take a picture of the fabric before I cut it. Suffice to say, this is an ITY knit (probably poly-lycra) that I bought for $5 a yard at Michael Levines, in the regular store, not the bargain loft. $10 for a dress isn’t bad.P1120255 It was a border print and I’m happy that I was able to cut the peplum out of the border section of the print. As I get older I find myself more willing to wear black – that is if there is some very interesting print on the black. This one fit the bill.

Now was the time to make some finishing decisions.P1120261This fabric is rather thick, so folding a hem didn’t seem like a good idea. Instead I serged  this with a rolled hem stitch. Because most of the fabric is cut on the bias and it’s a very stretchy knit – I didn’t get a lovely clean finish, but no-one will ever get this close the the skirt. A finish is better than non at all, which was an option.P1120259I was thinking of using the border print as a neckband, but thought better of it.  Rather than framing the whole dress with this print, why not only have it on the bottom of the dress and sleeves. I feel it gives a more balanced look to the dress.P1120260Also, I ran out of fabric, I had enough for the sleeve bands, but not enough for the neck.P1120262Yes, this looks more natural and finished than the jarring border print.P1120265The whole dress was made only on the serger, no sewing machine at all. Which means the darts as well. I could have lifted the knife and sewn the dart whole, but I don’t think that would work.  Sergers aren’t made to have any fabric on the right side of the needles. So it’s just as well that I let the knife cut the excess fabric off.P1120266I folded the cuff in half and serged onto the sleeve, nice clean and neat.P1120267The inside. I love my serger!P1120263And now, for some cool weather.  I think my photography has improved a lot since I started this blog, yet there is always room for improvement. I need to pay more attention to the background. That rose bush is distracting!  I have signed up for a Craftsy Class on how to photograph ‘product’, we’ll see what that does to my photography.

Leah

Another striped dress

Using the second piece of knit fabric from Michael Levine’s loft I made another summer dress.  This time using a pattern that can only be made with a knit. Vogue V8904I’ve seen all kinds of versions of this around town and wanted in on the fun.P1030039The pattern called for using just one knit. Having discovered knit lining, I used it instead. I need to go get a lot more of this simply fabric – I find it makes sewing with knits so much more professional.   Here I’m laying out the sections.Vogue 8904My only issue here is that the top tier isn’t very different from the one bellow it. Sure on the pattern they used different colors of stripes.  Oh well, I think this is something only I notice.P1030052This dress is all about the negative easy, it really hugs the body.  Another reason I’m glad I used the lining fabric.P1030055From the back the fact that the top  two tiers are so similar is even more obvious. Oh well, I never see my back.P1030059The tiers were sewn on with a straight stitch. The dress itself was pretty much assembled on my serger.  There was a moment when I considered getting the fancy serger that can also function as a cover stitch machine, but I think I can live without that.P1030063Bound the neckline and armhole with the fabric itself, then cut close to the stitch line, this fabric won’t unravel.  I like how neat and clean the dress looks inside and out.

I have really expanded my collection of knit dresses this summer.  Best thing, either the fabric was free or less than $5 a dress.  I don’t sew in order to save money,  but when it happens, I’m thrilled.

Leah

Sewing with knits and indie patterns

Having a serger makes sewing with knits a breeze. Wearing a knit dress in the summer is also a breeze.Collette Patterns 1028 MonetaFabric, a simple cotton jersey from Michael Levine. The pattern is Moneta by Collette. In the last 5 years a whole crop of pattern designers have emerged.  The sewing world tends to be all excited about these designers and many sewists will praise them to the moon.  This is a very basic knit dress pattern, I like the collar  treatment so I plunked down $18 for the printed version. That is a lot of money for a pattern, when one can find the Big Four (McCalls, Simplicity, Vogue and Butterick)for sale at about $5.

It states very clearly that this is a beginner pattern, which means tips of the trade about working with knits and very detailed instructions.P1020442I liked the instructions about how to line the bodice with knit lining. I like the result of the clean armhole. There is a link to a how to video on how this is done. Another good tip is using clear elastic to gather knit fabric for the skirt. These tutorials are available for free, so why pay the $18? Because Collette is one of the better indie pattern designers out there, and I’m happy to support their effort. No, I won’t be buying another beginners pattern, but they do have some nice intermediate ones.  My paying full price allows them to offer their videos and tips for free. Collette, MonetaHere it is, an adorable little summer dress.P1020446I like the fit, it is snug, since I have the figure to show off, why not!back of MonetaI’m a little disappointed in the collar. I didn’t pay attention very closely when looking at images online, I thought the points met in center back – didn’t overlap. I have to remind myself, this is a beginners pattern, and overlap is much easier. It is cute but I originally wanted more sophistication.P1020452I do like the way the collar looks from the front. Also, this dress has pockets, something very nice to have in a little casual dress.

All in all, I’m very pleased with the result. Since I have the pattern, I will probably use it again for a version with sleeves.  I highly recommend this for beginner sewists. If you are a moderate to experienced seamstress – it probably isn’t worth the money. Next post I’ll talk about another knit dress I made last year from a McCall’s pattern. I’ll compare the indie to the Big Four patterns.

Leah

I Love LA Dress

By now you should have figured out that I love Los Angeles.   Recently I was downtown in the garment district showing a friend around. There was the obligatory stop at Michael Levine. I really have to control myself – it’s like being a kid in a candy store. I was at the cutting table when along comes one of those cute, young, almost a fashion designer guys. He had the wild hair, the interesting clothes. Of course we got to talking, I asked if the is a student at FIDM (my alma Mater), no he goes to  LA Trade Tech. An amazing  community college that really teaches hands-on trades. I congratulated him on his choice of school – he will be prepared for the garment industry both professionally and simply because he isn’t in an ivory tower.

Well one of the fabrics he was buying is from a line called Urban Toile, there is one for NY and one for LA, it is more of a canvas, bottom weight fabric. This kid was going to make himself a shirt, before you know it, I had bought enough for a dress for me.Urban Toile, LAMany of LA’s landmarks, right here on the fabric.Biltmore HotelFrom downtown, the Biltmore hotel.405 & 101 plus food truckYes, I am often at that part of the 101 freeway. Also, the wonderful Theme restaurant at LAX and a food truck.Vogue 1353I’m thinking of this pattern, my one concern is that the fabric is heavier than is needed for this dress, but I don’t want to make pants or a bag. The dress is fully lined, that would add to the weight so I need to come up with creative solutions.front bodiceSo far so good, I like the way the fabric is holding the pleats.P1020084The heaviness of the fabric is working to my advantage, the skirt has good volume.

Lining for I love LA dress

One reason to line a sleeveless dress is the clean finish at the neckline and the armholes.  I decided to use silk organza.  A while ago I bought about 5 yards of the stuff. It is one of those staple fabrics that is good to have around.  It is super thin and won’t add any weight. Being silk and not polyester, it is  strong enough to line the bodice.  No, there  is no need to line the skirt.  P1020094Here I am pinning and inserting the lining. Yes, I had some problems, I stretched it too tight  on one side, so the dress didn’t lie flat. Since I’m not a perfectionist, I simply slashed the organza open and inserted a patch. Sorry no image. Luckily, because the dress fabric is thick and the organza is thin, no one can see the patch.P1020086More proof of my not being a perfectionist.  It is very easy to see that the Bodice line does not match up on the back. I could have been more careful, I could have removed the zipper and started over. I did neither,  maybe because I don’t see the back of the dress, maybe because sometimes, good enough is simply just that.decorative grosgrain ribbonA final touch, this black grosgrain ribbon with cutouts. I had bought this last year for another project that I never made. This is how stash is built up, you think you are buying for a specific project, but you aren’t. I love these kind of special touches, they really make the dress my own.P1020108Looking good!P1020100Not sure how long the exposed zipper will be fashionable, I still like it.photo 2Modeling dress with centerpiece flowers.

 

Leah