The Marie Laveau Dress

Sometimes, there's a project that comes along that is determined to test all the patience you wish you had.  No matter how enthusiastically it is approached, how carefully you proceed through the steps; even if you've made it a thousand times before, success will elude you at every turn.  You will swear it's been cursed by some gypsy or voodoo queen as you grab the seam ripper yet again, stabbing yourself in the process (I had a dress once where I sewed the right sleeve into the left armscye FOUR times).  This dress has been one of those projects.  I've had the damn thing on the sewing table for weeks, but everything from stupid sewing/cutting mistakes to everyday life has made this a long and winding road on the path to dress glory.

Ah, one day my dream of independent wealth will come true, and I will finally be able to immerse myself in a hermitage of sewing bliss...  Begone, friends and family!  There's a new pattern to try!  And I have recently obtained a length of fabulous fabric that cries out to fulfill its destiny!  No, not for you, foolish mortal, the fabric is mine, all mine! Now fetch me a vodka and soda!  Mhuahahahahaha!

Well a girl can dream.

First, the pattern. It's another BHL Anna dress (oh Anna. You sexy thang.).  This time, mainly spurred on by the gorgeous version over at Dolly Clackett, I decided to dive in and try the maxi version.  The only fabric I was interested in busting out for this was a lovely, heavy weight linen blend I've had for close to 15 years.  It was originally earmarked to be a summer weight 14th century dress, back when I still hung out in the SCA.  It's a gorgeous shade of navy with deep purple tones - so I thought it would be the perfect dress for late summer, since we'd had an amazing run of 80+ degree days.

Oh, the best laid plans of mice and seamstresses...

The beginning of the project was set spinning off course pretty much as I was cutting the fabric.  Big person life got in the way around the Stitchery and kept me from my machine for the better part of that week, and I only sporadically (and distractedly) got back to the dress for short stints.  My only long sewing session was interrupted by the thrill of seeing how culottes make my ass look gigantic; fun as that was, it was an entire afternoon away from dressmaking.  THEN  I hurt my back getting out of bed (because getting older is that amazing) and couldn't sit at my machine for several more days.  The most interaction I've had with my sweet Janome has been longing looks on my way out the door, and the occasional loving caress.  But I digress.

As soon as I could, I forced out some time to begin assembly.  Then, the mistakes started.  The bodice went together as smoothly as ever (once I got to it), but the skirt.  Oh, the skirt.  Cursed.

I really should have listened to, oh, EVERYONE in the bloggersphere who said "make sure you mark the skirt pieces, they look pretty similar".  Oh, stuff and nonesense, thought I.  Surely keeping the pattern pieces with the skirt pieces until pinning is sufficient, as this has worked for me in the past, and I am awesome.  Cthulhu tried to be helpful by offering me a marking pencil, and helpful suggestions like "hey, maybe you should cut the notches on this bad boy?".  After a haughty scoff by yours truly, he just shrugged and went back to designing cities with non-Euclidian geometry and driving cultists insane.  Yeah, I should have known.  Always trust the advice of the house demi-god.  Just saying.

Didn't mark the skirt, huh?  Hand me the seam ripper...

Not only are the skirt pieces similar, I'm hard pressed to find much difference AT ALL.  Really, I'm not sure why they don't just have a CF and CB, then just one other piece you cut 4 panels of for the SF and SB sections.  It would save a lot of swearing.  Especially when you realize that you forgot to cut the CB section, and scramble in a panic for the remnants you've lovingly stored.  Then, you find that said remnant is a good 3 inches shorter, and now the skirt will need trimmed (and only brush the tops of your feet instead of majestically floating just above the ground).  Then you decide to start assembling the ^&%*'ing skirt after a cocktail break, and discover that you have flipped the SB and CB pieces, and the only hope of correction is to rip it apart and resew.  After you pinked the seams.  On a linen blend.  Yeah, fuck that.  I'll deal with the skirt as is.  Lucky for me, Cthulhu has the good grace to refrain from "I told you so".  At least out loud.

In the interests of full disclosure, I did rip it apart.  Then I pinned it together and after resewing realized half the pieces were inside out. Yeah.  Fortunately there was not a lighter handy or this would have burned.

And did I mention that in a whirlwind frenzy of pinking, I also finished the CB seam, before the skirt was attached to the bodice and had to rip THAT open?  Yeah.  Have I mentioned this was a cursed project?

(The love affair with my Janome, however, is still going strong.  Oh Janome, you understand me, don't you?  Of course you do.  The 7 piece feed dogs on the Superior Feed System are no joke.  I may even risk sewing up some rayon I've been too afraid to touch but would make lovely culottes.  Maybe.)

I also tried a new technique for zip insertion.  It's not too disimilar from what I usually do, but there are some extra steps in the tutorial that turned on a fair few light bulbs for me.  There's also a fantastic tutorial on using a walking foot that I'm going to try for stitching down bias facing.  Craftsy is a lifesaver.

**SPOILER ALERT.  SEW NEW ZIPPER STOPS.  TRUST ME.  ENCLOSING THE ZIP IN THE BIAS BINDING WASN'T ENOUGH AND THE PULL CAME RIGHT OFF.**

Bias facing action shot

So after all the frustrations and annoyances, I managed to power through and finally get the dress done.

Oh the suffering I endure for my art

Yes, there's vodka in that cup

But it was worth it in the end

It's even elegant from the back

And I did pick up an adorable new purse from the RockIt Roost - the brick and mortar store is here in town and my friend Holly presented me with this saying "it would be so cute with your style of dresses!".  Sigh, isn't the kiss lock sweet?  I was smitten, and as it was on sale for $20, how could I say no?  Nothing takes the sting off a project from hell like fabulous accessories.

Cute new purse, you understand me.

And that's it for this edition of Watch My Projects Turn Me Into An Alcoholic.  Stay tuned for more adventures!

And one triumphant pose for the road

The Just Whistle Dress

Things have just been non-stop hectic around these parts.  I, for one, am delighted that we've actually gotten some rain and cooler weather today.  I guess that means I'm becoming a true Pacific Northwesterner!

The intense (for these parts) heat and humidity have pretty much sapped my motivation for sewing.  I have a couple of completed projects, and my Anna maxi dress cut out, but I just couldn't bring myself to sit indoors with fabric piled on my lap. And with the One Week, One Pattern challenge looming, I need some chill and rain to get me behind the machine again!  I also got my new toy - a Janome DC4030 - that I'm desperate to test drive.  My Viking is a great machine, but it's really aimed at quilters, which means it's large and has about 100 stitches I will never use.  I'm going to try out a smaller machine and see how I like it; this will also give me an extra machine to take to classes and have mini sewing bees.  Well, after the drum kit vacates the corner of my sewing room that is...

I've been busy, if not overly social, the last week.  Which I'm totally OK with.  I've gone biking (I REALLY need a good skort/culotte pattern for riding), been to the gym (my tennis game needs some serious work), and a bit of brewery time with friends (trivia at The Pig!), and it's been lovely.  But with the pledge to eat at home at least three nights a week going strong, the heavy duty bar time has dropped - no regrets there, I've already lost 3 pounds!

The Seattle Cider Summit is coming up in a few weeks, and our intrepid band of heavy drinkers is gearing up for a hop across the Sound and day spend sampling the areas finest cideries.  Should be a blast - if I can remember to buy my ticket... 
Then shortly on its heels in the Pumpkin Beer Festival, mmmm, pumpkin spicy deliciousness.  Night Owl from Elysian Brewery is truly heavenly.
I've also discovered a magnificent offering from Smirnoff.  They have a low-cal line of vodkas, and I found a mango-passionfruit that is DELICIOUS.  At roughly 50 calories per shot, it's a pretty dangerous concoction!

On a non-alcohol related front, I did manage to finish Anna #3.  A few months ago, I ordered a gorgeous Michael Miller print from fabric.com - Eiffel Towers in a black and white color combination.  Mostly prompted by the impending OWOP deadline, I decided last week to make it up in an Anna variation, instead of my umpteenth 2444 variant.

This is such a simple and well-drafted pattern that I don't have any real construction notes, other than replacing the facing with bias binding (my standard deviation).  I also used one of my favorite skirts, the Simplicity 1418 flared skirt with two big pleats front and back. Aside from the 5 gored Butterick skirt, this is my firm go-to, as it's fairly conservative on usage but looks impressive.  It's also incredibly easy to put together, which is a huge plus!

Again, the seams are pinked and the hem is serged.  I left the hem alone because I think I want to go back and finish it with a bias bound end as an ornamental treatment.  Jury's still out, though.

I wore this to the office yesterday, still unsure of what to name my newest creation.  Then I heard the news of Lauren Bacall's passing - she, along with Audrey Hepburn, has been one of my style icons most of my life.  Classy but ballsy, gloriously feminine with an edge, she was a true example of a woman of strength and elegance.  The lines of Anna's bodice have always evoked an air of the 1940's to me, and suddenly it could be no other name the Just Whistle Dress.

You know how to whistle, don't you?

You just put your lips together, and blow.

Yeah, totally not giving up my day job to model.

Now go watch a Bogey and Bacall film, people!

Whooooo Dat! Dress

Happy Friday, all!  Can you believe it's August already?  It's another unexpectedly gorgeous day here on the Sound - although our days are getting shorter and the nights necessitate sweaters - all signs that Fall is on the way...

Today's less than energetic post is brought to you courtesy of The Longest Week Ever.  Seriously, the greatest cure for insomnia is training in new division at work - I'm learning loads of new information and it's exhausting.  Interesting, necessary, pretty cool, but exhausting.  Last night I had to force myself to stay up until the wee hour of 9:30 (thank you, online fabric browsing) then I crashed out hard for the night.  There's still a bit of residual tiredness hanging on today, but there's a birthday party tonight and cycling in Seattle tomorrow...no rest for the wicked!

Enough of that, on to the dress.  Months and months ago, I came across a stupidly adorable fabric while cruising the quilter's section of my local JoAnn's (boo on you, boring apparel fabric).  As they were having yet another 30% off sale, I snagged it to add to my fabric hoard.  Every few weeks I would pull it out, mull over a pattern, then put it back.

Sweet little owls and music notes - behold the cute

Enter the Anna Dress.  Let's take a moment to sigh wistfully over her splendor, shall we?....

This is only the second time I've used this pattern, and I absolutely adore the bodice.  My first test was the boat-neck style, so for this I wanted to try the V-neck (I've committed to using the Anna dress for the OWOP challenge, so I am pushing myself to try and style it differently on each go).  Because of the horizontal pattern of the fabric, I didn't want to use a 1/4 circle or gored skirt, and I've made several gathered skirts lately, so I went with the 4 pleated flared skirt from the Almost Fail project - Simplicity 1418.  The pleats in the skirt actually match up with the front pleats  and back darts in Anna with surprisingly little fuss, and the shape of the skirt holds up to horizontal stripes without any odd distortion.

Bam!  Success.

As this is such a simple pattern to put together, I didn't need the instructions at all for this one.  The kimono  sleeves are rolled a 1/4", pressed, then rolled a 1/4" again, pressed and topstitched.  The neckline is finished with bias tape that is clipped, turned, then topstitched in place (fuck you, facings).  For the V portion of the neckline, the bias binding overlaps slightly, then I clipped straight into the V to accomodate stretching.  This also helps it stay where it belongs instead of creeping to the outside like facing ALWAYS DOES.

I swear, I'm smiling right AFTER the timer goes off...

The seams are pinked, the hem is serged, then turned and topstitched.  All in all, super simple and straight-forward.  After my pattern test, I did take about 1/3" from the center back, which tightened up the excess pretty much perfectly (yay, sway back). I also used a 1/4" seam for the waist, just for personal preference only - I like my waist to sit a teeny bit lower, and lowering the shoulder seams isn't the appropriate solution since everything else is bang on.

And let's pause for a moment to appreciate the shoes.

Miss L Fire purchased from Amazon

What do you think, Spongebob Cthulhu?

Spongebob Cthulhu says "they're rad"

He approves.  Damn straight, they're fabulous.

What I love so very much about Anna is that, even though it is easy to put together, she gives you such a sophisticated shape.  It's similar in fit to my beloved 2444, but the kimono sleeves and neckline variations make it a completely different look.  Next up is the maxi dress variant with a gorgeous linen blend that has been in my hoard for years!

Offset pattern again--sorrynotsorry

The Anna Dress - Pattern Test

Happy Monday, all!

Back to the grind after a hectic weekend.  Saturday evening, we went to a 90's grunge tribute show at one of our favorite spots, The Manette Saloon. 

My attempt at the grunge look - plaid + stripes + red lips and loads of eyeliner

Even though it was stiflingly hot, it was a total blast and made me feel like a college kid again.  We missed the STP cover band because the show started on time (who does that?), and left before Pantera because I was beat.  But we did get to see the fantastic Alice in Chains tribute by the Seattle-based band Silvergun.  I kept closing my eyes (not overly smart in a pit, but whatevs) because they were so good I felt like I was listening to Layne Staley. 

Silvergun, aka Alice in Chains

Then the guys from Bad Habit Bremerton took the stage and blew the place away with their tribute to Nirvana (complete with thrift store sweater!).  And if that wasn't awesome enough, my friends Becca, Melissa, and I were pulled up on the stage to back-up dance for the last few songs of the set. It was so much fun, I was an exhausted, sweaty mess by the end and I was thrilled!



Nirvana back up dancers.  I wish I had pom-poms.

 

Sunday was spent doing Sunday chores, although we did go take advantage of our new memberships to the Athletic Club.  To anyone I've ever told that swimming laps isn't hard enough cardio, I am deeply, truly sorry.  Everything hurts.  Owie.  But it was fun, and it felt great to be active again.

I also swung by Pacific Fabrics and picked up a couple of really cool lengths of fabric - Little Red Riding Hood and an absolutely gorgeous map print accented in teal.  Oooooo.

I like the staff there; they're friendly and helpful and the store is chocked with designs I can't get from JoAnn's.  It's a bit more expensive than online shopping, but for instant grafication an support of a local business you can't go wrong.

Backing up, Saturday afternoon was spent on my newest pattern acquistion, the long-awaited and coveted Anna dress from By Hand London.

I had anxiously waited for this pattern after discovering the joy that was the Flora dress (but I'll get to that review later).  By Hand London is an independant pattern company that offers some of the coolest, unique patterns I've come across.  And I have a LOT of patterns.  After seeing some of the gorgeous creations gracing the internet, I was obsessed with obtaining it for my own.  Not really thrilled with the idea of international shipping, I found it for sale through patternreview.com - score!  Alas, the pattern was sold out on their site, and everywhere else.  EVERYWHERE. I was a bit dejected, but placed my order and reserved a spot on the wait list - pouting all the while.

Then the Great Vacation Project took over, and thoughts of Anna took a backseat to cranking out a ridiculous number of dresses in 1/2 a month.  A project I completed successfully, but it did occupy ever spare moment of time until we left.

After I returned from vacation, I decided to check my online shopping cart at Pattern Review, and not only was the dress back in stock, but it had already shipped and was scheduled to arrive the next day.  I was overjoyed.

The pattern arrived, like the other two By Hand patterns I own, beautifully presented in a sturdy folder with a little story of the design name on the back.  I checked the measurements against the Flora, decided on my normal UK 10, and - of course - cut the pattern because I'm too lazy to trace.  One day...maybe.

I had lovely chocolate brown damask I bought from the clearance section of my local Joann Fabrics, and decided to use that for the mock-up. My theory is this - if I'm going to toile a pattern, it should be wearable. I believe the fabric was clearanced and then another 50% off, so the investment was less than muslin or a sheet.  Fabric also depreciates in value to me; if I've had it for a while, it is somehow less of an investment than brand new fabric (cost of the purchase never figures in).  And this yet another example of why I failed Economics in college.

I decided that I only wanted to test the bodice and save the skirt for later, as I didn't have enough fabric to use the skirt pieces properly.  I laid out the pattern pieces and jumped in.

After the fabric was cut, and the darts and pleats were marked, I put the pieces aside for the evening, ready to come back to it on Saturday.  Then I saw that my fabric pen had vanished, leaving me a trail of pins, but no stitching lines. 



Um,where are my markings?
 

Balls. So I pulled the pattern out again, and remarked everything with chalk.



$*%!

Yes, I cut the darts out of my pattern.  It makes my life easier (I do reinforce them with tape so don't go too crazy, internet).

The bodice went together without a hitch.  I ignored the paper instructions, because By Hand London offers a killer online sew-along.  I read over the steps for the slash neck top, didn't see any major issues, and went on my way. 



Bodice pleats pinned - this is before the lines were re-drawn in chalk

Darts and pleats sewn and pressed - already looks amazing

The neckline is finished with bias tape because my hate for facings knows no bounds. Burn in hell, facings. 



Nifty Wonder Clips and a pic I forgot to rotate

Of course, as I was so hot to whip this baby out, I forgot that facings take up a 5/8 seam allowance. Since I didn't remove the excess fabric, the neckline is a bit higher than I want (and than the pattern is drafted for). Well, moving right along...

After the bodice was finished, I took the remaining fabric and decided to gather it into a skirt.  I used two pieces that were the width of the fabric, splitting one piece in half for the skirt back.  After sewing them together, I started what SHOULD have been the simple process of gathering.  Yeah.

For some reason, my thread kept snapping as I gathered.  I don't know if it was the weight of all the fabric or a defect in the thread, but after it happened twice I was a bit pissed off.  So I decided to gather it in three seperate sections, using matching the side seams with the bodice.  That worked, but the tremendous amount of fabric created issues beyond gathering.



FINALLY gathered and pinned

Annoyingly, even after carefully pinning, the waist seam skewed on me after the zipper was inserted.  Oh well.  It's a minimal difference, this was a mock-up, and the print is busy enough that I don't care enough to rip it all out.

The seams are all pinked (my new favorite method of finishing), the neckline is finished with bias tape, and the hem is serged, then turned up once and machine stitched in place.  This is because I have no patience and my hand sewing is atrocious.

Now, I admittedly ran into several issues with this project, but they were all entirely operator error.  This pattern is marked as a beginner, and I firmly agree with that rating so don't be scared off.  It's a simple 2 piece bodice with kimono sleeves, back darts, and front pleats rather than front darts (SO cool) - but even though the pattern is simple and all the techniques used are basic, you get a very sophisticated look.  And the sew-along tutorial is fabulous, even for a hands-on learner like myself.

The next time I make this, I will be making my standard adjustment to the center back seam and removing some width.  The front is perfect, but I do have a bit of excess in the back (normal issue).



Anna <3

I was initially concerned that, because I had waited so long for the pattern that the finished product would in no way measure up to the dresses I had daydreamed of making.  Boy, was I wrong.  I love this pattern.  Love.  My biggest issue is whether to make another slash-neck version immediately, or try the v-neck style next.  And that's a pretty good problem to have, sewing-wise.

Until next time, cheers!