The Weekender: Craftsy's Sew-Along Dress Pattern

I took the sew-along class by Craftsy a few weeks ago and made a version of the dress with (most of) the fabric provided by Craftsy.  It was a really comfortable dress in a knit t-shirt fabric.  Although the instructions in the sew-along were less than great, I really, really like the pattern provided, so I made another version in a lycra print.

I think I may have actually made something practical that I can wear to work.   I usually go for 50's style large circle skirts made of miles of fabric that are super-flattering but can't be worn without looking like I'm headed to costume party.  (Except for severe racism, horrible sexism and a distinct lack of iPads, the 50's seem like they were really great.)

This is super stretchy.  I like the fact that there is no pinching, binding or other discomfort when wearing it, no matter what I've had for lunch.

Lycra is stretchy.

I think this is the stuff the Incredible Hulk gets his clothes made out of.  I could gain a serious amount of weight and still wear this dress.

Maybe I'll wear it through the holiday season and eat... everything.  I would like that.  Seconds?  Yes, please.  Dessert?  I'll have some.  Elevensies?  Yup!  I've got the Lycra Weekender.  I'm set.

I like this pattern. 

Craftsy Sew-Along Review - The Weekender Dress

I signed up for the Craftsy sew-along for the Weekender Dress.  For the sew-along, you get access to the downloadable, printable pattern and Craftsy sends the fabric needed for the dress.  Here is the result.

I am really happy with the dress.  It is very, very comfortable.  The fabric is a knit that feels like a t-shirt.  It has a flattering empire waist and an a-line skirt with a mock wrap bodice.

 The fabric that was sent by Craftsy had red and pink bands around the bottom hem, sleeves and the neck with a black main dress color.  I didn't care for the red and pink together.  If it had just been red or just been pink, I would have used the fabric sent, but with two different colors, it just seemed too random-looking, so I replaced the bands with grey.

Photo from Craftsy Site. The Weekender Dress

Here is the inside of the dress.  I am really happy with how it looks with the edges serged.

 Here is a close-up of the outside.

And now for the review:
The Good

• The fabric that they send is nice.  I didn't care for the color scheme, but it seems like good quality and it washed really well. 
• The pattern is really good (with one very minor issue- the markings for the gathers were a little unclear).  The measurements provided are spot-on.  I was able to adjust the pattern (I sewed a larger size skirt than bodice) based solely on the measurements and *GASP* did not make a muslin. 
• This is a really flattering dress, is wash and wear and I LOVE it.
• It is really quick to sew.  From start to finish, it only took a few hours.
• Price: this was on sale for about $24.00 and that included the fabric and the pattern. 

The So-So

•  Personally, I didn't care for the color combinations.  I wouldn't have put red and pink together, even though I like each separately.  But that is a preference.  I am sure some people loved the way the fabric colors are mixed.

And Now the Complaints

• I didn't care for the sew-along part of this.  I found the instructions lacking.  What I expected from a sew-along is a more detailed version of what you would get in a commercial pattern, but it was even less.  Yes, there were some great hints on working with knits, but the construction section was not as detailed as they needed to be.  If I were a beginning sewist, I would not have had enough information to complete the dress.  
• There aren't enough photos and when there are, they aren't always the right step.  For example, the first step is assembling the bodice and making the gathering stitches.  The photo on that step shows the band around the neck already attached.  However, the band doesn't actually get attached until the next step. I had to look at it a twice to make sure I hadn't missed something.

Conclusion:
If I had it to do over, I would still buy this sew-along.   With the fabric and pattern included, it was a good deal.  And the pattern itself is fantastic.  I will definitely sew this pattern again.  It is easy, flattering and comfortable.

Class Review: Design Your Own Handbag by Craftsy

I was so excited to take the Design Your Own Handbag from Craftsy.  And I so wanted to love it.  I did love the some parts of it and I think the instructor was knowledgeable and likeable, but I had some serious frustration with the way the class was structured.  But, on to that later...

First things first.  Here is the bag that I made as a result of the class.  Just another black bag that goes with everything because I can't be bothered to change purses with my outfits.  I want to sometimes, but it turns out that I just have a one bag and use it until it is worn out, then I have another bag.  I am a serial bag-ruiner.

One zipper pocket on the outside with the lining peeking through.

This is the inside of the purse.  It has four pockets inside.  That is actually my favorite part.  I hate not having enough pockets inside a purse.  Things must be sectioned off and in their own space.  If it's not a right angle, it is a wrong angle. Or something.

The bottom has feet.  The inside of the straps has a broken rubber jump rope that was headed for the recycle bin. I felt so green and all granola-crunchy good for doing it.

Now for the nitty-gritty: the way the class was structured makes this a bag I would never use.  It was  presented in a way that had me watching too many steps out of order.  For example, the construction of the bag itself was placed before the addition of pockets.  I managed to avoid that pitfall, but got in trouble when I didn't place the magnetic closures on before I put together the bag.  And I ended up putting the feet on at an inconvenient step.  Then, the handles were awkward to put on.  I ended up having to take some things apart and/or make adjustments that make this look like a very home-made bag.   For example, you can't see in the photos that I had to reinforce the bag in an obvious way where the clasp goes in.  It looks pretty bad.

Overall, I liked the sections of the class, I liked the instructor and I did learn some things about basic bag making.  I just wish that the class followed a logical order from steps a-z so you could follow it along.  Maybe they are counting on you to watch the whole class before attempting to sew anything.  But, seriously, who does that?  I love sewing and that isn't appealing, even to me.

In other blog news, I have been inundated with a barrage of spam comments the last month or so.  They are fake comments in Spanish about a diet and they all link back to a Web site.  So, I have had to turn on the CAPTCHA for comments.  I don't like that, but I am tired of sorting through spam. Meh.  I love comments and discussions, so I hope that doesn't stop anyone. 

Craftsy Class Photos - Bombshell and Couture Dresses

Caftsy.com is having a photo contest and the winner gets 5 free craftsy classes and glory and fame on the front page of the Craftsy Web site.  All you have to do is post a photo of yourself making or wearing an item from a Craftsy class and post it on Pinterest. 

I am lucky enough to have some friends who really like photography and I was able to bribe them easily into wasting an afternoon with me.

We went to an old-fashioned/retro soda fountain near downtown Phoenix called MacAlpine's Soda Fountain. I was a little out of my comfort zone being such a spectacle in public place, but it was fun having two people snap pictures like crazy whilst being all decked out.  Plus, we actually ordered ice cream at the soda fountain and it was delicious. The employees were patient and wonderful while we took the photos, as well.

These are the Bombshell Dress I made from class, paired with two petticoats under the dress. 

And now for a costume change and stopping off at my work.  I thought I might get some very Mad Men-esque office-y shots, but everything in the office is modern, so that didn't work as well as I had hoped.  But they do have some colorful backgrounds for the Couture Dress I made.

 I have my eye on the new class - Sewing With Knits, so I am crossing my fingers for the win.

V8648 The Couture Dress Class Review

For this dress, I followed the Craftsy class The Couture Dress with Susan Khalje.  The class goes through the entire process of making a couture dress.  It gets pretty detailed, right down to the hand-basting and the hand-sewing of the lining and zipper.  I liked the "on-demand" aspect of the sewing class - I went on vacation in the middle of following the class and was able to pick up again after we got back without worrying about the class access being cut off.

I wanted to make a dress that was very fitted - I couldn't stop thinking of Joan on Mad Men.  In real life, I am sure the actress is tiny, but it doesn't stop women with real hips like me from looking at the snug, waist-flattering  dresses she wears and wanting to recreate the look.  Here is my inspiration photo.

When you sign up for the class, you are sent this commercial pattern. They send Vogue 8648. I do like the instant-ness of a downloadable pattern, but it was nice to have an actual pattern.  I chose view C... but since I ended up ditching the sleeves, it looks much more like view A.

1. Muslin and fitting, 2. Pattern Adjustment

The first step is to trace the pattern onto muslin - and take away the seam allowances in the process. Since I wanted to make it a very tight fit, I ended up making the muslin a little too tight and had to let it out once I got to the fashion fabric step, so I recommend giving yourself a little breathing room in this step. 

I liked this part of the course because the instructor demonstrated how to use a commercial pattern and adjust it as if it did not contain seam allowances.  That part was helpful for me as I had never seen that done before.

3. Fabric and stabilization layer

I chose a cotton fabric for the fashion fabric layer and a muslin for the stabilization layer.  This is also the step where I would have put on sleeves... and I did attach them, but when I put on the dress, it was just too tight with sleeves, so I ended up leaving them off.  In this step, there are also hand-basted seam lines that are done.  I actually liked this method of sewing and fitting.  It is a lot of extra work, but nothing is more disappointing than getting through with sewing a dress and having the fit way off.  For me, this step assures a proper fit.  I followed Susan's advice in the course and changed the pattern to have a higher back panel.  It was fun to change a pattern like that.  In my world, it was daring and I felt like a non-rule-following rebel. (For the record, I am aware of how cool that doesn't make me)

4. Lining.

Ay, ay, ay.... the hand-sewing took a week of sewing in front of the TV to accomplish.  (My fella and I did get season one and 6 episodes into season two of Falling Skies watched while I did this stuff, though, so that was fun.)  The lining is all hand-sewn in three separate sections.  This is where I am glad I followed the course as presented and I understand this is the couture method, but I wouldn't do it again this way.  For my style of sewing, I would do a lot of this by machine.  I have used the method of sewing right sides of a bodice together and turning it inside out for other dresses and liked it. 

VariationsI only changed one thing from the class.  I added a slit down the back of the skirt for some room to sit and move around.  I have it here shown with the hem lace I used for the hem on the fashion fabric.

Other Cool Stuff- A Lapped Zipper

I was very happy to have my first lapped zipper.  In another Craftsy course I took, The Bombshell Dress, the teacher demonstrated it, but I wasn't up for putting it in quite yet.  In this course, I did it and was very pleased.  It is all hand-sewn.  I have struggled with zippers in the past when trying to put them in by machine and I honestly think they are easier to put in by hand.  I love how this looks.  The class made the process easy to understand and perform the right stitches on it to make it stable and strong.

The end result is not exactly the Mad Men dress I was hoping for, but it is a wearable dress and I learned a lot in the process.  I would definitely recommend the course if anyone is thinking about taking it.