Another Retro Butterick 4790 WalkAway Dress

I say "another" Butterick 4790 Walkaway Dress not because I have made one before, but because EVERYONE ELSE has.  I was reading on one blog that if the author saw another walkaway dress, she was going to scream.  Well, who can resist that?  Here is my version.

I love the original artwork on the pattern cover. I was really tempted by the black and white one, but I went with a one color dress in a printed quilting cotton.  I had promised myself I'd stay out of the quilting cottons, but then there was a sale.  All bets were immediately off.

 

As I am sure that everyone has seen a million times, this is the diagram of the dress.  It is one piece of fabric.  The front part has a closer-fitting skirt that fastens in the back and the circle skirt fastens in the front.  

The two ends of the circle skirt are supposed to overlap slightly on the front and button over each other.  Except I cut mine too small.  I had NO overlap.  What to do? The way I saw it, I had four  choices:

1. Scrap the project - I would have needed to cut the entire back part out again and I didn't have more of this fabric.  (sad and really bothers the very cheapskate in me)
2. Continue making the dress and put it in my closet until I stop eating so much chocolate and lose weight. (you would have to pry that chocolate out of my cold, dead hands, so not an option)
3. Continue making the dress and give it away to a smaller friend. (Yeah, right)
4. Find a way to make it work, not waste fabric and continue eating chocolate. (winner!)

I ended up making two rectangles of bias tape and sewing them on to the edges to make a little extension.  I put snaps behind the bias tape, then made three cloth buttons and sewed them on.  Voilà! Une petite solution pour mon gros problème de chocolat.

I'd apologize for the unneeded use of French, but it makes me feel good actually using something I learned at university.  Almost like I wasn't paying student loans for 17 years for nothing...  Almost. But I digress.  Here is the bias tape extension.

 I think I actually like it better with the space between the panels.  I shows off the more fitted skirt and bias tape hems better, which I think is a really attractive part of the pattern.

All in all, I do like the dress.  Except if I have to walk around, sit, bend or move in any way.  Because the more fitted skirt is floating except for a small button at the waist, it bunches up and goes everywhere.  I fought with it like crazy just to take photos.  I think I can sew a knit panel to join the back sections so that they lay still.  It will be stretchy so I can move, but keep the front panel down.  It is just an idea at this point. But I am open to suggestions for this issue.

And one more photo of the dress when I am standing perfectly still.

 Details:

Fabric: 5 yards on sale at the evil Walmart = $5.00

Bias tape: (sadly, I didn't make my own) JoAnns = $7.50

Button kit: JoAnns = $2.75 (with coupon!)

Total: $14.75

Vogue 2960 and Fun with Photoshop

Here is Vogue 2960 in a floral polished cotton.  It is fully lined in a polyester/silky black lining.    Here I am in a Paris street frolicking in my retro dress and heels.

Here is the back of the dress where I am still in the same sunny street in Paris.  Sort of.  The photo was actually taken in what used to be our spare bedroom in front of a green screen.

I have been looking at all of the lovely pictures people from exotic places take of them in their dresses, so I thought I would try my hand at photoshop to put myself somewhere nicer.  I actually live in Phoenix (where it is currently 348 degrees F in the shade) in a house on a lot with no back yard to speak of and even if it were cool enough to take photos, the best I could do is our dead garden for a backdrop.  We don't start planting until the end of October when it cools off, which is no good for photos

Here is the pattern cover for Vogue 2960.

I made this dress before - it was two years ago when I first started sewing.  I remember spending weeks on it and in the end it didn't fit right, it didn't look good and the inside was an utter mess.  I was so frustrated by the bound button holes.

This time went much better! Here are the bound button holes.  They aren't perfect, but I am happy with them.

Here is the inside of the dress.  I still had some issues with getting the button holes straight (let alone the bound part), but this version is so much nicer.  I still think that the instructions for this dress are confusing.  No wonder this didn't turn out when I tried to sew it.  You really have to already know how to do these techniques to understand the instructions.

I was going to sew some horsehair in the hem, but the cotton is so stiff I just ended up folding the hem over twice.  I serged the bottom of the lining. It took about a day and a half to make.
Details:
6 yards of polished cotton from SAS: 24.00
5 yards of black lining from fabric.com: 5.00
Buttons from JoAnns: 3.00
Total: $32.00
Here is what it actually looked like when we took the photos for this dress.

...and one more photo of the dress in a place I have never been.

M5591 Skirt, You Are Dead to Me

I am currently working on Vogue 2960, but thought that I would take a quick break from it to whip up a skirt that I can wear to work.  Here it is.

 It is view C of this pattern (McCall's 5591)

I thought I would love it. I finished hemming it this morning and put it on and rushed out the door which was a total mistake because I didn't really give myself time to examine the fit closely - I think I cut it a size too large.  I also didn't sew on a hook and eye - as seen here on the back of the skirt.

One problem can be seen in the next photo - the waistband. It doesn't lay flat.  I have hips that are 14 inches larger than my waist, so I think that is one of the issues.  (You could call it "big hips", but it would make me feel better if you said "small waist".)  

This skirt is terrible on me.  It is so bad, I am too vain to put up photos of myself wearing it.  Is it my hip/waist ratio?  Is this just cut a size too large?  It is the interfacing?  Is it the fabric? Is it the fact that I made horizontal stripes instead of vertical?  Probably all of the above. 

It doesn't matter because, McCall's 5591, you made me feel fatter on a day I was already feeling fat and for that, you are irrevocably DEAD TO ME.

If anyone would like to try her luck at this pattern, please let me know.  I'll send it to the first person to e-mail me her address. I cut a size 16, but you could still get both 14 and 12 from it.  Email sewinglab at yahoo dot com with your address and I'll put it in the mail this week just to get it out of my house.

Details:
3.5 yards of fabric, 2.00/yard on sale at the evil Walmart.    (I needed extra for matching stripes)
Zipper = .25 (from pile of zippers at SAS in Phoenix)
Interfacing = 1.00 (from SAS)
Total = $8.25 (at least it was cheap)

Vogue 1353 in Gingham

I have seen some good reviews for Vogue 1353 recently and thought I would give it a try.  I have had some so-so dress successes lately.  Which have resulted in a finished dress in my closet that I don't wear. Out of the last 4 dresses, 3 have been full-on MEH.  Here is the finished dress.  I like it and I have actually worn it to work.  Yay!  None of the last four have made it out of the house.

Even the back is nice. I put a purchased elastic belt with the dress and I think it really finishes it off nicely.

Here is the picture on the pattern, which brings me to my only real beef with this pattern.  Look at how thin this model is. Seriously.  Let your eyes wander to my photo.  Then to hers.  Then to mine.  Now to hers.  I want to take her home and feed her.  She looks like she would have to gain 20 pounds to be normal weight.  Why do we keep letting ourselves be told that this poor, malnourished thing is what we should be striving towards?

The Details:

• Fabric: cotton gingham on sale for about 4.00 a yard (3 yards).  Total cost was under $20.00.  The lining was super-cheap and something I had on-hand in a white poplin.
• Zipper: the pattern calls for an invisible zipper, but I put in a lapped zipper because I would have had to go to the store and deal with the OUTSIDE.  Not into it.  Voilà.  Lapped it is. There is a great free tutorial on it on Craftsy. Craftsy Mastering Zipper Techniques Class
• Facings: The pattern called for a facing on the hems of both the lining and the dress.  I didn't put them in.  I just turned the hem on the skirt twice and serged the lining edge.  I actually made it a lot shorter than the skirt... I didn't have much lining fabric and didn't want to buy any more.  
• Length: I made this just past my knees.  The pattern has it just above, but that length doesn't look good on me.

Here is the lapped zipper... and the matching (sort of) stripes.  With the pleats, it was impossible to match the stripes vertically, but I did my best horizontally.   It was the first time I tried to match stripes or plaids.

 

Vogue 2903 in Blue

Is there any polite way to tell someone sitting next to you in a meeting that they are truly driving you nuts with their gum chewing and popping?  I recently pondered it for 60 excruciating minutes in a row.  The only thing that came close was a joke like, "Wow, you are really chewing the hell out of that gum, aren't you?"  Yes, indeedy, THAT was the closest thing to polite I could think of.  Luckily, it didn't make it past my filter.   So, I made a dress.

This is Vogue 2903.  I made it before for a costume for a redneck-themed party and I really loved the fit.  It was in a stretch camoflage fabric.  This time I sewed it in a cotton blend.  I am not sure what the fiber content was.  It was $1.00 a yard, so the cost of the dress was about $5.00.  I was thrilled to find it.  It is a nice weight and I didn't have to line it.

 Here is the pattern picture.  I ended up making a sleeveless version.  I made some bias tape to wrap around the armholes instead of the sleeves.

 Last time I made it, I didn't put in the pleats - partly because I didn't have a lot of time to finish the dress, partly because the instructions for them confused me.  Here is a pleat.

 Here is the pleat from the back, all ironed in place.

 The trick was just to sew a line straight from the seam and then iron it.  I spent a long time trying to figure that out. In the end, I am not sure if I like the pleats in the dress.  I like the flowy look in the previous version I did.  This one doesn't have that same quality.

 The main issue with this dress was my sewing machine.  This is what the sewing machine was doing to the outside of the (very visible) stitching.  The tension looks off, but nothing I did to adjust it seemed to work predictably.

 And inside (on the underside of the stitching line when I was sewing) was even more of a mess.

I took out some stitching several times until the sewing machine acted right.  So, my question is: what issue is this?  I adjusted the stitch length, the tension... what issue is this?  Is it just time to get a better machine?  Has anyone else experienced this?

Tutorial: Art Portfolio Case

I have a pattern drafting class at the local community college and they would like us to carry a foam board and poster board to class with us.  Those things are fairly awkward to lug across campus, so I needed something to carry them in.  I don't need much of an excuse to go buy fabric and I thought it would be a fun project to try and make an art portfolio case.

Here is the concept - essentially make two pillow cases, insert cardboard into them and then sew them together.  Put two zippers and handles on.


Items needed:

• 3 yards fabric for portfolio case and lining
• 1 yard contrasting fabric 
• Two zippers 30 inches long (I custom cut mine from much longer zippers)
• Cardboard 
• Spray adhesive

The items I wanted to carry were 24 X 30 inches, so this case is specifically for that, but you could easily vary yours.  I could have chosen a different fabric for the inside, but I wanted the inside to look as nice as the outside, since it is made to open flat.

• Cut 4 of main fabric.  26 x 32 inches square.
• Cut 4 contrast on bias (case sides) 2.5 x 30 inches
• Cut 2 of contrast (case bottom) 3.5 x 32 inches
• Cut 2 of contrast (case handles) 6 x 18 inches
• Cut 2 cardboard pieces 25 x 31 inches

•  Prepare handle by folding the edges toward the center, then ironing.  Fold in half, then iron again.

• Sew together.  I put another stitching line on the other side to match the seam line. 

•  Sew handles to main fabric.  I marked the fabric with pins at 14 inches from each side and six inches down from the top.  Do this for two of the main fabric pieces.  These will be the outsides of the portfolio case.

• On the last bottom 1.5 inches, I sewed a square with an x through it to secure it.  
• Stop sewing the sides of the handles .5 inches from the top.  That part will be tucked under in a seam allowance. 

 

•  With right sides together, sew two main fabric pieces together on three sides, leaving top open.  One on the pieces has a handle, one without.  Use .5 inch seam allowances.  
• Repeat for the other two pieces and turn both of them right side out and iron seams flat.

 

• You will now have two pillow case-like pieces with one handle on each pillow-case.

• Sew right sides of case bottom contrast together, then turn right side out and iron flat with seams at sides.
• Sew bottom contrast piece to inside of bags, stopping three inches before each corner.
• The piece should be sewn to the inside of the case, sewing it to the side opposite the handles. Match edges.

• When each side of the case bottom is sewn to the insides of the case, it will look like this.  Both edges are sewn to the insides of the case.

• With right sides together, sew one piece of contrast side pieces together lengthwise with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Repeat for remaining three pieces. This will make 4 long tubes.
• Turn right side out and iron flat.
• Sew strips of side contrast to zipper, sewing one piece of contrast to each side of zipper.  the zipper

 

• The width of the two side pieces (with zipper attached) should be the same as the bottom of the case.

• Sew sides with zipper attached to case bottom piece, two inches from edge.  This will allow the case to open flat.

• Hand-sew the zipper assembly to the case with a pick stitch.  Here is a tutorial for a pick stitch.  I originally did this step by machine, but found that the tension was too hard to control and the zipper went in wavy, so I had better results with hand-sewing.
• Leave top of zipper unfinished for now.
• Fold top of case over 1/2 inch and press into place 

 

• Insert cardboard into case sides through the top.  

 

• Spray a thin layer of spray adhesive on the cardboard, then smoothed out the fabric over it, after positioning the cardboard in place.  This is done so that the fabric doesn't sag or bunch.

 

• Hand sew top of case with a slip stitch.  Here is a tutorial on a slip stitch.  I imagine you could try to machine-sew it, but with the cardboard in it, I found this method easier.

• Finish bottom of case contrast.  I folded the bottom over and hand-stitched it into place, hiding some of the zipper bottom.

 

• Finish top of zipper.  I folded the zipper over and hand-stitched, making the top just lower than the top of the finished case. 
• I am not thrilled about the seeing the back side of the pick stitches here... but I had to make a color choice with thread since I couldn't find a green zipper. Next time, I may choose to hide the zipper completely in the side contrast fabric instead of making tubes out of them.  For this time, I may color the green thread with a permanent black marker just to make the green thread a little less obvious.

• This is the inside of the case.  I opens flat, but I found that really, really hard to photograph, so here it is open at a 90 degree angle.