Circle Dress Part 2
19 Mar 2019 07:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
motorharpIt's taken me a while to just grit my teeth and get on with writing this up. I finished this back in August. It's now March.
What went right:
This is a drafting exercise from the very beginning of the first book of the Pattern Magic series. After I got a decent sloper, I decided to test this design in a real garment. I combined the "Inserting a circular design line" with the skirt from a 1940s Simplicity pattern, and using more of the upholstery fabric you can see me standing next to.
I interfaced the entire front bodice based on what I learned by taking apart a RTW dress. I found that Pellon 865F Bi-Stretch Lite was closest in look and feeling to the interfacing in the RTW dress. I detailed this in the Circle Dress Part 1 entry.
I used fusible tape on the armholes and the Pellon on the neck facings.
The circle seam in the front has a 1/4" seam allowance and wow, do 1/4" curved seams ever go together well. I didn't have to clip anything.
I took in the side seams a little to get a closer fit.
For sewing and inserting the lining, I used tips from more of Kathleen Fasanella's site about "A better way to sew linings and facings" Part 1 and Part 2. For inserting the lapped zipper, I used her tutorial "Lapped zipper construction". I'm really please with how it turned out.
I really like the fit of this dress as well as the weight of the fabric, how easy it washes and wears, and the drape. I think I might make more dresses out of upholstery fabric!
What went wrong:
This dress really wanted to be a mirror image of itself.
I liked the fabric so much I made a skirt out of the extra - the upholstery book said I needed 5 yds for a channel back chair (I needed maybe 2?) - and then thought I might have enough for a dress.
I managed to cut out two left back bodices, two left back skirts, then another back bodice piece with the wrong center back seam allowance, effectively making it... another left back, but wrong side out. So a right back, but un-useable.
I think something went wrong with the pockets, but it's been so long at this point I can't remember.
At that point, I was reeeally running low on fabric, and in order to get a complete skirt back, I had to piece one together from slivers. If you look at this photo closely, you might see it. If not, great!
I've washed and worn it a few times and it washes and wears wonderfully. I'm just going to take a breather before tackling something like this again.
What went right:
This is a drafting exercise from the very beginning of the first book of the Pattern Magic series. After I got a decent sloper, I decided to test this design in a real garment. I combined the "Inserting a circular design line" with the skirt from a 1940s Simplicity pattern, and using more of the upholstery fabric you can see me standing next to.
I interfaced the entire front bodice based on what I learned by taking apart a RTW dress. I found that Pellon 865F Bi-Stretch Lite was closest in look and feeling to the interfacing in the RTW dress. I detailed this in the Circle Dress Part 1 entry.
I used fusible tape on the armholes and the Pellon on the neck facings.
The circle seam in the front has a 1/4" seam allowance and wow, do 1/4" curved seams ever go together well. I didn't have to clip anything.
I took in the side seams a little to get a closer fit.
For sewing and inserting the lining, I used tips from more of Kathleen Fasanella's site about "A better way to sew linings and facings" Part 1 and Part 2. For inserting the lapped zipper, I used her tutorial "Lapped zipper construction". I'm really please with how it turned out.
I really like the fit of this dress as well as the weight of the fabric, how easy it washes and wears, and the drape. I think I might make more dresses out of upholstery fabric!
What went wrong:
This dress really wanted to be a mirror image of itself.
I liked the fabric so much I made a skirt out of the extra - the upholstery book said I needed 5 yds for a channel back chair (I needed maybe 2?) - and then thought I might have enough for a dress.
I managed to cut out two left back bodices, two left back skirts, then another back bodice piece with the wrong center back seam allowance, effectively making it... another left back, but wrong side out. So a right back, but un-useable.
I think something went wrong with the pockets, but it's been so long at this point I can't remember.
At that point, I was reeeally running low on fabric, and in order to get a complete skirt back, I had to piece one together from slivers. If you look at this photo closely, you might see it. If not, great!
I've washed and worn it a few times and it washes and wears wonderfully. I'm just going to take a breather before tackling something like this again.
