The Last Week

Busy times continue around here.  I've been scrambling to get a lot of my summer house maintenance done before July 10.  Why?  Because my niece will be visiting from Turkey!  Not Niecey-poo, who has come three times before; sadly she decided to spend the summer studying for an upcoming exam.  This time it's Niecy-two, her younger cousin who is 8 years old.  We're really looking forward to her visit and I want to have as much of my work done as possible so I can just enjoy my time with her :-)

I've felt like I haven't had much time for sewing or knitting, but somehow I managed to complete a shirt for Hubby and two more Emery dresses in the last week + one weekend!  Because my time is so limited, I'm lumping them all together in one post.  None of these are new patterns anyway - these makes are all about the fabric.

Here's Hubby's newest guitar shirt.  I saw this fabric in the Hawthorne Threads newsletter a couple weeks ago and immediately ordered some - cool guitar prints are hard to come by!  This is called "Guitars in White" by Timeless Treasures.

Hubby asked for a mandarin-collared shirt with pockets deep enough for his new phone.  He likes being able to have things made to his specifications!  The pattern I used is one I bought new in 1996 to make him his very first guitar shirt, McCall's 8409.  The style is quite oversized; I liked it in the previous versions I made, which were all dark colors, but with this light fabric I feel it overwhelms him a bit.  So I'm debating taking it in a little at the sides.  It does fit nicely across his shoulders, which are wide.

Going chronologically, here's my Tiki Winki Emery Dress, which I've already shown you (and not completed in the last week).  This one is actually my favorite so far in terms of colors that suit me.

Next I made up a version in a stash fabric I bought last fall in hopes of making a dress just like this.  I bought it from Fabricworm; it's from Moda and is called "Tickets" but I can't find it anywhere to link, so I have a feeling that by the time I bought it, it was already out of print.

This dress is ironic because as much as I love the print, I actually rarely go to the movies!!  I've probably been to the movies 3 times in the 5 years we've lived in Chicago!  It's always too cold and too loud, and the chairs hurt my back.  I much prefer to watch at home :-)

I like the dress, but I don't love it as much as I was expecting to.  The fit is a little looser than I'd like.

"enhanced"

"actual early morning light"

I realized before my next version why my bodices were a bit on the loose side.  This is kind of embarrassing . . .

Ever since I got my Janome almost 2 years ago, I've been sewing with the needle on the default setting, assuming it was centered.  For some reason I decided to measure the needle position the other day and . . . it's not!  I have no idea why a machine's default wouldn't be the center position, but mine is actually one click to the right of center - giving me slightly narrower seam allowances and therefore slightly wider clothing.  Derrrrrrr.

So now I'm getting into the habit of centering my needle before I begin to sew.  I did it on this fourth Emery and I'm happier with the fit on this one than on any of the previous 3.  It's not actually noticeable in these pictures, in part because of the busy print, but I certainly notice it when I'm wearing the dresses.

failing at beating the self-timer

So here's a confession.  All I want to sew or wear these days is Emery dresses.  The pattern is a great blank canvas for pretty prints, and it's easy to sew since I've got the fitting worked out.  Because I really only have another week of sewing time before my niece comes, and then likely none until September, I want to spend my time sewing things that aren't frustrating and that I know will be successful.  So I bought myself a few pieces of fabric in order to Emery to my heart's content.  This is one of those.  It's Michael Miller's "Point of Sail," which I bought from Fabric.com.  Every time I see this fabric online, the triangles are always pointing downward, which reads "bunting" to me.  I wanted it to read "sailboats," so I turned it the other way around for my dress.

Emery #5 is already underway, and I'm hoping to get in a #6 before next week too.  Blogging is likely to be sparse from now until September while I enjoy family time :-)  But I will continue to do micro-blogging over on Instagram.  Well, I think I will but I tend to get caught up in the moment and forget to take pictures most of the time!

Emery Dress v. 1.2: Tiki Winki

On Sunday I started a second Emery dress, and I finished it up this afternoon.  This version is the same as my first one.  The only change I made was to omit the pockets, because I don't really use them.  This dress is all about the fabric.

From a distance it looks like a mostly red dress with some patterning.

When you get closer, you realize that the rectangles are tiki heads:

Get even closer and you can see that the print features wood grain on the tiki heads:

And if you really inspect the design, you'll see that some of the tiki heads are winking!!

Gah!!  How cute is that?  Within the space of a week and a half, I spied this Michael Miller Tiki Winki fabric online, bought it, received it, prewashed it, cut it out and sewed up this dress.  Now I just need the weather to warm back up so I can wear it!

Emery Dress: Fit

Yesterday evening we had a date for dinner with an old friend, so I put on my new dress and snapped a few pictures before we headed out the door.  It looked like rain though, so at the last minute I changed out of these shoes and into a less precious pair.  So here I'm wearing my dress with the Cameo cardigan I made last summer, my pink leather clutch (Boden) and my old Frye Wanda T-Straps.  Plus my (prescription) sunglasses - these are Ray-Ban Retro Wayfarer.  I don't think they make this style any more.

I liked this outfit - I felt very retro :-)

Now let's talk about the fit.  Here are some pictures from the front and back:

I realize the fit might be a little hard to see - the overall tone of the dress is pretty close to my skin color!

My fit is close, but not too close.  I wish I were one of those girls who can wear skin-tight dresses and be comfortable, but alas, I am not.  I need plenty of room to breathe and move, especially across the back.  So while I could stand to take the bodice in probably an inch and a half in total, I just wouldn't be comfortable in it.  I think I've made a pretty good compromise on this first run - it looks trim but not fitted.  I might take it in just an 1/8" on the side seams next time, which will be a total reduction of 1/2" in circumference.

Waist
Having said all that, I adjusted the pattern so that I actually have less ease at the waist than the pattern calls for.  For my bodice, I used a size 4 at the bust and 6 at the waist.  However, my body measurement would have put me in a size 8 at the waist.  So that's a good thing to know for those of you who are thinking of making this pattern - there is a fair bit of ease given, and more at the waist than at the bust.

Bust
Another good thing to know is this - although I couldn't find any reference to it, I do believe this bodice was probably drafted for a C-cup.   I say that because I made my muslins to the size that matches my bust size (size 4), and fit them to my most padded bra, which brings me up to a C.  If I had wanted to fit the bodice to any of my other bras, I would have had to do a small bust adjustment.  I tried the muslins and dress on with those bras, and there was a lot of excess fabric there :-)

My Alterations
So here's a list of the alterations I typically do, and how they applied to this bodice:

* Blending from a smaller size at the bust to a bigger size at the waist - Yes:  size 4 at bust and size 6 at waist.  Bust and back neck darts used the size 4 markings; front and back waist darts used the size 6 markings, and the length of the bodice is the size 6 length.

* Forward shoulder adjustment of 3/8 - 5/8" - Yes:  here I did a forward shoulder adjustment of 1/2", and transferred that to the sleeve piece as well for future.

* Broad back adjustment - No!  This really surprised me!  There's plenty of room here for my broad back, which makes me think that those of you who have narrower backs might need to size down, or do a narrow back adjustment.

* Swayback adjustment - Yes:  I took in 3/8" on either side of my horizontal line, for a total intake of 3/4" - not too bad for me!

* Rounded upper back/prominent shoulder blades - Yes:  I made each leg of the neck darts 1/8" wider, for a total extra intake of 1/4" on each dart.

Style Changes:
*  Not exactly a style change, but I used the size 6 skirt pattern, to correspond to the size 6 waist.  Because of the gathers though, it really doesn't matter what size skirt you use - I just wanted to see how the skirt looked as written.

*  To make the dress sleeveless, I extended the side seams up 1/2" to make the armhole shallower.  Because I knew I'd be wanting to make this dress in both sleeved and sleeveless versions, I made separate pattern pieces for each so they'll be on hand.

*  Lengthened the skirt by 2".  One thing that really surprised me is that the skirt is the same length for all the sizes.   In addition, there is no lengthen/shorten line on the skirt.  For me, a 22" skirt is too short - my preferred length for a dress like this is just below the knee.  I could have made it that length if I sacrificed a wide hem, but I didn't want to do that.  So I drew myself a lengthen/shorten line 13" down from the waist, added 2" and then blended the side seam.  When I was ready to hem, I first turned my hem back 1/2" and pressed.  Then I tried on the dress and pinned it to the length I wanted - I ended up turning the hem back 1 5/8".  So my total hem turnback is 2 1/4" - just 1/4" more than the pattern recommends.  So be aware:  this skirt is a bit on the short side!  I'm on the short side too, at only 5'4" - so it's something to keep in mind for you taller ladies if you prefer your skirts a little longer.

In her sew-along, Christine Haynes has a post about making this dress sleeveless.  She talks about differences in drafting between sleeved and sleeveless dresses, and changes that might have to be made to the neckline, shoulders and upper bust.  I didn't make any of these changes - I really like how the armhole extends over to my arm.  It covers up those lumpy underarm bits that drive me crazy!

Well, I think I've said everything I wanted to say about this dress.  I hope these notes will be helpful to some of you!  I really loved making this pattern, and I'm looking forward to making many more versions.  This is my favorite type of dress - very simple, darted bodice and gathered skirt.  Comfortable to wear, easy to sew, and lots of room for creativity!

pockets!

Sleeveless Emery Dress, with construction tips

Hi All!

This week I finally got back into the swing of things, sewing-wise, and made my very first Emery Dress - finally!  I've been saying I was going to do it since it was released last fall!  However, I'm glad I waited until after I learned a bit more about fitting.  I did have to make several changes to the bodice, although the original form was passable.  But that's why we sew, right?  Or at least that's one of the reasons - to have a well-fitting garment.

I'm going to talk about my fitting changes in a separate post, since they may be helpful to some of you.  None of the changes I made were difficult to do, and many of them were changes I've learned I need on pretty much any pattern.  But there were some surprises in there.

I'm also not going to show you any pictures today of me wearing the dress, as I've just gotten back from a very long walk and don't quite have the energy to take photos!  Here it is on a hanger though:

I'm very happy with it :-)  I got several questions on Instagram about whether or not the fabric is vintage.  It is in fact quilting cotton!  I believe this print is no longer being produced, but it is called "Boxed Dozen" by Martha Negley.  I'd been in love with it for quite a while, and when I came across it on clearance last year on Fabric.com, I immediately bought 4 yards.

Instead, today I thought I'd share how I did the lining on my sleeveless dress.  I did a little google search and couldn't find any tutorials (on the first couple pages) for lining a sleeveless dress to the edge - most of what I saw was bias binding for the armholes.  I'm not a big fan of bias binding, looks-wise; I much prefer pieces that are lined to the edge.  But I can never remember how to do it and always have to look it up!  So as I was making this dress, I made sure to take pictures of each step to share with you and as a reference to myself in the future.  Because I think there will be many more sleeveless Emery dresses in my future :-)

Lining to the Edge on a Sleeveless Bodice

1.  Cut out your outer and lining bodice pieces, front and back.  Stay-stitch the necklines on all these pieces, as per the pattern instructions, and then sew and press the darts.

2.  Sew the backs to the fronts on both the outer and lining pieces at the shoulder seams.  Press these open, and trim the lining shoulder seams in half.

3.  With right sides together, sew the lining to the outer at the neckline, starting and stopping 1.25" from the edge.  I made a little mark at these positions to make it easier on myself.

 

*EDITED TO ADD:  After I made my second Emery bodice, I decided to try understitching the entire neckline at this point, after trimming and clipping the curves, but before sewing up the armholes.  Worked great!  I didn't do it that way the first time because I was following the directions from the lining book.

4.  Starting and stopping at the armhole curves, trim 1/8" off the edge of the armhole on the lining piece only, making it slightly narrower than the outer bodice.  They will look like this:

5.  Pull the edge of the lining over to match up with the edge of the outer, then sew the armhole seams.

6.  Grade the armhole and neckline seams, then clip the curves.  However, make sure not to cut away any of the neckline seam at the 1.25" you left unsewn - you'll need it to be there when you install the zipper.

7.  Now turn the lined bodice right side out, pulling the back through the shoulder to the front:

8.  Once the whole bodice has been turned right side out, give everything a nice press, making sure that the lining is pulled to the inside a bit.  This will be really easy to do at the armhole edges, since a bit of extra was trimmed away.  It will look like this - just a scant 1/16" of outer fabric showing:

Here's the whole bodice so far, pressed and ready to go on:

9.  Now, pin the lining side seams and outer side seams right sides together.  Sew this as one long, continuous seam:

Make sure to have the armhole seam allowance folded towards the outer side, like so:

Press these seams open.  Now you have a bodice that is completely constructed and lined to the edge, but open at the center back for the zipper installation.

10.  Assemble the skirt as per the instructions.  Then attach the skirt to the outer bodice only, keeping the lining pulled up out of the way:

11.  Finish the entire center back edge on both sides - I like to serge these edges.  Still keeping the lining pulled out of the way, install the back zipper as per the instructions.  The 1.25" opening you left at the neckline will make this easy to do.  Once the zipper is in, you can finish sewing that last 1.25" of the neck seam.

12.  Press up the waist edge of the lining 5/8" to prepare for attaching it to the waist.  Then flip the lining piece to the outside of the bodice so that the right sides are together.  Line up the center back edges and sew the lining to the zipper tape using a regular zipper foot.  Note:  you don't finish the center back edge of the lining, because you want to minimize bulk here.

13.  Trim the corner, and also the remainder of the neckline (not shown here), then turn out the dress to the right side.  Give everything a good press, then sew the waist edge of the lining to the waist seam of the dress by hand (or if you prefer, by stitching in the ditch from the right side).

Now all you've got left to do is to hem the dress!  You shouldn't need to do any understitching, as the trimmed armhole on the lining should keep the lining from peeking out.  If you want a little insurance understitching at the neckline, you can do this before closing up the lining in step 13.  You won't be able to understitch the whole neckline, but you should be able to do most of the front.  Or, you could understitch later by hand if you enjoy doing that - I sometimes do.

I'm very happy with the finish I got using this method, which I learned from Connie Long's Easy Guide to Sewing Linings.  I hope this will be helpful to some of you too!