Striped Dress 2

Pattern: McCall's Misses' Tops M6164, elongated
Fabric: double knit cotton
Cost: $30 @$14/yd

My second version of the casual striped dress was meant to remedy a few things: better fit, better capped sleeves and, most importantly, not having been shrunk in the wash. It was also a chance for me to use my new pattern--which I want to try on a few projects--and practice my craftsmanship--mainly being able to match stripes down the side seams. Accordingly, I went about cutting my pattern very carefully, matching up the stripes on the cutting floor, making the necessary adjustments at the waist, etc. The fabric was a beautiful double knit: when I bought it the various sales people came by and cooed at how pretty it was as the saleswoman cut it. It is blue and red striped on one side and blue on the other, which lends itself to some creative hemming options.

The top pattern is meant to fit long, so it has easing for your hips. All I had to do to make it into a dress was draw a straight line down to the desired length. These measurements fit me perfectly--a huge improvement from all the adjustments I had to make for my banded dress. I made the garment 38 inches long, and then waited until I tried it on to trim off a few more inches. As I cut out the pattern pieces, however, I became a little concerned that the sleeve would be too puffed. While striped dress number one was lacking in this department, having a capped sleeve fit for a princess in my second version would be over-compensating indeed. So, to start out I got rid of the side pleats. Unfortunately, the pattern cover has no good picture of version C (normal capped sleeves), so I had to go on what the drawing looked like.

Having sewn up the sleeves, however, I realized that they were still way too big. Compared to a normal sleeve (see pic at left), the puffed sleeve is HUGE. Not only does it leave room for a very gathered sleeve, but it also puffs out tremendously to each side. That is why there is all that extra room in the middle of the curve. I remedied this by trimming my sleeves down to a standard sleeve size but leaving in the width to make a little puff. The sleeves came out a bit loose, so I would say this is a work in progress.

The next fun thing I was able to do was turn up the sleeves so that the navy blue on the inside showed. I turned the sleeve up, surged the raw edge, and turned it under, topstitching it in place. I also had to enclose the raw edge on the turned out portion of the sleeve hem, so I gave the exposed seam a French finish. I was partly inspired by the sleeves on Mondo's Project Runway win.

Finally, I wanted to experiment with different neckband options. After seeing how this designer was able to finish the collar of the pattern with her fancy setup, I decided I needed to try something different, too. With the loose guidance of Burda Style's T-shirt V-Neck tutorial, I made my first neckband. Here is how I did it:

Step 1: Measure the neckband.

Step 2: Cut out a strip of the same or contrasting fabric as long as the neckband plus a little more. Mine measured 29 1/2" and was cut with a few inches to spare for good measure. The strip should be cut perpendicular to the selvage. It should also be cut about twice as wide as you want the neckband to be, plus 1 more inch for selvages.

Step 3: Folding the neckband in half with wrong sides together, pin it along the right side of the neckband, matching raw edges. Baste in place.

Step 4: Finish the raw edge using a serger or other non-bulky technique.

Step 5 (optional): Topstitch along the garment to hold the serged edge to the wrong side of the garment. This will help to hold the collar upright and keep it from folding in.

Finished Collar :)

And here's the final view of the collar and capped sleeve. Not bad for a new technique.

Check out my review of this pattern at PatternReview.com.

And here's the American Apparel version I recently spotted.

Casual Striped Dress

Pattern:
McCall's Misses'/Miss Petite Tunic #M5325
+ Burda's Young Fashion Jacket #8042 
+ Colette Pattern's Macaron Dress
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Fabric: striped cotton/lycra blend, 1 1/2 yds
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Price: $12
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There are usually two ways that I go about designing a garment. One is that I'll find a pattern that I absolutely love and get to work. Unfortunately, I am completely incapable of following a pattern and immediately start in on my own alterations--either making it fit better or shaping something to be a little more my style. This, of course, brings me to my second way of designing a garment: think up something that I want to make, inspired by an outfit I saw or a fabric I have bought (I have this bad habit lately of buying fabric just because) and then try to figure out how the hell I'm going to make it. At this point I'm not knowledgeable enough about pattern-making or draping to completely craft my own designs (although Lord knows I've tried), so the best, surest way to get the garment I want is to combine various pattern pieces in a sort of Frankenstein fashion. And this is exactly what I did with my casual striped dress.


For the general shape, I used my trusty McCall's tunic pattern, which I normally lengthen in to a dress (as I did here, 36"). I knew I wanted sleeves, probably 3/4 ones, so I borrowed the pattern piece from my Burda jacket pattern.  To give them a little something extra, I used the sleeve caps and armholes from my Colette macaron dress, which puff slightly at the shoulders. With a few nips and tucks along the way, the resulting creation turned out quite lovely--and exactly what I wanted.

This was also my first chance to use my new Serger. Because I was a little hesitant to start cutting and sewing with it right away, I basted my seams with my regular machine and took them in until they were how I wanted them. Up until this point, my main experience with a Serger was on my mom's machine with the Summer Dress. And while I absolutely love that creation, at some point during the whole sewing process I was about ready to throw it all away. Between the light blue Serger thread I was using and the way I couldn't get the tension right to hold two pieces of fabric together, I had about had it. Luckily that piece (unlike this one) is fully lined, and once it came together all my Serger flaws were hidden. This time around I took 20 min beforehand to get the tension just right, which basically involved me turning a tension knob a little, sewing a line, lather, rinse, repeat. You can see the pile of stitches in the picture above.

After I sewed (and serged) the dress together at the side and top seams, I basted the arms, gathering slightly around the shoulder and then serging in place. I then readjusted my tension (the second time around took a little less effort) and serged the neckline, hem and arm openings. Then I hemmed each opening at 5/8". The whole project can be completed in a day.

For more seam techniques (for regular machines), check out my new techniques section. The skillz all come from my sewing class, which I'm taking with my mom at Stone Mountain and Daughter.

Check it out on BurdaStyle!

Update: I'm sitting here wearing my dress, and I see Paris Hilton in the same one! Bitch is cramping my style. Tights and everything (not to mention Stephanie Pratt). Anyway, point is striped dresses are all the rage.

Sweetheart Dress

Pattern: Made to fit with help from McCall's Misses'/Miss Petite Tunic #M5325
Fabric: 1 yard stretch lycra, 1 yard cotton print, + boning
Cost: $25

Sewing directions:

Step 1: Figure out the dimensions and pattern of the dress by drawing your mesurements on the lining fabric. For the bodice, I marked the positioning of the dress on my body, the depth of the neckline, and the length of the hem. I fit the bodice to my body because I usually have to alter ready-made patterns anyway, and the skirt I traced from my favorite McCall's pattern, adjusting it to the desired length.

Step 2: Sew the outside pieces together to make a front and back (i.e. skirt  to waisteband to bodice top).

Step 3: Next sew the boning to the inside of the lining. The boning I used came pre-encased, so I didn't make a sleeve for it but rather sewed it on after trimming the plastic inside the case so that it was shorter than the fabric encasing. I used a clear foot to guide the needle over the slim margin of encasing fabric. Because the dress is lined, there really is no need to sew a lining for comfort reasons as the encasing will never touch your skin (it sits between the dress lining and outside). Make sure to stitch the top and bottom of the boning encasing so that the plastic boning doesn't slip out. Click here for an instructable on making your own boning and adding it to a garment.

Step 4:Sew pockets to the sides of the outer pieces of the dress, right sides together. I placed mine with the tops of the pockets 13 inches from the hem.

Step 5: Sew the front piece to the back piece at the side seams (right sides together). Make sure to include the pockets and not sew them shut! I did, however, go back and sew the bottom two inches of the pockets shut to give the pocket depth and shape. Now is a good time to try on the dress.

Step 6:  Sew the lining front to the lining back at the seams (right sides together, boning on the wrong side). Again, test the fit.

Step 7: Trace the front of the bodice onto fusible interfacing. Cut out a 1/2 inch strip of interfacing that mirrors the bodice top, and attach it below the selvadge onto the bodice top of both the dress and the lining (do not do this for the back). Press the selvage over the interfacing and baste. Press and baste the back necklines.

Step 7: Right sides together, sew the dress to the lining at the hem. Make sure to stretch the lining evenly: Evenly place about 8 pins around the hem of the dress; repeat for the lining. Pin the dress to the lining where the pins match up. Stretch the lining as you sew.

Step 8: Turn the dress right side out so it looks as it would if you were ready to wear it. Make sure the lining is not twisted inside the dress. Sew lining to dress at the neckline along the basted stitches.
Enjoy!

Rainbow Dress

Pattern: McCall's Misses'/Miss Petite Tunics #M5325

Fabric: Cotton/lycra blend

This is a fun little dress that is easy to pull on and wear. I modified my standby McCall's pattern by making it into a closed halter (no need to tie it) that slips over the head, and with darts at the bust that were designed so I don't have to wear a bra with it. The stripes are slightly diagonal, and the different fabrics make this design a good one for using up scraps from other projects.

Malinche Dress

Fabric: Lycra (bodice) and Mexican Tunic Dress

Pattern: Loosely based on McCall's Misses'/Miss Petite Tunics #M5325 with added pockets

Cost: $20 for tunic dress

The Malinche was the indigenous lover to the conquistador Hernán Cortés, serving as his interpreter in the New World to the betrayal of the Aztecs. This dress, like the union of Cortés and the Malinche herself, is a mix of new and old world material: the skirt is from a traditional embroidered Mexican dress, while the bodice is modern-day lycra. Both can be found in Mexico City today--a mestizo dress, if you will. The Malinche dress is made much like my Traditional Mexican Dress except with a bubble hem, a lower waste, and a shorter hem.

Check it out at BurdaStyle!

Traditional Mexican Dress

Pattern: Loosely based on McCall's Misses'/Miss Petite Tunic #M5325
Fabric: Stretch cotton (bodice) and Mexican tunic dress
Cost: $20 for tunic dress

When I was living in Mexico City, I fell in love with the patterns and colors of the traditional Mexican dresses sold in the plaza near my house. I knew from experience, however, that I would never wear box-shaped clothing like these dresses, which were also three times my size. I bought one anyway and, borrowing my señora's old Singer, I cut it up and refashioned it into this dress. The skirt conserves the original color and traditional embroidery, gathered into a band of black elastic that connects it to the top, which was loosely based off of a McCall's pattern. The ample fabric gave me plenty of yardage to work with. The dress slips over the head and is complete with pockets. 

As an added bonus, when swine flu hit I used some leftover white fabric to make a face mask.

Check it out at BurdaStyle!

Update: I frequently browse Mod Cloth's collection when I know what I want but also want to see how others have done it, or just to see the cool forms that others have dreamt up--I am sucker for well-made clothes with intricate detail. But now I am proud to say they have copied me (or at least I can claim that I did it first!). Here is their take on the Mexican dress, complete with pockets and everything:

Summer Dress

Pattern: McCall's Misses'/Miss Petite Tunic #M5325, elongated

Fabric: Cotton/Lycra blend

This is one of my first dresses. It turned out beautifully--on the outside. Inside I know it is a tangle of Surger machine thread and stitches. Luckily for me, it is fully lined, and even turned inside out it still looks fully finished. It is based on one of my stand-by McCall's patterns with a bubble hem, and I divided it up into two to make the bodice, which I stitched with decorative lines.

Check it out at BurdaStyle!