fba

This makes me think of chiropractics for dressmaking - a full bust adjustment. Lo and behold, over at Sew, Mama, Sew! there is a tutorial about altering the Amy Butler Lotus Dress for a full bust (thanks Regan for the tip!)

Work has continued on my Marimekko version of the dress, I have only to complete the binding on one sleeve and work out the hemline. (Initially I thought that I would need to add extra fabric to achieve a good length but that doesn't seem now to be necessary - thankfully).

But I tell you, opening a sewing pattern has turned out to be the equivalent of opening a can of worms, and all because of one issue - fit. It turns out that commercial sewing patterns are designed with a B cup bust in mind, so if you're a size or two larger (unh, or three or four larger) buying the pattern that matches your bust measurement will give you a garment designed for a very large person with a small bust. And that doesn't fit.

I was really lucky this past weekend that a friend's mother was visiting and shared some of her dressmaking and fitting expertise with me on this toile. It's the DKNY Vogue 1573 dress, made up in some scrap fabric that I have had lying around forever. (Actually, I got this fabric for free at a yard sale; the same one where I bought the fabric for my roses quilt. It came in dozens of strips which I sewed together into sheets of fabric; hence my toiles have seams all over the place. Not to mention that sometimes I get confused when sewing and put the seams on the outside (observe under the bust).)

Susanne made some great alteration suggestions which I'm really excited to try out when time permits. I've also borrowed and requested a few books from the library and even found a couple of gems on my own shelves. I pick books up at the thrift store all the time if they are on a topic that interests me and then find them again six months later when I need them.

Getting immersed in all these fit and alteration issues has my head spinning a bit. Do you know that great sensation when you can feel your brain stretching to understand something and integrate that knowledge? It's really exciting and interesting and challenging but a bit of a distraction from the actual sewing. All for the better though if I can just get a dress that blasted well fits.

invisible beauty

Sometimes it's the things that you can't see ...

An invisible zipper! Installing zippers and sewing buttonholes are two things that I have long had a mental block about. For, as it turns out, no reason at all. It was really simple to do, does require a special foot, but just involves pinning the zipper on and sewing down the edges. The groove in the foot guides it over the coils of the zipper and the result is fantastic, and invisible.

So the Marimekko lotus dress is proceeding. Despite my greatest efforts and practice toiles, I have still managed to muck it up in places, mostly in the matching of the fabric panels in order to get enough length. I think that the fit is going to be good, I still need to work out where to put the back darts though (lower than the pattern directs I think) and get to work on the lining.

Oh, and I've bought some Echino Etsuko Furuya fabric for the next one ...

franken|pattern

I seem to have some unusual momentum for this project - usually I start something and then put it aside to dwell on it awhile but I worked on this for the fourth day in a row.

I made my third toile of a blended size medium/large bodice. With a little tweaking I am happy enough with the fit so have stuck it together with the size medium skirt and am ready to cut from my fabric. I will first have to actually sew the fabric together; hmm, must go see about that.

double toile and trouble

Oh so long ago, I complained a bit about Amy Butler's Midwest Modern: A fresh design spirit for the modern lifestyle because it was all show and no free patterns. Almost three years later, I caved and bought the pattern for the Lotus Cami and Tunic (which also includes a dress option).

Now usually I would consider making a toile to be just twice the work but, following the very good example of my friend Nichola, I have so far made two for this dress: the full dress in size medium and just the bodice in size large.

Why two? Because, of course, the size medium was too small across the bust, but fine everywhere else. The size large bodice fits across the bust, but gapes under the arms and at the centre back so I am going to need to do some blending there (and make another toile).

So, is making a toile twice the trouble? Well, it's certainly a lot more effort but I think that might just be an effect of expectations. I want everything done so quickly, out of the box, snap it together, quick quick quick. Sewing this dress well is going to take time, mainly to get the size right, and I do want it done well.

If I had just plunged in and made the size medium from my fabric then it would have been a complete failure already - too small and fabric all gone. Yes, to add to the fun of it all I have limited fabric to work with: I'm planning to use my Marimekko Lumimarja that I bought at Value Village (two-and-a-half years ago).

Which brings me to my next design dilemma:

Unlike in the picture above, I don't have a continuous length of fabric to work with, rather a number of pieces, none of them large enough for a full length pattern piece. I'm going to have to sew some pieces together and have a couple of options. (A few notes: the fabric will be turned on its side, there are princess seams and the middle panel will have as much red as possible as this will be closest to my face, and there will be cap sleeves but I'll think about them later.)

A) Only one horizontal seam at about the top of the hips. Above this seam there would be the branch print and below there would be solid red that continues into the print. Would this be putting a horizontal seam at an unflattering point? Well actually, the seam will be here regardless to maximise use of the fabric, but is it a good idea to highlight it with a change from print to solid red?

B) Two horizontal seams and the dress will be all print below the waist, albeit with two transitions.

Your opinions, please!