The Knit Shift Dress

I've never really thought about where I fit into the style spectrum, I just make and wear what appeals. Oh yes, I've done the whole "what's in fashion now" thing, then look back at old photos and wonder what on earth I was thinking at the time?!

Now that I've done 2.5 years of ready to wear fasting I look at my wardrobe and realise that the shift dress, or variations of it, is a 'thing' for me. This probably explains why I've made two knit shift dresses in a month.

This is Mesa, one of the patterns issued with the June 2015 edition of Seamwork. It is described as "The flirty knit shift that's as stylish as it is comfortable", and I agreed 100%. Apparently it should only take 1 hour to make. It took me longer than that but that probably because I decided to line it.

I picked up 1.5 metres of this medium weight jersey double knit from Fabric Barn specifically for this dress.  The pattern suggested light to medium weight knit fabrics with at least a 25% 4-way stretch. Personally, I think that a light weight jersey would show all the 'lumps and bumps' underneath - No Thanks!

Because it's winter and I wanted to wear stockings for warmth but didn't want it cling, so I picked up some knit tricot to line the body. This stuff is so light weight that you barely notice its there but the difference it makes is incredible. In my opinion, so much better than having to wear a slip underneath that constantly keeps riding up.  After I sewed up the side and shoulder seams of the tricot I pinned it to the shell at the neck before attaching the neck band. I attached it to the armscye with a simple running stitch.

I didn't clearly fit into one size on the body measurement chart so decided to select my size based on my waist/hip measurement and made a size M (8-10).  Looking at the sample photos on the Seamwork site the dressed looked to be quite short and I'm taller than the average so went ahead and cut the length to the 3XL pattern length, 2" longer than the size M. This is the perfect length for me, falling just above my knee.

The hem, I just overlocked the raw edge, folded it up by 3/4" and stitched it down with two rows of straight stitch.  I also added 1" to the length of the sleeve - a short sleeve just didn't seam right.

There's a couple of things I noticed after wearing it a few times. The neckline at the front is a bit loose, so the neck band could be a little bit more snug, I could really do with an additional 1/2" around the hips and a bit more room across the shoulder blades.

I wasn't planning on making another Mesa immediately but my WSBN friends spotted this fabulous panel print at The Fabric Warehouse and as all good sewing friends do, sent me a picture and said "this has your name all over it". Having been fabric enabled I was down at the shop within the next 24 hours buying 1.5 metres of it.

After looking at the print for a while I decided that it best that the tall part of the tree should go up to the neckline at the front and back. I had just enough fabric to pattern match and get just the right part of the panel placed where I want.

I cut the reflection off the panel so the dry grass ended at the hem, so I could successfully wear some dark stockings with the dress without it looking odd.

I made a few changes to the pattern before I cut this version:

• moved the shoulder seam forward 1/2"
• dropped the front neckline 3/8"
• widen the back at the shoulders by moving the armscye out by 1/8" on the back pattern piece
• widen the hip by 1/4" on each pattern piece, blended down to top the top of the split and up to the armhole.

Two super comfy dresses that I've been wearing non-stop for the last couple of months :-)

More photos on my Flickr -->

Channelling my inner Olivia Pope!

I'm not gonna lie, I was completely inspired by a winter white coat worn by Olivia Pope, while I was engrossed in a Scandal watching marathon!  Would it fit in my wardrobe and would I have anything to wear with it - who cared, I was making it anyway :-)

The coat itself has been a bit of a marathon make.  I already had the Robson Coat by Sewaholic Patterns in my stash. My first attempt at this pattern had been a complete disaster, for a couple of reasons but anyway if I was going to make this one work I needed to get a muslin sewn up and work out the fit issues. So that happened in February 2015.

Sorting out my fit issues took a while - I couldn't work out why I was getting putting on the front armscye where it joined the side front.  I tried adjusting the armscye itself, but to no avail. So I let it smoulder for a few months.  Then in May I had a brain wave and went back to the muslin to adjust the bust curve on the princes seam - letting it out to provide more room. That combined with a slight change in the armseye shape on the side front so it was less of a curve, provided that extra room that allowed freedom of movement.  Here is the list of adjustments I made in the order I made them:

• I started with a size 10 (upper body through to waist), then tappered into a size 6 at the hips and the length of a size 0.
• Lengthened the bodice by 1/2" at the high bust. This lowered the apex of the bust and the armpit, both which I need as I am much taller than the woman the pattern is designed for.
• Removed 1" from the length of the coat - I did this 5" above the hem.
• Added 1/4" to the armscye on the side back to provide more room for my broad back. I also had to make this adjustment to the back flap to ensure it would sit across the back and match the new cutting line of the side back.
• Removed 5/8" from the front flap at the centre front side. I wanted the front flaps to sit under the collar - something I had noticed from the first disaster attempt!

• Added 1/2" to the base of the armscye curve on the sleeve piece to provide for the extra length I had given to the bodice.
• Added 1/2" to the cap of the sleeve to add more fullness.

• Omitted the epaulets on the shoulder to reduce the bulk.

So with the fitting solved, I set to and cut into my fashion fabric. Back in February (I think), or it could have been back in later 2014 when I got the inspiration for this project, I picked-up this beautiful winter white cotton jacquard from The Fabric Store. It was $28 p/m but well worth it. I hummed and harred over the binding, debating over all kinds of options, but in the end I went with this subtle neutral toned cotton, also from The Fabric Store - a little more pricey at $32 p/m but I only needed one metre.

The cotton jacquard was really opaque, but I still thought it needed to be interlined - well for a couple of reasons really: one, to ensure that any dark colours I wore under the coat wouldn't taint the collar of the coat from the outside; and two, that the inside would be lined making it easy to put on over other clothing fabrics.  So on another one of my visits to The Fabric Warehouse I got this really lovely, light weight, shinny, polyester lining - oh yes I did say polyester, but it is just lovely and I figured that it would help keep the warmth of the coat in.

I hand basted all the lining pieces to the shell fabric pieces by hand, then sewed them as one. To avoid an additional row of stitching rather than binding the seams closed I used a hong kong finish, the raw edge of the bias tape was closed in when I top stitched the seam down.

The exception was around the edges of the pocket.

Overall, the inside of the coat looks soo nice. But attaching all that bias tape took forever, and I'd get fed-up with the process, so I'd treat myself by taking a break and sewing something completely different.

At first I wasn't quite sure what to wear with it, and because it's such a statement piece, the first few times I worn it I felt like the clown at the party. Now I've worn it with dresses and pants and am feeling a lot more comfortable.

I finished the look by added some mottle light brown buttons. I am totally happy with the final fit of the coat. I can comfortably wear two layers underneath without it feeling tight or uncomfortable. It is exactly as I imagined it would be!

More photos on my Flickr -->