Lining the Brasilia

Did you download the FREE Brasilia Dress pattern on Christmas Day?  Well if you didn't you should do it now!  HERE's the link

Back in November last year I was able to test the pattern and I fell in love with the fish darts, well at least I think that is what they are called - they're the bust darts that stem up and out diagonally from the bottom of the rib cage.  Anyway I digress ... the pattern is unlined and recommends either using bias tape to finish the neck and armhole edges or drafting your own facing - either provides for a great finish.  I myself love a lined dress, so of course I had to make another Brasilia Dress and fully line it.  You can read all about my first dress here and changes I made to the pattern.

I was always gonna make another Brasilia Dress, but it had to be lined!  Let me start my giving you a peek at the finished dress ...

The dress fits the body like a glove so a stretch woven is recommended for the dress.  For both mine I selected a stretch cotton sateen - perfect if you ask me!  I was thinking about what fabric I would use for the lining and in the end I picked a lycra knit so it would snug into the dress and 'give' in all the right places.  In hindsight it wasn't the smartest decision and if doing it again I would look at using a stretch tricot.  I think any fabric without some lycra would restrict movement of the dress or would tear at the seams (yip, I've had that happen before).  You also don't want it to be too heavy.

With only two pattern pieces to this dress, I cut one set from the fashion fabric and one set from the lining fabric.

I love this print - you can't tell that I didn't attempt to pattern match, ha!

I constructed the darts on the front pieces and sewed both front pieces together up centre front before putting the side insets in.  I sewed the darts on the back pieces then attached the back pieces to the front at the shoulders.  I repeated these steps for the lining pieces.

In this printed fabric you couldn't see the side inset feature, so to highlight these I chose to sew on some black ribbon after sewing the insert in.  I was going to use some piping, but the inserts are tricky enough to put in without having to worry about piping as well.  Hello ribbon!


I also used a knit stay tape in the shoulder seams of the lining - just in case, because at this point I hadn't decided how to finish the arm and neck edges.

I laid the fashion fabric dress flat on the table, right side up and placed the lining dress over top, right side down (right sides of both dresses together).  I matched the armhole seams, and neck seam, pining both layers together being sure I matched up the shoulder seams.  Once securely pinned in place I sewed each seam permanently attaching the lining to the dress.

This is where I think the magic happens ... with the front of the dress closest to me I put my hand between the layers at the shoulder seam and pulled the left back pieces through the left shoulder and pulled the right back pieces through the right shoulder between the layers ...

centre back at neck is just secured by a pin at this stage - for photo purpose really.

Next I put the zipper into my dress.  I'm a sucker for a lapped zipper in a dress, but you could also put in an invisible one.  Then I attached the lining to the inside of the dress along the zip edge by hand.  Well, actually I tried to do this with the machine, but the lycra knit lining was misbehaving, so unpicked it all and decided that hand stitching it in place was going to give me the best finish.

Next I basted the side seams of the fashion fabric together and did a final fitting.  I didn't need to make any changes, so then proceed to sew up the fashion fabric bottom to armhole and carry on down the side seam of the lining, armhole to bottom - repeated for the other side.

My lining had more stretch that desired, so instead of under-stitching the lining I decided to top-stitch armholes and neck to prevent the lining from poking out from underneath the dress fabric.  The hem of the lining is only about 1" shorter than the dress - just enough not to fall out the bottom.

Viola!  my fully lined Brasillia Dress.

More photos on my Flickr -->

Floral - Summer - Wiggle

This cute little baby is my first ever full on floral dress (can you believe it!), and I am super in love with it.  Yay for the gorgeous summer days we've been having lately - no hanging around in the wardrobe for this dress.

As some of you might know I'm a little obsessed with Instagram atm and this wee obsession allowed me to be one of three lucky people to get a discounted 'end of stock' pattern from Blueginerdoll.  Abbey had rebranded all her pattern packaging and was looking to off-load the last of the 'old' Billie Jean patterns.

Actually, I was sitting on the fence about the pattern cause I just wasn't sure about the shoulder straps. The discount was just enough to tip me over and I must say it hasn't disappointed.

While I was in Auckland earlier in the month I managed to get in a wee bit of fabric shopping.  This lovely cotton sateen just kept calling my name and I kept walking away saying 'I don't do floral', but in the end the colours just drew me in.  I actually bought three pieces of fabric that day and this is the only one that has made it to my sewing table.

Billie Jean is described as a wiggle dress, but I actually have a heap of room to wiggle around in.  I think the pattern is very cleaver in that it looks super body hugging, but doesn't feel that way at all.   When walking it does call for small step, especially when paired with these shoes :).

The construction methods are fabulous making it almost impossible not to be able to line up the bodice princess seams with the skirt darts.   I think I might adopt this method for other patterns now.

I lined this dress with a black cotton viole, the perfect choice for a summer dress.  I did debate with myself about the length, but went with the pattern recommendation and think that it adds to the charm of the dress.

If you are sitting on the fence about this dress, there is no reason to be any more.  I'm sure my Billie Jean will get loads of wear this summer.

More photos on my Flickr -->

Oh to be like Jackie O!

This is the Brasilia Dress by House of Pinheiro.  A Jackie O inspired sheath dress that Rachel produced for the Fall for Cotton sew-along.

When I first saw Rachel's dress I thought it was to die for.  The inward darts at the bust are so unique - don't they just give the best shape to the dress.

I found this cotton sateen at the Fabric Barn in Lower Hutt.  I really wasn't sure about fabric until this one jumped off the shelf and into my arms!  I've used a solid black cotton to highlight the side insets, and to balance it up I've used the solid black along the hem as well.  I love the result, it gives my rectangular body shape the illusion of a curvy waist - yay me.

please ignore my sunburn lines - too much sun wearing my t-shirt.

The pattern came in one size, to match Rachel's measurements.  Luckily the waist and hips I didn't need to adjust but unfortunately I am not a C cup bust :(    I did my first SBA (small bust adjustment), reducing the bust by .5" and moved the apex of the darts by measuring the distance between the apex of each breast.  This worked out perfectly.

Because Rachel is so tall I had to remove some length from the torso area.  This felt a little strange because usually I have to add in length on most other patterns because of my height.  Anyway I removed 1.5" from the torso in addition to the .5" that was removed with the SBA.

I over complicated things a little trying to get the side insert correct after the SBA and removal of length and I've ended up with the front of the armhole looking a bit weird.  To overcome this I applied the bias binding so it formed a visable band around the armhole.  The weirdness is only noticeable when I move my arms backwards or stick my boobs out too far!

a weird armhole shape goin on!

I dropped the front neckline by .5" which is just a personal preference for me - I like things to sit under my collar bone.

The black band around the bottom was cut 2" deep and folded in half and applied to the hem as you would a bias binding.  This gives the dress an appropriate length that I could wear to the office without feeling like I was bearing too much leg!

The pattern recommended an invisible zipper but I thought for my fabric and blocking of colour it would be nice to do an exposed zipper - I love this feature, although I can't see it once I've got the dress on.

Usually I line ALL my dresses, but I decided not to line the Brasilia.  It is very comfy and fits like a glove.  It will be ideal for those hot summer days in the office.

I was a bit late to the pattern testing party (yay instagram), but I am so pleased Rachel allowed me to test her pattern.  Overall I love it and would definitely consider making another one.

If you are interested in stitching up this dress, it is due to be released on Christmas Day.  Keep an eye on Rachel's blog

More photos on my Flickr -->

Geektastic marries Vogue

I have been hanging out to make this dress for what seems like ages.  I purchased the pattern early this year but put it away thinking that when summer arrives I will get it out again.  Then I discovered Spoonflower!

I can't remember what month but this fabric was the winner of the geek contest on Spoonflower.  The colour was amazing and it just spoke to me.  Now ...  I don't usually go for novelty prints but this, well I just had to have it.

At the first sign of Spring this dress just had to jump the que and be first onto the sewing table for Frocktober.

I put together a muslin first and just as well cause the waist was just too small, so a bit of math later and I'd worked out that each pleat, and there are 10 of them, had to loose 0.7cm which would give me the extra 7cm in circumference that I needed.  I also had a hell of a time with the princess seams in the bodice - they weren't true princess seams because the pattern also has a bust dart.  Anyway after much faffing it all came together.

I got some cotton batiste (well that's what I think it is anyway) from The Fabric Warehouse to line the dress, so it would feel wonderful against my skin in the summer heat, without sticking to me.

The dress provided for a hem facing.  This is the first time I've done one of these - very easy I must say.  I couldn't really workout why a facing and not just a hem, but as soon as I put the dress on I immediately knew why - it helps give the skirt some fooff and helps maintain the overall shape of the dress when worn - very cleaver if you ask me!

Look at the shape of the dress - isn't that so pretty?

My invisible zipper went in like a dream.   No pattern matching here, as you can tell!

More Photo on my Flickr -->

Spring calls for Group Sewing

Today is the first day of spring and to kick it off I am participating in a couple of group sewing activities.  Luckily I can sew one garment for both - oh year love that!

I love sewing dresses and who doesn't like a good cotton fabric, but I don't usually sew vintage!  Athough now vintage includes the 1980s I probably have a few patterns from that era in my statsh!  Anyway my intuition must have known something I didn't, because about three months ago when sewingpatterns.com had a Butterick sale I acquired this Butterick Retro '51 pattern.  The dress to the left particularly caught my eye.

This pattern wasn't even on my sewing 'to do' list, then all of a sudden it is first out of the box for September - don't you love how a good group activity changes things :-)

Last week I took a wee detour to The Fabric Store hoping to get some inspiration for fabric.  I was hoping to find a cotton voile or similar light weight cotton that would have a transparent nature.  Next thing I knew I was at the counter with this fabric!

The pin in the centre will give you a sense of the size of the pattern.

Now this is sooooo far removed from my comfort zone, but the purple and blue combination found a soft spot and intuition said 'BUY IT'.   So what is a girl to do ... follow her intuition of course!

To keep inspired and gain some confidence in my selection I joined the Fall for Cotton Flickr group - check it out there are some great patterns and amazing fabrics to google over.

Check out this fabric!   I ordered this from Spoonflower, not long after I discovered the awesomeness of custom made fabric. 

Two yards of cotton sateen - devine!  At the time I ordered it all I knew was that I wanted to make a dress with it, one with a fullish skirt.  Then along came this pattern from Kay Unger in the Vogue collection, the perfect combination. 

On my way past the Fabric Warehouse yesterday I called in to pick up some lining, 100% cotton batiste, which is lovely and soft to match the cotton sateen, knowing that this pattern would be at the top of my sewing list soon now that it is Spring ;-)

It feels like Spring is my permission to start sewing summer dresses - well that's what I'm telling myself anyway.  That's not to say that I've finished my winter sewing list yet - still two pairs of jeans to make and a nice wool blazer!  There is no doubt that they will get loads of wear before summer is truly here.