This dress was supposed to be my make No 4 from
my autumn sewing list. But, as you will read, I didn't make it that far! The pattern is Simplicity 6908 that I got from a swap in August. The dress has princess seams, which I have never sewn before, a drape, a yoke back and front, and little sleeves.
I wanted to make the dress in a dark purple jersey, as the pattern states you can use jersey as well. But readers you know, my experience with sewing jersey is almost nil.Thus I decided to make a muslin first and I used another jersey that I also got from the swap in August.
I decided to ignore the back zipper, and also didn't cut yoke front and back (Here I was a bit confused by the pattern description and thought I might not need the yoke and I think I don't need it with jersey.).
And as you can see there are several problems! The bust darts don't point to my apex and the fabric is doing some crazy things at the hem. I have no idea how to move the darts on princess seams - do they actually have to be there? And I have no idea what happened to the fabric at the hem. I sewed with my overlocker and didn't stretch the fabric, so the hems should look fine. Any suggestion what could have gone wrong?
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| The bust darts are too high. |
I was hoping to sew a wearable muslin, but don't think I will ever wear it in public with this crazy hem. I also haven't bothered to sew button loops and buttons onto the drape to close it in the back. I am sorry to present you with such an unfinished "garment", but I am hoping to get some comments that might help me to improve my sewing skills!
Seeing the problems I have with the muslin, I don't think I will make the dress with my jersey fabric. Maybe it is best, when I first learn how to modify and sew princess seams dresses before I try to make them with jersey.
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| Ahm, the photos were taken after lunch. |
And I got the really nice comment from my boyfriend, that I can't gain
weight when sewing such clothes. I know they are body hugging. But he
made it sound like I have gained a few pounds in the last few weeks.
Buhu, guys... Although I have to admit, I hardly left the house for the last month because I have started to write my PhD thesis at home. That is also the reason for my blogging and commenting absence, as I am happy about every PC-free minute at the moment. So, sorry for my blogging silence, but hopefully I will be back to old shape soon.
I don't think it's as bad as you think it is. Other than the hem, I think it is quite wearable. Maybe you could chop the hem off and do another. I think palmer/pletsch have a method for moving a dart, by cutting a box around it and moving it. I've never seen a dart on a princess seam though. Although the princess seams themselves look a bit unusual - normally the seam goes over the fullest part of the bust. I hope your thesis is going ok :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelly. I usually have to move my darts by 1" and always do it with the box :) but if I would have done here, then I would have also changed the outline of the princess seams. I checked in the book, but was not confident enough to try anything from there, especially because it was quite difficult to fit the tissue. The book also says there are two kinds of princess seams: one goes over the bust and the other one through the shoulder.
DeleteI am a bit stuck with my thesis, but I suppose that happens sometimes. Hopefully it will be better today - there are only another 4 month left of writing, puh.
I think it still looks beautiful. The colour suits you so well and I love the top part of the pattern. There's some serious puckering going on - did you use stretch/jersey needles? The top part is fine even with the bust darts like this. Maybe you could just chop off the bottom part and sew a simple narrow t-shirt hem and wear it like a shirt? The puckering on the top part looks like it's supposed to be like that and the collar is stunning anyway! I think as a shirt it's absolutely wearable!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Charlie. I love pink and purple :) About the puckering, I used my overlocker to sew the dress, and for the basting I used a normal stitch because I thought I will go over it with the overlocker again. So maybe, when basting I stretched it already? I like your idea with making a shirt out of it :) I actually might do it, after I have gotten over my disappointment with this dress.
DeleteI agree with Charlie -- That color is great on you, and I especially love the cowl collar in combination with the V-neck. It is such a unique look, and it is awesome! Is there a way you could modify the pattern to eliminate the center front seam? That might help with some of the pulling, etc.
DeleteI also say turn it into a shirt. You can wear it with a button down cardigan, and no one will even notice the iffy bust darts! The fabric (and that beautiful collar/neckline) are too good to waste!
Thanks Cari :) I like your idea about eliminating the front seam and actually might give it a try with some leftover jersey I have from another project. I am even thinking that I might be able to eliminate the bust darts as well.
DeleteI really like the general shape of this dress - I think the combination of the collar and seams is so flattering! Keep trying, it'll look great! As for the darts - I have no idea how do move them. I'd probably try skipping them ;-) Maybe you could try adding a little bit of extra length to the top of the front shoulder piece (the bit that sits across the armpit) - it looks a little like it's bunching up on top of your bust a little, and could do with sitting a bit further down. Not sure that makes sense, but if not, I'll see you Wednesday ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Thea! I think I know what you mean (lets chat about it on Wednesday nonetheless). I also have the problem that one of my shoulders is higher than the other one that's probably why it is worse on one side!
DeleteOh, what a cute pattern! I think most of the problems come from using a jersey that's not very stable, so the seams ripple a bit. Maybe you could stabilize the seams and hem? I do that very seldomly because I have never seen SteamASeam in Germany, but there are several tutorials out there (at least one by Cake Patterns, I think).
ReplyDeleteAbout the bust dart, I'm thinking you can just eliminate it by pinching it out of the pattern, at least when you're making it in a knit. The stretch will probably take care of the slightly different fit. :)
Thank you for your great tips! I knew it was not me but the seams ;) I will check the internet for a tutorial and next time when I use such a slippery fabric, I will try to stabilize the seams. And yes, the bust darts will go in my final version!
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