Fabricista Challenge 2: Retro Fun
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Hello everyone! My week has been filled with a lot of sewing. I made it into the second round of the Fabric Mart Fabricista challenge. A big thank you to everyone who voted for me! Here are the rules for our second challenge:
Using the pattern that we have selected for you, create a unique garment that reflects your personality. You can alter the pattern or add to the patterns to make it more you. Think of one or two words that describe you to inspire your look.
You will be judged on creativity, craftsmanship, fit, how well represented your description words are in your design, and difficulty.
The pattern...
I wanted this dress to reflect my love for vintage and my fun/playful side. I don't always sew vintage because it doesn't always fit my lifestyle. Most of my clothing is office professional looks (suits and blouses) and home lazy looks (sweat pants and tees). I love retro prints and when I seen this cotton print I was instantly in love. Joann Fabric was no longer carrying it in my area so one of my favorite bloggers, the lovely Rochelle of Lucky Lucille offered to pick up a couple yards for me from her Joann's. So sweet of her. Thanks again Rochelle, xo!
To keep with the vintage look I was going for I opted for a gathered skirt rather than the pleats. Short skirts are really not my style anyhoo. I used the skirt pattern from the Emery dress I recently tested for Christine Haynes.
For my yoke fabric I chose a slightly sheer white solid embr & eyelet from Mood. I didn't care for the sweetheart look of the front yoke so I altered it to look more like the yoke on the Colette Macaron. Here's a picture of the original pattern next to the altered pattern.
I have never worked with Salme patterns before so here are a few things to consider. This pattern has no seam allowances. Ugh I know! I used my tracing paper and tracing wheel to add a 5/8 seam allowance to the pattern. I also found the instructions rather vague and hard to understand. If it hadn't been for me already making the Colette Macaron and being familiar with this type of style I would of been totally lost. It's all the little details in a pattern that makes all the difference such as instructions how to assemble your darts and which way to press your seams and detailed illustrations. Once I got my bodice pieces attached to my yoke pieces I never gave the instructions a second look until I decided I wanted to confuse myself again. I attempted to follow the instructions on how to apply the bias tape to the armholes and neckline. I found Amanda's tutorial here more helpful. I always refer back to this tutorial when I'm applying bias tape. Lots of pictures is what I need!
I made the red bow belt to add some fun to the dress. Follow Tilly's tutorial here, it's super easy and so fun to make. I'd like one in every color!
It was so windy out I decided to come in and take some pictures in my sewing room.
I used a french seam on the shoulder seams, bias tape for the yoke seams, armholes and neckline and serged my side seams. The hem is finished with a hand slipstich.
I think this dress represents my fun retro side and reminds me of something I might see on ModCloth. Ugh, if I ever win the lottery my whole closet is getting replaced with ModCloth dresses. Vito says he cares nothing about dresses, he'd prefer I spend my winnings on treats and...treats.
