Month: August 2013

The Hundred Dresses: Day 70

Erin7 Comments

This dress is a mystery:

mystery dress

I mean, it’s not a mystery as to why I made it — I love this fabric and I remember it going together very easily — it’s a mystery as to what pattern I used. I can picture the front of the pattern very clearly — two women, one in pink, maybe? I think it was an Advance pattern, too. (Okay perhaps I can’t picture it all that clearly.)

mystery dress bodice

I know I wore this to a friend’s wedding, and that the wedding was in Iowa.

mystery dress side zip

I think I bought the fabric from eQuilter.

mystery dress back

I thought this dress would go with EVERYTHING because of all the colors in the print, but I pretty much end up just wearing it with a white or black cardigan, because getting an exact match to any of these colors has proven quite difficult. But it’s still a cheerful dress, and the bodice is very comfortable. I’d make it again if I could only figure out what it was!

The Hundred Dresses: Day 69

Erin6 Comments

There’s only a month left of dresses! Here’s today’s, another inhabitant of the depths of my closet:
popsicle dress

This is one of those dresses that is really all about the print and the trim. I know I still have this pattern somewhere, but I have no idea where it is. It was so much fun to find the piping and binding:
popsicle dress neck piping

Here’s a full view:

popsicle dress bodice

And a closeup of the sleeve binding:
popsicle dress sleeve binding

And I really love this print. I know I bought it on eBay, probably back in 2005.

popsicle dress print closeup

Side zip:

popsicle dress side zip

I made this dress back in 2007, maybe 2006. It’s interesting to take it out and look at it now — I feel like my sewing skills have progressed a lot since then. For example, I don’t think I would have done this:

popsicle dress back neck

Full back view:

popsicle dress back

The Hundred Dresses: Day 68

Erin2 Comments

Okay, here’s the other Simplicity 2180 I made, from the vintage bicycle fabric I wrote about here:

vintage bicycle Simplicity 2180

 

The piping is far more even on this one:

vintage bicycle Simplicity 2180 bodice

 

At the midriff, too:

vintage bicycle Simplicity 2180 midriff

 

A few little stitches here I have to clean up:

vintage bicycle Simplicity 2180 back neck piping

 

But unfortunately here is the real problem — I started the side zipper too low, and the bodice was too tight, so — disaster:

vintage bicycle Simplicity 2180 side zip damage

 

To fix this, I am going to have to take out the zipper and reinforce that weak spot with a patch, AND redo the side seam and piping on the OTHER side (in order to make it fit). Or just lose about 10 pounds. At this point, I’m not sure which would be easier. And did I mention that the fabric (being vintage) is a bit fragile? Just contemplating fixing this one makes me want to go lie down …

The Hundred Dresses: Day 67

Erin2 Comments

This is a modern pattern, Simplicity 2180. (You might remember my rant about the trouble I had trying to buy it as a downloadable pattern.)

I did eventually buy the pattern (in a regular store) and make it, like so:
black roses Simplicity 2180 front

It’s fabric I bought about ten yards of (at $1/yard) down in LA years and years ago. I really like it, because I don’t REALLY like it, if that makes sense. It’s great fabric for making trial versions out of, because I am happy to wear the end result but not depressed if I have to wad the whole thing up and throw it away. (I should have bought 20 yards …)

I was slightly overambitious with this first trial version. You can read the original blog post about it here.
black roses Simplicity 2180 bodice

 

I do love the lines of this pattern, although I didn’t realize the top part of the bodice would be so stand-offy from the neck:

black roses Simplicity 2180 piping

Here’s the side zip:
black roses Simplicity 2180 side zip

And a closer view so you can see I still have basting thread I haven’t pulled out:
black roses Simplicity 2180 side zip closer

 

And the back piping, which I’m not happy with at all, but which is usually hidden under a cardigan, anyway.

black roses Simplicity 2180 back piping

 

Here’s the full back view:

black roses Simplicity 2180 back

 

I did make the dress one more time (just to be SURE) but on the whole I’m a bit “meh” about it. The skirt isn’t quite as full as I like (for full range of movement) and I ended up not liking the neckline as much as I thought I would. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe I need to make it one more time to be ABSOLUTELY sure. In pink gingham?

The Hundred Dresses: Day 66

Erin8 Comments

This one is definitely dug out from the time capsule. It’s been hanging in my “active duty” closet, but I’m not sure if I’ve worn it in the past year. It’s (mostly) Butterick 2344 — I know I used a different (circle) skirt pattern:

yellow broken plaid Butterick 2344 front

I originally made this dress in early 2006, to give one of the first “big-conference” talks I ever did.

yellow broken plaid Butterick 2344 bodice

It’s funny to look at these older dresses now — I see all sorts of things I’d do differently today. It looks like perhaps I didn’t pre-wash this piping …

yellow broken plaid Butterick 2344 midriff

Boy, I wish I had more of this fabric. I remember I bought it at Paron’s, and it wasn’t even in the sale section. I loved it that much. Such a sucker for broken plaids, I am. Looking at it now, though, I’m wondering if maybe it was upholstery fabric? It’s almost that weight. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course.

And this is probably the ONLY back-zip dress I currently own (that’s not vintage):

yellow broken plaid Butterick 2344 back

I know some folks have been asking in the comments “what’s with all the side zips?” and I thought I’d show this dress so I can explain … except there really isn’t a good explanation for why I vastly prefer side zippers; I only have justifications. Which mostly are:

  • I have some lingering shoulder issues from ill-advised and uncoordinated college sports days, which make doing the “reach to the middle of my back” contortion uncomfortable, and I travel alone quite a bit and don’t always have someone handy to help with the zipping/unzipping
  • Back zips are too public, I like my zippers hidden under my arm
  • Back zips are usually much longer than side zips, which means more leeway for things to go wrong
  • Harder to match prints across back zips (for me, at least)
  • I don’t like the extra step to finish the facing nicely at the top of zip (laziness)

That’s pretty much it! No really good reasons, except maybe the first one.

The Hundred Dresses: Day 65

Erin3 Comments

Another Vogue 9929 … I made this one for a holiday party last year. You know sometimes when you wake up and think “I have nothing to wear to [EVENT TONIGHT]!”, and you sigh and make the best of it? Yeah, I never do that. If there’s at least four hours between me and [EVENT] I will make a new dress.
silk shantung 9929

I have had this fabric for probably a decade. I bought a grab-bag of silk shantung from an ad in the back of a magazine (maybe Threads?) years ago, and I think made maybe ONE thing out of the ten or so short yardage pieces I got.
silk shantung 9929 bodice

The zip is a bit off, but I was running out the door and couldn’t fix it:
silk shantung 9929 side zip

Also, I forgot to allow for extra hem depth because the fabric is so lightweight, so I ended up using some ball-chain trim as a hem weight. Works okay, and if it shows, it looks almost intentional!
silk shantung 9929 hem weighting
Here’s the back:
silk shantung 9929 back

I ended up wearing this with a bright fuchsia cardigan, festive but slightly less all-out Christmassy than red. And it was a great party!

The Hundred Dresses: Day 64

Erin5 Comments

This is McCall’s 8858, which, for quite some time, was my favorite pattern. I think this is one of the nicest dresses I made with it:

Enchanted Garden McCall's 8858

It’s Liberty twill, a pattern called “Enchanted Garden”. I wish I had about eighty more yards of this. (I did have enough left over after making this dress to make a skirt, though.)

Enchanted Garden McCall's 8858 bodice

Another thing I love about this dress is that a few years back J. Crew made flats in this same fabric (I should have remembered to take a picture of them as well). So occasionally I wear them together. Here’s a close-up of the fabric, isn’t it fun?

Enchanted Garden McCall's 8858 closeup

As I go through and take pictures of older dresses, I’m realizing how much my sewing has improved even in a few short years — I think I should credit all y’all, as sewing for “publication” has made me a bit more fastidious. I think I would have clipped this seam better, now, although I like to think of that visible blue facing as a design detail:

Enchanted Garden McCall's 8858 collar

 

The zipper’s pretty good:

Enchanted Garden McCall's 8858 side zip and pocket

 

And the back:

Enchanted Garden McCall's 8858 back

Looking at this pattern again, it’s starting to give me ideas. I do love that bodice …

The Hundred Dresses: Day 63

Erin2 Comments

I thought today I would show you the opposite of yesterday’s Vogue 9929. Same pattern, completely different feel:

Liberty Tomary Vogue 9929 front

This is Liberty Tomary, and I bought it because it just seemed so autumn-y. Great for those days in California where the calendar says it is almost Halloween but the thermometer says “you won’t need that cardigan sweater.” I love this color combination of slate gray, pumpkin orange, and mashed-baby-food-peas green:

Liberty Tomary Vogue 9929 bodice

Here’s the side zip:

Liberty Tomary Vogue 9929 side zip

And the back:

Liberty Tomary Vogue 9929 back 2

 

I like to wear this with mustard-colored knee socks and brown boots; and carry a cardigan, just in case. I also have a goldenrod-colored gauze scarf that looks nice with this dress. Can you tell I’m already getting wistful for fall clothes, and me with a bin full of seersucker and madras left to sew for this summer still?

The Hundred Dresses: Day 62

Erin7 Comments

I keep finding Vogue 9929s. I can’t believe I made so many of them! I remember this one went together really quickly:

splatter Vogue 9929 front

I think this is a quilting cotton, or something not far from it. I have no idea where I bought it, but here’s a closer look:
splatter Vogue 9929 binding

And the bodice:
splatter Vogue 9929 bodice

And the side zip (B-):
splatter Vogue 9929 side zip

The back:
splatter Vogue 9929 back

I really wish I had the right color pink or green Keds to wear with this. I think I mostly default to yellow sandals … this is definitely a summer-Saturday dresses (in places with warmer summer Saturdays than here). It goes extremely well with ice cream …

 

The Hundred Dresses: Day 61

Erin12 Comments

I *think* this is the last Vogue 8728 — I went and dug it out of the “winter dresses” storage container in the garage, although really, in San Francisco you can pretty much wear your winter clothes on any random day in July. My east coast habits will die hard, though, and I’ll pull out that bin of corduroy and wool just when we hit that string of lovely 70+F days in late September and early October. (Someday I’ll learn …)

Speaking of wool, this is Liberty Jubilee, which is one of my favorite fabrics in the world. Jubilee is not the pattern name; it’s the name of their wool/cotton mix. It’s lightweight, warm, and wrinkle-free. (This was not-so-gently placed in the aforementioned storage bin and I was able to photograph it without pressing it.) I don’t think they make it anymore, which is a shame. (There’s also the Burwood Liberty fabric, which is wool/silk … I have a piece but I haven’t made anything with it yet.)

Liberty Jubilee Vogue 8728 front

Here’s the bodice:
Liberty Jubilee Vogue 8728 bodice

And the side zip & pocket:
Liberty Jubilee Vogue 8728 side zip and pocket

And the back:
Liberty Jubilee Vogue 8728 back 2

 

Wow, the days are going by really quickly. I can’t believe that we’ll be done in a little over a month!