Local woman finishes last summer dress of 2024

September 7, 2024 Erin4 Comments

PORTLAND, OREGON
Despite forecasts of record high temperatures for early September, local sewist Erin McKean declared the dress she finished on Labor Day to the be the last “summer dress” of 2024.

The dress, another iteration of the “Isca” pattern that McKean has been sewing all year, was made in a lightweight Liberty Tana lawn featuring a pattern of little fish. “I don’t remember I where I bought this fabric,” McKean admitted. “Or when. But I did a reverse-image search and the pattern is called ‘Glimmer’.”

Instead of the stand collar of the original pattern, McKean chose to make this iteration without the collar, finishing the neckline with bias binding. “More summery,” she said. “Although it would have been better if I’d remembered to lower the neckline by about a half-inch.”

McKean also replaced the original set-in full sleeves with self-lined cap sleeves, a consistent change for her versions of this pattern. “This time I changed the inner finishing to a slip-stitch, rather than bias-binding the seam.”

McKean is a vocal proponent of pockets, no matter the season. Her dress pockets can carry several pounds of her belongings, in a pinch. “Once, in an airport, I had a full-size insulated water bottle in one pocket and a sub sandwich in the other, plus all my normal stuff—wallet, notebook, phone, handkerchief, lip balm, pen …” The pocket facings are also piped. “I don’t remember the last time I didn’t add piping to a pocket facing.”

Although she had originally planned to sew a few more dresses during summer 2024, including several in fabrics that had originally been intended for the summers of 2017-2023, McKean said she was generally pleased with the amount and variety of sewing she had been able to accomplish over the last few months. “I made a multiple-gingham Isca, and a linen stripe Isca, and a checkerboard plaid Isca. And a couple more that I haven’t taken pictures of yet.”

When asked about her autumn sewing plans, McKean produced a scrap paper list on which the words ‘printed corduroy’ and ‘plaid brushed flannel’ were prominent. “I do plan to sew mostly from my stash between now and the end of the year,” she said. “But no promises.”

Year of the Shirtdress Continues

June 19, 2023 Erin4 Comments

Hey, look, it’s another shirtdress!

Simplicity 7512 shirtdress in cream, pink, and yellow Liberty Tana lawn

This is Simplicity 7512, which I’ve probably bought three copies of in various sizes, and then never made any of them because I disliked the way the skirt was put together. But then I realized that I could just … change that, and so behold my preferred pockets:

Here’s the pocket with a big ol’ ruler in it, for scale:

Simplicity 7512 pocket hack (ruler for scale)

Here’s the zipper view; I actually couldn’t remember the last time I put in an invisible zipper:

Simplicity 7512 with fuchsia invisible side zip

I was a bit distracted and completely forgot to do my usual collar adjustment (based on the Fashion Incubator method) but it turned out mostly okay. (Tana lawn forgives a lot.)

Simplicity 7512 collar and bright pink buttons

For some reason I thought I’d bought this Liberty from The Fabric Store but maybe not? I don’t see anything in my receipts folder. I’m convinced it’s Liberty, but a quick image search doesn’t turn up anything.

I haven’t worn this a full day yet, but I could barely bring myself to take it off after I did the final try-on … it’s just delightfully comfortable. I don’t remember similar versions I’ve made before being as comfortable?

The other thing I like about this dress is that I’ve loved this style for … oh, since about I knew it existed. I bought a similar dress (a “Villager” knockoff) at the old Maxwell Street flea market in Chicago, in what probably was the last year there even was a Maxwell Street market. It was hanging on a chain-link fence, between vendors selling (what I now realize were probably stolen) tools and packs and packs of white tube socks. I wore it nearly to death, despite it being absolutely not sufficiently warm for Chicago nine months of the year (and despite it having no pockets).

When I first started wearing this style there was at least a little irony involved—I was a young person, wearing an old person’s dress. Now I am an old(er) person, still wearing the same dress (albeit with larger dimensions all around), and the irony has … evaporated? Depleted? Perhaps irony has a half-life, like radioactivity? I am looking for other examples of “irony depletion”, if you have them; not the phenomenon in which someone pretends to be something and then becomes that thing, but examples where time bridges an ironic distance. Maybe when punk bands play a cover of some easy-listening 70s tune and now, whoops, it’s almost 50 years later and now it’s their well-loved classic? Stuff like that. Anyway, you know where the comments are, have at it.

I’m gonna make this dress a LOT, I can feel it. Brace yourselves!

2023: year of the shirtdress, for real this time

February 20, 2023 Erin2 Comments

“Yes, Erin, we’ve heard this before,” you say, and you’d be right—I don’t want to go back and search, but I’m pretty sure I’ve declared several previous Years of the Shirtdress, and then made … one. If that.

This time, though … that above is my third Matilda shirtdress, and I’m planning on making quite a few more. I actually bought the original non-curve-sized Matilda pattern yonks ago, realized how much work it was going to be to curvenize it (that’s the technical term), and it promptly went to the bottom of the pile. So when the curve version came out I was pretty enthusiastic, and the pile got shuffled somewhat.

I’ve since made it three times; this is the latest iteration. I will post the other two anon, but I wanted to get this posted sooner, because … well, I like it!

It’s not perfect by any means; the collar is a bit wonky on the left-hand edge (I might be able to just re-press it tho):

I like lots of things about this pattern: first off, the pockets are a good size, and patch pockets so very easy. The sleeve bands are fun, too:

I’m looking forward to really playing around with stripes and plaids next, because this pattern goes together really well.

There were some changes made: I had to raise the bust point a bit (but the pattern designer actually has a great tutorial for this). I think the collar stand is too tall, so I shortened it (and I might narrow the collar, too). I’d love to try this with a flat (Peter Pan) collar, but I haven’t wrapped my mind around that change yet. I also did the waistband buttonholes horizontally, instead of vertically, because that just feels better? Idk. Because this fabric is lightweight, I used hem binding instead of the ‘fold twice and sew’ method because I wanted a little extra weight. Next go-round I’m going to only use this (very good) fusible interfacing for the collar stand and front bands, and use organza for the waistband and the collar.

The pattern instructions want you to sew the bands to the front, flip them to the back, and then topstitch, but I am not nearly patient enough for that nonsense, so I did it the opposite way around. (This review has better instructions than that, search the page for ‘reverse method’.) With the reverse method you’re topstitching on the edge that needs to be sewn down, so you can focus on the topstitching bit, and not the “am I catching the loose edge on the side of the dress I can’t see” bit.

This fabric is (I think) Liberty Mark Tana lawn; I mean, it’s definitely the Mark pattern, I just can’t find a record of this colorway. I’m not usually a navy-blue person (I ended up using all my navy thread sewing this, and had to cheat with a little bit of a blue-purple in places). I figured this would be a good test run for whether this fabric works in Tana lawn, because I really like the print and it is SO BUSY that any little bobbles would be hidden, a kind of Where’s Waldo, but for sewing mistakes. It is also still kind of coldish here so I can wear this over a long-sleeved black tee and leggings. (Mixing navy and black is how you can tell the real fashion pros from the wannabees, right?)

On the easy-to-wear scale, where 10 is “pajamas you’ve had for >5 years” and 0 is “actual suit of armor” this is a solid 7. It hangs nicely, there’s good arm mobility with sleeve bands, the pockets are well-placed and ample, and the fit is trim without being constricting.

I won’t kid you—any shirtdress pattern is just going to be a lot of work. This one has a lot of pieces, and buttonholes, and interfacing, and a collar and and and … it’s definitely a “one bite at a time” pattern and not a “cut out Saturday morning, wear it Saturday night” pattern. I tried keeping track of how long it took me to complete each stage, and I’m pretty sure this was a 5-8 hour sew (for comparison, a dress like this is usually a 3-4 hour sew). Plus I generally like to approach buttonholes well-rested, after a light stretching session, and properly caffeinated ….

You might notice a new background to the pics—I’m now nicely settled in to my new sewing space! That’s a new dress form, too (her name is Dot, for obvious reasons). My previous dress form (RIP) was bought in the last century and succumbed to terminal foam-disintegration disease. That white drawer-thingy next to the dress in the first picture? That’s full of bias tape. Full, I tell you. (It’s not a problem, I’m sure I’ll use it all up before I die …)

Stay tuned for more Matildas, perhaps an Isca, and a vintage shirtdress! Really!

It’s the only way to live/In cars

July 27, 2017 ErinLeave a comment

Once again I reflexively reached for the bodice from Simplicity 2389 and that BurdaStyle Heidi skirt:

This one is Liberty print—a piece of fabric I have had for a long time. I think this pattern is from 2009, but I’m not sure; it could be earlier.

Ironically, it was purging so many dresses that finally led me to cut into this long-hoarded fabric … even the fabrics that I loved the most (yeah, looking at you, popsicle print) only gave me a kind of “happy to have known you” feeling as I packed them up to ship them to new wearers.

So with this empirical evidence reassuring me that it is unlikely that I will wish I’d saved some special fabric for some theoretically ‘better’ use*, snip snip went the scissors into this Liberty!

I’ve worn this a couple times so far and it has made me very happy. Beep!

(Oh, and speaking of the Dress Purge of 2017 … there are a few dresses left, but August 6 I will be sending whatever hasn’t been purchased off to Goodwill and tallying up the totals.)

(*also it looks like this fabric is still available from third-party sellers in a different colorway)

Winter Dress: Embryonic Stage

January 9, 2016January 9, 2016 Erin9 Comments

I just got this Liberty Lantana fabric for a winter dress:

Looking forward to the long process of finding JUST THE RIGHT COLOR PIPING to use with this. (It’s probably going to be another dress like this one; I’m a sucker for a fabrics with a dark ground and bright designs!)

Lantana is the Liberty wool/cotton blend—I think it’s 80% cotton, 20% wool. It’s a dream to sew with and it’s very warm. Perfect winter fabric!

I need this for an event in February, so now this just has to arrive at warp speed from the UK (and my sewing machine has to make a speedy return from the repair shop)!

Do you have any winter dress plans?

YAWD (yet another winterish dress)

April 27, 2015 Erin3 Comments

I made another dress like this one, right down to also using Liberty Lantana fabric:

The name of this particular print is “Haberdashery”, and I fell in love with the weird faux-patchwork:

(“Haberdashery” is a fairly stupid name to call a Liberty print, because it is nigh-unGoogleable, but here it is at Shaukat iffen you need some. Looks like it comes in a nice bright blue, too.)

And OF COURSE there is piping:

And on the pockets:

Here’s the zipper (bonus piping view):

And the back:

I forgot to take a picture, but the neck facing is the same plaid as in the flower print (or near-enough as makes no nevermind). (Because that’s the sort of thing that makes me weirdly happy.)

This variation has a much longer skirt, nearly tea-length, so that it looks better (in my head) with ankle boots. (Does it actually look better? Who knows.) If you want to see how it looks on, I wore it to give this talk.

Stealth Liberty of London?

April 10, 2015 Erin9 Comments

I feel like this fabric (at Mood) is a Liberty print, but I can’t find verification of it:

I ordered some (because duh, and because I hadn’t spent my fabric allowance for February OR March) and it doesn’t feel like Tana Lawn, but might feel like the Liberty poplin range — I couldn’t tell for sure. There’s also no marking in the selvedge. It’s also available in blue. This one looks Libertyesque, too.

Why isn’t there a Liberty fabric wiki where you can search for prints by name, year, color, type, key words, etc.? If I didn’t have roughly eleventy-hundred projects going on right now, I’d be making it. Everyone could take photos of their stash with rulers for reference and there’d be badges and wishlists and swap lists and Etsy links and … stop me, please. (Or do it yourself! I’ll be an advisor.)

Speaking of projects, followers of this here blog might be interested to read this in the New York Times today.

Another winter dress

January 10, 2015 Erin7 Comments

Here’s another January-appropriate dress, although I made this back in October, to wear to talk at Pop!Tech. (That there is a video link.)

Specifics: it’s Liberty Lantana, but I don’t remember the pattern name — if you search for Liberty Lantana on eBay this one always comes up. (Lantana is the winter-perfect cotton/wool blend. Super soft, nicely warm, and wrinkle-resistant. Probably my favorite Liberty fabric type.) It’s the Simplicity 2389 bodice with the (heavily modified) Burdastyle Heidi skirt.

For colder weather I’ve been wearing this with a long-sleeved black t-shirt under it. And by “colder weather,” (sorry non-Californians) I mean around low 50s F. Below you can see the colorway — it’s mostly black, with a bunch of blue-y grays and a little warm taupe.

I used the extra-fat piping cord to make this piping. It’s very satisfying.

Here’s the zipper & pocket (also piped) in a washed out photo. (Honestly, #nofilter, my phone is just not that great.)

And the back, with my dress form at a jaunty (not to say off-kilter) angle.

I’ve taken a little break from this pattern but it’s calling to me again. The bodice is probably one of the most comfortable I’ve ever worn, and even those tricky-looking shoulders sew up easily. I’m thinking the next version will probably have a longer skirt (this one is knee length) and we’ll see how that proportion looks. I have some more Lantana …

Progress Report: Slow

January 4, 2015 Erin3 Comments

Not a lot of sewing going on in my atelier lately. Holidays, and a huge press of work*. You know, the usual.

One dress has been hanging on the hook where I keep the in-progress projects for more than a month. Okay, it’s not really a hook, it’s one of those orange spring clamps that photographers use for backdrops, clamped to the worn Ikea Ivar shelf of the bookcases I’ve had since Ivar was invented (fun fact: ‘Ivar’ means “you have too many effing books” in Swedish).

The fabric is some really beautiful army green twilled wool/cotton blend. I mean, totally gorgeous, and sure to be warm and comfy. (It did smell a little like wet sheep when I washed it, though.)

It’s supposed to be another version of this dress. The two others I’ve made from this pattern are really comfortable and great for layering and just the right length for winter so I really want to get this off the hook and onto my back. (When will this happen? ¯_(ツ)_/¯)

Here’s a quick glimpse so you can see what I’m talking about. Of course the facings are Liberty:

That pattern is Liberty “Mike” — it first appeared on this blog as this dress. I also made this dress in the gray colorway but I’m not sure if I ever blogged it. (It also comes in pink and a very 70s green combo that I really want.)

So: first new year’s resolution: finish this darn dress. Then we can get to the other ones, like “create a better system for keeping track of my patterns” and “only purchase one piece of fabric a month”. (I already bought January’s fabric. On January 1.)

What’s on your in-progress hook?

* The work stuff: Wordnik.com is becoming a non-profit, and to support the site we’ve started an “adopt-a-word” program! You can adopt your favorite word here.

Dots at Liberty

September 27, 2014 Erin4 Comments

I don’t think I’ve posted about this yet — it’s a hybrid Frankendress of Liberty Schlesinger (which I’ve used before and still think looks like a cricket-ball print) with the bodice from Simplicity 2452 and the same skirt (only deeper pleats) as this dress (Simplicity 5238). Okay, that was confusing. Perhaps the pictures will make it easier:

Here’s the (added) side pockets and side zipper:

The deep back pleat in the skirt:

The collar (you can see the mustardy bias tape I used to finish it — probably should have used gray. (It matched more in my head.)

I used the Fashion Incubator method on this collar, and it rolled really nicely at the edge:

Here’s the whole back view:

I made this three different times early this spring but I suppose I never got around to posting them? A search doesn’t turn anything up. I have pictures of the other two as well, so I’ll try to get them up soon.

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Category: Liberty