Shoe and Dress Update

Finally! The shoe decision was made, and yet I still managed to pack 4 pairs in my carry-on. And still wished I had my sneakers. But let's get to the dress first. You saw the picture on the mall and it was covered by the lovely green raincoat. How about the end result and just a few details (like what pattern is it, after all!).

Jacket: Vogue 8640. Originally blogged here. I shortened the length by 2" to make it less weird and somewhat wearable, but the honest truth is this is not a good shape jacket for me. Too boxy. I obviously forgot that I was not shaped like the drawing on the pattern... i.e., model tall and thin.

Dress: Bodice is McCall's 7569, a vintage pattern from 1964. Skirt is the Colette Macaron.

Fabric: from fabric.com. A cotton/linen blend designed by Valori Wells for Free Spirit. These 2 patterns were from the same collection which is a couple of years old, and now the remaining bits are on clearance.

The Starting Point:

 (which I had in my Etsy shop, but is now sold)

And my dress:

Many of the sizing changes were mentioned in this post, complete with pictures of the muslins, and the altered pattern pieces, so I won't repeat myself here. I will mention that instead of the ruffle from the pattern, I used self made piping from scraps from the jacket.

The piping went around the armscyes and the neckline, and down the back. Subtle, but I like it. Don't you love the birds?!

I tacked the crossover in the back just to avoid any gaping, though I don't think there would be any.

An alternate jacket (and possibly a better look than the jacket I made)... a linen Talbots blazer I bought a few years ago, that I don't think I've ever worn:

And the shoes?

Well, I wore the wedding shoes for the Friday graduation, but took them off after the walk to the restaurant. Those were seriously not walking through the city shoes. Last Sunday was drizzly in Washington, DC, and tromping across the Mall was way better in these closed toe, T-strap Naturalizers, with a sensible 2" chunky heel.

Finally... pockets!

Yeah. Barrett walked up to check out the photoshoot, and I was bracing for the "kiss".

Puppy love!

The Grown Up Macaron

One of the worries that I (and others that might fall into a "more mature" age bracket have), is that it's possible that certain patterns are too youthful. Several Colette Patterns might very well fall into this youthful category, but I think fabric choice can be the key to "age appropriate". The Macaron is one that might be too youthful, but you be the judge here:

(Please ignore the snow white legs. I bought these great grey tights, but just wasn't feeling the whole, get dressed for the photo shoot thing.)

Some details: the main fabric is a "almost black" Italian stretch wool herringbone, and the lining is black silk habotai, both from Gorgeous Fabrics. The contrast is the tie silk from Gail K's in Atlanta.

I made some changes, but it's been a while so let's see what I remember.

• Added 1" to the bodice and 3/4" to the midriff piece.
• Started with a size 6 or 8-ish at the shoulders and graded up to a 12-ish. I cut 1" seam allowances for the skirt on the size 12, but ended up sewing a 5/8", so maybe we'll call it a size 13.
• Lengthened the skirt by 1-3/4" and had a 1" hem.
• Fully lined, interlining the yoke pieces and lining the rest. I used the facings, too, for extra neckline stability. Bound the sleeve seams with bias cut contrast silk.

•  Did not use the contrast fabric for the midriff, but instead used piping for a little definition. I think it makes me look taller and thinner (please leave me this delusion).
• Finally, moved the zipper from the side to the back.

 I'm sure that I probably made some other tweaks to the fit of the bodice, but like I said, it's been awhile since I made the muslin. Oh, the sleeves. Yeah, they were a bitch to be honest. I'm not sure what it is about my arms and the way they connect to my body, but I've had some issues with patterns recently. Anyway, they turned out ok, but it must have been magic, or some supernatural sewing skills that I possess.

And look! Pockets!

The Macaron Bodice

I'm almost finished... just need to construct the skirt lining, do some inner hand sewing on the lining, and hem. In the meantime, I thought I'd give a rundown on how I attached the yoke front to the bodice front. Basically, if you've sewn a princess seam, the technique is the same, otherwise known as the Right Side Together method (RST). That's my name for it anyway.

1. Stay stitch each piece just inside the 5/8" seam line. Do this for the lining, too, if you're lining.

2. Clip the yoke front seam allowance (SA) almost to the stitching, about 3 times on each curved section. Clip the bodice front and lining at the center.
3. On a flat surface, pin, RST with the yoke on top.

4. You can baste first, or just go for it and stitch. Slowly. If you are lining, then sandwich the bodice front/yoke front/lining, and stitch again. Important: DO NOT sew your lining all the way to the side seams, but stop about 3" from each side.
5. Cut some wedges from the seam allowance of the bodice front and lining to help it lay nice and flat.

6. Check your stitching. I needed to do a bit of ripping and resewing. It happens.
7. Press and admire!

Piping note: I used my invisible zipper foot and it worked out so well. The cording I used is super thin (I know that's the technical name). I think it's crochet thread, but I've had it at least 22 years, and used it to make piping for Peter Pan collars for Laura's smocked dresses when she was a baby. OK, I'm rambling.