May 28, 2012

Finished Project: Simplicity 1872 with Sleeves and a Dirndl Skirt

After complaining profusely in my last post, I should tell you I do feel human again. It's a wonderful thing to enjoy going outside outside again after weeks of praying for rain to wash the pollen away (FYI: complaining is praying for secular people).

Sometime this Spring I sewed this lovely little dress, though I have yet to wear it truly. I plan on wearing it to dinner at X20 on the Hudson with my husband when we celebrate our 5th anniversary in mid-June (turns out five wedded years years = wooden anniversary, which will be appropriate because on our actual anniversary we will be in the deep wilderness in British Columbia visiting my dad at the totally inaccesible-by-road property where he lives. My dad has had to shoot two bears there already this Spring (not for fun or sport — for protection), so wearing a little number like this is out of the question there: I'd look delicious to a bear in this, sort of blood-splattered, wouldn't you say?) 

Anyway, the bodice and sleeves of this dress are Simplicity 1872, which is a Cynthia Rowley pattern I was given by the Team at Kollabora.com, a new website in development that will be both an online community of crafters posting their projects and sharing skills and a marketplace where you can buy the stuff needed to make a project you see there. I already made one version of this dress. I'll show you both and tell you what I did to make this one better than the first. 



This version, which I do believe I'll wear a lot, is sewn from a lightweight silk (from Metro Textile Corp. on 37th Street in New York's Garment District). It was quite sheer, so I lined the bodice and sleeves with white silk, and made a white slip to wear on the bottom (incidentally, sewn from a silk maternity top that I had ruined somehow with a stain). The skirt is just two gathered rectangles because I wanted something simpler and less twirly than the original skirt, which is very flirty, as you can see here:



If you're thinking I look flat-chested and big-hipped in this pose, it's probably because I am. Also, this dress ended up too big, which doesn't help. I love the colour and shine of this cotton sateen and think it would make a very cute holiday frock — for someone with a bigger bust than me. And maybe a few inches taller.  I'm thinking of giving it away on my blog. If I had bigger closets I would just save it for my daughter. She's probably going to be taller and have a bigger chest than me in a couple years, damn her.



For my second version, I cut the smallest size (even though I feared not being able to pull it over my head — there are no closures in this dress, which makes it easy for beginners). I also cut over an inch from the long straight edge of the front wrap pieces. The original was a little too modest for me. I like a little cleavage. But then, of course, I ran into the problem of the front wrap pieces gaping, so I added a hook-and-eye closure right at my bust and it works beautifully:

Instant slut-but-not-too-much

I also added an elastic at the waist to make the shape a little more defined. The skirt weighs down the original version, and I think it would have done the same here with the dirndl skirt. But with the elastic, it keeps the skirt up in place, and allows for a little more of a natural drape through the bodice, which is less flattening. I really dig it. Love the colour, love what it does for me:



As always, I got photobombed a lot:


Better to just embrace it:



One thing I learned in sewing the first version of Cynthia Rowley's Simplicity 1872 was how easy it is to make thread belt loops — and how they really keep a belt in its place. (Since sewing the first I went back and added thread belt loops to every dress I have ever sewn that requires being belted!). My husband was on a three-week break from ad school while I worked on that chartreuse dress and post, and so he volunteered to help me make a little video on how to make thread belt loops. They're one of those things that is ultra easy to do, but (for me anyway) really hard to figure out from a diagram in a book. SO I thought I'd preach it here with a link to my video. Enjoy!



29 comments:

  1. I really love the poppy dress. the green one is pretty, too, but the white and red one pretty much sums up my idea of a perfect summer dress.

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  2. Very very pretty dress on you! I still haven't touch my yellow version of the fabric, maybe next month...

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    1. I can't wait to see what you do with it! I loved the yellow fabric too.

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  3. Cute dress! I love the print, and your version looks way better than the one on the pattern envelope (it makes the model look flat-chested and big-hipped, always awesome if the MODEL doesn't look good in the dress... great work, guys).

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    1. It's amazing how adding an elastic at the waist and cutting off a little from the front made it a nicer shape. Also, I think the lighter-weight the fabric, the better with this pattern.

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  4. awesome of coarse. i love the fabric for the floral dress. once i move to nyc at the end of the summer i think we need to meet up for lunch and fabric shopping. i want you to show me all of your favorite fabric shops.

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely! Get in touch once you are here. I'd love to

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  5. I love your blog! very down to earth, and some gorgeous creations! :D

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  6. LOL I know how it feels when your daughter is clearly going to have a bigger bust and slimmer hips LOL It is happening to me already and she is just under 12!

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  7. I promise I will be happy for her....and I will remind her all the time to appreciate what she has got!

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  8. I love the blood-spattered, er, poppy version! The sleeves are cute and the dress looks comfortable and super wearable. Also, I watched your video and it's so helpful. I've been wondering how to do those thread belts -- thought it was with a serger or something -- but it's good to know they're quick to make and I can add them after I've already sewn the side seams. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks! They are ultra easy, and I hate when belts drift around my waistline...most useful new technique I've learned in a while.

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  9. they ought to swipe one of these photos and put it on the pattern envelope. KILLER. i love your changes, you made this pattern sing.

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  10. This is awesome! Almost unrecognizable, to be honest, from the pattern images. I love it!

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  11. I love both of these! I especially like the sleeves. From the pattern photo they didn't excite me but on you they look adorable. Oh, and is that a giant safety pin belt buckle!??! I die! Can I just please have all the dresses you've made in the past year because my closet is jealous.

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  12. Beautiful & love your video! I will now be adding these belt loops to my dresses! Thank you!

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  13. PS. I just read your "About Me" & had to laugh! I love it! I'm the same, & not ashamed to admit I love to do it all.

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  14. I came on over via kollabora, and had a look around. Love the stuff you make. I'm interested to see what happens with that site.

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  15. I love the poppy dress! What a difference from the original. It looks like something to wear when dancing because it’s so fluid.

    Thanks for the great video. You’re right. It’s tough to figure out from a book, but you made it look so easy.

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  16. Love the modification you did with the skirt. That should be faster and use less fabric. I am also very keen on the red print. Very Anthropologie.

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  17. Thanks for the thread loop tutorial. I'm just embarking on this pattern and like the modification you did to the skirt on the red patterned version.

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  20. simplicity to me is still the best expression there is. wonderful dress and of-course adorable mom. Good blog. Got here looking for a theme on simplicity and the dress caught my attention

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  21. Hi, just made this dress and agree that a little elastic at waist would be better to define the waist. What size elastic did you use and how did you attach it - did you encase it or just sew directly on to the inner side of the waist line at the join of skirt to bodice? Thanks, Irene

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    1. I used a half-inch elastic, and Just folded over the seam allowance and sewed it down into a casing (then thread the elastic through, sew together, and then sew the remaining hole in the casing closed.

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    2. Thanks so much for that. I will try it and see how it goes.

      Irene

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