SOSM Round Four: The Carolyn Pajamas

I'm going to remember this as the project where all my sewing equipment failed me! Cutting everything out took frustratingly long (I'm still not used to not having a rotary cutter!), then my machine kept eating my fabric, the tension just wouldn't cooperate, and the threads kept getting tangled. It also decided that it only wanted to do two stitch lengths: either quite small (about 1.5 mm) or medium (about 3 mm), which meant that basting (and removing it) took quite a while.

I was already behind and definitely feeling the pressure of the deadline, and then to top things off, my iron died on me. Fantastic.

My parents were visiting during this challenge, which was both good and bad in this situation. The bad part was that they were out hiking and had taken the car that I drive, so I was stuck without an iron until they came back (I was actually considering biking to the hardware store when it started pouring rain). The good news, at least, was that they were happy to go to the store for me to buy a new iron once they got back, so I was able to stay home and focus on my project.

Technology issues aside, I really enjoyed this round of the Super Online Sewing Match, the Carolyn Pajamas by Closet Case Patterns. I really loved the pattern as-is, so unlike other rounds, there wasn't anything I really wanted to change. Instead, I focused on construction - I underlined everything and used the underlining to finish the seams, I replaced nearly all the topstitching with hand sewing, I made my buttonholes by hand, and I added covered buttons to match the piping. The result is a couple of the most well made garments I've ever finished! It's almost a shame that they're just pajamas... although I should point out that there's something very indulgent about making pajamas this nice!

I cut out a size 0 top, grading to a 4 at the hips, and size 4 shorts. I knew that I wanted to make the shorts and short-sleeved top, because I have way more winter pajamas than I ever wear, but in the summer, I sleep in a pair of Disney boxer shorts that I bought in Disneyland 4 years ago... all summer long. Needless to say, I really did need a new pair of summer pajamas!

I made a muslin, and the fit of the top was great, but I did have to fiddle with the shorts a little. I raised the rise 1", so that they sit at a more comfortable place for me (although I'm short, my waist is really high on my torso, and I don't find anything sitting low on my hips very comfortable). I lengthened the crotch seam 1/4", then I carved 3/8" out of the seam to make more of a "J" shape in both the front and the back. I'm pretty new to fitting pants, but I've had to do the same adjustment before, so this may become a standard alteration for me.

The fabric is a silk and cotton blend voile that I bought in Calgary, the nearest big city (it's just over an hour's drive from Canmore, where I'm staying). Finding it was a bit of an adventure... first we went to a place called Fabric Depot, which looks a lot better online than it really is. It was almost entirely home decor fabric, so I didn't see anything that was even close to what I was looking for. My mom asked if they had any rayon and the guy there didn't even seem to know what we meant!

The nicest fabric store in Calgary is a place called Olga's, but unfortunately we were too late in the day to make it there before they closed. In slight desperation, we went to the nearest Fabricland, which I usually avoid because I've never really had any luck there. I did manage to find this fabric, though, which I didn't love at first, but once it was away from the store and the other fabric there, I liked it a lot more! As the pajamas came together, I realized how perfect it was for them. It's bolder than I would wear normally, but I absolutely love the print and the colours.

Since it was fairly sheer, I chose to underline everything. I couldn't find a similar weight fabric that was white, but I did find a light yellow cotton voile that matched quite well and took care of the sheerness. Since I don't have a serger, I'm experimenting with different seam finishes, and this was the perfect time to try a seam finish I've been wanting to try for a while - flatlining! Basically, you cut the underlining larger, and wrap it around the raw edges of the main fabric. I followed this tutorial at Cashmerette for the basic technique.

The only problem with this technique is you can't use it for all the seams because you can't deal with corners (I tried a couple different ways of approaching this, with no luck). I considered finishing the other seams with bias binding or French seams, but both of these would have been too bulky with the underlining. Instead, I finished some of the edges with flatlining first (the side seams, the shoulder seams, and the underarm seams), stitched in the ditch at the ends of the seams to secure it (I didn't find that I needed to stitch in the ditch along the whole seam, as the two cotton fabrics stuck together pretty well), and then turned it inside out again. I then sewed the main fabric and the underlining together with a 1/8" seam allowance, clipped the corners, turned it right side out, and pressed. This way, all my finished edges had a 1/2" seam allowance (you lose 1/8" with the flatlining technique). It made for more rounded corners, but they're inside in the seam allowance so it's not a problem (you can see this at the edge of the shoulder seam above).

The edges that would be later enclosed by a cuff or facing, I didn't finish, but I did finish the bottom edges of the pockets with French seams.

The only thing I probably should have done differently was how I finished the fly - I finished the vertical edge with flatlining, and then the bottom edge I sewed the two layers together. This made the fly look rounded with a bit of a wrinkle, so I probably should have just made it rounded anyways, since I made my topstitching at the fly rounded.

Overall, though, I love this finish, and I really want to use it again sometime soon! It's a great alternative to a full lining if you're worried about a fabric being sheer. The only problem was that it took ages - I really underestimated how much time it would take to underline everything! It was only my second time underlining anything (the first time was my grad dress), and I forgot how long it takes.

I used the same fabric for piping and covered buttons, which are accents that I absolutely love. After my Caravan Tote, I was really anxious to use piping on something else!

Since my underlining was yellow, I knew that the pieces that were interfaced with white interfacing might look a little brighter than the rest. So, I tried tea-dyeing again! I remembered from making samples for my Marianne dress that rooibos tea, despite often being called "red tea", gives a yellowish colour when using it to dye. I made a batch, then put it in an ice bath to cool it down, and let the interfacing sit in it for about a half hour. I rinsed it in cool water, then dried it on low heat for few minutes. It's not a perfect colour match, but it's close enough that the main fabric looks the same colour from the right side.

Issues with my machine and my iron aside, putting this set together went pretty smoothly. I left the topstitching along the cuffs and other piped edges for last, because I wasn't yet sure how I wanted to finish them. My original idea was to do some sort of decorative hand embroidery parallel to the piping.

Once I made some samples, I had decided on a blanket stitch along the piping, done in coordinating yellow embroidery thread. I knew that for the breast pocket, I would want to topstitch it first for strength, but once I had topstitched it, I really didn't like the way it looked. I've never been a big fan of topstitching, and I found that it was just too much with the floral print and the piping. I realized that if I thought topstitching in matching blue thread was too much, what would I think of the hand embroidery? I decided then to leave off any topstitching or embroidery stitches, and instead to secure the cuffs with slipstitching for an invisible finish.

Rather than topstitching around the collar, I catchstitched the two layers together just outside the seam allowance. This enclosed the seam allowance and secured the two layers together.

The pocket was a little tricker - I knew that the topstitching would make it more secure, but I really didn't like how it looked. But, being honest, I will probably never use this pocket (except for tissues or hair elastics) when there are bigger pockets in the shorts. I don't think I've ever used a breast pocket in a shirt before, so for me they're purely decorative! So, I unpicked the topstitching on the pocket, then slipstitched it in place, making the stitches closer together than I usually would, and tacking the corners with very small whipstiches that I managed to hide pretty well. It's surprisingly strong!

I also raised the pocket 1", and moved it 1/2" farther from the centre. It just seemed to hit at an awkward spot on me!

I sewed the hem by hand, which is completely invisible because I only caught the underlining.

The last problem I ran into was buttonholes. My sewing machine, like many, is a little finicky when it comes to buttonholes. Sometimes they turn out fine, and sometimes they're disastrous! This fabric is much too light for bound buttonholes, but then I remembered this post at By Gum, By Golly on hand-worked buttonholes. This seemed like a perfect project to try this technique! There are only 5 buttonholes, and if they ended up looking terrible, at least they were only pajamas, right?

As it turns out, they turned out really well! I might never do buttonholes by machine again. They're not perfect, but that's the beauty of hand sewing. Not to mention, the moment I started on the buttonholes (right after my iron died), all my frustration at my iron and my sewing machine seemed to fade away. Hand sewing is so relaxing!

As someone who used to be an extreme perfectionist, I love that I can appreciate the beauty of creating buttonholes by hand. Although I love the precision and concentration required to make the tiny stitches even and tidy, they're not all identical, but that's because I'm human and not a sewing machine. These buttonholes were made by my own hands, and a needle and some silk thread, and I'm so proud of them!

For next time, I'd love to get my hands on some buttonhole twist, which everyone seems to recommend, but there was no chance of me finding in time. I just used two strands of silk thread, which worked reasonably well, although something thick enough to only use one strand would probably have worked better.

I'm so proud of these pajamas - as I said earlier, they're probably two of the highest quality garments I've ever made! I only took the photos this morning, so I haven't slept in them yet, but I can't wait. The silk/cotton blend is so light and soft!

The pattern is fabulous, and I'm really tempted to make a flannel pair in the fall, despite already having lots of fall and winter pajamas. I'd love having a coordinating set, though!

Special thanks to my parents for putting up with my sewing mess everywhere and my frustration at technology while they were visiting. Thanks also to my mom for taking photos for me!

I should also add that my machine seems to be working fine again. I'm not sure if it just didn't like the fabric, or if it was just having a bad couple of days, but it seems to be fine now, thank goodness!

To see the other entries, check out Sew Mama Sew tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

Completed: Charley Harper Print Bronte Top

Can I just start by saying how much I LOVE this fabric? It really makes the top! The print looks like a quilting cotton (which I love), but it's actually the softest most wonderful organic cotton interlock knit. It's a complete DREAM to sew with, and so comfortable to wear. The print is by Charley Harper, and I bought the last of the bolt at Spool of Thread last summer - it was a little pricey for cotton knit (around $20 a metre), but sooooo worth it.

I mean, polka dots and birds. Come on. 

This print makes my day every time I wear it. I didn't exactly have the greatest week - my foot was inexplicably sore and swollen to the point that I missed quite a few classes because it hurt to walk to them, and I was seriously struggling to finish some choreography for my dance group. It didn't help that I had my first midterm this semester on Thursday, and a couple of stressful labs this week. Wednesday was probably the low point - I barely slept because of my foot, I couldn't make it to any of my classes, I wasn't feeling very good about my impending midterm, and I hadn't finished a dance that I was supposed to teach later that evening. 

BUT, I wore this top, and it cheered me up. That's the power of great fabric.

I'm now taking a short, but well-deserved break. My midterm went well, I managed to finish all the assignments that I put off when I was studying for it, and I'm catching up on my missed classes. My foot is feeling much better, and despite whatever was wrong with it, I managed to finish teaching my dance, and I'm really, really happy with it! I'm really enjoying having the chance to do my own choreography - seeing it come together is so satisfying!

Speaking of my dance group, we are in the midst of fundraising to pay for the theatre that we're renting for our spring show! We have to pay a certain amount upfront, and then the rest we pay for with ticket sales. Since we're a new dance company at McGill this year, our funds are pretty limited! We've been busy with bake sales and plenty of other fundraisers, but we've also set up a crowdfunding site for anyone who wants to support us from afar. If you're interested in helping us out, every little bit counts, and I would appreciate it SO much! (You can also check out our YouTube channel for videos from our winter showcase if you want to see the kind of things that we do!)

Anyways, enough about dance and my stressful week - on to this shirt!

This is actually my third version of this pattern, the Bronte Top by Jennifer Lauren. I made two short-sleeved versions last summer and haven't blogged about them yet! (I'm terrible, I know.) I really love the pattern - it fit me quite well right out of the (digital) envelope, and it's so quick and easy to make. The yoke detail stops it from being a boring knit top, though! 

I cut a size 8, like my second version. According to the sizing charts, I'm a size 6, but I found it to be a little tight around the armholes. I don't like my knit tops super snug anyways, so I just sized up, and the fit is pretty near perfect! The only change I made to the fit of this one is that I graded out a little at the hips - I find that my first two tops ride up just slightly. I added on about 2" total at the bottom, and this gives it almost more of a bell shape when it's untucked, because the fabric is pretty sturdy. Although I'll wear it tucked in most of the time, I love the shape of it! I would probably not grade out quite as much if I made it in a drapier fabric, though.

While writing that, I realized that I completely forgot to get pictures of it untucked... you'll have to take my word for it!

I thought that long sleeves would be too overwhelming for this print, but I didn't want short sleeves, so I made 3/4 sleeves by folding up the pattern where two pieces of paper were taped together, and this ended up being the perfect length!

I hesitated about the contrasting binding, because I thought it might be too much, but I'm glad I went for it - I really love it! It was just some cream-coloured bamboo jersey that I had in my stash - the same stuff I use to line my Moneta dresses. It really highlights the style lines!

Since I've made this before, it came together really quickly. I won't go much into detail about the construction, since it's pretty much the same as my other knit tops and dresses - I sewed all the seams on my serger, and I hemmed using a twin needle and Stitch Witchery. Like with my previous two versions, I took a 1 1/2" hem, turned up once, rather than a 3/4" hem turned up twice. I just used a simple straight stitch for the topstitching, which is what I did on my other two, and I haven't had any problems with broken stitches. 

That's about it for this top! It's a pretty simple make, but the fabric is fantastic, so it's probably one of my favourite me-made tops ever. I got an email a while back from Spool of Thread saying that they have more Charlie Harper knits in stock - I might try to pick some up (if there are any left) when I'm home for reading week!

By the way, I also made the pants I'm wearing in these photos! They are another project I finished last summer, but haven't had a chance to blog about yet. They were my last project before leaving for Montreal, so I never managed to get photos of them until I visited home for Christmas. They should be up on the blog soon!

Thanks for reading!

Top: Me-made (Jennifer Lauren Bronte Top)
Pants: Me-made (soon to be blogged)
Belt: bought from a craft market

Completed: Cowl Neck Renfrew Top

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to make Sewaholic’s Renfrew Top! I’ve seen countless versions of this top on various blogs, and I’ve been really happy with all the other Sewaholic patterns that I've tried! When I went to the Sewtionary launch party during the summer, there was 25% off all Sewaholic patterns if you were wearing something made from one. I wore my refashioned muumuu Pendrell blouse and my denim Hollyburn skirt, and picked up the Renfrew pattern!

The pattern calls for a medium-weight knit, so I chose this royal blue organic cotton and bamboo double knit that I bought at Dressew (of all places! It really wasn’t where I was expecting to find organic cotton). Compared to Montreal, it was a little pricey at $15 a metre, but I got this top out of under 1.5 metres, so I’m not complaining.

I chose view C, the cowl neck variation, with the long sleeves from view A. I cut a straight size 0, which usually fits me pretty well in Sewaholic patterns.

From cutting to hemming, I finished this top in an evening! The instructions were well-written but brief, as is usual for Sewaholic patterns. I didn’t follow the instructions too closely, since I’m pretty familiar with how to put together a knit top, although I did noticed that the instructions say to sew the cowl with the wrong sides together. The picture, however, shows it with the right sides together, which is the correct way. It’s not a new pattern so I was a little surprised to find a mistake in the instructions, but I might have just bought an older version that hadn’t been corrected yet.

I wasn’t sure if I had any ¼” twill tape to reinforce the shoulders, so instead I used ¼” clear elastic, which I bought lots of for Moneta dresses but don’t use anymore since I prefer the 3/8” stuff.

I sewed all the seams on my serger, and my regular machine seems to have recovered and did a nice job on the topstitching around the cowl. I used a straight stitch rather than the recommended zigzag, because I find that it actually had enough stretch when it’s topstitching a seam that’s already been serged – I used a straight stitch for all the topstitching on my Bronte tops and haven’t had any problems with broken stitches.

Since I tuck in most of my tops, I wanted a less bulky finish at the bottom, so I hemmed it instead of using the band. I didn’t add any length; I simply omitted the band and the length was perfect. I finished the edge with my serger, turned up 1”, pressed with Stich Witchery, and hemmed with a twin needle. Unfortunately, I didn’t use a walking foot so my hem is a little ripply, but since this will usually be tucked in, I’m not too concerned.

I originally hemmed the sleeves this way as well, but I found that they were just a touch too short, and a little too wide, so I cut off the hem and added the cuffs a couple days later. I like them better, I think!

The fit on this is pretty good, but not perfect. I need to take in the shoulder seams about ½”, maybe more, and if I make a version without the cowl, I’ll need to take in the neckline a little since it’s pretty wide. I’ve seen some people recommend making it a size down since the fit is roomy, but I was already making the smallest size and I didn’t really want to size it down. I think I’m reasonably happy with the fit, though! It’s really comfortable and still looks good tucked it – I actually prefer my shirts to be a little blousy at the waist, otherwise they ride up and get wrinkly.

If I wear it untucked, though, there's some pooling of fabric at the lower back. I might look into doing a swayback adjustment for next time.

I will definitely be making this again! I can see why it's such a popular pattern - it goes together so quickly, and I think I’ll get a lot of wear out of it. I just wish I had enough of the wool I bought it Montreal to make a wool cowl neck version, but the cowl takes up a fair bit of fabric, so I don’t think I do. I’m also planning a Renfrew-Moneta hack to make a cowl neck dress - I just love the cowl neck!

Top: Me-made (Sewaholic Renfrew)
Skirt: Not sure of the brand, refashioned from a dress to a skirt
Belt: Bought at a craft market
Tights: Smartwool
Boots: Steve Madden

Completed: Maroon Colette Moneta Dress

Finally, a finished project! I hope you’re not getting sick of seeing Moneta dresses, because I’m certainly not sick of making them! This is the first thing (besides underwear) that I sewed once reunited with my sewing machine in Vancouver. It felt very strange to be sewing again after such a long break, so I wanted to make something quick and easy that I’d made before. This is actually my fourth - I made a third one during the summer and never got around to blogging about it.

I made this dress out of the maroon cotton jersey that I bought from a by-the-pound bin at Stretch-Tex in Montreal. It’s lightweight but not sheer, and it has some spandex, so it’s perfect for the Moneta. I bought this and some printed sweater knit for only $5, so this dress cost about $2.50 to make!

I wasn’t sure I would have enough fabric for a collar or pockets since I only had 1.5 metres, but with a creative cutting layout, I managed to get both. I’m really glad, because the collar is my favourite part, and I do like to have pockets, even though knit pockets aren’t the most practical. I don’t use them much in my other knit dresses, but they’re nice to have when I just need to carry my phone or some lip balm around!

I shortened the bodice another ¼” from my last version, and I think the waist finally hits at the right spot! In total, I raised it 1½”I also raised the pockets 1”, same as with my last version, which puts them at a better spot for me.

This went together very quickly, since I sewed the entire thing except for the hems on my serger. This was my first time making the ¾ sleeve variation (although they’re really more like ½” sleeves), and I found that the sleeves were a little big, so I took the in ¾”. I really like the length, though! I find it very flattering to have them hit around the waist when the waist is defined like in this dress.

I also shortened this 1” when I hemmed it, because it’s more of a wintery colour and I’ll be wearing it with boots. A longer dress doesn’t look bad with these boots, but once I’m back in Montreal, I’ll be wearing winter boots, which I find look better with a slightly shorter skirt.

For the hems, I used my usual technique of serging the edge, pressing up the hem with Stitch Witchery, and using a twin ballpoint needle with a walking foot. The Stitch Witchery takes more time, but I find that it makes such a big difference!

The only part of constructing this dress that still gives me a bit of trouble is gathering the skirt. I find that I need to cut my elastic a little (usually 10 cm) shorter than the waistline, because it stretches as you sew it, as I discovered in my first version. The instructions have you use ¼” clear elastic, but I found that quite a bit of it got cut off when I attached the skirt. I tried 3/8” elastic, which worked better, but still got cut off in places, since the zigzag stitch that I attach it with pulls the edges in and makes it narrower. I tried using a straight stich in my last version, but it didn’t lie flat. This time, I used ½” elastic, but I had the same problem with the zigzag stitch pulling in the edges quite a bit, and it made a bit of a ridge. Next time, I might try the 3/8” elastic again, but attach it with my serger instead, and just not cut anything off – I think this might help the elastic lay flat.

Anyways, I really love this dress! It was enough to really get me back into sewing, and I made plenty more when I was home. I like it with a belt, but it looks good without as well. I'll probably wear it more often without, since it's easier to wear a sweater over. I’ve already worn it lots, and I think I might have a new favourite dress!

Dress: Me-made (Colette Moneta)
Belt: bought at a craft market
Tights: Hue
Boots: Steve Madden

The Grad Dress, Part III: The Wearable Muslin, and Advice Needed!

Even though I made a muslin for my grad dress, I wanted to try making the dress once before making it in expensive silk. I'm so glad I did! Although this is perfectly wearable, there was a lot that didn't go all that well, and I have a much better idea of how to sew it now.

It just so happened that I had my consultation for my grad hair the day after I finished this dress, so it was the perfect time to take photos!

Since my hair was done up, I decided I might as well style the dress like I will my grad dress. The necklace, the earrings, the shoes, and the bolero are all the ones that I'll be wearing for grad. This bolero is my latest thrift store find - $7 for 70% angora! It's pretty much identical in style to the 50's pattern that I was going to use for a bolero to go with this dress!

(Ignore the hanger marks that it has in these photos... those will steam out.)

I'm also wearing two crinolines in these photos! Neither are super full, and looking at these photos, it barely looks like I'm wearing one at all, let alone two! I might look into buying (or making?) a bigger one to wear with the real dress, but I'll wait until I'm done the dress itself and see how much time I have.

Anyways, about the dress. First of all, I really overestimated the amount of fabric I would need for this pattern, so I looked for the cheapest fabric that I could find without resorting to anything too synthetic.

I decided on a dark red leaf-print quilting cotton, which is definitely better suited to fall than summer, but it was the only print that wasn't completely overwhelming on me, and I wanted to use a print to hide mistakes! 

It cost around $6 or $7 per metre from the same discount fabric store where I bought the wool for my Ceylon dress.

In the end, I only used 4.5 metres of the 6 metres that I bought, and that was after the cotton shrunk to less than 40" wide. Now I wish I'd bought higher quality fabric!

Everything went pretty well - even the underarm gussets, which are horrible and finicky to sew - until I finished the upper bodice and tried it on. It was huge! I couldn't figure out why it had turned out so differently, because it should have been identical to my muslin!

My mom pointed out that the way the pattern piece is cut, the bottom edge of the front that's not pleated ends up on the bias. Not only that, but the crosswise grain of the fabric had quite a bit of give as well - it almost feels as if it has spandex in it.

So, after cursing my fabric choice, I took in the darts. They're not the perfect shape anymore, but they'll do. I did have enough fabric to re-cut the whole upper bodice, but I really didn't want to re-do my gussets.

I also stay-stitched around the bottom of the upper bodice, and along the top of all the midriff/skirt sections, to prevent more stretching. On the real thing, I'll stay-stitch all my pieces before doing anything, although I don't think I'll have too much of a problem with the silk - the crosswise grain seems as strong as the lengthwise grain, and the bias isn't as stretchy either.

After I figured out the issues with stretching, I didn't have any more problems until the zipper.

But oh my goodness... the zipper. This was by far the most difficult zipper insertion I've ever done, and not all that happy with how it turned out. As 1950's instructions will, the instructions say: "Sew zipper according to instructions on zipper package".

This wouldn't normally be a problem for me, since I've put in enough zippers to be comfortable enough with them. But... this one starts at the side seam, and curves into the seam that attaches the side back panel to the godet. I knew this beforehand, but I didn't realize quite how awkward it would be until I actually got to that step. 

I decided on a lapped zipper, which is my favourite technique to use. I probably spent about 15 minutes just trying to figure out how to start. Once I did, it wasn't too bad until I realized that I'd attached the zipper onto the wrong side, so my lap would be facing the wrong way! I debated about just leaving it as-is, since this is a wearable muslin after all, but I decided that it would really bother me, so I ripped it out and started over.

It could have been worse, but there are some puckers where the zipper curves, and the underside of the lap has some raw edges exposed. Also, since it curves to the back, the lap flips forward quite a bit. As a quick fix, I sewed on some hooks to the underside of the lap, and made some thread loops for them. It's not perfect, but it's better.

Next time, I will sew the zipper much earlier on in the construction of the dress. I think that'll make it a little easier to manage, but I still need to fix the problem of the lap flipping forwards.

This was my first time hemming a skirt this full (it ends up as full as a circle skirt, or maybe even a little fuller). To ease in the edge, I used the differential feed on my serger, which worked well on a sample piece, but on the skirt itself, it barely gathered it at all. I figured that I could just gather the serging a bit more by hand, but there was far too much hem t be able to gather it all at once. 

Instead of doing the sensible thing and just sewing some lines of gathering stitches, I cut the serging at a couple points so that I could gather it. This is far from ideal, because there's now a couple un-serged parts. I just covered them in Fray Check and tied off the threads that I pulled.

For the real thing, I will hem by hand, but for this one, I used a blind hem on a machine. 

It's not the best hem, because by this point I just wanted to be done this dress. I could have done a much better job with the blind hem, but I didn't really care all that much because I knew that it would get lost in the print anyways.

I also pinked all the seams (except for the hem), which was a first for me! I bought a pinking rotary blade just to try it out, and I love the simplicity and efficiency of it.

I won't go into detail about any of the other construction details, because I'll cover them all in more detail for the real dress. Overall, I'm happy with this. It's far from perfect but perfectly wearable.

It's also the most comfortable dress that I've sewn to date! The underarm gussets and the weird sleeves that are kimono sleeves in the front and set-in sleeves in the back are so comfortable and allow for way more movement without straining the seams or the fabric.

I'm so glad I made this as a trial run, because there's a lot of things I'll do differently on the real dress because they really didn't work so well.

For the zipper, I'm considering an invisible zipper. I haven't used one since the disastrous one in this dress, but there's no bulk at the waist on this one because there's no waist seam, just a diagonal seam attaching the godet. It also has a reasonable enough amount of ease (about 1 1/2") that I think I could probably get away with it... but I'm not sure yet.

Update: If I do a lapped zipper, I'll hand-pick it. I usually do, but I knew the stitching would barely show on this and I didn't want to bother with handstitching. That will make it a little easier to manage, but probably won't solve the problem of it flipping forwards.

For the hem, I don't really know what to do. I think I'll probably reduce the hem allowance (it was 2") so that I don't have to ease it quite as much. Other than that, I don't really know what's best. I'm considering using a hem facing, or even horsehair braid (actually, this is what I'm leaning towards... I love the volume that this gives a skirt). I'll do it by hand, so I don't want to do a narrow hem.

So... here's where I need your advice! Should I find a better way to do the lapped zipper, or should I try an invisible one? And what would be the best way to hem this?

If you missed one of my previous posts about my grad dress, here they are:

Part 1: Choosing a Pattern
Part 2: Muslins 1 and 2

Dress: Me-made, Vogue S-4727 (vintage)
Shoes: Vintage (thrifted)
Necklace and earrings: My grandmother's
Crinolines: both vintage
Bolero: Thrifted

Completed: Sewaholic Alma Blouse

So, I pretty much lived in this blouse all summer and I'm sad that I'll have to put it away soon.

I made it back in the spring, and I wore it so much this summer. I *almost* have something new to post about, but I need to figure out what is up with my machine first (the threads keep getting tangled and I don't trust it with my buttonholes). That, and I need to find somewhere to buy buttons to cover. Anyways, I wore this when we had family over for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday, and I thought it would be good to post about it while I can still remember all the construction details. 

The pattern is the Sewaholic Alma Blouse, View B, in a size 0. The collar is meant for a contrasting fabric but I wanted it to be a little subtler so used the main fabric. The pattern is very well-drafted - there is even an upper collar and a lower collar so that the lower collar lies nicely underneath without the seam showing.

The fabric is a medium-weight cotton (I don't remember exactly what they called it) with 2% spandex, purchased locally for around $12 a metre. It was really easy to work with - even with the spandex, it was quite stable. It turned out to be a perfect weight for the shirt, and has softened up nicely in the wash.

I decided that, to save time, I wouldn't make a muslin, which backfired as per usual. I made my usual change of tapering down the shoulder seams and went right ahead cutting out the fabric. The fit was pretty good, but not great. I should have known better - Sewaholic patterns are designed for a B cup. I fiddled with the darts a bit and now the fit is good, but the darts are definitely in the wrong spot. They end only about a centimetre away from each other, which would be really obvious is a solid colour. Luckily the busy print hides them, but when I made this shirt again I will have to adjust them properly, and will probably try a FBA.

Other than that, the construction was pretty straightforward and I made no more changes. I successfully put in my second ever invisible zipper, which hasn't broken yet and that makes me really happy (I haven't had the best of luck with invisible zippers, such as with this dress).

Do you see that invisible zipper? Me neither.

For next time (there will be one!), there are a couple things I would do differently, other than adjusting the darts properly. I would probably do the under collar and facing in a lighter weight fabric because it's a little bulky at the shoulder seams, even with all the grading that I did. I might also take in the hips just a little bit. I'm not quite as pear-shaped as the pattern is designed for, and I think it could be a little narrower at the hips. The sleeves could also be just a touch narrower, but none of these are major fitting issues and it's very wearable.

Overall, though, I'm very pleased with this shirt. It's loose enough to be comfortable yet fitted enough to be very flattering. It looks great untucked with jeans, or tucked into a skirt with heels for a dressier look. My only regret is that this version isn't that great for fall, despite being in nice fall colours. With the sleeves and the collar, it's difficult to layer pieces over top, and it's too chilly to wear it on its own. Oh well, I got lots of wear out of it this summer.

One of the reasons I prefer skirts rather than pants is that I can hold them in pictures so my arms don't look so awkward...

If these pictures look better than usual, it's because my brother took them during the summer, and it just took me a while to write about it. (This also explains why I'm outside in a short-sleeved shirt, because there's no way I would do that with the chilly fall weather.)

Oh, and since today is Thanksgiving in Canada, I'd like to say thank you to all my readers and followers so far, and thanks for all the wonderful comments! Happy Thanksgiving!

Blouse: Sewaholic Alma

Jeans: Consignment, CJ by Cookie Johnson

Shoes: Consignment, Hego's