FO: Dalloway Blouse

I was very remiss in posting to the blog when I posted this YouTube review. Whoops! I posted this video already, so if you'd prefer I tell you about this project that way, you can check it out below :)

This was started as a quick project. After finishing my Rose Street Cardigan, I was trying to decide what the next project would be. I like to always have a sweater on the needles, so I was thinking of picking up my Audrey in Unst or another traditional "sweater" when I saw the Dalloway in my queue.

This is the Dalloway by Sydney Cabaugh of Squid's School of Vintage Knitting. It's a 1920s-30s "Jiffy" pattern that is designed to work up quickly. Her original sample was done in wool, but she specifically mentions that you can use plant fibers for summer and give things you should consider for that. I bought this Silk City Fibers Bambu 7 yarn last summer wanting to try knitting a rayon top, so when this pattern was released I ear-marked this yarn to make it up. This is the persimmon colorway.

The shape of this sweater is very simple - it's basically a true T shirt. The pattern has you cast on for your bust and then knit straight until the underarm, but I didn't want to add a waist tie and I like a more defined waist, so I added some decreases (which I regret now, but I'll show that later). The whole shirt is knit in a drop stitch, so it's very easy to memorize... less easy to fix when you inevitably drop stitches because you used the slickest yarn ever. So there were holes in the lower part of the body, which is unfortunate. I thought, "oh, I'll just go back and fix it when I weave in the ends," but because this stitch is open all over, you can see my hole repairs and there is really not much you can do about that. Oh well.

The other issue was with my changes on the waist decreases. It was very difficult to see if my gauge was accurate when I made the swatch simply because this yarn is so heavy AND this stitch so open AND this is a plant fiber, which grows over time so I knew it was going to to be different as a shirt than as a swatch. My shirt came out longer than I planned, I added too much for the hips, and now it sags at the sides. Oh well.

The neckline was an interesting challenge. I bound off once, thinking I was pulling very large bind off stitches, only to have it not go over my head when I was done. I had to pull out the entire bind off and it took 1 and a half more tries to get the bind off stitches big enough. This means that I had to add yarn into the front neckline to finish binding off since I had already cut the yarn the 2nd time around, so I had to weave in ends directly in the center front of my bind off edge, which is really not great in a rayon yarn. I treat this very gingerly anyway, but now I have to check that stupid end to make sure I don't have threads sticking out the front of my shirt. This yarn and open design is also an interesting combination for snags. The first time I wore it, I tried to make sure I didn't use a purse that had a lot of hardware that would snag, but I still snagged it on the zipper within seconds of getting out of my car, lol. 

So that's my Dalloway :) This was an interesting project that was a bit out of my comfort zone, both to knit and to wear. I will say I don't know that I will get to wear it all that often just because I'm not the most careful with my clothing on the day to day, so I can't wear this to work, for example. I'm glad I made it though and now I have it when I do feel like it. I would be interested to see how it wear in wool though, so who knows - maybe I'll make one again in the future.

Summary:

Yarn: 725 yards Silk City Fibers Bambu 7 in Persimmon Colorway - $25.95

Pattern: Dalloway Blouse by Sydney Crabaugh - $6.50

Time: 5 weeks

Total Cost: $ 32.45

WIP Wednesday: Splitting My Dalloway

I've been plugging away on my Dalloway Blouse as my go-to project and it's finally looking like more than just a mesh bag lol. Last night I officially sectioned off for the sleeves and now I'm working on the top yoke/sleeve area, so I'm only just now realizing this means I'm almost finished with this project.

I did add shaping to the body of this one just because I didn't want to have to rely on the waist tie (they never sit right on me). It's certainly not perfect - this yarn (bamboo rayon) is SO slippery and SO splitty that I've dropped some stitches and had to try and salvage it a few times toward the bottom. I'm used to it now, but it doesn't change the visible mistakes. I also have an accidental double yarn over hole at one side that I need to go back and seam up. I'm curious to see how blocking evens this fabric out though.

And this is a more accurate idea of how the stitch pattern looks. This yarn is very drapey and will pull down when it is worn from the weight of it all - another aspect that makes me very curious about blocking.

In truth - I didn't work on any knitting at all for almost an entire week because I was busy having too much fun :) Including holding a baby alligator, going to Sea World, seeing Alvvays in concert. We packed a lot in during my friend's visit. No regrets! My knitting was waiting for me when he had to go back home, and isn't that just a big perk of knitting as a hobby? 

Do you have anything exciting going on this week? Tell me about it!

FO: Blue Laurel Mimi Blouse

Now that I've showed the finished product of my White Mimi Blouse, I'm gonna back it up a bit and show you the "wearable" muslin. After my experience trying to make this pattern years ago, I knew it would need some alterations to work for me, but I didn't know exactly what I needed to do. I wanted to make a muslin that would hopefully be wearable, and I achieved that for the most part. So one day I pulled out the pattern and traced a combination of the size 6 and 7 (after the 8 turned out so enormous). I went ahead and raised the neckline 5/8" and cut a size 7 everywhere except for the shoulders and neckline, which are a size 6. The more I delve into fitting my body, the more I realize that I have narrow shoulders compared to the size of the rest of my body.

I used a fabric I bought at The Sewing Studio so long ago that I did not have a record on my blog (maybe 2011?). It was a designer remnant, so I don't know the exact fabric content, but my guess is a rayon challis. It's light and drapey and breathable plus I liked the demure color and pattern at the time. I've been wanting to sew this pattern up in this fabric for quite a long time, so it just fell into place. The shirt itself turned out "wearable" if not my favorite example of my work. I went into this just overcast stitching the seam allowances like I usually do, but this light weight fabric didn't seem to benefit much from that and the insides are not as secure as I would like. We will see how it holds up. Also while I was sewing the gathered areas on the back and shoulder, I accidentally pressed the gathers and the results seem like tiny puckers all the way across. I'm hoping they will puff back up after a wash, but it was a bit of a bummer at the time and it doesn't look super great at the moment.

I made the shirt the regular length of the pattern and it turned out a good length to be worn out or tucked in, so I was happy there. Apparently I did not stay stitch the neckline soon enough in my sewing process - I believe the pattern didn't tell you to until a ways in? Or I was just steaming ahead and did things out of order, who knows - so my collar warped a bit. No amount of hot ironing and steam would straighten it out and it is particularly wavy on my left. Bummer. I also noticed that even with making the size 6 at the shoulders, it was still quite wide there on me - almost like a drop shoulder (you can see this on the left of the above photo). In this style of shirt, it just looks sloppy and ill fitting to have the shoulder drop so low. So learning curve with this being a muslin and all, I was able to make that change on my second version, but it left this shirt feeling a bit dumpy on me. The drop should combined with the width at my bust being a bit loose makes me feel a bit like this is a thrifted and unfortunate old lady shirt :/ I went down a size at the bust on my next version as well.

The back doesn't look awful except for my gathers/puckers at the yoke. Something about my collar makes it keep wanting to pull upward a bit at the edges too - maybe I cut too much off the inner edge for turn of cloth and now it's over turning? Is that a thing?

Here you can see the waving in my stretched collar :( Also there is a lot of excess fabric above my bust - even with the gathering I can see that it's too blousey there, making me realize I needed a hollow chest adjustment. I used simple pearl shank buttons I've had for who knows how long. They were a nice but subtle choice, I think.

I had one other snafoo with this shirt - When I was trimming the sleeve seam allowance, I accidentally clipped a hole in the sleeve cap :/ I blame the floaty fabric, but by the time this happened I was already not happy with the collar, so it just added to the overall feeling that this shirt is a bummer. I was able to interface the spot and sew a tiny seam to close the hole. I don't think anyone will notice since it's so close to the seam, but I know it's there. Ugh.

So this on was not a total winner, but since it was technically a muslin I can't really complain, right? lol Yeah right, I still will. I hope to still wear the shirt - as it is the fit is not very flattering, but I'm thinking if I tighten things up at the bust that it will at least be wearable. The true test will be if it gets worn for Me Made May - the time when I pull out everything even if I hardly ever wear it, lol. So we can't win them all, but this shirt lead to one I really like, so at least there's that.

Summary:
Fabric: 2 yards blue printed rayon challis - $9.00
Notions: Pellon SF101 interfacing - $1.00, 6 white buttons - $1.00, blue thread - $1.00
Pattern: Mimi Blouse from Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes
Time: 8 hours
Total Cost: $ 12.00

FO: The Mayberry Dress

I'm interrupting my year end round ups and jumping my blog posting queue to show you my cute new dress :)

A few months ago, Jennifer Lauren of Jennifer Lauren Handmade (or Jennifer Lauren Vintage as it was called) put out a call for reviewers on her patterns. She offered the opportunity to receive a specific pattern and make it up within a certain timeline to review on social media. She has done this with a few patterns already, but she announced that the next would be the Mayberry Dress and that you could have 2 months (instead of the previous 1 month) to review it on your blog if chosen. Feeling that I could certainly make this happen over the course of 2 months, I signed up and was chosen as a reviewer :) I was thrilled and honored. I printed my pattern and got things ready, but then I had to make the 60s dress followed by lots of Christmas gift sewing. Before I knew it, it was the week of Christmas and I had yet to even assemble my pattern. The review had to be up by December 31st - yikes! Thankfully I finished all my gifts in time for Christmas, so immediately after I started work on this pattern. I put it together the 26th, made a muslin the 28th, cut out my fabric and began sewing the 29th, and finished sewing the 30th with just enough time for me to get blog photos and post this today, on the 31st. Phew! Talk about procrastination! I feel terrible that I let the project wait this long, but I'm still glad I was at least able to keep the deadline - and now I have a cute new dress :) Lesson learned - never take on any personal projects with deadlines around Christmas. You'd think I would know this by now. Anyway, Let's look at this cute dress.

The Mayberry dress is a shirtwaist dress with a vintage twist. It has an off center button placket that ends at the waist. There are 3 sleeve length options (short, 3/4/, and long). The neat twist with this design is the drawstring waist that allows you to gather it up as much as you would like at the waist. After deciding to make my dress with 3/4 sleeves, I assembled the pattern, traced off a size 18 C at the bust and arms grading to a 20 at the waist and hip (according to my measurements on the chart), and set to making a muslin. I made my muslin from a vintage poly cotton sheet and decided to add 2: to the length of the bodice as well as the skirt (normal alterations for me), but I made no other changes. The fit was very nice off the bat as this is a looser design - since the darts were in the right place I called it good and proceeded with my fashion fabric.

I feel like this dress is even flattering from the back, which is not usually the case with me. This pattern is very versatile with choice of fabric. The instructions list that you can use most any woven fabric "with some drape", giving examples of linen, lawn, voile or poplin for more structure or rayon, silk, or sheer fabric for a more summer dress. Seeing that I live in Florida and I wanted something I could wear most of the year, I went with this lovely floral rayon challis from my stash. I bought 4 yards of it at a Sewing Studio sale back in 2012 when I first started sewing clothes only to have no idea what I would make with it, so it's sat ever since. I thought it was just the thing for a design like this - slightly vintage pattern in a cooler color palette with a nice drape. The fabric was light enough for summer yet also opaque enough to not need a lining. It even has just the slightest mechanical stretch, which was nice when sewing around curved areas. It's bouncy and flowy and lovely. I'm glad that former me bought this even though I had no idea it was such nice fabric at the time, lol. I'm glad it's a dress at long last.

Construction wise, every thing went wonderfully smooth. The instructions are great, even adding in extra tips for beginners if you need that. I appreciated that the facing pattern pieces said "Cut in 1 interfacing with glue side up" as this acted as a good reminder without me having to check the pattern again before cutting. There are lots of thoughtful things like that. You construct the bodice first, even adding the button holes which was much easier without the added bulk of the skirt fabric to contend with. Next you add the sleeves and the 3/4 length has a cuff to finish it off. This part was a little fiddly, but the instructions were very thorough so it went together well. Next you make the skirt, though I had made buttonholes for the drawstring back when I made them on the bodice since the machine was already set up. This dress even has pockets! Love it. Next you sew the bodice and skirt together, creating the casing for the drawstring waist at the same time. I appreciate that this was all one step with no extra pieces - no skinny casing pieces to deal with and turn edges under - this was all accomplished with just the bodice and skirt pieces. Very clever. After a hem and button sewing, this baby was done :)

Since I was using this slinky rayon, I did use spray starch on the bust darts, which worked wonderfully. I had my starch at the ready in case other areas needed the stabilization, but there was no need. The fabric behaved very well overall, even on the cuffs and hem. I think I stretched the sleeve a bit with handling since I did not stay stitch the edge, but it was no problem since you ease the sleeve cap in anyway. This fabric took sleeve setting like a champ, by the way. This might be the nicest sleeve insertion I've ever done - the stretch in the fabric and the drape meant I have no puckers whatsoever. Woo hoo. For finishing the seams inside, I have a few seams that are pinked but most of them are trimmed and overcast. This rayon likes to fray, so I'm hoping this will be enough to keep it from getting too bad. Hopefully I keep my goal of getting a serger going and I can go back over this later on.

I  tried out several button colors before settling on these plain navy ones. I looked at other finished versions of this dress, and I liked it better when the button stood out from the fabric. This can be easier said that done on a patterned fabric like this, so I wanted something contrasting. The navy buttons tie into the darker blue dots in the abstract floral but definitely still stand out. This also influences my choice of a navy poly satin ribbon at the waist. I happened to have this 3/8" wide roll on hand that was given to me from a friend's friend's grandmother's stash and it was the perfect size and color. I originally thought I'd use cotton cord, but I love that the ribbon is so flat that there is no added bulk at the waist plus I could just melt the edges of the ribbon slightly to avoid fraying. A win win :)

As far as the fit, I'm really happy with it. I think maybe I added a bit too much length to the bodice though. This rayon definitely hangs heavier than the poly cotton I used in my muslin, so what hit me at the waist in the cotton is decidedly low in the rayon. If this didn't have that drawstring waist it would look pretty silly being that long, but thankfully I can just tie the waist where I want it and it's fine. I like that it's a bit blousey on top, though the button placket makes it stick out a bit far just in that one spot. These are small issues though, and they are all from my alterations I made to the pattern. I would probably only add 1" next time I make this. The only thing I feel is a bit big that was drafted that way is the sleeve cuff - I wouldn't want it tight against my arm, but this is big enough that it doesn't even touch my arm at all. This would be a simple adjustment, but I didn't think of it at the time. It doesn't bother me enough to unpick it though, so maybe this is just a me thing. Now that I see these photos it looks like a complete non-issue. Otherwise, I love everything about how this fits. While the button placket is fully functional, I don't even have to open it up to get this dress on - one of the benefits of a smaller bust I guess. I just slip it on over my head and tie the waist and I'm good to go. It's super comfy due to the fit plus the soft and drapey fabric. And I love that if I'm having a "large day", I can just tie the waist looser and no one would be the wiser. Plus pockets!

I'm very happy with this new dress! It's been so long since I made a dress at all since they tend to be more restrictive on my body type, but this one does not have that issue at all. Since this even has pockets I might even wear this one to work - which is a huge deal as I never wear dresses at work since I hate fiddling with them. Wearing this I feel comfortable, cute, and somewhat modern even. My husband said I looked slightly hipster, lol. I don't care because it's just so comfy and I love this fabric. I've also just seen a version where the button front is changed to just a standard bodice, which gives me even more ideas since I love the fit of this so much. I'm glad I was able to review this pattern, and I would definitely recommend it if you want an effortless yet cute dress to add to your wardrobe :)

And with that I wish you all a very Happy New Year! I'll talk to you in 2018!

Summary:
Fabric: 3 yards of floral print rayon challis, $12 (?) from The Sewing Studio
Pattern: Mayberry Dress by Jennifer Lauren Handmade
Notions: thread - $0.50, Pellon SF101 interfacing - $0.50, 5 navy blue buttons - $0.10, navy blue poly satin ribbon - $0.10
Time: 12 hours
Total Cost: $13.20

*I received the Mayberry Dress pattern at no charge in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own and not influenced in any way. I just really like this dress :)*

FO: Gertie's Cherries Rayon Sorbetto

On my recent 4th of July fabric binge I was lucky enough to get 1 yard and 4 inches of Gertie's teal rayon with cherries at Joann's on super sale. This was all that was left on the bolt and I've wished there was more ever since I purchased it. The fabric is buttery soft and drapey - just what the doctor ordered with this awful heat and humidity. Ugh, Florida summer, how I hate you. Since I had so little fabric, I knew whatever I made would have to be super simple. While looking through my patterns i pulled out Colette's free Sorbetto and when all the pieces fit I just started cutting.

The Sorbetto is the first thing I made myself back in 2012 when I started thinking I could sew clothes for myself. That poor shirt never gets worn due to bad fabric choice - quilting cotton just will not work for this one unless you don't mind looking like a box. This rayon on the other hand would drape beautifully and really make the pattern flattering. The only problem showed up when I realized that I had no idea what I was doing back when I fitted the Sorbetto, so I had to change quite a few things on the fly. Somehow I had a crazy amount of excess at the shoulder - I think I removed 3 inches total on each shoulder seam - which was a simple fix, but left the top a smidge shorter than I prefer. It's still wearable, just not 100% perfect. Ah well, you can't have everything. I just won't raise my arms ever.

I also don't really know what's going on at the sleeve. The sleeve is actually an add-on pattern piece someone other than Colette Patterns produced. The sleeve pattern only came in one size (I think it was an 8 or something like that) which was way too small for me so I had to scale the piece up way back when. I did this by eye-balling it around the edge to what I thought would be the right size. It worked on my quilting cotton version, but the sleeves were a bit long in hindsight so I shortened them to the length of a dress sleeve pattern I like. Something about the overall cut (maybe it's a grain issue?) seems to make the sleeves flip out in a weird way. Again, not a deal breaker - just not perfect. I do love the drape of the fabric though :)

Here's my fancy surprise on this shirt - it's finished with self-bias ... that I made ... out of rayon! I have to say I impressed even myself that I pulled this off. Knowing that rayon can be shifty, I started out by spray starching the area for the darts so that I could get them nice and straight. This worked like a charm! My machine was already set up with my walking foot, so I just kept that on and in combination with the spray starch it was a sure fire. I had no shifting while I sewed at all! From there, I decided to use the spray starch on the bias tape too. I received a Simplicity Bias Tape Maker from my in-laws for Christmas this past year and I am sad to say I hadn't used it until now. This machine is a boss! I'm kind of embarrassed to say it, but I've never successfully made bias tape before. I always end up cutting it wrong or burning the crap out of my fingers and have to stop. This machine made it so much easier. 

Once you cut the bias strips and get them sewn together, you just load it on the spindle and the machine does the rest. The only tricky part was threading the bias tape through the tip - rayon is not so good at this. I just sprayed the first few inches of the fabric with spray starch and threaded it through -  no problem! Beautiful! I did have to press down slightly on the little iron piece and hold the folded tape that was coming out so it didn't bunch up, but I'm pretty sure that's because I was using such a drapey fabric. I now have really pretty bias tape, and I can't wait to make more! (By the way I'm not being endorsed by Simplicity or anything, I just really love this machine and wanted to let others know about it - Amazon usually has the best price if you decide you need one!)

Obligatory mannequin shot - because everything looks better on her :) I love this print, don't you?! If I could have, I would have bought enough for a dress but they don't even have it available online. *sigh* Oh well. I'm borderline on thinking this shirt is too plain - do I have a problem? lol I can't decide. I mean, I know it's cute, but I think it could be cuter with something going on at the neck like some buttons or a trim. I haven't found anything that looks good with it yet though, so I'm open to your thoughts.

Detail shots - I used matching minty thread so it didn't take away from the awesome print, and I think that turned out nice on the hems and neck. The bottom two shots are peaks at my self-bias. Since the shirt came out a little shorter than intended, I'm glad I went with the bias since that kept just that little bit more at the hem. Also the front center is slightly shorter than the rest of the shirt, so I'll need to adjust for that next time. At least now I know how to adjust the pattern for the next go round!

Well, there you have it. A cute but simple top that's perfect for the Florida heat. I will certainly be making more shirts like this, and I have a complete obsession with rayon now. So prepare yourself!

Summary:
Fabric: 1 yard 4 inches cherry printed Gertie rayon from Joann's - $4.19
Pattern: Sorbetto by Colette Patterns - Free!
Hours: 4
Total Cost: $4.19