Black & White Butterick 6655

 

My latest dress fits into my black & white neutrals palette of my fall wardrobe planning colour picks. And I'm glad that my latest round of planning hasn't changed much because I cut this dress out a year ago! And it only took me two evenings to sew it up. 

This is Butterick 6655, which I've made before, but this time I changed it up a bit. I cut the front on the fold rather than including the front seam, because I wasn't going to add in the faux button panel here. I just liked the way this pattern fit and wanted a basic sheath dress to wear. I also added in side seam pockets as I knew from my first one (where I didn't add pockets) that they would work with the fit this time.

My first one was made of a linen blend, but this time I was using a stretch bengaline, which is less familiar to me. The thing to note about this fabric is that the stretch goes lengthwise along the fabric, so you need to cut out on the crossgrain. But there is quite a bit of stretch so I thought it would be suited to a closer fitting dress, for a bit more comfort in wear. 

I used some white broadcloth for the pocket bags, as I thought self fabric would be too bulky. I was worried that there might be some show-through, but when I tested it I realized that the gabardine is quite thick and not transparent at all, even being white. So I didn't line the dress, I'll just use a slip when necessary. 

I didn't want it to be any shorter for this view, and probably should have cut it a bit longer - thanks, year ago me. So instead of turning up a hem, I used some white bias binding and made a 1/4" hem. I decided to hand stitch the hem since this fabric does ripple a bit when hemming - the sleeve required some steam to get the wobbly out. Hand stitching the bias facing down was easy and didn't take long, and it has a much cleaner visual finish. I'm pleased with this neutral - it will go nicely with a couple of bright blazers I picked up at the thrift store recently. And with lots of me-mades in my wardrobe too! 

Burda Pocket Jumper from 2012

It's been a week for jumpers around here! I'd been looking for this particular style for a while; I bought a jumper with front in-seam pockets at the thrift store a few years ago and really liked the detail. So when I found this Burda pattern, 105-09-2012 on the Burdastyle.de website, I bought it. Good thing it's such a simple design that I didn't need instructions, because they are all in German ;) 

I used the pocket insertion technique from the Closet Core Cielo dress, which I made this summer. Same idea. And I decided to line this project fully, again, but this time I stitched the lining right to the neckline, and then understitched & topstitched. That should keep it from creeping! I basted the lining to the arm openings once the neckline was done, and then finished them with black bias tape facings. I think it's nice and neat -- because this jumper is such thin fabric I thought this technique would work, where it might not do so well on something like my previous jumper, which is heavy corduroy. 

The fabric is a recent buy. Fabricville was having a 3-for-1 sale, and I saw this lovely print in stretch bengaline, so gave it a try and ordered it. I haven't sewn with stretch bengaline before, and discovered that it has quite a lot of stretch lengthwise but not any at all across the grain. So the print ends up going the opposite way than you might think, in order to have the stretch going around your body. Fortunately this print can manage it. 

When I got the fabric I wasn't sure what to do with it, since I rarely make pants and that was what most of the examples were, using stretch bengaline, when I searched for ideas online. But then I remembered this pattern, which calls for a stable jersey, and thought that this stretch woven would be just the thing. It worked beautifully, and I love the final result. I love the neckline, the fit and the cute little pockets. 

The only alterations I made were to shorten the bodice by 1/2" between the bust and waist. And I'd raise that lower section seam by an inch if I made this again, to raise the pockets a bit, but otherwise this one is a real winner for me. I didn't have to shorten the skirt length, as this is a "Mini Dress" according to Burda but fits around knee length, just how I like it, for little 5'2" me ;) 

I really like the effect of the print, and the comfort in this piece! Definitely one to try again someday.