Monthly Stitch: A Tropical Cambie

This month's Monthly Stitch theme is the long-awaited Indie Pattern Month. Unlike other months, this is also a competition of sorts, with prizes for each weekly theme.

Week One's theme is Dresses (posting til July 7, voting starting on July 11), which is in my direct wheelhouse over here.  I love making and wearing dresses. Love it. This gave me the incentive to make up my third Sewaholic Cambie (second which follows the pattern exactly).

I bought this tropical print cotton just a couple of months ago at a thrift store, and knew immediately that it would make a fabulous Cambie. It's a medium weight with a crisp finish, and it just called out for a sundress.

Love these cut-on pockets!

Back View

Since I was already planning to use this fabric for a Cambie, the Monthly Stitch theme gave me incentive to get moving on it. I cut it out on a Wednesday night, and was finishing up the hem on Sunday morning. Sometimes a group deadline is really helpful!

The busyness of the fabric was both blessing and curse. I had to lay out the pattern pieces carefully, and moved them around quite a bit before cutting, since I wanted to avoid a red flower or yellow stamen landing in the wrong spots. I think I managed in the end. You can see the print clearly in these closeups.

 It's a very well-designed dress, fully lined, with the nice suggested detail of making the inner waistband piece in the fashion fabric. I love that detail even if only you know it's there. It gives the inside such a nice feel. And there is a fabulous technique for sewing the lining to the invisible zip so that you don't have to hand stitch it, which I love as it is both quicker and tidier looking in the end.

 I also love the cut-on pockets -- they hide visually in a print, but are so convenient. They lie smoothly and don't rumple up like side seam pockets can. And they are also fairly easy to sew up.

 

 I made my regular size alterations: a horizontal wedge out of the mid-back and a vertical one at the shoulder, for my shorter upper back. I also shorten the shoulder pieces by 1/2" as I need to raise the bodice a bit, again, short upper torso. I'm also not a big fan of a princess neckline on myself so I once again changed this neckline to a straight one; I quite like the strong square effect it gives with this shoulder straps. The only other alteration I made was to add an inch to the length, as I wanted it a little longer than my previous make to give it the right vintage feel.

It's not only well designed theoretically, it's also comfortable for sitting in. Because the bodice and waist are so fitted I find it doesn't ride up when you sit down. But this fabric has just a tiny bit of stretch in it so it's also very easy to relax in.

 Another win for the Cambie. It's a great pattern that makes a lovely dress. I found that I had to make a bodice muslin the first time around and did have to make a number of minor adjustments, as I've noted. So I do recommend muslining this one. But because of the drafting with the pear-shaped figure in mind, I didn't have to make major adjustments like usual with a fitted style. I love this design and think it is a really sassy dress. Here's me feeling a little like Anna Wintour in it!

A Wedding Guest Cambie/Hollyburn

I was at my niece's wedding last weekend -- and how do they so quickly grow old enough to be married? It was a lovely wedding, held at a hall alongside the Lachine Canal in Montreal, with many outdoor areas to enjoy. Beautiful setting, and a very beautiful bride.

Since it was a more casual setting, I thought that a new Cambie in a light summery print would be a great idea for my wedding guest apparel. When my husband picked up a new summer weight jacket in a light blue/grey/white colour palette, I had the perfect match for it.

Inspired by his jacket, as well as this dress on the cover of July 2015's InStyle magazine, I had been looking around for a fabric with a similar blue china-tile print. No luck. I was about to give in and just wear something I'd already made, when I came across the perfect fabric -- a very light-weight cotton-poly sheet in just the kind of blue print I'd been looking for. It was a light blue on a greyish white ground, and because the Cambie is fully lined, I knew I could use this for the fashion fabric and it would be perfectly non-see-through once the lining was in. 

I thought about using View B, with the full skirt, for this version, but as I was looking at so many reviews on PatternReview and elsewhere online, I realized I didn't really want that much fullness...so I used the Hollyburn skirt instead, inspired by CameoOfKarina's latest version. It was the first time I used the Hollyburn, but it won't be the last -- I loved it and want a couple of skirts for fall in a nice warm drapey fabric...so many ideas!

with the Canal behind us

In any case -- being the second time I've made the Cambie, the process was easier. I made more adjustments to the bodice to get it to fit more closely (though forgetting that this fabric had zero stretch in it, unlike the cotton I used for my first version, I did have to sit with very good posture all night long, haha). I took another half-inch out of the front bodice, and cut it with the square neckline rather than the sweetheart, which is usually my preference. I might go crazy and try the sweetheart option someday...but this was not the day ;)

The print was a little crooked on the sheet so despite trying to cut around that, the bodice does have some slant to it. I was really disappointed when I realized it but once it was all together and the swirly skirt pattern counterbalanced it, it wasn't actually that noticeable or annoying any longer. I carefully measured the waistband and the top of the Hollyburn to make sure they'd meet up. Since they are both Sewaholic patterns it wasn't that hard to fit them together, only needing minimal adjustment.

Hollyburn skirt with such nice cut-on pockets

I used another really, really soft white cotton sheet (also quite lightweight) for the lining, and it is so luxurious against the skin. It gave the dress just enough heft to fit smoothly, but kept the light flowy feel of both fabrics. It was quite a warm afternoon and evening on the wedding day, so the airiness of this dress was perfection. I was reminded how fantastic the technique is for installing the lining in the Cambie; so easy and so quick. The only real change I made was to gather the sleeves a little bit less and leave them a little bit wider, for more underarm area coverage, which I noticed I would like from the first version I made.

Otherwise it was a relatively fast make -- good thing, since I'd decided to start it on Monday night and had to have it done by Friday night -- while working all week. I am not a fast sewer, so that was a challenge for me! But I got it done and I loved wearing it. Felt like a perfect fit for a beautiful August wedding. 

A fun photo on the staircase...

especially when photobombed by a charming co-guest :)

Caved to the Cambie

Yes, I've done it. I have finally made myself a Sewaholic Cambie! I've always loved this pattern, and a month and a bit ago I finally caved and bought the pattern. A digital pattern, so I was a bit slow off the start, having to print and tape and trace...but the Cambie was worth it.

A summer dress for a summery day in MAY!

I used a recently purchased cotton print -- I am in love with black-based floral prints this year. I lined it with a lightweight black broadcloth. I probably should have gone all out and used voile but it was a tad expensive for my first go-round. Now that I know how much I freaking love this pattern, I will be willing to spend a lot more on really nice fabrics for the next try.

This dress took me a while to make, as I was hesitant at nearly every step. Lots new to me, but once I did each step, nothing was actually hard to do. I absolutely loved the technique to add the lining to the invisible zip first. It looks fantastic and is so much easier than hand stitching down the whole thing. I also really liked the little touches like the lovely pockets, and the inside waistband cut from fashion fabric instead of lining. It's so pretty ;)

Inner Waistband

Sewaholic patterns are drafted for the pear-shaped figure -- which I am, and boy, does it make a difference. I made Version A, with the A-line skirt, not the full one, and it is super comfortable and flattering. There were a few alterations that I made to the pattern. First, I took a half-inch tuck out of the back armhole of the right side. When I made a bodice muslin, the right side gaped quite a bit; another result of my wonky shoulder. I folded a tuck from 1/2" at the back armhole edge to nothing by about the middle of the right back bodice piece. Because there was no corresponding sleeve measurement to worry about this worked just fine. I ended up also tucking the sleeve/strap in by far more than the 5/8" seam allowance, at the final step. I think I tucked each in by just over an inch, but then I usually shorten between bust and shoulder so that makes sense. I absolutely love the way it fits.

I also broke out my blind hem foot for the first time on my new Janome. It took a few tries on scraps to get the feel for it, but I'm so glad I used it. I really didn't want a hem that was just folded under and straight stitched, as I felt it might affect the hang or look of the skirt. And since everything else about this dress is so nicely finished, I was going to hand sew the hem. But then took a chance on the blind hem and it worked really well.

Blind hem!

 I also used the correct invisible zip foot, new also, and it made ALL the difference. I can't believe this invisible zip.

My 1st invisible zip that is truly invisible

Next go I will also pinch out an inch at centre front; this time I took a tuck just beside each strap to reduce the front centre gape. My fabric is so busy you really can't tell. And, oh, of course -- the other alteration I made was to change the front neckline from a sweetheart line to a straight neckline. I just can't get behind the sweetheart shape on me.

Love this neckline!

Thankfully the Sewaholic Cambie sewalong posts had tons of extra info, like how to change the neckline, and how to attach the lining to the zip, both of which I read through a couple of times to get going. I found the pattern well made and easy to understand, and I simply love the full lining and all the really excellent details in this pattern. I'm quite proud of this finished dress, the first in my all-out attack on my stack of wished-for summer dresses!

Random shoe view :)