Cover Designs #18: She Came to Stay

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well.

Today's title is She Came to Stay by Eleni Kyriacou. This new release is set in 1952 New York, when Dina Demetriou arrives from Cyprus for a better life in America. How she does so might be of extra interest to my readers here -- Dina is a seamstress with a passion for clothing, and finds a job repairing costumes at the Pelican Revue. There she meets a friend, the glamorous bleached blonde Bebba, who takes her around Soho and introduces her to all its excitement. But Bebba has a secret, and when Dina finds out, everything hangs in the balance...

To match this classic shirtdress pattern, you could use Burda 6520. The notched collar, bodice buttons, belt and the sleeve of View B match this dress very well. This skirt is a pleated one, while the cover image has a gathered skirt, but you could change that if you wished. The overall effect is quite similar. 

I'm sure it would look fantastic in solid red like Dina wears on the cover. You could find a good match in this beautiful red linen from Simplifi Fabrics

Or maybe by using this viscose linen noil from Hart's Fabric. 

Either one would sew up beautifully in this pattern and reflect the dress on the cover of this novel. Then grab a coffee & a bagel and enjoy this New York read!

1987 Shirtdress Spectacular

It's 80s week here on the blog! After finishing the 1986 Butterick shorts for my husband, I dove into this 1987 Butterick shirt dress for myself, Butterick 4734.

I had an old sheet that fit in well with the 80s aesthetic, and used the entire thing with only a few little scraps left to make this shirt dress and matching belt. The pattern states that the dresses are worn "with purchased belt" but I wanted to make a matching one, inspired by one I'd seen in a Burda magazine. I also found the perfect buttons at my local fabric store.

I cut this one at 14 in the shoulder, grading out to 16 by the waist and nearly 18 at the hip. It's a straight cut, so I needed to shape it out a bit over the hip area. It looks cute unbelted from the front, but there is far too much volume in the back to wear it loose, unless I took a couple of fish eye darts in the back. In any case, I like it belted.

This is an "easy" pattern, and it is pretty straightforward, especially in View E, which I made. It's straight up and down, with a full length facing, a yoke and a couple of pleats at the yoke seam, front and back. No waist seam on this view, and no sleeve either. Pretty simple.

The most time consuming element was altering the pattern for length. The same pattern piece is used for the straight view and the bodice of the full skirt with waist seam. There is only a "cut here" line. This means that there is a large section for blousing on the pattern, which is not welcome on the straight view. If the waist length works for you, you'd at least need to fold out the blousing allowance, a good 2 inches. I ended up folding out close to four inches above the waist, which seemed to work correctly. And because I cut the shoulders and neck at 14, not 16, it eliminated the extra ease for the shoulder pads as well as raising the V of the neck just a bit, which I also needed.

I also took an inch off the hem, so that my hem allowance was 1.5" and not the 3" they called for -- that's way too much hem to fold up, for me. I also added side seam pockets, of course, just below the waist so that they wouldn't gape when the belt was on. I think the style and the fabric go well together and will be fun to wear. The fabric is a little stiff -- it is an polycotton sheet, after all -- so it works well for this kind of straight shape that doesn't require draping or gathering, and it stands nicely around the body.

I made the belt using some non-roll elastic and a fabric casing, along with a buckle from my stash. It was pretty free-form, but I'll share how I made it in case anyone is interested in trying it.

1. Measure your elastic by snugging it at your waist where you want to wear the belt. Make it close fitting, and then allow for an overlap of 2 or 3 inches. I used 1.5" non-roll elastic.

2. Cut a strip of fabric 1.5 x longer than the elastic, and the width needed to cover the elastic plus a quarter to half inch ease, and seam allowances of course. I had a 1.5" wide elastic, at 36" long, so cut a strip 55" long and 4.5" wide.

3. Sew the fabric strip by folding lengthwise, leaving both ends open. I used a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving me with close to 1/2" wiggle room in the strip to insert the elastic.

4. Insert the elastic, and when the trailing end gets close to being covered by fabric, stop and fold over a bit of the end and stitch it securely to the inner elastic as close to the end as possible. This will be the end that shows after it goes through the buckle so try to keep it tidy.

5. Finish drawing the elastic through the tube. You'll need to leave a couple of inches of flat fabric at this end to wrap around the buckle so securely stitch down the end of the elastic inside the fabric a couple of inches from the end. Fold the ends in and stitch them down tidily. Then you can use that flat bit to wrap around the centre bar of your buckle and stitch it down.

6. Now you just need to "zhush" your gathering over the elastic to get it to look even. This is why you need to make sure you have secured your elastic at both ends, as it will take some pulling. You don't want to leave too much ease, as it should look fitted to the elastic, but you need some so that you can do this step and get the gathers evenly dispersed. And make sure the buckle is also just slightly wider than the width of your elastic so you can pull the belt through without any twisting.

7. Wrap it around you and just pull one end through the buckle! Done!

McCalls 6696: My Literary Sewing Circle project!

From early on in this round of the Literary Sewing Circle, I had the idea to finally use some multicolour cotton that's been in my stash for nearly exactly two years. I remember the date I got it because a friend of mine who does not sew won a gift certificate to Fabricland, & invited me to go shopping with her -- we picked this out together!

The print in this fabric reminds me of brush strokes, and so I took the theme of Frieda's painting as my overall inspiration for this dress. When Frieda takes up her brushes again at the end of Dance, Gladys, Dance, in response to and in spite of terrible things happening, there is a sense of hope and forward movement in her life. I found this an encouraging way to end the story, and inspirational in an unsentimental way. This dress celebrates that sense of creation despite life's foibles.

I had always thought that this fabric (a light,crisp cotton) would make a good shirtdress. So now was the time to finally make myself a McCalls 6696, the darling of the shirtdress sewing world. I enjoyed it, though it took longer than I had anticipated. Partly due to the more detailed nature of this project  and partly because midway through I came down with the terrible flu that has been making the rounds of my workplace. Ugh. However, all is well, and I finished my dress this week!

I had some hesitation over buttons; originally I'd considered having multicolour buttons, all different, but when the dress was done it didn't seem to go well. So I narrowed it down to two buttons in my stash. And then completely changed my mind and finally went with a set of clear plastic buttons I'd picked up at the thrift store. They are small and unobtrusive, and really let the fabric shine.

First tries

Final "invisible" buttons!

I had to make quite a few adjustments to the pattern. Like many others, I tried to remove the back poof. My measurements were slightly off so I did have to make a mini gather at yoke and waist, but it's almost entirely removed. And I also had to shorten the bodice fairly significantly, so watch that if you are also short torsoed! I think I ended up taking over an inch up at the front and more in the back, including a sway back adjustment. But I am pleased with the results - I got the waistband sitting at the narrowest part of my body, and the skirt falls to the length I was going for.

But oh those pleats! They took quite a while, and picking out the basting threads took a while also. In fact my husband was still picking bits of thread off me while taking photos, haha.

I used the burrito technique for the yoke, and did not do any of the hand stitching that this pattern calls for. I "stitched in the ditch" after pinning carefully, to catch the inner band, collar and sleeve cuffs. No slipstitching for me. I used the long sleeve view, including the winged cuffs, but found I had to loosely tack the points of the cuffs to the sleeve, or they kept flopping out, making my arms look like origami cranes.

I absolutely love this dress! It makes me feel creative and lively, just like Frieda did as she began painting again after her crisis of faith. I styled this with some thrifted shoes (brand new Naturalizers) and coral necklace. I'm really feeling this dress, and it is also just perfect for Easter weekend. How fortuitous :)

Cherry Print Nostalgia with the Sally Shirtdress

Thanks to everyone for voting for my dress
 in the Monthly Stitch contest! I won a prize :)

Let me tell you all about my new Sally Shirtdress!

Why yes, Madge, it is a Sally!

After the completion of my first shirtdress ever (McCalls 7351) I got the bug - I needed to make more! I happily had picked up this new-to-me pattern at the Pattern Review Weekend pattern swap (thanks to whomever it was who let it go). Added to that, it's Indie Pattern Month over at the Monthly Stitch, and the first weekly challenge is to make something by a designer who is "new to you". I've never made anything by Serendipity Studio before, so the Sally Shirtdress moved to the top of the queue.

I thrifted a fabulous cherry-print quilting cotton which I knew would be perfect for a retro style shirt dress. This pattern fit the bill. I crowdsourced opinions on which trim to use, and the replies were overwhelmingly for the red polka dots -- about 50 to 1. So I went with it. I was also able to use some fantastic vintage buttons from a full shoebox of them - all still on their cards - that my sister sent me for Christmas this year (great thrifting score on her end!)

original trim options

look closely for the buttons

To suit the vintage styling, I thought that a photoshoot at The Stratford Antique Warehouse would do the trick - thanks to Tracy and her wonderful staff for letting me take pictures and for chatting about sewing with me.

Outside, about to head in...

A bright and beautiful little booth...now with laser eyes

And now for the pattern itself -- I really enjoyed making this one. The Sally Shirtdress is an interesting design. It has four pieces: the collar, one long front and one long back, and the sleeve. Plus the trims, if you want to count those as extra pieces. It is sewn together and then you fit it by adding pleats in at the waist - you make it as fitted as you want, and put the waist where you want it. There is a rather complicated mathematical calculation in the instructions that is a bit confusing, so I just used the measurement of the waist and then divided it evenly to space my 1" pleats. It shapes it up nicely!

The pleats are well-placed but do we really want to know more
about our figures? Testing out a retro grain scale

I slightly extended the pleats higher in the back to reduce puffiness in the upper back, otherwise followed the pattern suggestions for size. Once the pleats are sewn, they are pressed flat along the centre and topstitched to keep them tidy. I've shown a photo of the insides, as they are completely invisible on the outside!

I cut the "above knee length" view with no shortening done except for a small pinch out of the upper back length-- I am 5"2 so be aware if you don't like really short things. I also chose the trim that is a flat band. The pattern gives options like a ruffled band as well but I thought I had enough going on with cherries and dots.

I coveted this enamel red & white drop-leaf table
and all the red & white glassware too!

The flaw in this pattern is that there are no pockets included. I added basic side seam pockets using a pattern piece from another dress, and placing them as usual with the hand opening 4" below my natural waist. You'll have your own perfect placement, so if you add pockets just measure a favourite pattern and place accordingly.

The other thing to be aware of is that the pattern assumes quite a bit of sewing knowledge. For example, she states "make a bias strip" for the trim but gives no instruction. Or, when setting in the sleeves, she tells you to pin in place, put the sleeve side down when sewing and just stretch and ease the the excess fabric in the armhole as you sew -- no gathering stitches, just all freehand. And she adds, "if you have any tucks, unpick and just sew again". It's all rather freeform, and while I was a little suspicious of this technique, these are the first sleeves that I've ever set in perfectly smoothly on the first go. So there's that.

I cut the under collar from the contrast as well

I actually really enjoyed the way the pattern was designed. I like to figure things out as I go and learn new ways of doing things, and I did both with this pattern. It had a relaxed, freestyle feeling to it.

Does this necklace go?

And should I buy a purse? (full confession time: I went home with the black one!)

So if you are okay with a different approach to things and with looking things up as you go, you'll like this pattern. It is a great silhouette, really fitted to the individual figure, and goes together quickly. I like it!

We had a gas with my new Sally at the Antique Warehouse!

Floral McCalls 7351, a Fabricville Special

It's the end of MeMadeMay, and it's been a month I've enjoyed. Even if I didn't take many daily photos at all, I was wearing me-mades and enjoying others' participation. I realized that I wore most things only once, with only a couple of tops making a repeat appearance -- and I still have things that I haven't worn yet. So I don't really need this month to get me wearing more of my own makes, but it has helped a lot in pinpointing what I reach for most.

And that's usually a dress, and usually colourful.

All photos taken in the lovely Shakepearean Gardens in Stratford

What can I say? If I have a style at all, it would have to be described as fairly eclectic. I like one-off outfits that don't really match with each other ;)

Please visit the Fabricville Blog to see more about this pattern & fabric!

My latest dress is a shining example of this. It's my latest project for the Fabricville Bloggers Network, and it has been delayed somewhat - ironically - by my trip to Chicago and the Pattern Review Weekend! But I powered down when I got home and learned a lot of new things with my first ever shirtdress, McCalls 7351. It helped that McCall's is hosting a Shirtdress Sewalong - lots of tips and support on their blog and the FB group associated with it.

I am really pleased with this dress! It fits well - I used size 14 at neck and shoulders and graded out to 16 by bust & waist. I do feel like it's a teeny bit big at the waist but it is super comfortable so I can live with that! :) Next time I might make it just halfway between 14 & 16 -- a modified size 15, if you will, haha.

I love the way the neck fits and the flowiness of the skirt. It's a really lovely thing to wear. It's drafted well and it includes pockets, always a plus in my books. I had the perfect buttons in my stash, I was so delighted to finally use them!

I decided that this would be my year of shirtdresses, and chose this pattern to start with as it came recommended for beginning shirtdress sewists on PatternReview. I received it from Fabricville along with the beautiful cotton - an exclusive print made for Fabricville in three colourways, and quite irresistible!

The dress was straightforward, although I did make a few changes to the construction process as I went:

• Instead of attaching the yoke as in the instructions, I used the 'burrito technique', or as it is called in my trusty Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, the 'couture technique'. It worked great and the yoke looks lovely all enclosed. 

• I watched a Professor Pincushion video to help me understand how to attach the front bands. I really mean it when I say I've never made a shirt dress (or any kind of button down shirt) before.

There's not that much more to say about this pattern, as it went together logically and step by step. It's a solid one! It took me quite a while - a few afternoons and nights working on it, going slowly - it seemed like a lengthy, drawn out process while doing it, but I love the result. I am sure the next time I make a similar dress it will feel much easier!

As to my summer of shirtdresses...I've already cut and been sewing away at my next one, the Sally Shirtdress by Serendipity Studio, a pattern I picked up at the pattern swap on PR Weekend - thanks to whoever let it go!