Butterick 5756

I caused myself a few problems with this particular pattern, and it was NOT a fault with the pattern. Read on to find out what went wrong...


Pattern Used: Butterick 5756


Pattern Details: Pleated skirt with hem-band variations.


Fabric Used: Gingham, with broadcloth lining, sigh.


View Made: B (B has bias cut hem and waistband, A has straight-grain hem and waist band.)


What did you especially like about this pattern? The skirt is so full, and the hem band just sort of sets off the whole skirt.


What did you especially dislike about this pattern? Nothing. It was super simple to make, came together quickly and well, and fits superbly. It sits just at/below my belly button comfortably, with no gaping or tightness. And, I had NO zipper problems with this skirt, for once!


Did you change the pattern at all? Yes. Sigh. I added lining because my gingham was a touch see-through and I like lining things, apparently. The way that I lined this skirt was all good, until it came to the pockets. There is a pleat over the pockets, that would work if the skirt wasn't lined (because my pockets always sit in between the good fabric and the lining). So my pocket is hard to get at, and kind of bulky, but other than that, it's fine. I also chose to buy narrow fabric for this skirt. Possibly fatal mistake there, but it was averted. The skirt pieces, both front and back are WIDER than 45" if you are cutting them on the straight grain. I cut mine on the cross grain and it didn't matter because it's gingham, but for stripes or any other directional fabric, this pattern really needs to be 60" wide. In fact, the envelope only lists measurements for 60" fabrics. Also, because the fabric was narrow, I bought an extra metre, which turned out to be just enough to get all my pieces on. I also only bought 2 metres of lining, which was tight. 2.5 metres would have been better (again because broadcloth is generally only 45" wide.) To finish the lining, I cut the front and back pieces about 2" longer than the good fabric ones, and narrow hemmed it, so that the lining hem sits just past the seam for the bias band.  Finally, when making the pleats, I didn't reinforce the seam well enough at the bottom, as they started to come apart a little with wearing the skirt. Next time, I'd reinforce more, or maybe tie the thread ends together before trimming, as I would for a dart.
 I also did stitch-in-the-ditch to secure the hem band, as I did not want to slipstitch. 

Final thoughts: This is a basic, interesting, wearable skirt with lots of potential for future attempts.


Pictures:

Front View

 

Back View

 

Close-up of Bias Hem Band

Vogue 8874

Such Vintage!
 
Pattern Used: Vogue 8874 (Vintage Vogue Line)
 
Pattern Details: Fitted bodice, high neckline, very full skirt
 
Fabric Used: Sporting weight cotton (Has a slight stretch to it), broadcloth lining, and quilting cotton
 
View made: B (although there is really only one view, views A and B only differ by length.)
 
What did you especially like about this pattern? The raised waistline in the front, the bow, and the fullness of the skirt. It was also really nice that I didn't have to interface anything for this pattern, nor did I have to hem sleeves.
 
What did you especially dislike about this pattern? Nothing really. I have no major complaints about it. It fits really well with no alteration. The bow could be made a little shorter so that it doesn't have such big loops and I did have to cut off about 4 inches from the bottom in order to make it a nice tea length (otherwise it would have hit about 2 inches above my ankles, which I didn't think was that flattering.) Also, the neckline gapes a bit, probably because it is so high.
 
Did you change the pattern at all? Not really. I did cut out the pleat underlay from a contrast fabric, because really, what's the point of a pleat underlay that you can't see? I also added skirt lining, and then sandwiched the lining and fabric over the edge of the bodice where the waistline is raised.
 
Final thoughts: Will make this one again! It came together super quickly (about 8 hours from start to finish) and looks really good. :)
 
Pictures:

 

Front View

Back View

Raised Waistline

Pleat Underlay fabric

Simplicity 2447

This pattern was a bit of a disappointment. So much potential wasted.

Pattern Used: Simplicity 2447

Pattern Details: Button-down shirt with length, sleeve and neckline variations

Fabric used: Dotted Swiss

View Made: View A with the sleeves from View B

What did you especially like about this pattern? The bias insert at the bust. It has so much potential, especially when working with stripes or plaids.

What did you especially dislike about the pattern? The sizing. I made my usual size 12 which fits me perfectly for every other pattern that I've made, but I'm SWIMMING in this shirt. The sleeves are huge, there is no waist to the shirt and it almost comes to my knees. So sad. I tried wearing it with a belt, which slightly improved the look, but not a lot. I love the fabric of this shirt, so it was especially disappointing when it turned out so mammothly huge.

Did you change the pattern at all? I used the sleeves from view B and put them on view A because I didn't want long sleeves.

What did you learn from this pattern? The sadness of a garment made too large. My arms look like twigs coming out of the gigantor sleeves.

Final thoughts: I could fix this, I'm sure, by taking in the sleeves and sides, but I haven't looked at this shirt in a while since it makes me kinda sad. And fixing it takes effort. Once I'm done and all the edges of a project are finished, I like it to be FINISHED and not have to worry about it again.

Pictures:

Front View (This dress form has my measurements dialled in to it, so I hope it adequately illustrates how LARGE this top turned out)

Front again

Fabric close-up

Vogue 8882

Ok, so this was a pattern entirely determined by fabric. I loved the fabric in the store and so then went and found an appropriate pattern to use it. This is what I came up with.

Pattern used: Vogue 8882 (Vogue Easy Options line)

Pattern details: Pleated skirt with waistband, with hem and waistband variations.

Fabric used: POLKA DOT CHIFFON! Lined with Heritage quilting cotton (this has a bit more of a linen-y texture than broadcloth) 

View made: Franken-pattern combination of A and E.

What did you especially like about this pattern? By far the asymmetrical hem.

What did you especially dislike about this pattern? This is more of a body-shape thing, but in order to not gape horribly at the waist, I have to wear this skirt well above my belly button. I THINK this is how the pattern is designed to be worn, since I don't have any length issues with it. Also, the waistband is really wide, also leading me to have to wear it at an odd height.

Did you change the pattern at all? YES. My version is a complete franken-pattern. I basically made view A with a chiffon overlay of view E, or if you want to think about it the other way, I made view E with a lining of view A.

An itemized list of my changes:

    --I sewed the waistband of views A and E together (one on top of the other, then basted around the edge) and treated it as one piece.

    --I hemmed view A instead of interfacing a band to sew to the hem and then slipstitch in place

    --I sewed View A as I would for a lining (the seams and hem face OUT instead of in towards the body)

    --I hemmed the opening for the zipper in the chiffon and only sewed the zipper to the quilting cotton

I think that's all...

Things this pattern taught me: French seams. I did French seams on all of the chiffon seams because of the asymmetrical hemline. Since the chiffon frays really easily, they turned out a little furry, with little threads poking out of the right side of the seam, but that's my own fault for not trimming the seam before I enclosed it.

Final thoughts: In spite of all my tinkering the pattern turned out really well, and so Twirly!

Pictures:

Front View

Back View

Vogue 8470

This pattern is definitely on my list to make again, in spite of a couple of tiny flaws. :)

Pattern Used: Vogue 8470 (Vogue Easy Options Line)

Pattern Details: Fitted bodice, circle skirt, Dickie-type insert at neckline, fully lined

Fabric Used: Striped shirting cotton with broadcloth lining

View made: A

What did you especially like about this pattern? Options, options, options! I think the next incarnation of this dress that I make will have that adorable ruffle on the bottom.

What did you especially dislike about this pattern? Not much, it's your standard Vogue pattern, well made with clear instructions. However, the instructions did tax my brain a little bit to put in the insert at the neckline. I thought it was going to just be sewn in, making sure seams matched etc, then lined,  instead of being a completely separate piece. Also at the neckline, I found that the point where all four triangles meet is a huge stress point,  and a little of my white stitching shows, because the seams are pulling a bit. The neckline in general was pretty fussy actually, because you have to do a lot of "stitch to large dot, reinforce, turn" sort of stuff.

What I learned from this pattern: Ummmm.... gimme a sec here..... Not much. It didn't really present me with any extraordinary techniques.

Final thoughts: The fit on this dress could be a bit better, since the seam under the bust doesn't actually sit UNDER the bust, but a little bit higher, leading to a little extra fabric in that area. Other than that it's really comfortable. I made the tea length view so it hits me mid-calf, which means this dress is more appropriate for cooler days.

Pictures:

Front View

Back View

McCall's 6696

I was in the fabric store the other day and stumbled across a bargain-basement type fabric that caught my eye. I felt that it had potential so off I went to the pattern counter to find something that I could use it for. This is the result.

Pattern Used: McCall's 6696

Pattern Details: Shirt-dress with skirt and sleeve variations and pockets. This pattern also has variations for bra-cup size, A/B, C and D options.

Fabric Used: Light-weight denim/canvas

View Made: B

What did you especially like about this pattern? It's a classic, and it was SUPER easy to make. I like the waistband (Usually shirt dresses have a belt or tie rather than an actual waistband) and the pockets! I love it when I don't have to put in my own pockets.

What did you especially dislike about the pattern? Not a whole lot. There were a couple of typos in the instructions (ie saying something applies to view C even though it is clearly an instruction for view B), and putting in the collar maybe I was reading the instructions wrong, but they never actually TELL you to sandwich the collar in between the collar band and collar band facing.

Did you change the pattern at all? Nope nope nope. Oh, except for topstitching. In spite of this being a SHIRTDRESS, there are no actual instructions to topstitch, so I added topstitching in a few different places:

• Waistband
• Edge of the collar
• Front band
• Double row of stitching on hems
• Back yoke and shoulder seams

This pattern calls for a lot of slipstitching. I dislike slipstitching. I find it time-consuming and annoying, so I skipped that on this pattern and topstitched instead. :P

Things this pattern taught me: No new techniques were learned on this project.

Final thoughts: I like how this turned out. The fabric suits the pattern, and finally I didn't have to line something to make it wearable. The wooden buttons are a cute vintage-y touch too. I also have fabric to make this dress again in the near future, so look for an update soon! It was super easy and quick, and fits really well, so I will definitely make it again!

Pictures:

Front View

 

 

Back View (With gathering between the shoulders)

 

Close up of some of the fabric and topstitching

Simplicity 1800

Fabricland was getting rid of all their Simplicity patterns lately, so I bought a few. Here's another Simplicity review for your enjoyment!

Pattern Used: Simplicity 1800 (Amazing Fit line)

Pattern Details: Fitted, lined bodice, princess seams and sleeve variations

Fabric used: Embroidered, scalloped edge cotton plaid and broadcloth lining

View Made: A

Did it look like the picture? Yes.

What did you especially like about the pattern? The neckline drew me to this, as well as the sleeve options. Most summer dresses have thin straps at best.

What did you especially dislike about this pattern? The 1 inch seam allowances on the sides. I felt they were excessively large and difficult because my sewing machine seam allowance markings stop at 5/8". I understand that they were there to help with fitting, but I didn't have to alter them in the end, making the excess unnecessary.

Did you change the pattern at all? I added lining to the skirt, again so I don't have to worry about a slip or anything. I also skipped all the "muslin making" steps (explained below) and went right to sewing it together the right way.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Meh. Because it is an "Amazing fit" pattern, they get you to sew everything together with WRONG sides together (basically making your good fabric into a muslin) then mark any adjustments (luckily and annoyingly I had none). After that, they get you to rip apart everything you just did and sew it the right way, taking in to account your markings. I found this quite hard to follow in the instructions and had to read the whole thing through a couple of times before I understood that I was making a muslin.

Final Thoughts: This dress does fit very well and is quite comfortable. For whatever reason (probably fabric choice) the zipper could've gone in better, but that's a minor problem.

Things this pattern taught me: READ the instructions. Even though I've sewn many a dress, I still ended up having to rip things out because I assumed I knew what the next step would be and I was wrong. (AHEM, sleeve facings...)

Pictures:

Vogue 8648

This pattern has potential, BUT it has its problems. Read on to find out why I am displeased....

Pattern Used: Vogue 8648 (Vogue Easy Options Line)

Pattern Details: Princess seaming, waistband cut on the bias, circle skirt

Fabric Used: Gingham with broadcloth lining (for something like this, with both bias and straight grain pieces, I thought something with stripes or other clearly defined pattern would be good.)

View Made: F

Did it look like the picture? Yes.

What did you especially like about the pattern? I like the options, it really sparked my creativity because you can play with fabric choice and colour all on the same dress (even if I didn't for this particular one). And the circle skirt! So much fun with little bulk at the waist and so twirly!

What did you especially dislike about the pattern? THOSE SLEEVES! They suck. Because of the princess seaming and dress design, you cut the piece that goes over your shoulder on the bias. The bias then STRETCHES as you handle the garment making the neckline wonky and the armhole not fit. And sewing the sleeves in two pieces? Who does that and WHY? I had SO MUCH trouble getting the sleeves to sit without tucks etc, I ended up having to take in the shoulder seam a bit and it still was a fight. I ended up giving up and they don’t look too bad, but it was really frustrating. ALSO, again since that piece is cut on the bias, there is no give in the armhole (if you cut an armhole on the straight grain, the fabric is usually on the bias where it counts, like under the arm). It can really restrict movement of your arm. BAH! I am displeased.

Did you change the pattern at all? I added in-side-seam pockets. I add them to most of my projects for convenience’s sake.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. Vogue is good at instructions in general.

What this pattern taught me: DON'T aggressively iron bias cut pieces. They will stretch, and I will be unhappy with them.

Final thoughts: After all the problems I had with the neckline and sleeves (In order to make the sleeves sit on my shoulders, I have to pull the dress down, making it quite busty) I don’t think this one is on my list of make-again-soon patterns, although it DOES inspire my creativity.

Pictures:

Front View

Close up of the bias-cut waistband

Back view (With complimentary neckline wonkiness)