14 March 2015

A Check-ah Check-ah, Check-ah Check-ow


I have a thing for Gingham.
I don't know exactly why I love it so much, but there's something about gingham that draws me into it. This cotton gingham in particular is a dream to work with - large woven check, behaves itself and although it can fray easily (as with most cotton) pinking is no problem for seam finishes.



Hair Flowers; Lady Luck's Boutique
Brooch; Luxulite
Belt; Collectif
Stockings; What Katie Did
Shoes; Irregular Choice


There's so little I can say about the making of this dress, because you've seen it all before. Yes, it's that damn Butterick B5880 bodice again!

Much like the last three. damn. dresses. that I used the B5880 bodice with, I have omitted the neckline notches, graded the bodice up and down and all around, added a sort-of-Kimono-sleeve - and then whacked on a box-pleated dirndl and rectangle patch pockets for good measure.


There are a couple of "new features", if you will, though. Unlike previous B5880's, this one features a centre back lapped zipper (explaining the fancy-ass zip picture) instead of a invisible side zip, which actually makes this dress really hard to get in and out of without help (balls.) I've also lowered and widened the neckline to be more of a boatneck, although I'm not to sure on it.

I also attempted a tip that came up on Twitter quite a while back about hemming - which was basically just sewing your fashion fabric and lining fabric as a normal seam and just pressing. It's my sort of tip - the lazy girl's way! At the very least, it gives a nice, invisible hem. 


Construction-wise, you'd really think I'd have this damn bodice down perfectly - but no! This was one of those months-long projects that kept getting thrown in the bin because things weren't working out - then I'd leave it for a month, correct it like it was no problem, and something stupid would happen and it's back in the bin.
I've still not worked out the best way of fixing the bodice gape, and let's not talk about the sleeves being weird and baggy - unless you have a suggestion of how to stop that asap.

You also might notice that I have now completely given up on pattern matching.


But this dress is cute and comfy though, so I have no real issues with it - which is literally all I can say now to this bodice. It's a great Spring/Autumn style with a bolero thrown over the top, and I can see me sporting this often through the next few months!












8 comments:

  1. Pattern matching? Ain't nobody got time for that! The dress is amazing as is your hair! OMFG! X

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    1. People who pattern match are wizards but also clearly insane. It takes SO MUCH EFFORT. Why would you do that to yourself?!

      But thank you m'dear! People recently are going nuts over the hair!

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  2. Gorgeous dress! I love that width of gingam paired with that pattern - works really well. :-)

    Also, loving your lipstick paired with your hair - I've got purple hair (and I hear ya on those "is that your natural colour?" jokes ugh) and am always a bit unsure if lipstick is just too much with it. You've now convinced me that it's not, so thank you for that. ;-)

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    1. Thank you! I think I should have mentioned that I love a wide gingham, Small gingham will always remind me of school summer dresses in primary school, I'm not sure I could bring myself to recreate something on a smaller scale!

      As for lipstick, unfortunately it's a case of finding one that works well with your hair colour! My hair in particular is more on the pink side than red recently, and I need to be really careful of orange-based reds because with my skintone is also pink and damn it's ugly.

      Maybe go into a MAC and ask them to test out lipsticks on you to get it correct? I'm not sure if you're obligated to buy, but it could help!

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  3. This is gorgeous! What's not to love about gingham? Re the gaping neckline - I learnt a fix in pattern drafting, and I'll try my best to explain as briefly as possible! Basically you widen the neckline on the back so the front has to stretch a bit for the shoulder seams to meet up. On the pattern piece for the bodice back, take about 1/4" off the shoulder seam at the neck edge, blending down to the centre back. This will make your shoulder seam 1/4" shorter than the bodice front, so you add the 1/4" back onto the shoulder end of the bodice back shoulder seam and blend down into the armhole. I hope that makes sense! It worked like a charm for me, as I've always had problems with gaping neckline. Good luck!

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    1. Thank you, and thank you for the advice! ♥

      I'm pretty certain I get what you mean, and I'll give that a go on my next bodice - but now I realise I might have to do a FBA as well, since a lot of what I'm reading up on suggests that. Maybe all of it will help!

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  4. I'm a big fan of gingham but never seem to buy the fabric - something I kick myself for every time I see someone wearing it.

    With regards to the gaping neckline - I have this problem a lot. My main tips are
    - Make sure the bodice is big enough in the bust. I have two dresses that gape BECAUSE the bodice is forced upwards a bit to accomodate my bust (not even that big!). When I tug it down the neckline lays flat, so that's one way to find out if that's the cause
    - Stay stitch!!!! First thing you should do. And, in particular, I do the "stay stitch plus" which means putting your finger on the fabric behind the machine foot which acts to sort-of ease the fabric. Only a little bit, and it presses out without leaving creases, but it helps. Also make sure you don't stay stitch the neckline all in one go, always go along the bias in the same direction
    - See if you need a narrow shoulder/shallow chest adjustment of some kind. For several patterns I've had to do some work on the flat pattern - taking a small dart out of the neckline and then rotating it out into one of the regular darts.

    For the gaping sleeves - kimono sleeves will always do that, I think, unless you have them firm fitting and add a gusset.

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  5. Screw pattern matching! Life has much more interesting things to worry about. What a glorious dress! You, of course, look fantastic.

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