Frankenpatterning again

This dress was quite an experiment and mash up of patterns.  After my Indigo dress, I wondered if I could get a slightly better fit in the bodice by using my Emery block and omitting the waist darts.  I also thought that the shoulders on the Washi bodice were slightly too wide for me, and wanted them cut in slightly so that the cap sleeve is a bit shorter over my upper arm.  I like the way the sleeve cap looks more geometrical on Rae's cover version, and I think she has wider shoulders than me, so it would make sense to cut the shoulders in a bit to achieve that.

 

I ended up blending the Washi bodice and the Emery bodice in some possibly strange ways, but it resulted in a bodice that was easier to fit onto the bottom skirt (from the M7353, to which I added 1/4" of ease at the hips on the back piece only, to give myself a bit more room and get rid of the fabric pool that happens on almost every iteration of this skirt pattern.  I also shorted it at the top by 2 1/4" so that I could put a less deep hem on it.

So what I did was this: I took my Emery front bodice and compared the width of the bottom to the width of the skirt, and they matched exactly.  Then I matched the shoulders and armscye to make sure they were compatible (they were a close match, but I narrowed the shoulder width about 1/4" to match the medium size on the Washi (I've previously been cutting it at a large).  I also cut the neckline to match the Washi, instead of the higher boatneck of the Emery.

The back bodice was a bit more gnarly, because it is drafted for neck darts and waist darts, and also mean to have a center back zip.  Omitting the zip wasn't a problem, and the bottom width was correct without the waist darts, but the neck darts were a bit problematic.  I was concerned that my head wasn't going to fit through the top unless I got rid of the darts, but to do that, I had to do a bit of fancy folding.  As it turns out, I probably could have kept the darts (I just remembered that my original Frankenpattern dress used this bodice block with a side zip, which means I was always pulling through dresses over my head and never had a problem).  I laid the Washi back bodice over the Emery and folded to match the tops and armscyes.  Probably a bit fly-by-night, but it got the job done.  

I put the whole thing together, tried it on...whomp, whomp, whomp.  Not good.  The whole bodice was a size or two too big, and the waist drooped badly.  It was also a touch long in the waist, so I pulled out the elastic, redid the waist casing so that the waist seam pointed up instead of down (also reduced a lot of bulk on that seam by doing so) and then rethreaded the elastic with 2" less length.  I could have stood to lose another inch, maybe, or raise the waist line another 1/2".  I ended up hemming at 2 1/2" (and probably could have gone 3 1/2"), so I don't know why taking off the extra length that the top of the pattern piece didn't work. The Emery bodice is slightly longer than the Washi (I always add 1/2-1" to the bottom when I make it) but it isn't that much longer. 

The resulting dress is just okay.  It is still too long in the waist and a touch too long in the skirt, and it feels a bit precious to me.  I also don't love the way that the armscye edges rub against my underarm.  I don't know why, since the bodice is actually too big, whereas the others it is very fitted around the bust and arms.  I sort of have this problem with all these dresses, but I felt better about wearing the others, so it didn't bother me as much, but the chafing combined with not loving the fit really doesn't help the case.  I suppose I could take it apart again, shorten the waist and re-hem it, but I don't have that in me just this minute.  I'll probably get to it another time. 

I'm not sure I would do this again, because I think the bodice is too blousy for my taste.  The Indigo version has some fit issues too, and was harder to blend and make work, so maybe this little experiment just needs to end.  I think what I'd really like is something without a defined waist in the front but ties in the back to cinch things in a bit. 

It took me more than a week to wear it, and I really would rather be wearing something else except the humidity is stupidly high again and my closet is lean.  (I'm in the process of trying to switch to natural deodorant--more on that later--and I am sweating through clothing at an alarming rate.  I can hardly keep up with the wash.  I'd quit the experiment all together, but traditional deo/antiperspirant isn't working at all for me any more, so I figure this can't be worse.  Except it kind of is).  Anyway. All the fun hormonal stuff when you turn 40.  Yes, I will take some cheese with my whine, thankyouverymuch.

Off to sew a shapeless green linen dress with sleeves and side ties.  Here's hoping I like the result.

Dear Plaid Flannel...

Dear Plaid Flannel,

We need to break up.  We've had a good run, but it's over.  

It's not you, it's me.

xoxo

Sometimes a Frankenpattern works, sometimes it doesn't.  In point of fact, the actual Frankenpattern *did* work, it just doesn't look good on me.  Win some, lose some.

So, details: in late summer, I bought some very cheap plaid flannel from fabric.com with some slight misgivings, my previous experience with cheap plaid flannel being rather disastrous.  When it arrived, I was cautiously optimistic.  It washed well, seemed to hold its grain after, and I thought might actually work for the dress I intended, which was a woven M7353.

I set those plans aside when I attempted to make a different plaid flannel garment and had serious issues with keeping the fabric on grain.  In short, it was so difficult, I had to abandon the project before I even really got it entirely cut out.  I still don't really understand it--it was Kaufman Mammoth flannel, and I've never had much trouble with it before, and I was reusing from an earlier garment that I'd matched all along the side seams.  Humph.  

I also made an Everyday skirt out of some Kaufman Durango flannel (a checked plaid) that just didn't turn out.  I mean, it is finished, and the plaid matches, but the skirt looks really bad on me.  Really, really bad.  Not sure if it is the plaid, the heavy weight flannel, the colors in the flannel or what, but it was a complete disaster.

After all that, I wasn't in the mood to match plaid any time soon.

After my Washi successes, however, I wondered about putting the M7353 bodice on the Washi skirt, since I really liked how the skirt fit, and I like how the fitted dolman sleeves on the M7353 look.  I couldn't get the idea out of my head.  I figured since the dress had longer sleeve options, it had a reasonable chance of looking okay.

The combination also seemed like a great winter combination that could be warmed up further with additional layers.  I have some non-plaid flannel that I want to make a Christmas dress out of (I know, I know), but I didn't want to try a new frankenpattern on the good stuff, so I decided to start with the cheap plaid I bought in the late summer and set aside.  The colors of my plaid are lovely (a deep claret red, yellow, spruce green, and black), but as I began to work with it, I realized that it was very thin.  Very very thin.  Stark contrast to my snuggly Mammoth flannel.

I cut everything out flat, while watching the BBC Pride and Prejudice.  It was a good sewing companion that day.  I felt good about how the plaid matching was going, and was feeling a bit confident that I might even get a wearable dress in the end--for the win!

Except.  I had graded up the sleeves on the bodice another 1/4" from my usual woven adjustments, and I think that was mistake number one.  Mistake number too was making the back elastic a bit looser than on my previous Washi dresses (5" shorter than the back width instead of 6").  Mistake number three was the skirt length, which looked decidedly frumpy in this fabric.  

These are all things I can theoretically change--I could take in the sleeve seams, cinch in the elastic, take up the hem, etc.  But the other two problems are a bit more intractable.  Number one is that the flannel is really too thin to be useful on its own in cold weather, and that was the whole point of this dress.  Number two is that the color combination looks really really bad with my skin tone.  For some reason it reads brown on me, and brown is generally a bad idea.  So I'm not sure it is worth trying to fix any thing on this dress, given that.  I know, I could add layers, put my burgundy L'Enveloppe over it, add a cowl, break up the plaid near my face, yadda, yadda, but that starts to get fussy.

In truth, I haven't decided what to do yet.  I was so appalled by how bad it looked on me, I took it off immediately and put it out of sight.  I think this is one piece that Stasia would say: let it go.  But maybe I'll try it on again in a few weeks and reevaluate.  In any case, I couldn't bear to take photos in it, so hanger photos it is.

In the meantime, I wanted to document my mad plaid matching skillz (*snort*), particularly in this fabric, which was SUPER hard to work with.  I don't recall working with a harder fabric than this, and that includes rayon bemberg.  It went off grain constantly, the plaid lines weren't really completely straight, so matching was very difficult.  

Still, it was a good experiment: a chance to try something new and do something hard, and I'm glad I tried it. I think I'll just make a regular Washi in the "good" flannel.  (The "good" stuff has a washi tape design and there is something in me that gets a kick out of the idea of making a Washi washi dress).

Washi Dress

Ta-Da!  

I finally made a Washi Dress!  I present: the Fern Meadow Dress.

The fabric is Cotton+Steel, and it is wonderful.  I'm not generally a fan of metallic accents on fabric, but on this fabric, they are very subtle and lovely.

I'm a longtime fan of Cotton+Steel anyway, and it was so great to make something out of their midweight cotton again.  This pattern is drafted for it, so it was a perfect opportunity to go back to one of my first fabric loves: a great print in a mid-weight cotton.

I made a straight large, no adjustments other than to add 2" to the skirt and lengthen the bodice by 1/2".  I also used a casing+elastic in the back instead of shirring, because I like it better, and I think it will hold up better to heavy wear (one pattern review said that her shirring gave out after heavy wearing).  For the record, I used 6" less than the width of the back at the bottom shirring line, and that was just right.  It also meant that the elastic casing and the front waist lined up perfectly.

The tucks are super flattering without being maternity-like, in my opinion.  I felt so good in this dress the day I wore it.  Cute and comfortable and just great.  I like the inseam pockets, but I think I might use the M7353 pocket on a future dress since the construction keeps the inseam pocket from flapping around in the breeze.

Another happy face.

The cap sleeve construction is very clever, and I like the clean finish that you get if you do it the way Rae suggests.  I did omit the neck facing because I find facings evil, and used plain bias to bind all the edges, as is my custom.  Much better!

I did muslin the bodice before making this, to check the darts and consider whether to make it with 3/4 sleeves or the cap sleeves or sleeveless.  I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to fuss with the darts at.all.  I always have to lower and shorten them (due to my chestly hound dog ears), so it was nice not to have to mess around with it.  

I liked it so much, I immediately made another one from some Denyse Schmidt fabric I found on etsy for a steal.  (What can I say?  I'm nothing if not predictable).  I used to make a lot of dresses from her fabric, but sort of forgot about it once I got into Cotton+Steel.  It was nice to rediscover it--I love this print so much.  The greens and yellows and grays are perfection.  

My apologies for the less-than-stellar photos.  My mom was here for a week, and I sort of had to grab them with my phone one morning after a school meeting, and it was indoors.  The yellow scarf didn't photograph correctly, but it is my Chinook from two springs ago.  I have in mind to make another soonish.  This scarf is getting quite an outing this fall--it goes with a lot of my fall things this year, and is just the right weight, since it is cotton+linen.

See that fabric?  Delish.  Later that same day, I found a rayon/cotton yellow cardigan at Old Navy that matches perfectly; I also have a several warmer cardigan and pullover options for when the weather gets colder.  Yay for options!

Cap sleeves again.  My muslin experiments told me that I would hate this dress with inset sleeves, and I'm glad I went the cap sleeve route with both dresses.  I can layer them with a shirt underneath too, I think.

Elastic waist casing, no changes from the first dress, nothing new about the construction except that I finished the bias by hand because I ran out of matching thread.  I used gold bias for just a hint of color around the edges.  I will probably go back and machine stitch the hem at some point, because it catches on the buckles of my boots constantly, but it is okay for now.

Another happy face! The cardigan is a thrifted piece from ThredUp and has cashmere, cotton and wool in it.  It's a really nice weight for the cooler weather.  I've not worn this style of cardigan for a long long time, and it is nice to come back to it again.

I have to restrain my impulse to Make All The Washi Dresses right now, but I know that I really only need two this season.  It feels good to find a wardrobe staple pattern, though, particularly since I'm over the Dottie Angel frock pattern at this point.  My M7353 is a good one, but it is nice to have a couple of options.  

I'm starting to feel a bit better in my skin (just a bit!), so that is helpful as well.