Chambray Wenona - Named Clothing

The shirtdress. Big Fan. And the sleeves on this Wenona shirtdress immediately sold me on the pattern.

I once again used Robert Kaufman's chambray fabric but in two colour-ways: olive & blue

I don't think the two colours go together perfectly but I do appreciate that they are the exact same fabrics - same weight, same pattern, same feel.  

Since the fabric is an olive green I opted to use a green tinted marble buttons and I think they go really well against the fabric, they are more muted than a whiter shade.

The back has a button the collar and a pleat on the back bodice - both are really cute details.

The button plackets on this pattern a teeny tiny so if I make it again I'd change those up because I don't like that they are simple turn and stitch because as you can see in the photo if I bend my wrist at all the inside shows and you can see the serged seams.

From the back yoke up the pattern is drafted beautifully. From the boob area down - it's a sack. There are no darts and from the arm scyth to hem line the pattern angles out progressively into a trapeze. NOT flattering at all. To fix the parachute feel of this dress I added elastic to the back waistline only, it helped with the shape, but I don't like the look of it so I only wear it with a belt to hide the elasticated back.

The next version I make will be blended with the Deer&Doe Bruyere shirt from the arm scythe down. This will enable me to keep the details I love about the Wenone: Sleeves, pointed collar, back yoke but merge it with the things I love about the Bruyere: fitted bust and waist, and appropriately shaped skirt/hem circumference. 

Details

Pattern: Named Clothing Wenona Shirt Dress

Size: 38

Fabric: Robert Kaufman Chambray

Alterations: 

• Added elastic to the back bodice waistline to take in the gazillion extra inches of ease this pattern includes in the design.

Read More »

The Western Plaid Shirtdress M6696

If there's ever a time when you find yourself thinking "what will make Chrystal snap?" Sewing 18 buttonholes for this dress is the correct answer. You know that scene from home alone where Joe Pesci starts mumbling "frigg-a-fuda-fuda" repeatedly? Try sewing 18 buttonholes; you'll realize you start to sound a lot like him - maybe a little less PG; Mumbling and with a distinctive look of murder twinkling in my eye as it switches uncontrollably.

It's not like buttonholes are difficult. I have a buttonhole foot that is automatic - A lazy sewists dream, but doing it 18 times on a plaid dress trying to line button hole to button perfectly. Cutting open each button hole without cutting the sides too much. It's the monotony of it all that drives my brain bonkers. Why 18 you say? Because I convinced myself that white buttons can only go on top of white checks in my plaid. The plaid is 1" plaid. Yeah....I hate myself too (But oh so thankful that I am such a shorty that I only need 36" height from collar to hemline). But I sure do love the outcome.....but please disregard the small bald patch that I ripped out of my hair. Minor details.

And let's talk about plaid. Why does it even exist? As a form of torture? Yes I believe that MUST be the truth of it. I wanted, nay NEEDED everything to match. I went to far as to put in extra effort; pins and markings and the whole shabam to make sure this baby matched. But alas, I still had to get creative to match that buttonband. If you look closely you'll notice my waistbands don't match.... Ooooopsie. One may be 2" thick and the other....a little more than that and not so straigh. And All that plaid matching gone to shit. But hey...the buttonband is nice and matchy matchy!

And plaid yokes. I should have been more mindfully and cut it on the bias for added pretty factor. Cause who doens't love to be distracted by pretty pretty pretty pretty. But my brain was on square mode (As am I most of the time) and I sewed right on with the plaid matching across that seam line. I was selective on which seams required matching. The order went: buttonband, back yoke.....to hell with everything else. I'm very invested in plaid matching if you can't tell...even with that WANT for matching.

 

Now let's talk luscious fabric that makes you squeal....namely robert kaufman....hello my lover, let me caress your smooth cotton weave again....you're so squishy and ironing pleats in you is so satisfying....so nice....mmmmm....oh! You're still here? I'm having a private moment with my fabric if you'll excuse me...

Ok I'm done. to summarize...I love robert kaufman. And want everybody to forever more gift me with Robert Kaufman fabrics. You've been told.

Now lets talk pattern. The ever loved M6696. So I've been progressing in my weight loss, and when I made this dress in January I cut the D-cup size 14, and now, in March, I cut a D-cup size 10 bust, grading to a 12 waist and skirt. I wanted a snugger fit under the arms and across my bust. The size 14 was roomier even then, and this size 10 fits perfect with not much ease which is appreciated. Yay for healthy lifestyle changes but nay for having to retrace all of my patterns....

That is a SERIOUS Rump! Thanks Wind!

Otherwise as you can see....I used shortsleeves so I could wear this into Spring, and used the full pleated skirt again because alas this rumpity rump still needs a little coverage.

And why Western? Because I have a Western themed formal event to go to this evening and I'ma wear my new Dress!

Details

Pattern: M6696
Size: Size 10 Bodice D-cup, graded to Size 12 for waist and skirt
Fabric: Robert Kaufman Blue 1" Plaid
Alterations: Removed gathers from back completely.

Read More »

1950's Housewife Shirtdress M6696

After making the Deer&Doe Bruyere shirt and shirt dress, I decided to make my foray into the world of shirt dresses. And if you're going into the shirt dress world, of course one must start with the dearly beloved McCalls 6696: The lovechild of the sewing blog world.

Absolutely everybody has made or is intending to make this shirtdress. And with so much positive feedback from everybody, I went in assuming I'd have the same happy experience. I am proud to say this pattern is as great as everybody else has gushed about. It really is almost perfect.

The pattern comes with 4 variations and 4 cup sizes. It really is a pattern that produces many varying results. I went for the bodice from View D with the long sleeves and v cuffs and paired it with the skirt from View A. I loved the pleats and always appreciate a fuller skirt to hide my rumpity-rump a little. I cut a D-cup in a size 14. You mean no full bust adjustment? That sounds just swell.

This fabric is 100% cotton from Fabricland. It is from the quilting cotton section, but feels significantly softer than any quilting cotton I've ever felt. This is actually my first time ever using anything even resembling a quilting cotton. I started out using Ponte's and thick knits and then decided to try my hand at stable fabrics. My logic was that darts&fitting are more difficult than sewing with knits. (I think I'm still right on that because the entire concept of fitting still eludes me and I really make adjustments all willy-nilly and thus far they just happen to work out for me!)

As you can see, I've used a contrast fabric for the Collar and underside of the V-cuffs. This is Robert Kaufman chambray in Mustard. After using Robert Kaufman fabrics for both my Bruyere's I've fallen in love with the feel, the weight, and the designs of his fabrics so immediately ordered chambray in pretty much every colour way and pattern I could. You'll see more anchors and fishy's in my future.

I cut the fabric with the flowered stripes going vertical, except for the waistband, which I unconveniently hid under this belt, where the flowers go horizontal. You know..what every girl wants; her waitband pattern to be horizontal to really add some nice girth to her middle section. Yeah, real smart Chrystal...... Maybe think a little bit more beyond "ohhhh pretty" next time.....So belt it is!

Nice close up of those pleats. They were rather tedious to line up but my my my does cotton ever hold a pleat. Wait you knew this already? Oh sorry, I'm slow to every party.....Oh wait, that's a basic of sewing and ironing? .....So maybe domesticity isn't my forte.....But look pretty pleats!

My pockets are made with a black silk remnant I had in my stash. It's silk and doesn't add any bulk to my "Hellllllllllllllllo Hips" area.

And no I didn't centre my vine fabric on my button placket......your welcome type-A's

The buttons are totally generic blue buttons. Aint nothing special there....move along.

Now, the back of this bodice, I left with all the gathers. I like the billowy effect it has. It's a tad sticky-outy do to the weight of lack of drape of the cotton, but overall I think it looks good. The next one I make I'll take out the gathers from the top and just leave a little on the bottom.....must maintain some distraction from my rumpity-rump.

And for you Type-A's out there, I apologize for not lining up the vines from my yoke to my bodice, I just couldn't care less about such things. Look at it this way, I did a fairly good job of keeping them unaligned evenly?

And where the source of all my power comes from: The Wings. AKA the pretty yellow underside of my v cuffs which I topstitched with blue because, again, "ohhhhhhh pretty!"

Ps. Check out my goosebumps on my arm in the above photo. It was -25C when I took these photos. Cold weather can't hold me back! (I may have retreated inside when I could no longer press the shutter button due to lack of feeling in my fingers.)

Details

Pattern: McCall's 6696 View - Top of D with Skirt of A

Size: 14 - D Cup

Fabric: 100% Cotton

Alterations:

• Shortened the skirt length to hit just above the knee
• Sewed it completely by machine/serger - No hand sewing for this girl
• Moved the button placement to better suit my needs

Read More »

Bruyere Ships as a Dress!

And then there were two.

This pattern was a dream. After finishing my first Bruyere out of Robert Kaufman Chambray and wearing it, I knew there needed to be a second. During the same purchase as the dots I purchased this Ships chambray fabric. It is a great fabric, it's light and crisp, but it doesn't feel AS buttery as the dots chambray. But it has Ships so they are kind of equal.

The one significant difference for this Bruyere is......I made it a dress! I've never had a shirt dress. This goes back to me never fitting button up shirts. But now that I can make my own - YAY! I simply lengthened the bottom pieces by 4 inches each. Shows you how short I am eh?

This time I also sewed the side seams up at 7/8" instead of the given 5/8". Because of the length, I wanted to make sure the waist was snug to give me some definition. My other Bruyere fits very comfortably around the waist but it is loose. This one sits perfectly snug to my skin with almost no ease. The one thing I do notice with reducing the shirt to minimal ease is that I could use 1/4" length added to the top bodice pieces - it pulls up slightly if I raise my arms.

I also shaved off 5/8" from each bodice sleeve so the sleeves sit directly on my shoulders instead of hanging slightly off.

I bought these cute silver anchor buttons, but I realized I'd have to hand sew them and that just wasn't going to happen on a shirt with so many buttons. I didn't want it to look sloppy and my hand sewing certainly looks sloppy. I replaced them with these cute blue buttons with a unique swirl pattern on them. Each button is different.

I made the shirt exactly the same and yet on this dress perversion, one side of my button placket is 1 inch longer than the other. I very much wish it worked out evenly on the bottom, but this imperfection enables me to prove that this is handmade - and people believe me now!

I tried to place the ships perfectly on the collar to help showcase them. But they didn't end up centred. I also centred ships on the upper biceps of the arms. Otherwise the ships are haphazard and when I look at it, I feel like most ships are upside-down.

Had you not noticed, the colours are fairly saturated in my photos. I have a bad habit of taking photos immediately after work; the sun is up and shining brightly, so you often cannot see anything on my handmades without much alteration. So excuse that.

Love my new Ships Bruyere shirt dress! Me and Bruyere sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g......

Details

Pattern: Bruyere shirt by Deer and Doe

Size: 14

Fabric: Robert Kaufman Nautique Chambray SRK-14276-62 Indigo 

Alterations:

• Lengthened the bottom pieces by 4" to turn Bruyere in to a dress
• Sewed side seams at 7/8" for reduced ease
• Reduced top of arm scythe by 5/8" to have sleeves sit on my shoulders better 

Read More »

Chambray Dot Bruyere

Sometimes you fall in love and you fall in love instantly. The new Bruyere pattern by Deer&Doe was love at first site. The moment I opened my inbox email and saw this new pattern I had to have it. Not only do I adore the style of this shirt but I know that the Deer&Doe patterns fit me with extremely few if any alterations. I ordered it that first say and waited anxiously for it to arrive in the mail!

The bottom half of this shirt with it's pleats and dipped hem takes a basic button up and makes it spectacular. It's casual yet looks so put together. The perfect shirt really.

I am not a button-up shirt kind of girl. I've always struggled to find one that fits comfortable across my bust without the buttons spreading and my boobs saying peek-a-boo. Takes the professional out of button up very quickly.

The construction of the placket and the collar was really ingenious. It all came together so easily and with such CLEAN finishes! No exposed edges. Pretty amazing! 

Like I said, this was my first button up. I was worried about how well I could follow the instructions. I will admit that the instructions are fine, but not exactly thorough. I had to read through them once or twice to understand what I was intended to do, but the pictures helped and I was able to successfully make everything come together. So thankful because I didn't make a muslin and trusted in my faith in the sizing and fit of Deer&Doe's patterns.

This fabric - Gorgeous right? It is Robert Kaufman's Dot Chambray from is Nautique line. I ordered it online from Fabric.com and this was my first official online fabric purchase. I bought it along with two other Robert Kaufman Chambray fabrics. I raced to the border when the arrival notification came in to pick it up. I pulled over once I crossed back in to Canada to take a look at my new prized possessions and to my absolute delight I realized that they had sent me 3 yards extra of this Chambray dot fabric! It was two separate pieces of the fabric so I think they accidentally sent another others order along with mine. But I don't mind one bit - This fabric is incredible to sew. 

Not perfect top stitching but my absolutely adorable baby Scotia distracts from those not so even lines! 

I have not been any happier with a make. I learned so much during this shirt! There were so many firsts for me: a collar, button placket, top stitching extensively. 

I always tell people that sewing in a straight line is the most difficult thing to do. I always have the urge to pull my fabric through the machine instead of trusting my feed dogs. Well, I set my machine on a slow setting to keep my speed manageable to help with all the top stitching. I used my edge foot to help with spacing but it isn't perfect - but neither am I and I'm ok with that. 

I spent an hour fiddling with my sewing machines button hole making to get every setting perfect. I finally found just the right amount for everything and went to town. I bought both these silver dot buttons and some lovely wooden buttons. In the end I felt these silver dots helps keep this shirt slightly above full casual which means I can still wear it to work!

When I make this again The only change I'll make is to shave a 1/2 inch off the shoulder as it sits off my natural shoulder. I could simply reset the sleeves but why alter something as beautiful as this shirt. I'm so happy with the result and without ANY alterations!

And no post is complete without an awkward action shot. 

Details:

Pattern: Bruyere shirt by Deer&Doe

Size: 14

Fabric: Robert Kaufman Dot Chambray

Alterations: ABSOLUTELY NONE!!

Read More »