I love Jungle January, hosted by Pretty Grievances. It's now in it's 4th year. Thanks Anne!
I'm a real enthusiast, so I decided to photograph my first dress outside at night. Hoping for some alligator eyes or a night creature.
All I got was mosquitoes. Back in the house...
And done in a very lightweight rayon/poly/spandex ponte de roma from Girl Charlee. It's extremely soft and comfortable, not at all hot - I think I'll be able to wear it fall and winter down here.
I got a little surprise while sewing this. I was rockin' and rollin' - made the pockets and ties, ran gathering stitches around the sleeve caps, sewed the shoulder seams, and attached the facing...then turned back the facing to find this little white spot near the front neckline...
Tried to pick it off - but no, it's not lint. It's a misprint, and it repeats further down the dress. This is why I have permanent Micro pens!
It's hard to see the details on this print, so a couple pics on Emile.
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| Topstitching around the neckline and on the back facing. |
A few sewing notes:
- Made view D in size 12, and had just the right amount of ease for this knit fabric. I added 20" to make it maxi length and cured the lines of the skirt from waist to hemline.
- I altered the sleeve just slightly, to get a nice elbow-length sleeve. I made it 15" long from the shoulder notch to the unfinished bottom edge, and dropped the sleeve edges straight down from the armhole, i.e., removed the shaping.
- Inserted the sleeves flat, rather than set-in, and sewed the underarm and dress sides in one continuous seam.
- To make the ties, I cut 2" x 31" strips vertically with the grainline to diminish stretching.
- And turned the ties with the Dritz Quick Turn tool, and a chopstick!
I'm back to the jungle, bye for now! Coco
I love the dress. One question I have of you is that you say you "cured the lines of the skirt from waist to hemline" and that is not a technique I've heard of. It is mentioned in some of your other posts so I would like to know about.
ReplyDeleteHi! Curing lines is just redrafting them to account for some change in a pattern. A lot of people call this 'truing' the lines - I just learned it as 'curing'. I couldn't use the lines of the sides of this pattern because it is so flared, I would have ended up with a hem width of 160" or more! So I redrew the hemline, marking out the width I wanted (20" on the front pattern and 20" on the back pattern, for a total hem width of 80"). And I drew a new side edge, curing or truing the line from the waist down to my new hemline mark. Make sense?
DeleteGreat dress! Love the print you used and what a good save with fixing the white dots in the print! We have a lot of mosquitos here too.
ReplyDeletethanks! and I hope you get enough cool weather in the mountains to get rid of those hateful bugs for at least a little while. Ours diminish in winter - but I know they're just on vacation.
DeleteWhat a nice make for jungle January and congrats on the Hudson pant love. It means so much when out loved ones love something we make for them! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Theresa. I know you make a lot of clothes and wovens for family and friends. It is nice to gift something made with someone in mind.
Deletenice job
ReplyDeleteThanks so much!
Deletep.s. your post on your sewing addiction was great. Seems we have the same addiction!
DeleteWhat a fun dress! Great save with fixing the white spots.
ReplyDeletethanks, Bev. Can you believe, spots! I would have let them know, except I got it on sale for $2.50/yard, and didn't want to seem whiny :-)
DeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteHelen
Thanks so much, Helen!
DeleteWhat a fun dress. The Hudson pants look great. Curing is a term I'm also unfamiliar with, so thanks for the explanation. Enjoy your post so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Margene. I was really nervous about the fit of the fellas' pants - they live 4 hours away and I was winging it - so I was thrilled they fit!
DeleteI need to make the Hudson pants for my boys. Love your new dress!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue. It's fun to have something I can make for David and P. Something other than girl stuff!
DeleteSo flattering a shape on you. Lovely. You are practically camouflaged against the foliage. I too use a chopstick for pushing out the corners!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Ruth. I love chopsticks! great back scratcher too :-)
DeleteFlowy and lovely- I used to make scrub caps for work- the mens ties all had to be turned like your sash- wish I'd seen that toy- I used a safety pin and elbow grease?!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean - I made a bunch of scrub-type caps for Mom when she lost her hair to chemo. I think that's why I got the turners.
DeleteI have this pattern, interesting to see how it works on a softer fabric, I thought it might be too boxy in woven cotton. Pretty garden too!
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about a woven cotton, if done as a dress. The two tops I made were tunic length and it worked great. But this dress in ponte is my favorite of the three.
DeleteWhat a wonderful dress!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Irene! and I love your blog :-)
DeleteHey Coco, that is a really fun dress, but your guys are seriously stealing the show here! They are so cute together! Who is the piano player? That's not an easy piece, the Linus & Lucy. ;)
ReplyDeleteHi there! Love my fellas. David plays the piano and guitar - he and I have the same copy of the Charlie Brown song, I've been helping him with the timing. It is tricky!
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ReplyDeleteThanks, Val. Go for it!
ReplyDelete