Blue Daisy Dress (aka sheet dress) - Photos

Finally! I have my camera back, the weather is beautiful, and I wore my dress to work today, so I have photos for you. I wore the dress under my navy sweater with my new nude pumps, but when I got out of the office, it was gorgeous enough to lose the sweater, so sorry, no "multiple ways to wear it" post today. Definitely something for a later post.

Dancing. Or...figuring out how to use the timer on my camera... :)

Figured it out! This dress fits like a dream. Dream, I tell you. Are your dreams slightly snug around the ribs? Mine are.

And of course, a photo with the dogs. I adore them. They adore treats. You can see Onyx, but you have to look closely to spot Siri's brown nose and white paws. She's such a good girl! At least, she is when she sees a cookie.

Sheet Dress - Completed!

I've finally finished my sheet dress! It's New Look 6557. Not kidding, it's taken me since the end of May. It started out as version B, but then I tore out every seam I had stitched except the skirt side seams, fitted a new bodice piece from version E (to the top of which I added a 1/2" for extra modesty), and stitched it all back together again.

I'm beyond happy with the way this dress turned out. It's the perfect sundress: lightweight but not sheer, a gorgeous shade of blue, and it fits better than almost any other item of clothing I've ever worn. It inspires me to sew more. There are a few things I'd change about the dress. It's slightly too snug in the bodice (I took off too much when I took it in at the back seam...I should have left in an extra 1/2"), I'd change the neckline slightly so I could drop it lower but raise up the middle for a more subtle dip, and I'd add a little fabric in the arm holes so my bra doesn't show on the sides. The back doesn't match up perfectly at the zipper, but I'm not going to quibble about 2mm.

I wore the dress to a Labor Day party on Saturday, and I don't think I've ever gotten so many compliments on an article of clothing. I didn't get any photos of it on, but I will as soon as I can.

P.S. The whole time I was making this dress, I kept singing "Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress, devil with the blue dress on..." I think I'm going to start calling it the devil's blue dress. :)

The Sheet Dress, Take 2

After my total fail on my first version of this dress, I decided to start the bodice from scratch and change it to Version E (maybe more modest?). I traced and cut the pattern and referred to Fit for Real People to do the tissue fitting. The FBA added a full inch to the width and another inch to the the length of the front bodice piece. I also added another 1/2" to the top of the bodice piece for a bit more modesty.


I cut the pieces from the fabric last night, and I'm hoping to pin-fit it and stitch it together on Friday night. Then the zipper and finally the hem. Maybe I'll actually finish it before the summer is gone!

Ruminations About Fitting, and a New Vintage Pattern!

I am so excited! I purchased my first vintage pattern last week, from karenleanneking on Etsy. It's Simplicity 3562, a 1950s dress and bolero. You have to love those little bows on the shoulders. I'm not usually one for boleros, but I might just have to stitch this one up, it's so adorable.

I've been almost done with the New Look dress all weekend, but I've been putting off the zipper and the hem because I'm a little disappointed with myself. I rushed through the whole thing, and even though I made a muslin, I didn't take advantage of the fitting opportunity it provided. When I tried on the almost-finished dress, I realized that my teeny-tiny changes to the bust didn't really do much. It still gapes in the chest and pulls around my breasts. How does one do an FBA for this dress? Add more width and widen the area that's gathered, so there's more room in the bust but it still comes in at the ribs?

Hmmm... Must get a good book on fitting before sewing up Simplicity 3562. I've read a lot of blogs that recommend Fit for Real People. That may have to be my next purchase.

Marking Fabric Blemishes and Adding In-Seam Pockets

While I was pressing the blue flowered fabric (formerly a sheet), I found a bunch of small stains and cuts in the fabric, so I tacked them with bright red thread so I wouldn't cut out pieces that had problems.

There's lining in the crossover bodice pieces of the dress and interfacing in the back, and I've decided to self-line and self-interface. Because of the scattered placement of the stains and cuts, I couldn't just fold the fabric in half and cut two pieces at once, so cutting took me a little longer than it should have.

Actually, the whole dress is going to take me a little longer. With the French seams, every seam will take twice as long, and I decided to add in-seam pockets too. I know, it's ambitious for my second dress, but I don't see why I can't. Just a little extra time. I learned how to sew in-seam pockets from a Burda tutorial last year, and I've sewn them into two skirts (one in rare circulation and one a sad UFO...more on that another time).

Muslin and French Seams

Last night, I finished the muslin and made a few minor adjustments. I added a quarter inch to the inside of each of the bodice pieces for modesty and decided to make the seam allowance 3/8" instead of 5/8" on the inside of those pieces. I also pulled the inside corners down a quarter inch to prevent gaping in the chest. I experimented with sewing a French seam on one of the skirt seams, and it turned out beautifully.

I'm so excited about these! I found a tutorial on Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing, which made French seams seem so easy (hehe...seams seem). I want to use French seams on all of my clothes now; they're so pretty and clean.

Making a Muslin for New Look 6557

I've decided to make a muslin of my first dress, since I really want the finished product to be perfecct. I started on the muslin for the blue dress today. I traced the pattern (I don't cut into my patterns, because I'd like someone else to be able to use them later), cut the pieces out of an old sheet stained with ink that I saved for just this purpose, and started stitching the bodice together. This dress seems to just sort of fall together. I'll probably finish the muslin tomorrow and see how it fits.

I thought about lining the dress, but I'm wondering if I can't just finish the seams nicely (I just looked up a tutorial for French seams, and they seem pretty easy). That way, the dress will be lighter for the hot weather. If the muslin fits and I have time, I'll start cutting out the fabric for the dress tomorrow too. So excited!