Sundress Sewalong

Last year I made a sundress. In October.

This year, with some prompting from Heather's sewalong and excitement about the Maria Denmark Signe pattern, I made one in July. So much better!

This is an ity knit from. . . somewhere online. The red is a little more orange than I had imagined, but I think it still works for me. I lined the bodice with some nylon knit lining in my stash. Then I realized that there was a reason this pattern has you line the bodice in the fashion fabric, so I re-cut the strap portion and stitched them onto the main portion of the bodice.

I did a FBA, which means I've got some darts not in the original pattern. I'm kind of resigned to the need for darts, although I did first try an alternate FBA method that wouldn't add darts. It was not good, so I went back to the Y adjustment. In addition to the FBA, I graded from an XS for the bodice to a medium for the waist. I probably could have gone with a smaller size through the back, and/or a shorter piece of elastic pulled tighter ( the piece I used wouldn't have stretched farther though).

Otherwise, I didn't make any changes, and I love this dress!

In a more opaque fabric and/or with a partially lined skirt, this could be worn without a slip, and, for the less busty, without a bra. I think for many people that may be the ideal maxi dress. 

Oh, and the neckline doesn't gape. Yay, summer!
I don't have much to say here. This is a great, simple, fast pattern. Perhaps next time, pockets?

Outfit Along

I decided to participate in the outfit along put together by Lauren and Andi. The concept of planning projects to work together is a good one, even if I didn't plan this project as well as I could have.

Who knits a worsted weight, wool cardigan in the summer? Me, apparently. I'm kind of scared of cotton for knitting. I've heard it can stretch out of shape easily (and won't spring back), and so so far I've stuck pretty much with just wool. Am I needlessly chicken?

This is the Marion Cardigan made from Cascade 220 Paints in Cherry Berry. I didn't realize how dark the blues in this yarn were until I had knitted a bit. I like it for the sweater, but it seems like a lot of color to go with the turquoise dress that I had also started.  I started with a small, and graded out to a medium to acquire more bust space. That worked out well, though I haven't yet resolved how the numbers make sense based on how many stitches I calculated I would need to add. I continued with the medium to the waist, so as to have some positive ease there, per Amy Herzog's suggestions in Knit to Flatter. It is too much, though. I don't know if that's an issue of personal preference, or that it's a cropped length.

I also opted to make the sleeves full length. Even before I got to that length, however, it became clear I wasn't going to have enough yarn, even for the length as written. Luckily I was able to get another skein in the same dye lot. I stabilized the button band with grosgrain ribbon per lladybird's tutorial. (Although getting the buttonholes to match up was . . . difficult.)

The dress I originally planned is the Sewaholic Cambie in a turquoise rayon/linen blend I bought a couple years ago. Being more hourglassy than pear, I had avoided this pattern for awhile, even though I really liked it on others. Gathered skirts aren't usually a good look on me, so I went with the A line. Even though linen is one of the recommended fabrics for this version, it strikes me as a little overly sturdy for this design. I may yet make the other view in a lighter fabric before really deciding how I feel about this pattern. I really like the designs of Sewaholic patterns, and the instructions, and techniques used, but on me, they leave something to be desired. (Also, I think the bodice here is a bit long - which is bizarre, because I don't often have that problem. Although I did with the Renfrew.)

So, I decided to make a second dress to go with this sweater. I settled on another Georgia dress, made from a navy blue ponte. It's a rayon, poly, lycra blend double knit. It's only 1% lycra, so it has very minimal stretch (more like a stretch woven than a knit). The color is very similar to the darker blues and purplish shades in the yarn. The bodice lining is a cheap nylon knit. I made the straps wider, and cut the piece down the middle to take about an inch out of the length. Then I took the straps up another inch in the process of attaching them. Otherwise I did not make any changes from my last version. I had planned to do a twin needle hem, but don't have one for knits right now, and couldn't get a nice stitch without skipped stitches. So I opted for a single line of stitching, with a longer stitch length, and wooly nylon in the bobbin. Since the dress has so little stretch, I think it will be okay. As before, I love this dress.

Georgia to the Nines

A year ago I never would have even considered the By Hand London Georgia dress pattern, but I really do love the Anna pattern. Also, I tried something similar on in a retro clothing store last summer. I hated the fabric, which was a weird orange and red print, but it really did look great on me. I was tempted to buy it, but knew because of the fabric I wouldn't wear it enough to make it a good decision. So, here we have a pattern for a similar dress - that I could make in fabric that I might actually wear.  (The rtw dress had some other issues too, like being too low in the neckline for it to get much wear.)
It started an idea though.

The fabric is a stretch cotton sateen from Mood. I really like big floral prints on sateen, but this is about as wild as I get.

I think, when dealing with By Hand London patterns, I need to put more thought into the FBA process. While I like that their sewalongs cover how to do a FBA for that pattern, they don't always work out so well for those of us who need a bigger FBA. For instance here I needed 5" total. Following their method, I wound up with something pointier than I'd like. Ultimately I graded down the curve some with a French curve, and got a better effect. I also added about an inch to the top of the bodice pieces all the way around. I stabilized the neckline with some staytape early on, and I think that was a smart move.

I cut the top based on a size 4 and the skirt graded out to a size 10. I probably could have gone down a size in the skirt (at least when using a stretch woven), but this works. I was planning to pink the seams, but haven't done it yet as I'm still debating taking the seams in some. I've tried pinching some out, but none of those attempts have really improved the way the skirt lays. I also had to shorten the straps, and may yet shorten them more.

I like the pointed join at center front, but the smaller point in the back was more trouble than it's worth. If/when I make this pattern again, I'll probably flatten that one out. I'm also considering hacking this skirt onto the Anna bodice. 

I do really like this dress. I'm not sure how much wear I'll get out of it, as it's not quite right for fancy work functions, but I'll just have to start inventing places to wear it. 

You know what I really like about this dress? It makes me look thin(er). Sorry for being shallow, but it does nice things for my figure.