Sinclair "Vera" Dress, Take 3

 I mentioned in the last Vera post that I had bought some pink floral 100% cotton. I'd been getting advertisements from G.K. Fashion Fabrics on Facebook, and I spent A LOT of time looking at all their lightweight dress fabrics. They have one line that really caught my eye, "100% Cotton Loom Line".  There are so many pattern collections in that line, and I spent forever trying to find the perfect pink floral because I have this wonderful rayon sundress I want to replicate. 

I finally decided on the Candy Pink from the Wild Hibiscus group.  Totally me, right?! There's a couple pictures of the Candy Pink. I did feel it wasn't as colourful as I wanted, but I couldn't find something with more colour that was affordable. Take a look at those sample pictures. In the first two, look closely along the bottom of the picture. Do you see it? No? I didn't either. 

I washed the fabric, and ironed all several meters of it. Then I stretched it out on my table to start cutting. Then I saw it. There was a solid black flower, repeating across the width, and down the length!

That doesn't look right, does it? It's a single black layer, with no detail over top.

Due to the repeating nature of it, it was basically impossible to lay out the full front piece without having those black flowers showing!  I was gutted! Who thought solid black flowers on a pattern of pink flowers with layers of detail, was a good idea?

I had to re-evaluate my design plans. I have the Simplicity 2938 that I had just made as a top that I thought maybe I could alter.  Not sure why I didn't think it'd work. I was also considering another one but I hadn't made it in my current size. I eventually went with the 2938, but I added extra  in the middle with the plan to do gathers. 

However, they were too bulky and even though I spent a GOOD amount of time folding them, and pressing and pinning, I wasn't happy once I stitched them. 

I decided to do pin tucks. I think I hadn't done that before. I opted to take them down past my bust. 

I'm not sure what I'm showing. I think I melted the interfacing or something dumb again.

Not sure what that's about either. This was almost two months ago!  It was a lovely fabric to work with, a nice change from all the crappy fabrics I had been using. Most of it went together really well though my bottom edge was all different lengths for some reason.

Here's an actual hibiscus on the Sandals Negril resort grounds!

Here's the final dress. I made a sash with the scraps. I don't think it does anything to define my waist, since I don't have one to begin with LOL. I'm pretty happy with it, and how I was able to still make basically what I wanted even though the fabric tried to thwart me.

Speaking of thwarting....we noticed this little crab, probably the first day at Sandals Negril. He had made a little home in the grass near Brava. One day we walked by, and someone had filled in the hole! But a day or so later, he was back!

When I got back from the trip, something was wrong with my ear, which then turned into a sinus infection and it hung around for a LONG time. Like, 6+ weeks, three different antibiotics. Still not 100% better. But, I emailed GK Fashion Fabrics to express my unhappiness with the fabric print.

They answered back saying you can see the black flowers in the sample online, and other colourways have a similar spot, and it's their top selling pattern, so basically, it's me that has a problem, not the fabric. Not what I was expecting. I decided to look closer at the different colourways.

The red circles are the corresponding flowers that were black on the pink fabric. On the black fabric, they don't show up (or it was very faint). On the cream fabric, they also don't show up. On the blue and the teal, you can see the flower blobs, but they're blue, so they blend in better--but are still the only flower with no detail. 

The white circles are the same flower shape (the artist uses copy and paste to create the flowers), but you can see those flowers are not a solid blob, but have a layer of a light colour with details that reveal the dark first layer. 

I am 100% sure the red circles should have that same top detail layer in the second colour. Whether it's the artist's fault, or the fabric printer's fault--I can't determine that. I can just say that it created more work for me, I was disappointed with the store's response, and I will 100% make sure I go over any sample photos with a fine tooth comb in the future. I really liked the fabric! I also liked that they sent some sample swatches--some of which I'll probably be buying! They also don't include a packing slip or receipt--I couldn't find a copy of my order anywhere, so take screenshots when checking out. Of course, if you're in the Toronto area, just go to the retail location!

Don't Give Up! Simplicity 2938

 I was getting frustrated. Before I finished the tank top in the last post, I had made another tank top. Technically, it did fit, but I knew it didn't fit like it should. I started taking it apart but the serger and sewing machines were all threaded with black, so I left it for a bit.

Let's back up a bit. When I decided it was time to sew a few things this summer, I knew I wanted a couple tank tops. I find them good for work, with a cardi over if it's cooler. I get hot when I work. I found a skirt in my stash that had already been started taking apart. It was sort of silk feeling, but not silk texture, especially on the reverse. It was a two tiered skirt and I thought surely I'd have enough for a tank top. But no. The panels were short, and not as long as I thought. It took a lot of fiddling to make this work, and it does have a centre front seam. 

This is Simplicity 2938. I had made it before and like the design, but not my outcome. I never wear it. I knew it needed a do-over.

And this was not the do-over I wanted. Argh. I learned my lesson and had serged the pieces individually before sewing, but I hadn't tried it on before adding the bands, which were a PITA (Pain In The A..) to make (they would not press) and sew on.

So, I unpicked the bands. Here's a tip (besides trying on before sewing the bands on). Sew the bands on before sewing the side seams. Sew the bands right to the cut edge. That way, if you want to let out or take in the side seams, you don't have to remove the band! Next time.

So, I try to get my presser foot in as close to the neck/armhole as I could, and sew a smaller seam allowance. Then I had to rip out the original seam. And guess what I did--multiple times? Ripped the stitches of the new seam!! Good grief. 

I still wasn't happy. It was a slap slop job.  I ripped off the bands, and let out the front and side seams the proper way. It had been sewn with 5/8" seams, and there were three across the centre front, plus two side seams (and a back seam), so I could let it out quite a bit.

And....then I noticed that I had something sticky on my NEW iron. WTF. Where did that come from? I googled how to clean it. Soaked it in vinegar for a bit, that didn't work. Tried rubbing alcohol on a pad. I forgot that the new iron auto turns on when you put it horizontal, and didn't realize it got hot, and it melted the pad with the alcohol. Finally, I got it scraped off with my glass stove top scraper. 

I realized, when I got back to sewing, what had happened. 

Really?!! Somehow, I had melted the shirt. And then did it a second time! I hadn't adjusted the heat setting, so I don't know what happened. Yeah, so obviously, it's NOT silk LOL. Luckily, it's not too noticeable, near the underarm seam. 

Anyway, I persevered. I really liked the fabric! 

Trying to get photos on our evening walk LOL. 

I don't really recommend adding the centre front seam, but it worked in this heavily patterned, drapey fabric. If you alter this pattern, be careful about just adding to the centre front panel. You don't want to widen the neckline too much (unless you need to). Doing a FBA on a princess seam is tricky. You still want that seam where it's supposed to be. You can easily reduce the seam allowances at the sides and fronts to 3/8", and that would get you 1 1/2" more across the front part. If you need more, look up doing a FBA on princess seams. I did add a bit to the centre panel (reduced down to the original at the neck), but I think it balloons out a bit. 

This pattern though, is great for narrower pieces of fabric, given that the front is 3 pieces. It would also be cool to colour block. I will definitely try it again, but I bought some Love Notions patterns when they just had a big sale last week and one was a tank top. And I'm working on Sinclair Patterns' "Vera Dress", and loving that. So many patterns, so little time!

"Athletic"

I made this in mid-April, and I was thinking we would actually get back to school by May, or maybe for June (we usually go until almost the end of June). I bought a bunch of athletic jersey online and then found out it has only 2 way stretch. I haven't done much with it because 4 way is more comfortable. I did use some of this colour to make Rob some boxers. He seems okay with no vertical stretch. I'm not sure how. I tried making underwear for myself and could barely get it on.

I thought "Plitvice" by Itch to Stitch would be a nice option. I'd been wanting to make another one and just decided it was time. There were some adjustments I wanted to make (bit longer, more drapey). I hadn't done a FBA on the original, and I'm not sure now if I did one on this version LOL.

Okkkkkaaaayyyy.  I didn't remake the Plitvice! Looking at the photos, I'm like....what? That's not the same shirt LOL. Now I have to  go down to the basement and look through my patterns.  It was actually Simplicity 2938.

The gathers don't really float all the way down. I hate how it flares out at the bottom, though the sketch does show that happening. I tried on another shirt I had made years ago, yesterday, and it did the same. Don't like that. I thought it was good that it doesn't read as athletic material from a distance.

It feels a little tight around the arms. I did bands, and may have stretched them too much. 

I haven't worn it since LOL. Maybe now that it's summer I'll wear it again. I like that it's dark, but not black. I don't have much in the way of "serious" but not dressy clothes that are darker. You know, sometimes you don't want to wear your little black dress, but your bright pink outfit doesn't fit either. I'm sure I'll wear it when ever work starts again. My teens said it was acceptable, so that's a good thing.