not-a-christmas-party dress

My MIL every year hosts a big annual Christmas party. It's a perfect excuse to get dressed up on a small island in Maine, and each year there are about 70 guests eating and enjoying each other's company in her home. Last year due to some kitchen construction, her Christmas party was postponed until January... and everyone loved it so much more after the holidays that now it's the annual Not-A-Christmas Party! Of course after this past year of sewing and blogging... I had to make a fabulous party dress.

The pictures were taken at the end of the party after the quests had all left, so it's probably a smidge wrinkled. I used some very cool, large scale "Yokohama Forest" quilting cotton  by Alexander Henry. The fabric was nice and thick, and both washed and pressed beautifully. Isn't is sometimes nice to sew with plain, old, cotton? Because of the large scale of the print, I spent a lot of time decided what would be the best placement of said print on my body. That also meant very careful cutting to get the pattern to line up perfectly across the seams. I ended up having to fussy-cut the sleeves from single layer from the scraps left after cutting the bodice, and was just able to lay them out so they would also match up. Totally worth it!

I used an out-of-print Butterick pattern (the number escapes me currently so I will find out when I'm back home, but something along the lines of this McCalls pattern), for a simple shift dress with back darts, french bust darts, and scoop neckline. Only three pattern pieces! Perfect for highlighting my fabric!

For adjustments I shortened the pieces just below the bust line, between the waist and hips, and then a few inches more when I did the hem. Even though I measure at a pattern size 14, I looked at the finished garment measurements and decided to cut a 10 for the shoulders, bust and waist, then grade out to a 14 in the hips (which seemed a little odd as I don't really consider myself pear shaped). By cutting the 10, the shoulders fit perfectly with no further alterations, a rare occurrence! I had to fuss with the shape of the side seams in the hips a few times to get that to lay right. It's still not quite perfect, but very close. I ended up re-drafting the whole sleeve to a straighter line for a looser fit.

 

On the back, I decided to try a trend and put in a gold exposed zipper! (Can you believe the retail price on that thing was almost $20! Good thing I had a nice coupon.... it was worth it.) The zipper was originally about 8" longer and ended below my bum... not cute. Traditionally I would shorten it from the bottom, but I wanted to preserve that neat finish that already came with the zipper. So I shortened from the top, tucking the end in between the lining fabric and creating a zipper-stop with superglue! (Probably not the approved technique in Vogue's New Book for Better Sewing...)

I didn't quite get the zipper perfectly straight with the neckline... but it's barely noticeable.

Notice the flecks of metallic gold and splashes of vibrant purple in the fabric!

I lined the bodice with some vibrant purple fabric from my stash that matched the purple in the cotton print. It's probably a synthetic, but has a matte sheen and weight similar to a silk blouse I own and love. Made a lovely lining! I finished the hem by hand. The sleeves were unlined and finished on the serger. Speaking of sleeves, they took forever to set in! I've been spoiled by knits that can be stretched into place. It's probably good for me to be forced to re-learn to set sleeves in woven fabric, as I'll need to know that later this year when I make my coat!

The verdict? The dress was very comfortable all evening! Even after lots of food and dessert! I also wore my Ginger high-waist panties for the first time, and they were also very comfortable! So far all my 2014 garments have been great successes and additions to my wardrobe. As an artist, this is a perfect cocktail dress for any functions or events I would be attending, and it will get a lot of use!

another present for me? and also one for mr. sew rachel!

You thought you weren't going to hear from me again until after Christmas.... but... SURPRISE! Actually, I thought the same thing, until I saw these Christmas PJs from Did you make that?.  I immediately decided that I, too, needed a pair, promptly ordered the Alexander Henry fabric, and this evening, in about 3 hours start to finish, I made myself another Christmas present to me!

I've been itching to try the Tofino Pants pattern by Sewaholic, but with a print like this a simpler pattern was needed, something that wouldn't break up the print. I decided to go with Simplicity 2258. I had made the skirt from this pattern before and loved it, so this time I chose view D, the capri option, lengthening it to pants by tracing some RTW pajama pants. 

I love the pockets on this pattern. It goes together very easily, too. I spent longer cutting out the pieces than I did sewing! With any large-scale print (and especially this particular print!) you'll need to make sure your pattern pieces are cut to avoid awkward print placement. I also wanted to make sure I had an even distribution of the dudes on my PJs.  I ended up cutting each piece out in a single layer, so I could select how the print would look on each individual pattern piece. I was so tickled with myself, I even cut it so I have one of the guys peeking out of my pocket!

...that is until I tried them on. The waist band was too high, hitting at a spot not only unflattering but uncomfortable! I sadly had to trim the rise on the waist down another 1.5", re-cut my waistband, and cut off the head of my pocket dude.

Before

After

Oh well! I'm still very smitten with them. I added a little satin bow to the front, just for a feminine touch, and I took a risk attempting to match the print over the center seams... look how well the back came out!

That tree ended up matching perfectly at the back center seam!

I didn't even notice until Mr. Sew Rachel pointed it out.... the print matches up when I'm standing

And Mr. Sew Rachel got some new jammies too! Since we recently bought our first house, we decided to not exchange gifts this year. BUT a pair of his wore out catastrophically last week, and I thought it was only fair for us both to get new Christmas PJs. I decided to try something new and make him some jersey pants using New Look 6165. (Ok! So I picked this pattern in part because I liked the women's options that came with it. What a selfish seamstress! But hey, more bang for you pattern buck!) He usually goes for grey or navy, but I spotted this lovely cranberry red in a thick jersey. And you know what? He loves them and the color looks great!

Instead of a 1" or 1.25" elastic waistband, this pattern divides the waistband into three casings, the top and bottom for .25" elastic and the middle for a drawstring. Very cool design! I improvised the drawstring out of white, single fold bias tape that I folded in half and top-stitched with cranberry thread. A simple knot finishes each end, and you have a good-looking, study drawstring. I'm also pleased with the double line of top-stitching on the pockets. I think these came out pretty polished!

I constructed both pants on my regular sewing machine (using a slight zig-zag stitch for the jersey pair), after each seam finishing the raw edges on the serger for a polished look. I particularly love my serger when it comes to hems! All I do is go over the raw edge on the serger, then fold over and stitch once on the machine. Viola! Two new Christmas PJ bottoms!