i love plaid. maybe it's my growing up in the grunge 90s that has solidified my love of all things plaid. i lived in oversized flannel button-downs (though why i ever thought XXL was "my size" will forever remain a mystery). that said, i've wanted a plaid flannel dress for as long as i can remember. since i haven't done much winter sewing ever... now is the time!
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| if you go to the source, check out the neckline treatment. it looks like exposed bias binding with the raw edge left to fray slightly. i have to steal that idea. [source] |
i did some online browsing and found this cute dress from j.crew. lo and behold i happen to have a nearly identical pattern in my stash (minus the weird dart at center front. who wants a CF dart?). i love the shape; it's classic, modern, and versatile. and as it so happens, my birthday is *ahem* soon and what did i find in my mailbox, but a gift certificate to buy fabric! ah, my family knows me too well.
hopefully this will be my holiday dress for the season. not that i have many holiday occasions (and none of them are fancy, hence the plaid flannel). but, well... do i really need an excuse? i thought not! i've also had that nagging in the back of my head about making a well-fitted sloper from which i can devise a myriad of patterns. again, now is the time! i am even choosing to do this dress with a 3/4 length sleeve. i realize that sleeve fitting may do me in, and there is a good chance i'll ultimately abandon the notion of having sleeves, but gosh darn it i'm gonna try. the only other sleeved dress i've made for myself was my colette macaron and, admittedly, the sleeves don't fit. i can barely raise my arms in that dress. harrumph.
mccalls 5927 has mixed reviews over on pattern review, but that doesn't really deter me. i plan to muslin it and hopefully walk away with something that fits. it's a single dart bodice with a high neckline and sleeve; which should make this pattern an ideal starting point. as a bonus, this pattern is already drafted for different cup sizes. score! fitting the bodice shouldn't be too challenging. the sleeves... well let's hope i can get that to work out. i'm super set on having a dress with sleeves.
any brilliant thoughts on sleeve fitting in a woven?
any holiday sewing plans for yourself or others? thanksgiving is only two weeks away!
—lisa g.
I only recently started altering sleeve pieces, and what a difference! It basically involves slashing down the middle of the sleeve from the shoulder apex to the hem-point, spreading it (just like a FBA) with the widest part being in the bicep area and letting it taper back to the ends of the slash. Next, to get the pattern to lie flat, fold horizontally (right about the widest point of the slash. The mid-section of the pattern piece will look like a diamond with a slash for the vertical and a fold for the horizontal. The long edges will have a jog in them that you will have to even out (just like grading between sizes) I did this with my peony dress and even though I only added an inch or two, it is soooooo comfortable to wear; much more comfortable than anything store-bought.
ReplyDeletegood tip!
Deleteinteresting! thanks for the tip. i think most of my sleeve problems are arm scythe related... getting the right position and depth is a challenge!
DeleteI love your plan for a plaid dress with sleeves! Sleeves are usually to wide on my weakling arms, so I have to take them in. I'd love to hear how making the sloper goes. I need to make one!
ReplyDeleteI've eyed off mccalls 5927 so many times so I will be really interested to see how it works out for you - I really like the design of this pattern. Good luck!
ReplyDeletethanks, i'll probably need it!
DeleteI love plaid too> this dress will be adorable!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be so cute! I love plaid too, but I've been shying away from it because of the whole matching thing. I don't think I'm quite there yet!
ReplyDeletedon't sell your skills short! it just requires a little extra time and single layer cutting. something i don't have patience for very often!
DeleteThat's gonna be so cute! I'm excited to see how it turns out since I also have a plaid fabric earmarked for this pattern. I also sometimes have armscye fitting problems that I've never taken the time to figure out... kudos to you for taking the time to make a sloper (I'm way too lazy/slapdash for that)!
ReplyDelete