mad for plaid

i definitely struggled with this dress more than i thought i would, but it all worked out in the end. i chose mccalls 5927 because of the simple lines in the bodice and plain but not too plain skirt. let's face it—i'm a sucker for pleats and pockets. i mentioned before that i'm trying to work out a fitted bodice pattern or sloper that i can have on hand. after a few adjustments i think i've come pretty close with this one. the pattern came with several different bodice pieces based on bust size. i thought this would be super helpful in getting to my target shape a little faster. unfortunately, they treat both A and B cup sizes as one. not so helpful. past experience has shown me that i need a 1 1/2" dart intake. this bodice has a 2 1/2" intake so i was able to immediately spot and adjust this.

i had just read through the palmer/pletch "fit for real people" and one very good point of advice they give is to pick your bodice size based on your upper bust measurement, then adjust as necessary to fit your waist. in retrospect, i should have been able to figure this out myself. i quite often stared and stared at those bodice cutting lines because my bust lands me a much smaller size than my waist. then, even though i'm 5'8", i usually need to do a petite adjustment (taken out above the bust) then add the removed length back in under the bust. then for your lower half you should pick a size based on your hip measurement and adjust the waist to fit. totally obvious, but still a lightbulb moment for me.

i love my plaid fabric, and a darted bodice is really nice for not disrupting the pattern as much as a princess seamed bodice would. however, if you're working with a stripe or plaid, the waist dart can make the lines go all jagged in a soul-crushing sort of way. OCD much? guilty. but not to despair... there is a super easy way to fix this.

draw a line through the middle of your dart. then, pivot the dart as necessary to make the center line run parallel to CF. now when you stitch your dart, the plaid/checks/stripes will match up and chevron at the dart seam. genius, i know. now, if your skirt has a match point that is supposed to line up with the dart (pleats or front darts), keep in mind you'll have to adjust that as well.

on the left: original dart placement
on the right: dart pivoted so the center is parallel to CF

because i was using this squishy, comfy, cozy flannel, i chose to leave the bodice unlined. which is ironic because i usually end up adding linings to dresses and then griping about the fact that the pattern doesn't include lining instructions. if you've never lined a dress before and/or fear the very idea of lining a dress, rest assuraed. this pattern has directions for a FULL lining. even the sleeves. which seems kinda weird, but there you have it. this flannel has a sort of natural stretch and it's quite thick. all in all, it feels really nice against my skin and has enough movement to be super comfortable. the only reason why i lined the skirt was so i could wear tights. this is obviously a winter dress and tights are a must. i used a bemberg rayon and it's perfectly slidable. no crazy ride ups!

since i didn't line the bodice i drafted a facing. i know some people avoid facings like the plague but i happen think they're great for a clean neckline finish. since this fabric has a tendency to stretch funny and get all bent out of shape (it has a twill weave) it also helps to stabilize the neckline and keep it in check.

the only place that really gave me nightmares was the zipper install. an invisible zip was not an option given the thickness of the fabric so i got a standard zip and had intended to do a standard zip install. so you're supposed to baste the opening closed, topstitch around the zipper, then remove the basting. so i basted, pinned the zip in then went to topstitch. but... see that high, narrow neckline? nope. can't get it through a sewing machine when everything is closed up. i tried to go in from the skirt side, but that was so awful and wonky i quit after a couple inches. as usual, i made this far more complicated than necessary, and ended up going for a lapped zip.

i had only done a lapped zip once before and it seemed really hard and didn't work out. i think i did the zip three times only to eventually rip it out and hand pick it months later. so i never tried it again. but for this dress, a lapped zip was the only remaining option. i ripped out all the stitching i had attempted, un-basted the seam, added some fusible to stabilize the edges, and lapped that zip. and it went in perfect with my first try. go figure.

i don't often do a narrow skirt but thought it would be a nice departure from my more pouffy gathered dresses. the skirt is slightly off in fit, i could use another inch of ease in the backside. but who's counting? i already let out the side and back seams as much as i possibly could. rookie mistake... i didn't check the pattern's finished hip measurement. oops. i think i've determined though, that my hips aren't that wide, just le booty. things you don't learn from making gathered skirts, huh.

i think i need to raise the back neckline
and/or add a back neck dart to fix the gaping.
that would be my "not impressed" face

so there's my long-winded final analysis of this dress. my only real gripe is that for this large scale plaid i should have gone with a pattern without a waist seam; unless i'm wearing a belt it just looks funny. that and i could totally stand narrowing the sleeves a touch, they're slightly boxy but... next time, right?

—lisa g.

a few thoughts on fitting

i had wanted to muslin and tweak and muslin again for my plaid dress, but time slowly got away from me so i had to streamline the process a bit. i had just picked up a copy of the palmer/pletsch "fit for real people" which goes to great lengths showing all sorts of possible fitting problems and how to tweak them out. now, you know when you have a rash or some weird ailment that you are just sure is a sign of something worse? then you google the heck out of it and come up with all sorts of possible deadly diseases and you're convinced that you are officially knocking at death's door? that's kind of what this book does to you. it's a little overwhelming and quite honestly, might be the cause of so many sewists over-fitting.

not to discredit the info, but it can be a bit much. and lest the sewing gods strike me down right here and now, i should clarify: i'm all about making clothes that fit. in fact that's what has fueled my sewing. i know i simply do not fit one size from top to bottom and unless it's good quality RTW (i.e. the kind i can not afford), it's difficult to make your own alterations. if i want a fitted dress, i'm gonna have to make it myself. but, i also need to remember to leave some breathing room and not reject a make simply because maybe i should have done this or that alteration. sometimes good enough really is good enough.

[steps off soapbox]

at any rate, these gals came up with the whole "tissue fitting" idea, so i gave it a half hearted try. i don't have a fitting buddy, and i'm not enrolled in any sewing classes, so an accurate tissue fitting is pretty difficult to do by myself. it did cue me in that perhaps my sleeve fitting problems are simply due to the dreaded "forward shoulder." curse not having good posture all my life! thankfully, this is a super easy adjustment to make, and one i will be making from now on. after tissue fitting and making several flat pattern alterations, i made up an actual muslin. turns out (other than the forward shoulder thing) i made a few too many "fixes," solvable by tracing out a new size. yes, tracing. cuz i do that now.

so, when i declared to all the interwebs that i was going to make a plaid dress and it was going to be awesome, that clearly came from someone who had never in fact done plaid. the envelopes always warn you to buy extra yardage for plaid-matching. did i heed the warning? no. no, i did not. in my defence, it's in tiny print.

i spent a full hour with my fabric on my dining room cutting table puzzling out how to arrange things when i finally traced off an extra copy of each pattern piece so i could arrange and cut the entire thing as one layer. then i went back to the cutting table and spent another two or three hours arranging and matching plaids. i was determined to get this to work! ultimately i found a way with minimal compromise. initially i had the fat black stripe going down CF, but i shifted things slightly and really, it's for the better. this is one of those uneven plaids so it isn't symmetrical anyways. ultimately, that works out in my favor so it's less obvious when something isn't perfect.

to make myself feel better, i kept referring back to some online pics with way less than perfect plaid matching. that they are selling for money. i would never in my life pay for such poor matching! sewing snob? guilty!

see that? one quarter of the fabric is upside down.

things aren't much better here either. look at that skirt! shameful.

[these are from modcloth.com. i seem to have lost the direct link if you're

looking to buy a plaid dress that is poorly constructed.]

but really to top it all off, the twill weave of this fabric caused it to constantly pull off grain. not only were my pieces butted up against each other for cutting, but the whole thing kept shifting. i kept stretching and pulling, then quickly cutting my pieces before it twisted again. all in all, this dress was not the quick make i thought it would be. i had wanted to finish it before thanksgiving, but alas it was not to be. which was okay. i was able to put it aside and come back to it without a deadline. and... it might actually be finished now. and... it might actually be pretty awesome. but more on that later.

—lisa g.