The Bread Dress

Apologies for the not so clever post title, but it is what the dress has been referred to all along.

Without revealing what kind of work I do, I will admit that this was an occupational related project:

It was worn to The Fancy Food show being held in New York this week.

The pattern was at one time a shift dress from Butterick 5147 an OOP coordinate pattern. Like a game of telephone it is no longer anything like what it started as.

At some point (like when I get someone to take all the photograph's needed, I'll do a post on the 5 previous versions.  I attended a Kenneth D. King fit clinic at Sew Right last year, so the pattern has been adjusted for my short and narrow shoulders.  I had split the pattern at just above the waistline and spread the bottom for gathers and added pockets.  For this version I replaced the gathers with pleats.

Here's an up close picture of the print to see how much it really does look like handcrafted bread:

Just to show that I was not alone in product appropriate attire here I am joined by a bagel dress and ice cream pants:

Now on to version 6; shift version.

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Birthday Girl

For my niece's birthday it was time she had an aunt sewn clothing gift.  Last year she and I had a terrific time shopping together but since my brother's family moved away a part of her gift was sewn and and sent to her.

McCall's 6650 In a lovely cotton lawn.  The hand on this is terrific.

McCalls 6693 shortened to shirt length.  A knit that was too sheer for a dress.


Both Patterns are OOP purchased when McCall's ran a discontinued pattern sale.

Both fabrics were purchased from Kashi  on a lovely shopping trip with Claire.

Palate Cleanser

The timing of completing the jeans coincided with the arrival of this:

I got a great deal on a floor model of the B215.  This model has been discontinued because they are changing the design on the front.

I needed something to sew that I could get going on right away.  I've lots of ideas to sew that are waiting for muslins to be made and fitting adjustments to be done. This was not the time for that.  Sorbetto to the rescue.   It was have been simpler if I could have located the pattern with the FBa from the first time I made it, but in any case doing an FBA was pretty simple especially as I didn't bother retracing the PDA this time.

Last years birthday gift from a dear knitting and sewing friend (the best kind of friend) was a shopping trip to Mood. When bought this fabric was actually intended to be a Sorbetto.

Here's a detail of the print:

This was Sorbetto #2.  Alterations were a FBA and 1" added to the length.   I'm very shortwaisted and usually need to remove not add length.

Got to use one of my new feet:

This was a most exciting purchase with my new machine.  I could not get a stitch in the ditch for my the old Touch and Sew and one for the featherweight wouldn't have been as useful as the needle position does't mover.

I used it with the needle centered to sew the basis binding on and the with the needle moved to the right for the top sticking,  So helpful.

A simple project but this will work very well in my wardrobe.

Outsourcing

Do you have to do it all?

When I was making my jeans, there were a lot of firsts.  First time working with stretch denim.  First time in years doing visible topstitching. First fly front.  That was enough.  So when it came to the jean button and the rivets I took them to the professional:

Nancy works in the window at Steinlauf and Stoller.  She sets grommets, snaps, rivets and jean buttons all day long and I've know her a very long time.

Many years ago I had a job doing customer service at a very high end sports clothing company.   One of the products was very expensive skiwear and all the snaps had plastic covers with the company logo.  (It was the 80's everything had a logo.)  Of course they were European snaps.  When a snap needed replacing we would take the returned garment to Nancy to be fixed.  She was the only person who could get the cover back on to the new snap.

I was avoiding buying a wire cutter, but I've been told its not necessary.   Maybe next time I'll trying doing it myself, but it was fun visiting an old friend.

It takes a village

Machines used in the making of one pair of jeans:

Front and center a Berndette 234D.  A little tank of a serger.  To left a Singer Touch and Sew, solely used for the bar tacks.  To the right the Featherweight  221 which was used for all straight stitching and the topstitching.   I was happier switching the top thread back and forth than not sewing on it.

You've got to be kidding me...

I've got a pair of finished jeans.

Adjustments:

Petited the length 1" on the front and 1/2" at the center back angling to 1" at the back sides.

Took an 1 1/2 wedge at the in the back waist from the top of the yoke down into the back.  Made a new waistband to fit.

Straightened out the hip curve on the fronts only.  My hips are very curved at the top where they meet my waist and at the bottom where they meet the thighs, but in-between are a lot flatter than this pattern (which is curvier on the front than the back).

Shortened the legs after sewing.

While I was adjusting the waistline, I also opted to interface the waistband with a rather firm interfacing.  I wanted to ensure that the waistline didn't stretch out on me.

For the next pair:

I'll make a back thigh adjustment to get ride of some of the bagginess.  I also hope that the legs won't twist so much on me if I do.  If not the following pair will have to have another adjustment there.

I will have the buttonhole done at  Jonathan Emboiderey.  My Singer attachment did a beautiful buttonhole on my sample, and then chewed it up on the garment.  Not showing the waist unbuttoned as the hand finished buttonhole looks a bit wonky unless buttoned.

There certainly will be more... just need to find more time and get projects finished at quicker pace.

The, half showing, top is a pre-blog vintage Liberty Sorbetto, with pin tucks instead of a center front pleat.

Oh and the title of the post.  My mother's comment when she asked what I was sewing and I said jeans ...