Leather and Lace Babydoll?

Last week, I wrote about my plan to make a girly leather and lace dress for an upcoming performance (of the rock and roll variety). I was tempted by the combination of an updated 50s silhouette with the lace/leather. But I saw this Saint Laurent dress yesterday and have totally been having second thoughts.

The Last Two Simplicity 1609 (For Now)

Okay, I think I've finally exhausted my fascination with this pattern. (Five dresses later . . . )

Courtney Love Inspired 60s Shift

My 90s-inspired dress is done! This is Simplicity 1609 (which I've now made five of; two are waiting to be photographed). The material and length of this one was a direct result of my revisit to 90s era grunge, and my girl crush on the Courtney Love of yore.

Sewing a Lace or Eyelet Collar

I've been super into lacy peter pan collars lately. In fact, I'm making two dresses that have them! (Both are variations on Simplicity 1609.) Both collars were cut from yardage, either lace or eyelet. Originally, I cut both the upper collar and the under collar out of the lace/eyelet. But two layers of the lace on top of each other didn't work--it obscured the lace pattern and made the whole thing look heavy.

Lime Gingham Mini Shift Finished!

Here it is, my second version of Simplicity 1609. Once again, I am loving this pattern! I made a few changes this time. I added more ease to the side seams to give it a stronger shift look. I wasn't sure I would like it this loose, but I do. Plus, it's super comfy and cool.

Sewing the Scalloped Peter Pan Collar on Simplicity 1609

I've been working a bit on my new version of Simplicity 1609, which will be in lime green gingham with a white pique collar. (I made the bow version in plaid last week.) The collar on this design is a Peter Pan collar with a twist--it has a scallop on either side on the front. Cute!

When sewing my collar this weekend, I noticed that the instructions for sewing the collar are a little scant. If I were a beginner and followed these instructions, I have a feeling I'd be confused and unhappy with my results. (Not ragging on the pattern here--I know they only have limited space!) So I thought I'd do a tutorial with more detail to help you out if you want to sew this pattern.

Here we go.

1. Select your interfacing. Choose a fusible interfacing that gives good support but isn't too stiff. For my lightweight pique, I choose Fashion Sewing Supply's Weft interfacing in white. I did samples on scraps with three interfacings before I decided on that one--be prepared to try a few and see which you like best!

2. Preshrink your interfacing, if necessary. I only use interfacings from the above source because they are preshrunk. If your interfacing shrinks after washing your garment, you will hate the effect and never want to wear it, trust me. You'll get ugly bubbles on your collar that won't iron out. To preshrink interfacing, put it in a bowl of warm water, let the water cool, and then hang the interfacing to dry.

3. Cut out four of the collar piece in your fashion fabric, and two in interfacing.

4. Apply interfacing to one set of the collar pieces. Use a presscloth to avoid mucking up your iron. Note: your interfaced collar pieces will be the top collar pieces, and then uninterfaced set will be the undercollars. These totally look the same, but the one on on the right is interfaced!

5. Pin one top collar to its undercollar piece, right sides together. Transfer the stitching line marks from the pattern; these will help you immensely. (If you don't want to dig out your pattern piece, you can just draw in a 3/8" stitching line around the scallop--that's all the marking is. It's there to help you figure out where to pivot when stitching.)

6. Stitch around the outer edges of your collar, pivoting at the scallop point. Note: The seam allowance here is 3/8", not your normal 5/8". 

7. Notch the curves and the scallop point. Where the curves are most extreme, you need to do a lot of notching. You can ease up on the notching on the less curvy curves. Around the scallop, make thin notches about every 3/8". Notch all the way to (but not through) the stitching lines.

8. Trim down the seam allowances to about 1/8". If you've notched all the way to the seamline, your tiny little notches will still be there.

9. Using a hard surface like a point presser (I'm guessing there are other household items that would work well too), press open those tiny seam allowances as best you can. You will need to keep maneuvering the collar around the surface to get where you need to press.

10. Turn the collar right side out. Use your fingers to turn the edges all the way out. It will look a little funny.

11. Remembering that the interfaced collar is the top collar, work from the underside of the collar, pressing it so that the seamline is nudged toward the underside so that it's not visible on the edge of the collar. Use lots of steam and don't press to hard--you don't want to flattern the collar. You may see some ripples from the fabric easing, but that's ok since it's on the bottom.

The top will be ripple-free, which is most important. (This is why you want the support of the interfacing on the top collar.)

12. Using a press cloth, steam the collar on the right side.
13. Baste the collar edges together. The seam allowances will be uneven because of how we pushed the seamline to the underside. Trim the undercollar seam allowance so that it matches the upper collar seam allowance.

14. Now it's ready to baste to your dress!

I know this looks like a lot of steps for one measly little collar, but they're worth it, I promise!

One last thing: I'm having a week-long 10% off sale in my fabric shop! Use coupon code HAPPY4TH until this Friday. I have the lime gingham above, new eyelet and polka dots, and more!

Gertie Goes 60s (Simplicity 1609 Finished!)

I finished my shift dress! They aren't kidding when they call this pattern "Jiffy." It goes together super quickly.

I surprised myself by picking out this pattern, and then surprised myself some more by hacking 4" off the length to make it mini. I mean, if you're going to do 60s, do it right!

I made it in a stretch plaid cotton, available in my little shop. I kept the center front seam because there is some VERY subtle bust shaping there. I'm glad I did because I needed extra seam allowances--this pattern is tight! I'm so used to the Big Four patterns having lots of ease that I usually size down from my actual measurements and make a 14. That's what I did with this and it was super tight across the hips. (Yeah, I didn't make a muslin. I'm a 60s rebel without a cause!) I let out the side seams and center front seam and it fit perfectly.

It's still pretty snug in the bodice, though. I'd like to make another version, adding ease to the side seams so it's more of a loose shift.

I got into the spirit with the hair and makeup too! I did a bouffant with side-swept bangs, cateye  liner, and pink lipstick.

I think I will make a small swayback adjustment for my next version.

I have to say, making and wearing this dress has given me an entirely new appreciation for 60s fashion. How liberating it must have been! Suddenly you were getting rid of your girdle, wearing bikini underwear, showing your thighs, actually having some room to move in your dress, feeling sassy. Very cool.

I'm excited to make another version, like right away. I got this lime green stretch gingham for the shop and am going to use it to make the version with the Peter Pan collar next.

I'm feeling incredibly inspired by this pattern. Perhaps this will be my grooviest summer ever!