Sunday, August 19, 2018

Figuring out a Fix


Sometimes an issue comes up with a project and the fix is not immediately apparent, or, in this case, I just didn't want to deal with it . . . for an entire year.



I had plans for my rick rack cotton.  I decided that a simple dirndl skirt paired with a McCalls 7563 peasant style blouse was going to be splendid.



But the curse of the invisible zipper strikes again.  Because just as I was about to finish my new outfit, the zipper broke.  Aarrrggghhhhhhh!!



I have had issues with invisible zippers in the past, but never like this.  The entire pull and the metal pieces attached broke off.  Sure, I could have picked the entire zipper out and replaced it, but I had trimmed all my seam allowances down at that point, and the idea did not seem very appealing.



In the end, an eye pin, a pair of wire cutters, and some glue fixed the problem.  It's not perfect, but it works.  And I didn't have to take the entire skirt apart to make it work.  Hooray!


I stitched a pair of oversized pockets on for added interest, and cut both those, and the waistband on the cross grain.


I used my favorite trick to keep the wide waistband from collapsing - a few pieces of plastic boning.



And to spice things up, I added a bit of extra fabric at the neck opening so I could use two channels of elastic.



Alls well that ends well!  This was definitely a reminder that sometimes it's a good idea to let things sit for a while before moving forward.



10 comments:

  1. Clever and the dress is adorable!

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  2. Either NASA is going to hire you, or you'll get the title role in the next reboot of MacGuyver.

    Brilliant use of the fabric (and those pockets!).

    Anyone else get a Claire McCardell vibe from this dress?

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  3. Super cute outfit, and I love the fix - picking out invisible zips isn't in my favourites list either. This fabric is amazingly lovely, and those pockets just top off the perfection.

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  4. Very nice! How do you attach the boning? Do you stitch across it or do you add a channel?

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    1. The boning is the plastic kind that comes in it's own channel, so I just stitched that directly to the waistband.

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  5. Glad you could fix it, it is VERY cute!!

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  6. Great idea to use boning for the waistband!

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  7. I love those pockets! How did you get them to stand out like that? I can't tell if they'd be flat to the skirt if the gathers were removed, and that's what makes them stand proud?

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    1. They are sewn in flat - the gathers on the skirt just make them stick out!

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