A Christmas Jumper for Me & A Matching Coat for Archie

It has become a long standing tradition that I make a Christmas themed dress in December. 

This year, I was fairly certain that I wanted to use this holly printed flannel.  I even got a head start on things when I cut into this project the first week in December, but somehow, time got away from me and I was rushing to finish the dress a few days before the holiday.  

I also planned to make a matching blouse to wear with it, and I did finish the blouse - it just wasn't the right choice for this jumper.

I did, however, make Archie a matching Christmas coat, so all things considered, I would call it a win.

As far as the jumper goes, I am pretty happy with the result.  I could have lined the dress (especially since I knew that I would be wearing a sweater underneath it at some point).  But honestly, it's still a fun garment, and if it doesn't lay as perfectly as it could have with a rayon lining, I'm not going to be mad about it.

I did make my standard alteration of taking a wedge of length out of the back bodice.  It almost looks like I could have removed even more length, but that might also have something to do with the sweater that I am wearing more than anything else.

It's not the most interesting vintage reproduction that I have ever seen, but it is a classic silhouette with an added bit of interest with the self-fabric wrap belt.

One thing to keep in mind about the pattern is that the skirt is drafted extra long.  I think the facing piece that I added to the hemline worked quite nicely, and I might use the same construction method if I make this again.

Keep in mind that if you are running short on fabric, you just might have enough if you shorten that hemline.  I would guess that most people under six feet tall aren't going to need nearly the amount of skirt length as it is drafted if you are going for a knee length dress as is seen in the cover art. 

And if anyone was wondering . . . Archie is enjoying his new wardrobe.  

He may be slightly difficult to wrangle in front of a camera, but he is an adorable little rascal that is happy to have an additional layer on when it's chilly outside.

Dress:  Made by me, Butterick 6955
Archie's Coat:  Made by me, Butterick 4885
Sweater:  Banana Republic
Earrings:  Gift
Shoes:  Miss L Fire "Gabrielle"
Tights:  Amazon

The Holly & The Ivy

I purchased this fabric on sale last year after the holiday had passed.  It's an odd textile that is 100% cotton and feels like a brushed flannel, except that it is much heavier than the flannels that I have come across.  It's also incredibly wide - I think it's about 90" wide.  And I have no idea what it was originally intended for . . .

I thought it might make a nice holiday jumper, and I was curious to see how I liked Butterick 6955, so it seemed like a good pairing.

The design is a basic bodice and skirt with a standard facing.  There is some top-stitching involved, and I suppose the most interesting thing about the pattern are the ties that are stitched into the side seams that wrap from the front bodice to the back and close with a buckle.

The fabric itself was incredibly easy to work with and didn't fray much at all.  Even so, I did bind raw edges with seam binding, and I did add a fusible interfacing to the facing pieces.

The armholes were finished with bias strips as suggested by the pattern, which worked fine.

I had very little of my matching thread left, so I did construct things in a different order than suggested by the given instructions so that I could save my topstitching thread until I absolutely needed it.  I didn't want the armholes to stretch out, so adding the bias strip early on seemed like a wise decision.

One thing that surprised me was the length of the skirt.  It is quite long, given the pattern illustration.  The suggested hem was 3" but that was going to be a pain to deal with considering my thicker fabric choice.  In the end, I cut off 5" from the bottom of the skirt and used it as a facing piece.  Because the wrong side of the fabric is white, this ended up being a happy accident.  The faced hemline turned out much better than it would have with a simple folded up hem.

As for the buckle, I didn't have anything that I like stashed away that would fit the ties as drafted.  I ended up purchasing two brass buckles that were 2" wide to decided which shape I preferred.  The oval shape won out, and I covered it with a bias strip of self-fabric.  I used to do this a lot to make a covered buckle, and I think that it adds a nice texture as opposed to the standard covered buckle kits.

The fabric does wrinkle a bit more than I like, so it may not have been the perfect choice for this pattern, but it certainly is a comfortable garment to wear.

I'm not completely sold on the design, but if I find another fabric that is suitable, I might have to make myself another version.