Pleated Florals

Give me a squared neckline and I'm on board with a design; add to that a pleated bodice, throw in darted sleeves, and I definitely need that dress in my wardrobe.

This pattern from Daria Patternmaking doesn't take a massive amount of fabric, but it does require 2.5 yards of 55" wide fabric.  And since I was going to be testing this design, I didn't want to go searching for and spending more money on fabric.  Luckily, I had a queen size sheet set worth of this cotton print.

Which is not to say that this design wouldn't work in a more sturdy textile.

If the right fabric comes along, I would definitely think about making another version.

It might also be fun to raise the back neckline slightly so that the ribbon is not necessary to keep the shoulders in place to give the dress a different feel.

That would require a bit of fiddling with the shoulder yokes and the back of the dress, so who knows when I will get around to it, but it's on the rather long list of projects that lives rent free in my head.

But I'm not saying that I don't love that back bow, because I do!

I have re-discovered my love of white/off-white background prints in the last couple of years.  Because of my pasty skin, I often feel that white tones don't do me any favors.  But in this case, I think that there is enough color in those fabulous florals to make up for mine as well as the fabric's lack of pigment.

Because the print is pretty darn amazing!  I can't really decide if it's the design or the print that I love more; or maybe it's just the combination of both.

Dress:  Made by me, "Lily Dress" by Daria Patternmaking
Shoes:  Soludos Lace Up Espadrille
Necklace & Earrings:  Etsy

Pleated and Puffed Sleeves

Back in January of 2022, I was a tester for the Lily Dress from Daria Patternmaking.  I didn't get many photos of the construction process because there was a quick turn around for completing the pattern and communicating feedback to the designer, and I was doing most of the sewing on this project at night when the lighting was not great.  (I mostly blame the crummy lighting and lack of daylight hours.)

I loved this design as soon as I saw it and was excited to be a part of the testing process.  I did make a few alterations to the pattern.  First, the skirt was a bit short for my taste, so I added 2.5" to the length.  I will note that the only reason that I was able to fit the rather wide front skirt piece on my fabric is that I was using a sheet set (this print may look familiar as I recently made a blouse from it!).  If I was to make this using a standard width fabric, I would probably add a center front seam to that front skirt piece so that I could lengthen the skirt, perhaps an inch or two more than I did on this version.

I also added sew-in cups to the bodice since the rather wide-set shoulders were going to make finding an appropriate bra somewhat challenging.

It's a quick alteration that involves tacking the cups to the lining fabric and proceeding with the rest of the construction as directed.

Besides the lovely pleated bodice, the other design detail that caught my attention was the sleeves.  The exaggerated puffs are made by pleating the excess into the armscye instead of the standard gathering option.  This is a technique that is commonly seen in 1940s designs, but I rarely see it being used in contemporary fashion.  Now if only more basque waist styles get released as new designs, I would be quite pleased!

I definitely enjoyed making this design and should pull the dress out to wear again before it gets too cold for a lightweight cotton dress.

And one more thing I should mention . . . this pattern calls for the use of a ribbon to hold the wide-set shoulders in place.  I didn't have any suitable ribbon stashed away, so I just made my ties out of self-fabric.

Overall, I definitely like the way this turned out and would not be adverse to making another version in a solid colored, slightly more heavy weighted fabric for a cool weather version.  I'll just add that to the list of projects that I would like to get around to at some point!

Dolce, Dolce, Dolce

Yes, it's true, I have added yet another circle skirt to my wardrobe.  I love them and I have a cut of fabric with which I am planning to make another, the only question is whether or not I get to it before the weather changes.  It's definitely my favorite silhouette these days!

This skirt is based off of a vintage pattern image that I came across while searching for circle skirt inspiration.  Using the Stanwyck Skirt as a base, I drafted my own pocket and altered the shaping of the waistband.  And I have to say that I absolutely love the way it turned out!

This is now the third red tea length skirt that I have made.  One is wool, which isn't great for warm weather, and the other is a rayon linen blend that gets a lot of wear but doesn't have pockets.  I get so much use out of both of them that I decided adding a second Summer appropriate skirt to the collection would be a good idea.  And I believe that I made the right decision.

While I have plenty of blouses that match a bright red skirt, I thought that my new skirt deserved something special. 

This is the Rose Cafe Bustier Dress from Daria Patternmaking, although I eliminated the skirt portion of the pattern.

This was intended as a wearable muslin, and while it isn't perfect, it is definitely wearable, so I am calling it a success.  And, best of all, it was made using leftover scraps of fabric and a zipper from the stash, so I can pretend that it cost nothing!  Does anyone else think that way when you manage to get more than one project out of a length of fabric?

I thought that the top had a definite Dolce & Gabbana vibe to it, so I pulled out a pair of hoop earrings to go along with that theme.

There is nothing currently on the sewing table, so I have to decide on my next project, and it may just be another version of this skirt . . . or something with sequins . . . I still haven't decided!

Top:  Made by me, Rose Cafe Bustier
Skirt:  Made by me, Stanwyck Skirt
Shoes:  Soludos Wedge Espadrille
Necklace:  Rafael Jewelers
Earrings:  Etsy

Rosebud Bustier

A few months ago, I started seeing versions of the Rose Cafe Bustier Dress showing up on my Instagram feed.  I like to steer clear of most new indy designer pattern companies I come across until I am sure that they know what they are doing.  And it looks like Daria of Daria Patternmaking has some excellent sewing skills, so I thought I would give her patternmaking a try.  One skillset does not necessarily follow the other, but I was curious enough to try this pattern.

As I was mostly interested in the bodice portion of the pattern, there wasn't a whole lot of sewing or even paper to waste should something go horribly wrong.  This design did not disappoint.  In fact, it is rather interesting for a couple of reasons.  First is the sizing:  to determine your bust cup size, you measure over the fullest portion of the bust (there is no full bust minus underbust kind of measuring) and refer to a chart; the bodice measurements are similar to every other fitted bodice I have come across.  It's a very interesting method, although it has issues just as any standardized draft has, which I will discuss later.  The second surprise was in the construction of the bodice.  And we will get to that as well.

I had a tiny bit of this embroidered linen blend left after making a dress with it many years ago, but I didn't want to get rid of it, so I kept the scraps.  And there was just enough for this pattern since all of the pieces are rather small!

All of the fabric pieces were interfaced according to the instructions.  I am usually against using  fusible interfacing, but I thought I might as well follow the instructions and see what happened.

A duplicate lining was made with some quilting cotton leftovers from the stash.

I added to the torso length, per usual, and took a wedge out of the back, also standard for me.

The rest of the pattern was cut out as-is.

I also went ahead and added a few pieces of boning to the lining because my choice of fabric was rather drapey.

Everything went together as expected.

I didn't have a separating zipper, so I used a standard zipper which gets folded up and out of sight during wear.  But that does mean that the bottom edge has to be finished before installing the zipper.

So far, so good.

And here is where things get interesting.  Instead of stitching the cup into the bodice cradle, the entire bodice is finished and the cup is finished along the upper edge as well.  The curved edge of the bust is finished, and then both the finished bodice and finished cups are stitched together.

Perhaps this makes the curved stitching line of the cups easier?  I am not really sure on the why, but it does work.  It's not my favorite method, however, because it makes for a somewhat bulky join at either end.

But it definitely works.  Is this standard for lingerie making?  I am not often surprised by sewing instructions at this point in my garment making adventures, but this one was new to me.

I believe that I will go for a more standard construction method the next time I try this pattern, but it's always nice to learn something new!

And now for that zipper tail . . .  The extra length makes it easy to get in and out of the garment.  I use a couple of snaps to keep the zipper tucked up inside the garment during wear. 

Overall, I'm pleased with the outcome.  But back to what I was mentioning earlier about the manner in which a size is chosen . . . 

The bridge stands slightly away from my chest, and I think I know why.  Cup size here is determined by measuring over the fullness of the bust.  However, that does not take into account how the bulk of the bust sits on the body.  This particular pattern is drafted so that the cups are rather shallow and wide.  There are a massive number of examples on the internet (did I mention this was a popular pattern!).  And at first glance, everyone looks fabulous.  But my issue with the center bodice not sitting flush with my body seems to be fairly common upon closer inspection of those online photos.  I believe that I need less width and more depth in the bust area.  I am currently testing that hypothesis with another version of the pattern and will let you know how it goes.

But for the first go at a new pattern, from a new pattern company, with a new manner of sizing, I am very happy with the end results.