Dizzy Boogie

That’s what I’m feeling right now, dizzy with excitement, gonna boogie on over to Salt Lake City in just a few days to geek out with fellow seamsters and bloggers. But there is business to attend to beforehand. Work hard, play hard. Sometimes both at the same time… oh Ry, my rye Manhattan is getting dryer by the sip dear, and by dry I mean empty…

At long last, and just in the nick of time, I have completed my Rooibos. I’m pretty jazzed about it, and can’t wait for the dress to make its first official appearance outside these walls on Saturday. Let’s hope she packs well, and that the hotel iron isn’t gummed up. (How many of you travel with garment bags? That light bulb just went off… I should get make one.)

You may have read of my fit issues with this dress. Nothing major, but I was a tad surprised at how the first muslin turned out. From the sewalong posts, I pretty much expected that I’d have to do a large hip adjustment. And that looked like it was going to be difficult, as there are a million pieces to the skirt, and they aren’t all stacked (that is, the size gradations vary from left side to right side on each piece). Imagine my surprise, then, when the straight up size 6 muslin was not only loose in the waist, but in the hips. I thought this was going to be a snug little number. The photos are styled on Colette’s site to imply as much, but in viewing the flickr & Coletterie set, I realized that most everyone’s version is flared a bit more in the skirt. But when I have my mind set on something, well… it’s set.

So, I added additional bust and back darts, went down to a 4 in the waist band (that sits above the waist, mind you) and skirt (the natural waist is actually in the skirt). Still not quite how I imagined. I did the unthinkable. I cut and sewed a THIRD muslin. Okay, so I didn’t make a new bodice section. And by now, I’d realized I could leave out the pockets. But still. That is unprecedented over here. As is a skirt section being a smaller pattern size than the bodice. (Should have I gone down overall, then done a full bust adjustment?)

6/4 combo, still adding the pockets at this point

6/4 combo

The third muslin still isn’t all pencil in the bottom. At this point I figured it really wasn’t supposed to be (consults technical drawing & online documentation for the tenth time), and I once again had to get over the fact that I am not a stick. Maybe I’m Heidi Klum at heart. Visions of tight and shiny have me all googly-eyed. I then conferred with my brand spanking new Fit for Real People, and realized what a sway back adjustment would entail. Horizontal adjustments? No wonder my taking in side, center back, princess seams all this time has garnered mixed results. Yet I simply couldn’t bring myself to make my first real sb adjustment on a pattern that involved three pieces back there. And what if that isn’t my issue after all? I haven’t read the entire book yet, but I could have a sway back, big butt, rounded upper back, any combo of those. Dizzy.

Boogie, let’s get on with this.

I decided I was a-okay with the 6/2 combo, and went for it.

I started off by getting the continuous bias tape & cording out of the way. Made a miscalculation, and had to make a few more inches. But I do dislike having to stop in the middle of garment sewing to deal with necessities of this sort. Preparation, ducks in order, horse then cart. Chartreuse won out, and even R came around toward the end. He’d been the only one vying for one of the bluer options. Silly thing.

The upper skirt and lower skirt were carefully laid out to match up the pinstripes. As you can see, I marked the stitch lines to note how these pieces would ultimately lay, then ignored the grainline markings by marking a common stripe. Maybe my grainline marking was off on one piece during tracing, because I would think that wouldn’t have made a difference. Hmmm…

from top to bottom: facing, fashion fabric, lining. dark last-minute iphone snap. you get my drift?

Once everything but the zip was stitched up, I realized I’d need a lining. I swear, I am in denial at times. What, that wool? That won’t itch my skin. Why bother draping across my legs, my delicate belly. I’m tough as nails. Weaned in a burlap sack.

That was not the case. So I snagged some last-minute black China silk at Grey’s, pre-shrunk it this Wednesday past during sewing club, and then chatted for two hours while it dried. I had just enough for my self drafted lining, which is 100% not the correct way to line something. However, my facing was already sewn in and looking sharp. Therefore, I winged it, adding a lining in four parts: band front & back, skirt front & back. It suits my purposes, though I do realize that if Kenneth King or Claire Schaeffer were to ever look under my dress, they would be less than impressed.

The final touch was a fabric covered button. I had considered using this vintage belt kit I found at a yard sale and/or one of these buttons from my mom’s stash. Ultimately, the fabric button was the understated notion I needed.

And that’s it. Record’s over. I’m going to go meander over to the couch and see if part 3 of Prohibition is on.