Vogue 8667 - Dress

In sorting through my sewing photos whilst preparing to write the review for this dress, I noticed my last several garments have all been grey.  So . . . this is the last grey garment I will sew for some time - on to some color!

My hands are in fists, not because I am upset, but because it was freezing outside.  Where's that new coat I just made!?

When I put this on to show my husband the finished product, his comment was "wow, that one is really nice."  Notice the emphasis on that one.  Hmmm, does he mean all the other pieces I've sewn were not nice?  Okay, Pam, quit reading more into it than what he said and accept the compliment!!!

IMHO, what makes this a winner is that collar. Other than that, this is just a basic, fitted dress. Which is not a bad thing. We all need some great classics in our wardrobe, wouldn't you agree? I know this one will get lots of wear.  The pattern instructions were to add three hook and eye closures along the back of the collar where it comes together just above the zipper.  By doing that, it would have stood up all wonky in the back and it was too late for me to alter the collar since I did not make a muslin first (ahem).  That said, I actually prefer the way it turned out because I really like the way the collar comes to an inverted V in the back.  I simply added one eye and hook closure where the collar naturally falls to the V shape.  Here's the back of the dress where you can see that collar V that I'm talking about:

And here is a close up of that back collar:

As you can probably see from these photos, the sleeves are just a bit snug.  Not so much that I can't wear the dress, but more snug than I would prefer.  Since I did not make a muslin (ahem, again), I was not aware that I would need to add about 1/2" circumference to those sleeves.  I would also extend the length about 1" to help cover my muscular marshmallowy upper arms.  :)  Other than that, I would not make any pattern alterations.  This dress fits like a glove, just as this style should.  I might make another one (with sleeve alterations) some time in the future as I do find this pattern very flattering and comfortable and as I mentioned before, the style is classic.

Oh, if anybody is interested, here is a picture of the dress without the belt:

There are so many sewing project ideas tossing around in my head right now that I am undecided what will be on my sewing table this week.  It will be a surprise to all of us.  If you are so inclined, please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you and see what you are sewing.

Pam

Butterick 5824: Grey Wool Coat

Finished, just in time for Winter Storm Brutus!!  This pattern is part of the new Patterns by Gertie line for Butterick.  I participated in the October coat sew-along on Gertie’s blog and I’m really glad I did.  There is no way I would have finished the coat on my own.  Well, not before next summer anyway!  The pattern is labeled easy, but I beg to differ.  The back collar treatment is a bit tricky, but Gertie put a great video on her blog that helps explain it much better than the written instructions ever could.  That was the only step that threw me for a loop.  Having sewn tailored jackets in the past, I found the process to be quite enjoyable.  Okay, upon journaling my review thus far, perhaps I was a bit hasty to correlate easy with beginner.  Yes, the pattern is easy if you are at least an experienced beginner.  I would not recommend this pattern as a first project, however.  That said, I LOVE this coat.

It certainly has the largest skirt sweep of any garment I own.  There is a lot of fabric there!  I purchased the grey wool at Joann fabrics ($30/yd) with a 50% off coupon for $15/yd.  Gotta love those coupons.  All that fabric gives the coat great twirl factor:

It is lined with lavender China silk, which I purchased at Yellowbird Fabrics in SLC.  When I was at Sewing Summit last month, I had the privilege of attending Saria Mitnick’s lecture on special occasion sewing.  After reading her Collette Sewing Handbook last year, I determined that I would sew with silk whenever the opportunity lended itself, and her lecture was the boost I needed to invest those $$ in high quality fabric.  Mind you, this coat requires yards and yards of outer fabric as well as lining fabric.  I was tempted to settle for a polyester lining because of the cost factor.  After all, it wouldn’t show and nobody would know whether it was silk or polyester, right?  Wrong.  I would know and it mattered to me.  So glad I made the leap from polyester to silk.  What a difference in the drape and the feel of the coat.  Here’s a picture of the lining before I finished the sleeve and bottom hems.

BTW, if you ever have the opportunity to attend an event where Sarai Mitnick is speaking, I encourage you to go.  It will be time well spent.

I made bound buttonholes and for the inside “slit”, I used the straight stitch buttonhole (#59) on my sewing machine.  It helps to reinforce the area around the slit so it doesn’t stretch out.

One last finishing detail is this great retro–inspired rooster pin that I purchased especially for my new coat.

Rooster Pin by Heidi Daus for HSN

Lastly, here is a gratuitous Basset photo of my big boy in the background plowing through the snow with his sniffer as all good hound dogs would do.

On my sewing table this week is Vogue 8667.  Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment as I love to interact with other blog readers.

Pam

Double Bobble Scarf

Here's a beautiful scarf that I crocheted some time back, but neglected to post it here on the blog:

It's called the Double Bobble Scarf and the pattern is in Crochet in Color by Kathy Merrick.  The whole scarf is done in an oval pattern rather than back and forth rows like a lot of crochet scarf patterns are designed.  It crochets up rather quickly and I love all those bobbles!

The best thing about this scarf is that it goes beautifully with my new Butterick Coat that is almost complete.  My coat is gray wool and the lining is lavender China silk.  I should have a full review some time next week.  Until then, here's a picture of the almost-finished coat and the Double Bobble Scarf together.

We're off on a camping trip this weekend.  I've started another crochet project that will keep me busy until I can return home to my sewing machine.  Do you have other crafty hobbies that you enjoy when you can't be near your sewing area?