Tuesday, May 23, 2017

New pattern and dress ~~ finished

Last Sunday I wore a new dress to mass. It's one I'd started a few weeks ago and put aside because, well, there were too many other things going on. I started with several yards of this linen that I bought along with an entire box of linen fabrics. 

Most of the pieces are about three yards. They are also pastel. I didn't buy them for garment sewing, though. I was thinking more of using them for quilt backings. 

I happened to run across this piece and decided it has enough color and design to use for a garment.

I could not find a pattern in my extensive collection. Imagine that. My clothing tastes have not changed...my body has. I still love the little sheath dresses of my 20s and 30s; I just can't fit into them.



That said, I decided to make something closer to a comfy dress with a few gathers that would allow airflow. It gets hot in Louisiana. I married two patterns, adjusted the size, and made the dress long so that I could decide on length after seeing how it looked on my body. I liked the end result, so I'm especially happy that I took notes and can use the pattern again.


Front views


All of these pictures were taken before I hemmed the dress sleeves and bottom. I ended up cutting eight inches off the bottom so that the hem just touches the top of my knees. 


Back view
Obviously I also did not iron before taking pictures. Sorry about that. I peeled it off so quickly after getting back from mass that I didn't even think of taking a picture with me in it. Not surprising for me, I hemmed it Sunday morning before we started getting dressed for mass. 

My only concern is that I'll have to watch for rips. The linen has a loose weave that tends to want to pull out of the seams. I discovered a couple of small rips in the underarm/bust area that needed quick repairs. So after the hemming I added another seam on top of overlock stitches to create flat fell seams in every place that might cause some pulling. 

When I took the dress off, I looked carefully under and around the arms, in the bust and hip areas, even along the back seam and nothing had pulled apart or ripped. I'll keep checking every time I wear the dress just to be safe, but I think it will be okay. Chances are I'll want to wear this one often--it's airy and comfortable! 

Have you sewn with linen that wanted to pull out of its seams? What did you do to repair and insure that the seams would hold?


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3 comments:

Karen S said...

Great choice of fabric. It looks lovely in your new dress.

Sylvia@Treadlestitches said...

What a pretty dress! And clever you, figuring out how to adjust the patterns. I've been thinking about making some summer clothes, and your post is inspiring me.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Kaja said...

This looks like the perfect style for hot weather, and very pretty fabric too.