To Be Successful at Sea, We Must Keep Things Simple

Disclaimer:  I'm blogging away from home, and I had to anticipate the pictures that I would need ahead of time.  Upon review of the available photos for the next three projects, I find that they are utter crap and don't show the projects well at all.  Unfortunately, I don't have the option of rephotographing because I don't have the garments with me, and even if I did, I don't have any way to download them to my dad's computer.  Please bear with me.

Vogue 1020

My version of the top from the wardrobe pattern Vogue 1020 is a perfect illustration of how a fabric choice can dictate the feel of a garment.  I first noticed this pattern when The Slapdash Sewist made the dress from the wardrobe.  I also checked out the reviews on Pattern Review, and the other versions of this shirt/dress are stylish and sleek and a little bit sexy.  I originally intended to use a modern paisley in wines and deep reds, but because I purchased this fabric a while ago with no specific pattern in mind and because I hadn't realized how much fabric this pattern, took, I had to rethink.

In my stash, I had this nautical-themed cotton jersey (it's really a very white background; the picture looks a little yellow).  

I heard that nautical was in for the summer, so trust me to interpret that as literally as possible.

With a little creative wrangling, there was enough fabric to make the shirt.  (The pattern pieces, really?  Cut in single layer and bent at this really weird angle to accommodate the side gathers).  While I do like the end product, the shirt is really casual and part of me wonders whether the print isn't a little too juvenile.  And sometimes I look at it and think maybe I should have used this for a nightgown instead.  Oh well.  Far too late to turn around and undo it.

Jeez, from this picture, you can't even tell that the side is gathered.  Or recognize the skirt below.  I have to work on taking pictures so that you can actually see the clothes.

I like this pattern, and while I probably won't make the dress, I will give the top another go in a more formal fabric.  The pattern itself is simple enough -- front, back and two sleeves.  No facings.  This was also my first serger project, so I'm glad that it was mostly successful.  The instructions were clear, and I mostly followed them.  The only change I made was to sew the sleeves in flat and then sew the side and sleeve seams in one go (the pattern instructs you to set the sleeves in). 

I don't have a coverstitch machine, so I took a chance that there was enough room in the hips to hem the bottom with a double line of straight stitching, and I got lucky because that seems to have worked out.  I've worn this several times in the past month, and nothing's popped yet.  I finished the sleeves and the neckline with the double line of straight stitching, too.

I really like the asymmetrical gathers.  They are a nice detail to a relatively simple design and are very forgiving on those days when you might not feel your cutest.  The pattern tells you to gather each side to the correct length prior to sewing them together, and that's what I did.  I didn't have any difficulty getting everything to line up.  I dodged some kind of bullet here because I made Butterick 5497 a few weeks later and used the same method to gather the shoulder seams, but when I serged them together, the gathering all came out (I want to get more detailed shots of my mistakes and fixes, so that review is pending).  I'm sure this has something to do with my being a serger novice, but I wanted to mention this in case it was actually something wrong with the theory and not the execution.

So, cute little top that got me off on the right foot with my serger.  It's red, white and blue, so I wore it with jeans on July 4th.  Because the fabric was preshrunk, I can wash and dry this without worries of it not fitting later.  All in all, I'll chalk this one up in the "win" column.

Simplicity 2411

The jury's still out on Simplicity 2411.  I made view D but without the pocket details.  I used a stretch denim that was probably better suited to something more structured, and that's probably the cause of half of my problems with this skirt.  The other half?  Poor pattern choice and poor execution ( I should know better than to make anything with a yoke waist).

You'll have to trust me that this is the same skirt that I'm wearing in the above photo.

I'm going to have to give this skirt another try with a drapier fabric and reassess, so I'm not sure what I think of this pattern.  While I like the skirt as it turned out, it isn't really what I had in mind, the fit is off and it's too short.  I didn't bother to do any fitting on this pattern, just cut the size closest to my measurements and went for it.  Serves me right.  The waist is just small enough that it rides up too much which brings up the hem.  Given that the length of the of the view I made was right about where I wanted the hem, I did a narrow hem, but with a stiff fabric and a fuller skirt, I think it really needed the weight of a deeper hem to make the skirt hang correctly. 

The bottom of the yoke hits me at just the right part of the body that it gives me a nice little pot belly, so super flattering (yes, that's sarcasm).  Not that I'm going to tuck anything in with this skirt, but I would have liked the option, so something else to work on (either by fitting the skirt properly or dropping a few pounds; don't ask what's happened to my exercise schedule since my life got complicated back in April).

The directions were very straightforward.  I noticed that while there are separate pattern pieces given for the front and back, they are identical which saved me a little when I inserted the zipper into the wrong side of the skirt.  I just turned it around and called the front the back and the back the front.  The only real change I made was to insert a lining so that I won't have to wear a slip when I have tights on.  I used the regular pattern pieces for this and hemmed the lining fabric an inch shorter than the fashion fabric.  This worked out well, but I can't help but wonder if the slick lining fabric is one of the reasons that the skirt rides up so much (and not making the correct size; or gaining weight; we can all dream). 

I think the idea of the style is cute on, particularly the way I'm planning on wearing this.  However, I need to address the above issues before this is a go-to piece in my wardrobe.  I may make another version in a black or navy doubleknit.  I don't think I'll lengthen the pattern, but I will try a faced hem.  This was my original plan here, but I lost my leftover fabric in the nightmare that is my stash closet, so I had to make due.

I'll definitely be trying both of these again in the near future, and I'll let you know how it goes.