Alder Dress

Grainline Studio drafts such nice patterns. I've been eyeing this one for a while. Lots of people made it early on as you can see here on Instagram. I finally found just the right fabric for it. I made the view with the gathered skirt.

The fabric is a Japanese double cloth 100% cotton. Thanks to Kathryn Brenne, I now know the difference between double cloth and double faced fabrics. This one is double cloth because you can see the tiny threads that hold the two layers together.

Unlike some double cloth fabrics, this one has only one right side. The back side is solid white. Each is almost sheer on its own, but quite opaque together. They are similar to voile fabrics, maybe even lighter. This one has a large pattern with a striped effect.

This project included many mishaps. I am not even sure I remember them all. Thank goodness the print disguises the most ghastly ones. 

One smallish mistake I made was to cut the back bodice on the crosswise grain. It is always so tempting to play with stripes or directional prints. I like the way it looks but it does cause it to sag a bit. Also this choice made it challenging to keep the armhole from gaping in back.

The most regretful mistake was my attempt to insert inseam pockets into the front vertical seams (as opposed to the side seams). After I committed to this (that is, I made serious cuts in the fabric), I realized that there was too little horizontal space there to actually accommodate even the smallest of pockets. At first, I thought, oh, *!?@, I've ruined this Nani Iro fabric.

But, ever optimistic, I put it away for another day. When I returned to it, I decided that the print is so busy and irregular that it would be easy to apply a patch to my cut area and move on. And I did. Can you tell?

For gathering the skirt, I used this wonderful reference. It is full of other goodies and kind of fun to peruse from time to time. Even though I've been sewing for more than 50 years, I don't learn on a uniformly rising curve. And I forget! Gathers seem simple but I find that to make them smooth and consistent, the technique presented here makes a huge difference. 

One key to pretty gathers is use of a small enough stitch length. If it is too long, then the gathers tend to bunch up. Of course, if it is too small, then you cannot gather it at all. But over time, I've been surprised by how small the stitch length can be and still manage gathers. Another key is to make 3 rows of gathering stitches. And Roberta Carr says that the gathering stitches should not be removed!

I am particularly fond of the way the gathering plays with the uneven stripes.

This dress is too short for me and not as flattering as it might be if I had made it longer. Of course, I realized that after cutting it out. This led me to use a white batiste bias facing to finish the hem, such that it is.

But it is so comfortable and perfect for the dog days of summer here in the southeastern US. I've decided I'm OK with it. It feels like almost wearing nothing and it floats away from my body. And it does not wrinkle. How perfect is that for a summer piece?

Once I realized how short it would be, I tried it as a tunic with pants. 

Nope.

No way.

This was completed last month. As I look at these pictures, I am left wondering why I reach for it so often. 

Home Goods

 Pillows and Towels - seriously?!?

The Factory Dress

Such fun to have finished this Alabama Chanin Factory Dress. I started it in early April after another lovely workshop in Florence with their DIY crew. It *might* be interesting to know how many hours I have in it, but maybe not.

The process is quite meditative - repetitive and yet providing a sense of accomplishment. I used my good old running stitch to outline the stenciled shapes. My hands just work the stitch without my mind even kicking into gear. 

The details:

The Factory Dress, size s, with added length to the medium length

Outer Layer: Dove

Under Layer: Peacock

Cotton Embroidery Floss for embroidery: a dark blue-gray from stash, DMC floss - 2 strands

Embroidery stitch: running stitch

Buttoncraft thread for construction: Gray

Stencil: New Leaves

Based on a dress worn by one of the other participants, I lengthened the medium length dress by 7". Once I got started, I could see that would graze the floor on me, so I removed about 2.5".

There were lots of pieces! Due to the armhole princess seams, there are 3 front sections and 3 back sections. I chose short, almost cap sleeves. 

Sections of the dress traveled with me to Shakerag, and on several trips to visit grandchildren and other family travels. I struggled just a bit to find enough of the DMC floss I selected and ultimately was able to order it online. It is a shade of blue that matches the AC *peacock* knit fairly closely. I like that the underlayer picks up the color of the embroidery stitching.

During the April AC workshop, Linda Lee mentioned a great idea for attaching binding to the raw edge of a garment. She suggested basting it to the back side, then wrapping to the front and stitching the decorative stitch. 

The basting stitch is easy to remove once the decorative (and purposeful) stitch is complete. On previous garments, I've struggled to keep the binding wrapped tightly around the neckline raw edge while focused on the decorative stitch. This fixed that. So, thanks, Linda!

This dress is heavy. It weighs at least 2 pounds which may not sound like a lot. But it is. I'm good with that as it gives the long dress some nice drape and sweep.

Now I've started on the other kit I purchased while in Florence AL in April. This too is a dress - the fractal dress with a g-zillion pieces. The stencil is fairly intricate without a lot of open space for cutting away the interior stencil. After wearing the factory dress a couple of times, I realized that I did not want another heavy dress. This fractal one will be single-layer (giving me a bonus dress!) with the stencil outlined but not cut away. 

There are really a lot of variations on these kits.

And while on a knits kick, I made some panties! Yes, I made underwear. I've made them before but recently was gifted this yummy fair isles cotton knit - just right. I used my old, old Stretch and Sew pattern adjusted for my current body. Satisfying, quick, and fun. Great partner with these forever AC garments.