DIY Knipmode Dress #1/06/2018 or Another Denim Dress

These days I am busy sewing from the enormous stash of sewing magazines I have, no punishment, so many nice patterns that I have on my list so nothing to complain. 

Today`s make is another pattern from KnipMode magazine, dress pattern 1 from issue 6/2018. 

I love the seams on the front of this dress! 

In the magazine, the dress is made with a pencil skirt and short sleeves or with a more flared skirt and long sleeves. The dress is also fully lined. 

I made the version with the pencil skirt, no lining and used the longer sleeve pattern and added 7cm plus hem allowance. 

I traced size 36 for neck and shoulders and for the rest size 38. I made a test garment and based on that I made a few changes. I made a small video on how the muslin was fitting, if you would like to see it, you can find it here.

Fitting adjustments

Because I had a lot of room above my bust,  the same as in my other Knipmode dress , I took again out 3cm horizontally, on the front bodice ( at approx. 7cm down from the center front neck) and back bodice and from the sleeves only 1.5cm to get them fit back on my adjusted bodice.

 I also had to make a swayback adjustment, I had some fabric bunching at my back of the skirt and also the side seams on the skirt were swinging to the front. After taking 2cm out at the CB and blending to nothing to the side seam of the skirt, all these issues were gone.

The skirt was very long on me so I shortened it by 11cm.

Also based on my muslin I decided to take the side seams in by 1cm on each seam, now I am thinking that maybe 0.5cm per seam was better. The denim I used, has some stretch so it still is comfortable.

Sewing the dress

Usually, I don`t use sewing instructions but in case of patterns with special seams or, you know, different than usual two darts and a waist seam,  I do use the instructions. In this case, the text was pretty clear to understand ( of course if you understand dutch :)) , but I even understand how the walking vent was supposed to be sewn, so that is a plus for KnipMode.

I choose denim and that called of course for topstitching! When I need to do topstitching, I am using an older machine( second hand bought a few years ago )only for that. It is so much faster when I don`t need to change my thread and needle and adjust the tension for this part of the sewing.  I tested on a piece of my fashion fabric the color, stitch length and tension on that machine and that was set for topstitching only. If I had to do that only on one machine, I would sew as much as possible and then do the topstitching on those pieces and so on, to avoid all the changes after each seam.

My dress is unlined so I had to finish the neckline in another way, in this case with a bias band. Worked great!

In the magazine, they used a centered zipper but I  used an invisible one, I wanted an exposed metal one, but sadly I could not find one to fit, in my stash.

Conclusions

I love the seams on the front of this dress! What I don`t love are the raglan sleeves! I sew just a couple of times raglan sleeves and maybe that is a reason why I can`t get them fit me right or why I don`t like them. I love inset sleeves and I think if this dress had inset sleeves it would have been perfect. 

All in all, I like this dress, it was fun to sew and to topstitch all the seams. Pretty easy project and a nice dress for the fall. 

I love denim dresses and I have a few in my wardrobe, you can see them here and here. 

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I also made a video review on YouTube, if you'd like to see that you can find it HERE 

The action video is at the end of that video review, or here  at minute 11.14 :) :

Next project 

Next, I have another Knipmode pattern traced, from the same issue as above, 6/2018, this time dress 23 .

I have a few fabric options, you can see them in the video above and I think the dress is perfect for summer. 

Happy sewing !

Denim dress Clara pattern by Designer Stitch

A new Designer Stitch pattern today, this time the latest dress pattern, the Clara dress!

Princess seams in the front, round or V neck options, cap sleeves, flutter sleeves or sleeveless, three length options and the flirty flounce at the hem, and to make it all perfect you get also cup sizing B,C,D , DD.

You can find my YouTube review here.

I love the High-Low hem in the longest version!

Here are all the options.

I love denim dresses so when I had to choose the fabric for this dress and Ann, the designer behind the Designer Stitch brand, was writing that Clara doesn't have to be fancy my mind went directly to Denim!

I have a few pieces in my stash but finding the right one, suitable for this pattern was no easy and I almost went online to search some new denim:) 

I needed a piece of denim without stretch but also not to heavy because I was concerned about the flounce, the fabric needed a bit of drape to get the flounce to fall nice. 

This denim that I finally chose is not the perfect one, as it does have a bit of stretch and that threw my fit a bit off. 

I made my test garment in non-stretch cotton sateen and made the adjustments based on that kind of fabric. So, what we all know, always make your test garment in the same kind of fabric ( weight/drape/stretch/non-stretch) you are going to use for your final garment!

Based on freshly taken body measurements I started with a size 3B for the upper part and 4 for the hips but next time I will use a straight 3B.

Fit adjustments

Here, on my YouTube channel, you can see my review on this pattern and there I am also talking about my fit adjustments.

Even before I started on my test garment I made a swayback adjustment on the pattern, 2cm and later based on my test garment I took a total of 4cm at the center back neck ( in the test garment 2cm was enough but in the denim dress, because of the slight stretch I had to take 2cm extra off), tapered the skirt at the front princess seams and made the side of the skirt a bit straighter to fit my body shape.

Sewing details

After the fit was done it was only sewing and when topstitching is involved for me is happy sewing!

I love the different seam allowances in the Designer Stitch patterns, of course, you need to get used with this, you always find that in the sewing instructions. It saves a lot of time by not having to trim the seam allowance like when you would sew a neckline with 1.5cm SA  and having small SA in curved seams is making it also easier to sew. 

The dress has an invisible zipper at the center back. 

The neckline and armholes are finished with an all in one facing. Very easy to apply following the instructions.

 For topstitching, I used my new Pfaff 720 and I am very pleased with how that worked. I find that this machine sews easier over thicker seams and the stitch quality is great! I used a topstitching needle and a 3.5  stitch length. For the belt, I used the same color thread as the topstitching thread but the standard thickness.

I am very happy with this dress, it was a very enjoyable project. I love the fit over the bust and the flirty flounce! You can see here a small action video too.

Happy Sewing!

**This post contains affiliate links

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Denim Dress #11 Patrones Magazine 365 aka 70`s denim dress

I love Patrones Magazine! I have a subscription for years and  a few years ago I bought a bunch of old Patrones magazines , a few years of older issues . I have so many of their patterns on my wish ( to sew ) list but this dress was immediately at the top the moment I saw it .

 It is from issue 365, but to be more exactly it is from Fashion Style magazine issue 1 and that is Patrones 365 translated in Dutch . 

I made  a muslin for this pattern and then one version in another fabric and after that I made this one in denim. I traced size 38 at the shoulders and 42 for bust, waist and hips  and from this I made the following changes after the muslin  : reduced the waist and hips to size 38, shoulder seam 2 cm shorter, underarm side seam raised by 1 cm , sway back adjustment 3 cm , the skirt 8 cm shorter. Also I added a cuff for the sleeves. The patch pockets are also lowered bij 1 cm.

I really like the long darts and sewing them in combination with the pockets  it was a little challenging. I alsa made a  second yoke, for a clean inside.

The belt idea came from a dress I saw online, from M.i.h jeans ,  it is almost the same dress, only this Patrones pattern has the nice darts and cost way much lesser :)

This denim has a little stretch and that makes the dress really nice to wear. I had it  all day on ( see the wrinkles :) and it was really comfy .

It was a lot of top stitching on this dress and to make my life easier I used a second (old ) Pfaff only for top stitching and it did a really great job. I used the 448 top stitching thread from Gutermann and for the buttonholes the 448 regular thread ( on Sunday when no store was open I realized that I had no regular thread in the good color for the buttonholes so I contact one of our small stores here in the city and the owner was really nice to open the store so I could go finish my dress. Thank you, Zus & Gus . 

I am really happy with this dress , definitely a winner for me. 

Sirena dress-Pattern testing for Itch to Stitch Designs

Eind april was ik bezig met een Knipmode jurk en elke keer zat ik voor de naaimachine met het gevoel: zal ik het af maken of zal ik het weg gooien . Een pauze van te nemen heb ik een paar patronen getest , maar liefs 4 ... Een van deze is de Sirena Dress van Itch to Stitch Designs. Ik moet zeggen dat ik wilde deze maken vooral omdat dit patroon is gemaakt voor verschillende cup maten A,B,C,D en DD . De andere redenen : leuke A-line rok , de zakken en de halslijn.

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At the end of April I was working on a Knipmode Dress and every time I was sitting on my machine to work on the dress I was getting that double feeling ...should I finish it or should I just throw it away. To take a brake from it I decided to test a few patterns. One of them was the Sirena Dress from Itch to Stitch Designs. I must say that one of the main reasons was that this pattern comes with cup sizes A,B,C,D and DD. The other reasons: the nice A-line shape , the pockets and the neckline.

Ik heb maat 4C getest volgens de maat tabel en ik ben heel tevreden hoe de jurk past .Ik heb geen veranderingen moeten maken aan de bovenkant.

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I made size 4C based on the size chart and I am really happy with the fit over the bust, no modifications there.

Voor mij de moeilijkste part is de stof te kiezen...met alles wat ik maak eigenlijk. Ik had veel keuze in mijn (stoffen)kast maar ik wilde iets dat de detaillies liet zien en dat ik zou  dragen ook , ik bedoel meer dan alleen op de fotos . Dus ik ging voor dit denim ,met een beetje stretch. Ik heb duizend ritsen maar ik had geen blinde rits in de goede maat. Ik vond deze metalen rits die perfect was,  lengt en kleur en dus heb ik de versie gemaakt met zichtbare rits en ik vind het veel leuker zo...een kleine verassing op de achterkant!

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For me, choosing the fabric for a project is always the most difficult part. I had a lot of choices in my stash but I wanted something to showcase the details and something that  would make a dress to wear more then once . So finally decided on this denim with stretch . Because I had no suitable invisible zipper I went with the exposed zipper version and I really like it. 

Het patroon is best makkelijk te naaien als je de passvorm goed heb , dit is gemaakt met de testers versie en ik moest echt alleen mijn standard verandering maken voor mijn rug en meer niet. Ik ben geen expert in dit maar ik ben tevreden . het is niet te strak , heel comfortabel , ik zou het elke dag de hele dag dragen :) en niet vergeten...het heeft zaken !

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This pattern is really easy to make after you've got the fit right. This dress is made with the tester version and the only modifications I had to make was a common one for me, a sway back adjustment.I am not an expert but I am happy with the fit. Is not tight, really comfortable, I could wear this every day, all day long :). Oh, and don`t forget that it has pockets too! 

  

Ik heb de versie zonder voering gemaakt , er zijn ook aparte patroon delen voor een gevoerde versie.

Om de binnenkant een beetje leuk te maken heb ik de naden met roze draad gelockt.

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Sirena Dress comes with lined and unlined version , I have chosen the unlined version and added a little fun  by serging the seams with pink thread.

  Conclusie: Ik ben heel blij met dit jurkje en met dit patroon ook , nu omdat het goed past is het bijna geen werk om een leuke jurk te maken.

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Conclusion: I am really happy with this dress and now that the fit is worked out I can make really fast and easy a nice dress.

Voor een bepaalde tijd is de Sirena Dress in de aanbieding  .

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At this moment you can buy  the Sirena Dress on Sale . 

PS.the Knipmode dress needs buttons and it is done..."the feeling "is still there :)

Janice Dress pattern from KnipMode 6/2018 Still sewing for the summer

Dress Knipmode #23 6/2018

I think this is going to be the last summer dress. I can`t wait to start sewing for fall. The latest KnipMode is full of interesting patterns. But back to the dress above. 

My YouTube review you can see here ( including the pattern review, next projects, new fabrics and the action video)

This is one of their monthly "Jurken van Janice" ( Dresses from Janice). Every month dutch TV-personality and designer Janice presents a pattern in the KnipMode and every time there is also a video on YouTube where he shows more complicated parts of the pattern, how they are sewn up. I think that is a great idea and if he will use some more contrasting pattern/thread combination for the instructional video, it will be even better to understand some methods. 

This dress has a lot of nice details. It has cut-on sleeves, gathers under the bust, shaped waistband, the skirt is a little gathered at the CF and CB. Also, it has a side seam invisible zipper, and it is really needed as the waist is pretty fitted and also a CF blind button placket closure, and this last part is covered in the video of the month (Dutch language only)

The fabric is polyester ( from my "fabric guy" @shauniosdorp on IG ), not slippery and with a nice drape. It pressed very nice but cutting was not easy. The rotary cutter didn`t want to cut it and the normal sheers were having a big time trouble to cut it also, it was like going away from it. Finally, I remembered the serrated shears I have and I tried those, PERFECT. I could not believe what a difference!

Because is a pretty loose model I did not make a muslin for this pattern. I only traced size 38 at the bust and 36 for neck, shoulders, and waist. I measured the waist to be sure that it will fit me and did a bit of paper pattern fitting to get the idea of how it was fitting. I traced the skirt size 38 and that got gathered in the waist 36.  The pattern uses the same piece for the front and the back of the skirt, and to be honest I think my "back work " needs a bit more room, but it is ok . 

Normally I make a swayback adjustment on almost all the patterns I am sewing and when I don`t do that I can notice the difference, even if it is only 2cm. In the back/side pictures you can see how the side seams tend to go forwards, I tried to pinch up horizontally at my back of the skirt, 2 cm, and that corrected immediately my swinging side seams and the bit of extra fabric I was having , but that I can`t fix in this dress anymore so it is something to remember.

I love it with the belt and a small belt loop it gets sewn at the CB, nice detail.

The instructions are good, I only changed the order a bit so that I could finish the inside better. The waistband is faced, so after I attached the waistband and it's facing to the bodice, I attached the skirt to the waistband ( the one facing the public), pressed the seam up and then I folded the seam allowance of the facing and stitched in the ditch from the outside of the garment to the skirt. I used my stitch in the ditch presser foot which works perfect, so easy!

I love the placket on the front, it would have been nice to know the required size of the buttons , there was only mentioned that you need three buttons. I think is important to know that,  thinking that the placket is designed for particular size buttons. I know mine are too small but I like them and they fit the fabric ( and I found them very fast in my stash :))

...and the back with the little loop on the wide waistband!

This was a fun project, with all kind of nice details!

Next, I want to make a new Classic shirt but in combination with other pieces from the Recital shirt from Liesl and Co., a new denim jacket from the same KnipMode 6/2018 and sewing for my daughter is high on the list.

....and here you can see the "action" video 

Happy Sewing! 

Anza Jumpsuit -Itch to stitch

Last year I made my first jumpsuit, the Eliane from SyleArc and after the blue one I made immediately one more. The love for jumpsuits was born! So now I have a bunch of jumpsuits patterns that I want to make and of course fabrics, I want to use for them.  This viscose was bought for a jumpsuit so when this pattern came long this was my first choice. This is the newest pattern from Itch to stitch patterns, the Anza jumpsuit and dress  and it is great!! I say that not because I tested the pattern, as usual, my opinions are mine, but if you will take a look at the tester versions of this you will see what I mean: After seeing all those versions I want at least 4 more.

The Anza comes as a jumpsuit and as a dress, using the same bodice. Of course to make it even more appealing ( for me at least) the patterns has cup sizing to make it easy to fit. I made mine in my usual Itch to stitch size, 4 C. The only change was making the legs 4cm shorter.

The jumpsuit has nice deep pockets, the breast pockets are lined, at the waist casing with elastic and drawstring. I had no nice stoppers for my string so I bought two metal beads, worked perfectly!

I need to wait to wear this as here the temperatures are really no short sleeve adequate and for those times I made also the dress version in a beautiful red crepe, I still need to sew the buttons on.

Love this one and I need to get my hands on some olive Tencel to make another one, and maybe some denim look Tencel....:) 

The Anza jumpsuit and dress pattern is now on sale ! 

*this post contains affiliate links 

Extra Sharp Pencil Skirt-Liesl+co

I think this is the first pencil skirt I ever sew...not this one but this pattern . This denim version is the second one from the Pencil Skirt pattern by Liesl+co. 

I made a size 4 in a thin cotton to test the fit. Also, when I am sewing new things to me, making a muslin helps me also to practice , in this case making the walking vent. The only change I made was to take 0.6cm ( 1/4")  from the vertical seams of the front panel only.

The fabric is a stretch denim. I made a few samples trying to distress the fabric but I didn`t really like the look. So I just went with topstitching the seams.

The pattern has also a longer version and I want to try that too. Maybe also a lined version. On YouTube I found a very good tutorial on how to add/sew a lining on a skirt/dress with a walking vent. I found it very clear .

I added a bit of a detail on the waist facing:), a trim on the edge. I also mitered the corners of the vent, I like the look better than just folding the hem .

The only thing I don`t like is that this fabric refuses to get ironed, also in wrinkles pretty bed, but the skirt fits perfect so I am going to wear it a and call it , crushed denim skirt :))

...and here is the skirt in "action"

The Gerties Soda Shop Dress -Tested PDF

Ik vond de technische tekening van dit jurkje zo mooi dus ik heb me meteen als tester opgegeven.
Het komt in de maten 2-10 jaar , met lange en korte mouwen.

Qua stoffen had ik geen idee in eerste instantie, maar daarna kwamen in mij hoofd deze dunne denim met de zacht roze kant. Ik heb dit vaker, ik wil iets maken en dan ziet ik dagen aan te denken en opeens maak ik in mijn hoofd mijn keuze :) , gek , toch? :)) .

Dus de stof is licht stretch denim met stretch kant voor de voorpanden, achterpanden en manchetten.

Ik heb voor Lisa maat 5 , zonder veranderingen gemaakt ,ook de mouwen zijn goed ,wat de lengte betreft.

Ik vind de achterkant ook zo prachtig, qua design bedoel ik. Ik heb die riem eraf gelaten, maar ik weet nog niet zeker ,misschien zet ik het toch op.

De knopen heb ik ooit op Ebay gekocht en Lisa is helemaal blij met haar "diamantjes":).Die tweede knop ziet mij dwars, was better geweest om de afstand gelijk te houden, maar tja, nu is het te laat :).

Het jurkje is niet gevoerd,de naden heb ik afgewerkt mat  mijn locker en omdat er roze draden op zaten heb ik die maar gebruikt ( lui, ik weet het :) )

Op dit moment is dit patroon te koop met 50% korting hier bij MCM Studio Designs en hier op Craftsy