Two summer shirtdresses: M6891

I was definitely not kidding when I said I tend to sew up a pattern twice!  Since I made this two dresses just days apart, I thought I would post them together :)

The pattern is McCall's M6891.  It's a good, classic shirtdress style with a convertible collar and pockets.  I love the full skirt, waistline seam, and ungathered back (why do designers do that??). Since it's a Palmer and Pletsch pattern, there are extensive directions for tissue-fitting and adjusting the pattern. The fit I achieved on the first go-round was good enough that I didn't have to make too many changes for the second version (though the fit was slightly different...).  

So I made the checked dress first with fabric purchased at Style Maker Fabrics.  The check has "running stitches" along some of the vertical and horizontal lines, which gives the fabric a bit more personality.  Unfortunately, after washing, the stitches shrunk a little more than the rest of the fabric, which gives it an overall slightly puckered look.  I'm okay with it, but I would have been happier without the extra texture.

 I did my best to match the pattern all around, but it wasn't always successful--quel domage!

For the closures, I used navy snaps from Snap Source--they worked perfectly!

The dress is so comfortable and cool, I can't wait to wear it all summer!

I chose this amazing linen fabric (on sale right now!) from Britex for my second version.  I had purchased the fabric for another purpose, but the plan quickly changed after my first dress.  I LOVE this fabric--it's linen, and while it looks a tad "rumpled", it doesn't get the serious wrinkles that other linens can get.

I went with the sleeveless option for this version.  Normally I don't love sleeveless garments, but it seemed to fit the style of the fabric and I'm sure I'll be appreciative of the extra cooling in the dead of summer. 

Somehow, this version is a bit tighter than the other, but it's still perfectly wearable.  I'm super pleased with the back coverage and the depth of the armhole.

Again, I had to worry about pattern matching, and I made a mistake!  If you look junction of the bodice and skirt, the colors are opposite.  Oops!  

Again, I used snaps (antique brass color, again from Snap Source).  In both versions, I added hidden snaps between the visible ones around the belly area to keep the placket from gaping.  These are tiny, clear plastic ones that are just perfect for this purpose (from Dritz). 

I love these two shirtdresses and I'm certain they're going to be a staple when the weather warms up a bit!  Bring on the summer!

Tutorial: Super-easy two-tone infinity scarf

Who says you can't wear linen in the winter?  Using some amazing linen knit fabric from Britex, I sewed up a beautiful and warm color-blocked infinity scarf, perfect for the colder months.  For my version, I chose two different colors--turquoise and navy--but this tutorial would work equally well if you wanted to go with a single color of fabric.   Here's what to do.

Above is a photo of the end product, so you can see the big picture at the start.  In a nutshell, I cut two long rectangles of fabric, which I sewed together along the long edges to create a tube.  The tube ends were then sewn together to create a closed loop.  Okay, now that you know where you're going, cut your fabric!

For my scarf, I used the entire selvage-to-selvage width of the fabric (about 60") as the long edge.  To make it easier to cut, I folded the fabric in half lengthwise and cut a 14" strip of each fabric.  You can make your scarf wider or narrower as you like, but I found this to be just right--not too bulky, but still wide enough to feel cozy.

Placing the two 14"x60" fabric strips right sides facing, even out the ends to make sure both strips are exactly the same length.  (In the image above, the strips are folded in half length wise).

Keeping the strips facing, overlock the entire long edge of one side of the rectangle (the top side, in the diagram below).  Overlock the other long edge, keeping 2" on both ends were left unstitched (the bottom edge in the diagram).   This unstitched area allows you to sew the ends together later on.  At this point, you can turn the tube inside out to press the seams, but that's not necessary.

At this point, you should have a long tube, open at both ends.  To connect the open ends of the tube, with right sides and same colors facing, line up the the raw edges.  In the image below, the edges of the aqua fabric are lined up (right sides facing), with the navy fabric pushed out of the way for the moment.

Begin sewing at the side of the tube with the unfinished long edge.  Sew across the raw edge and other seam, adjusting the fabric as you go.  Continue the seam along the raw edge of the other color, finishing at the other side of the tube.  As you get to the end of the seam, it may take some work to keep the raw edges even.  Go slowly and maneuver the fabric around the rest of the scarf, which will emerge through the small opening when you are done.  

Pull the scarf right side out; the two ends will be connected, with a small hole on the edge.

Sew the hole closed with tiny invisible stitches, matching up the center seam.

Done!  Here, I've looped the scarf twice around my neck.

It can also be worn as a hood/scarf combination for those cold and windy days in the bay area!

  Or, the scarf can even be worn with one end looped through the other.  So versatile!

Many thanks to Britex for providing the fabric for this quick and fun project!  

Tutorial: Insertion lace along the hem band

Okay, now for how I sewed insertion lace around the bottom (check out my previous Tutorial, for how to sew lace on a curved seam, such as those princess seams above).  The hem band of the Hayden top is a folded, bias cut piece.  To insert the lace within that seam, I first sewed the lace directly onto the bottom of the blouse, using the edge of the blouse as a guideline.  In the image below, I sewed the top edge of the lace, farthest from the raw edge of the bodice fabric, sewing right over the lace that was already inserted.

The fabric was pressed open, zig-zag stitched and pressed close to the seam.  (Sorry, no photos!)  To attach the bias band, I positioned the fabric right side up, underneath the lace, attempting to have an equal seam allowance all around.  Below is what it looks like from the right side, and then what it looks like from the wrong side.  Back on the right side, I used a straight stitch to attach the lace to the band.

I pressed the fabric open, but did not zig-zag the seam before trimming the seam allowance to 1/4", see below. (The zig-zag stitch will happen later.)

To avoid additional stretch, especially while pressing the seam allowance, I sewed a basting stitch along the unsewn side of the bias hem band.  Then, I used that line to guide pressing of the seam allowance.  

Finally, I folded the hem band in half lengthwise, carefully lining up the edge of the hem band with the edge of the lace, pinning all the way.  

Finally, on the right side, I zig-zagged through all the layers.

Unfortunately, this method had some problems.  First off, I couldn't sew everything with a perfectly even seam allowance .  This isn't a huge deal, but it made me feel uneasy (and a bit grumpy).  Second, the bias stretched a bit with all the handling.  Perhaps this could have been solved by more basting stitches?   

Perhaps the best way to do it would have been to mimic what I did with the curved seams; sew the first seam as instructed with basting stitches, apply the lace, remove the basting stitches, and then fold up the hem band to attach to the lace edge.  

At the end of the day, I still adore the look of the insertion lace in this top.  The edges are frayed a bit on the inside, but hey, there are worse things!  

Tutorial: Insertion lace on a curved seam

If you're arriving here from Britex, welcome!

I'm so excited to share my method for inserting lace into a curved seam (such as a princess seam)!  I used this dusty peach handkerchief-weight linen and floral ivory insertion lace, though there are many, many options for both linens and laces both online and in-store!

After seeing one of the cover shots for the Hayden pattern, and making a couple myself (two versions here), I really wanted to insert lace in the seam lines on the front and along the hem.  The style lines are curved, though, so the typical way of inserting lace had to be tweaked a bit.

Usually, insertion lace is applied on an uncut, unseamed piece of fabric.  The general steps are: sew along both lengths of the insertion lace, then cut through the fabric on the wrong side and press the fabric open.  On the right side, using a narrow zig-zag stitch, sew along the edge of the lace again (which catches the fabric on the wrong side) and the trim the fabric on the wrong side, close to the stitches.  Insertion lace can also be inserted into an existing seam, before sewing the seam and after taking into consideration the added width of the lace.

However, for this blouse, the seam in which I wanted to put the lace was a curved princess seam along the front.  Instead of inserting the lace before sewing the seam, I did it a bit differently:

First, I sewed the princess seam using long basting stitches, then trimmed the seam to 1/4", and pressed the seam open.

Since I didn't want the seam allowance to get caught when I stitched the lace, I then pressed the seam toward the side seam (opposite side from which I will sew the first side of the lace).

On the right side, a line 1/4" (half the width of my lace) from the seam was marked as a guideline for the lace edge.

Using matching thread and a straight stitch, the lace was carefully sewn, lined up with the markings. As you can see, after stitching, the other side was a bit ruffly, since the lace was sewn on a convex curve.

To ease this excess lace, a running stitch was sewn using a contrasting thread and gently pulled to barely gather the lace on the concave side of the curve.

Prior to sewing the other side of the lace, the seam allowance of the princess seam was pressed to the other side (toward center front) to avoid catching it in the lace stitching.  The lace was then stitched in place along the edge on the right side and the contrasting thread removed.

On the wrong side, the basting stitches were removed from the princess seam and the fabric was pressed open (with clipping), which revealed the lace underneath.

On the right side, a very narrow zig-zag stitch was sewn along the edge of the lace, securing the seam allowance on the wrong side.

On the wrong side, the seam allowance was trimmed very close to the stitching and pressed well.

For this particular garment, I also inserted lace along the junction of the bodice and hem band.  I have a separate post to go into more details of how I did it, and how it probably should have been done!

This technique is addictively fun to do--it creates such an interesting detail on garments and it is fairly easy for the impact it imparts!  Thank you to Britex for supplying the beautiful insertion lace and handkerchief linen!

Still love covered buttons!

I don't have much to add regarding this pattern--as before, I would recommend making a test fit and then considering some of the alterations I discussed earlier.