Back in the Groove

I resumed work on the sari dress yesterday. Although, I was tired and a bit slow yesterday, I picked up the momentum again today.

Working with dupioni is a dream. (Thinking about it, ANY fabric would be a dream after the ANTI-Fabric.) I've been constructing the bodice, which has side bust darts and vertical darts in the front and back. Before sewing the darts, I fused the interfacing strip along the top front for the decorative stitching. I'm very pleased with the results. It's kind of a shame that most of this will be covered by the overbodice. I suppose, though, when it's said and done and just peeking out from under the overbodice, it will look right.

The bodice has a top hem instead of a facing. I pressed the hem over prior to making the side (right) seam, which I figured would be easier to do at this stage. Dupioni presses and holds the crease well. After the side was seamed, the bottom hem is stitched under. At this point, the instructions call for the hem to be hand stitched all the way around the inside. I didn't want to to that and decided to edge stitch at the top instead.



The edgestitching came out well. Dupioni is perfect for this with a nice, straight, pressed edged. There is no curling or slipping so the stitches came out even and straight.




The next step will be constructing the straps. After that, I'll make the lining for the overbodice. THEN, the overbodice can be attached to the dupioni bodice which then can be attached to the skirt... (the hip bone's connected to the thigh bone; the thigh bone's connected to the knee bone...)

I'm not sure how much more I'll get done today. I'm getting a wee bit better at knowing when to call it day before disaster strikes!

OK, I Squeezed in a Bit More!

Hee hee, what can I say? When the sewing mojo is flowing, you've got to run with it! I was quite anxious to get the skirt seamed because of the extreme fraying.

I finished the back pleat and seamed the skirt back and side pieces. The details on these vintage dresses is what attracts me to them. I was a bit circumspect about how the silk would handle being folded, stitched and then stitched at the top of the pleat place. The pattern piece shows the pleat fold line and the stitching.

Thankfully, it stitched beautifully. The organza really does the trick. Without it, the sari silk would be extremely difficult to manage, and I can't imagine what state the seams would be in. On the seams, I used an overcast stitch.

The pieces are now hanging on Doris waiting for me to return. I'm happy to go away, feeling like I've not neglected my project!

Back pleat (left) and

pieces hanging on Doris:

Back - skirt darts (below left), Front (below right).

Weekend Getaway

I've made some more progress on the dress.

The darts are in the front and back overbodice, and the shoulders seamed. The darts and gathering are in the front and back skirt, and the back center is seamed. I started working on the back, lower pleat when it was time to stop and get my son from school.

So for now, I'll stop there. Tomorrow I'm heading out to New Jersey for the weekend to meet a group of friends. I'm really looking forward to getting together with them. We are all Halloween enthusiasts and make our own props.

I started making my own Halloween decorations when I lived in England. Even though it is celebrated there, it's not to the extent that it is here... and it is frowned upon by lots of people. There weren't lots of decorations in the stores (although it seems to be increasing in popularity all of the time) so I got into creating my own stuff.

Much of my own display is handmade; I'm lucky to have a handy, willing and enthusiastic husband. My display has a vintage flavor (surprise, surprise!)... even though Halloween is quite a way off, as with any hobby, working on projects is year round.

I'll be back to my silk dress on Monday.

Decorative Stitching

It occurred to me that perhaps this dress could benefit from a wee bit of decorative stitching.

The sari silk already has an all over pattern. But the dupioni contrast seems, in my opinion boring. I've been on the fence about whether or not to embellish it. Would decorative stitching make it look over done? Cheap? Or, if not embellished, would the dupioni appear dull compared to the elegant sari silk?

To settle the matter, I ran a swatch, (which I would have to do any way if I decide to go with the stitching). I cut a patch of the dupioni and fused interfacing to the back to stablize the silk. I have a Viking Sapphire 850. This machine has something like 130 stitches. I chose a scrolly-leafy stitch that I thought matched the sari pattern best.

I'm quite happy with how it looks and will use it. Here's a picture of my sample, placed underneath the two front overbodice pieces. It shows how it will look on the final garment. What's the point of having all of these stitches if I don't use them!

Busy, Busy

I made great progress on the silk sari dress the first few days of the project. Since then, every time I try to get underway, it seems my realtor calls to schedule a showing.

This has slowed things down a bit. Still, all of the sari pieces have the underlining basted. Next I can either underline the dupioni bodice/contrast pieces OR start on the darts of the dress. Progress will be slow over the next few days because I'm going out of town this weekend to visit friends on the east coast. However, I should be able to sneak in a bit of sewing here and there.

Underlining and Hats

So, what's the connection between underlining and hats ? Actually, nothing, except for the fact that both have been a part of my life for the last two days! Yesterday afternoon, a realtor tour was held at my house. I had to vacate the premises for three hours. What's a girl to do for three hours? It's easy! Shop!

I went to TK Maxx where a hat box was on clearance for $5. It called out to me. I used to wear hats a lot. The ones I wore usually were the fun and groovy styles from the days back when I lived in downtown Chicago. I walked everywhere (I didn't have a car) and, well, hats just seemed to go hand and hand with walking around being a young, city chick. Remember when Mary Tyler Moore threw her hat in the air at the end of the opening theme song? "You're gonna make it afterall!"

I bought my first dressy hat when I lived in England. During my eight years there, I attended several weddings. Over on that side of the pond, hats are still a popular tradition at weddings. I was so excited to have the opportunity to buy and wear a beautiful, dressy hat.

The one I found was lovely. It was elegant but not over done. The crown was covered in ivory silk that went into a fold where it met the medium sized, ivory mesh brim. A simple bow in the same silk adorned the center back.

I received many compliments on my hat at those weddings. Since the majority of the women were also wearing a hat, it was nice for it to be considered normal for the occasion, opposed to extravagant or pretentious.

In between weddings, my beloved hat sat on a back shelf in my closet, hidden by my clothes. It never occured to me to get a hat box. Hat boxes were only in old movies and tv shows; nobody actually used them because ladies didn't wear hats very often any more.

Then one day while purging through my wardrobe, to my horror I made a terrible discovery. My (now deceased) cat had been using my hat as a bed! Not only was it covered in black and orange fur, but the crown was partially caved in and dented in several places. I tried to "pop" the dents out and back into place, but it was to no avail. My hat was destroyed beyond repair.

I never bought another dressy hat. We moved back to the US and we've not been to a wedding in ages... Then last year I picked up a black vintage one at an antique mall. It has been sitting in my sewing room on a wig head. Yesterday when I brought home the hat box, I placed my vintage hat inside of it. A perfect fit!

I have visions of my closet shelf being filled with hat boxes, containing the vintage hats I hope to collect... My poor ivory hat did not perished in vain. I dedicate my new hat box to it. I now know better and will protect all of my hats in boxes from this day forward.

While I was blissfully sitting on the sewing room floor, placing the lid on and off of my hat box, to my delight, Fed Ex arrived with my silk organza!

It sure is lovely stuff! I couldn't stop rubbing it between my fingers enjoying the combined crispness and smoothness of the fabric. The enjoyment did not fade today as I hand washed then ironed it in preparation for cutting.

Just as I laid it out and put the rotary cutter to work, I had to stop: my realtor called and I had a viewing at 3:30... still determined after the viewing was over several hours later, I finished cutting and basted the first piece to the silk sari.

I carefully pinned by making sure two fingers held the fabric without slipping, pinning inbetween the fingers. I didn't force or pull to avoid distorting the drape of the sari.

This was the first time I ever sewed this type of silk. The sari is, I'm assuming, similar to handling a charmeuse, although I don't know for sure having never sewn with it. I was concerned about 1) slippage and 2) the two fabrics "stretching" differently, causing puckering.

To my delight, it was much easier to handle than I anticipated (based on the back overbodice piece only). I sewed directionally to avoid twisting by keeping the stitching going in the same direction.



This last picture is the back overbodice with the silk organza underlining basted in. You can see how it really gives the sari silk structure. It will also provide extra strength at the seams which will be greatly needed since the sari is a fragile fabric.

I hope to get all of the organza basted tomorrow and with any luck, start construction!

Cutting

To me, cutting fabric is like giving it life. In one moment, it goes from a flat piece of cloth, to being on it's way to something: something in somebody's life.


I laid out the sari silk and it was immediately evident that it required care in squaring out. It is the type of silk that pulls and distorts quite easily. The bordered edge (which I was hoping to use as trim), unfortunately had a long thread pulled. On the bright side, I was able to use it as a guide, or "the straight of goods" as it's called on the vintage patterns. It's much more fun to say than "grainline".


Also because of its twisty tendencies, I decided to use the rotary cutter for much of the cutting, rather than scissors. I didn't want the scissors to pull and twist the fabric any more than necessary. It was the first time I used them and I was happy with the results. The long edges were very straight and clean - none of those "sawblade" cuts.



I'm using a light gold dupioni for the contrast (from my stash) for the underbodice and the cumberbund. It's a great match to the scrolls in the sari and hopefully will brighten up the finished garment.


Now I have to wait for the silk organza to arrive. The next step is cutting and basting the organza for the underlining.


I'm happy with the progress that I made today.