Deer & Doe Sureau

My first Deer & Doe pattern! So as usual I’m late to the party… but at least I came dressed well! LOL

 

First of all I have to say, I love this dress! I loved making it, and I love wearing it – it’s comfy and pretty in an old-fashioned kind of way 🙂 In fact, I found myself feeling a little out of place when we went out because all around me were girls wearing short shorts and skimpy clothes, and here I was wearing this quite modest dress 😛 That’s ok, I’m not exactly one to fit in with the crowd – haha ^_^

The fabric is a pretty Japanese cotton that was a dream to sew, and press, and which makes me so happy to wear – I love the colour and I love the print – pretty but not too sweet 🙂  The fabric was 55″ w so I only used not quite 2 yards, which means I have some left over for a cute skirt or top ^__^ (LOVE it when that happens!)

Not being a super big fan of gathers round my waist, I traced a sz 38 on top & 34 on bottom to reduce the skirt fullness & gathers. You can see how I somehow managed to still get a bit of poofiness in the front, so I will probably reduce the skirt at the waist to match the bodice waistline for future versions 🙂

As per usual, of course did an FBA – I used Paunnet’s tutorial but rotated the dart amount into gather area, and added extra length to button placket. I think I may not have needed to do such a big FBA because it’s a little gapey in the front, but that’s easy enough to fix next time. Also I think the waist could be nipped in a bit; it’s kinda loose, but again – easy to fix next time. Better too big than too small! LOL

Looks like I have to switch to summer sewing soon – the sunshine is returning! 🙂

Anna Dress FBA

Hi All!

Just wanted to do a quick post on how I did the FBA on my Anna dress, in hopes it may help someone out there 🙂

Luckily I took photos of my process for my own records (which i actually forgot i did lol) so I can share them with you now! 🙂

(caveat: this assumes you already know how to do a standard FBA)

As per a regular FBA, use your HIGH BUST measurement to choose your size & trace. My personal method to determine how much of an adjustment I need is to hold the bodice tissue up to my body, aligning the side seam, and determine approximately how far away from my centre the centre fold is, at my bust point. Make sure to mark your bust apex on the tissue & draw in seam allowances.

So first, as you can see, our Anna bodice doesn’t have a side bust dart but waist tucks instead. First we cut off the raglan sleeve; we’ll add it back on later so keep that piece!

What we want to do is add room at the bust without changing the style of the bodice. To do that we have to add the side dart and then rotate it into the existing tucks. Let me show you.

Slash & spread the same way you would for a regular bodice:
(I have a kitty pattern weight lol)

Next, fill in all the gaps with scrap paper EXCEPT the bust dart you created. You have added space between the tucks so now just cut out the left tuck & slide it over where it used to be:

Now take the bottom left corner & rotate it up to close the gap created by the bust dart. Fill in the gap at the waist with scrap tissue.

Now here, if your waist measurement matches the pattern, you could maybe add another tuck to remove the extra width you added, or if it’s a small amount, just add a little to each of the existing tucks. I have a big ol’ waist so I can just leave mine as is & adjust my skirt pieces to match instead.

Now just tape the sleeve back on & you’re done!

Your bodice piece is a bit messy at this point so it’s nice to trace a new copy:

Then be sure to muslin your bodice & test it out before cutting into your precious fabric! 🙂

As you can see, mine worked out great!

Feel free to comment below & ask questions if you need clarification on anything. Happy sewing! 🙂

Sewing with my Mummy!

Today I’m finally gonna sew with my mum! Oddly we’ve never done this before, despite the fact she’s sewn all my life 🙂

Today I’m gonna teach her how to do an FBA! I’m so excited to pass on a little something to her after all she’s taught me 🙂

While I’m waiting for her to arrive for lunch, here’s a gratuitous kitty pic – This is my Starsky, who has no manners lol

Sew Colette 2.0 – Fitting the Peony Bodice

This is just a quick post to share a wonderful revelation I had!!

Ever since I started sewing (as an adult) just under a year ago, I’ve been questing for the perfect fit. I learned I DEFINITELY needed an FBA, and most often, a waist adjustment, but I’ve been struggling with this elusive fit problem: back neckline gaping.

I managed to reduce this problem a bit by taking 1″ off Center Back at the top, tapering down and then trueing the grain, darts, etc. But the problem was still there.

So when I made the muslin for the Peony bodice and the gaping was still there, I vowed “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!” and I turned to a post I read not too long ago, by Madalynne, on the relationship between front and back neck width.

In it she states that the back neck width should be 1/2″ wider than the front (so 1/4″ on the pattern). I didn’t know if this would help but I decided to try just in case. Lo and behold, my back neck width was 1.25″ wider than the front! So I re drafted the back neckline to be 1/4″ wider than the front, keeping the height and shoulder seam width the same.

As I said, I had no idea what would happen but to my shock, IT FIXED THE PROBLEM!!! Picture me in a bodice muslin, staring stupidly into the bathroom mirror in disbelief, then suddenly it clicked in that this was real and I did a ridiculous dance of joy!!!

I’m so grateful to Madalynne for the wealth of information she shares so freely with sewists like me who aspire to her level of greatness 🙂 Thanks Maddie!! You’re AWESOME! 😀