Busy hands | Disquiet mind

Colette's Nutmeg is a collection of a bralette and two bottoms. Having previously made both the knickers and the tap pants all that was left was to make the bralette.

The pattern includes various cup sizes (A/B, C/D, DD) but doesn't provide any guidance on selecting them. They are constructed from a lower front band (with darts and elasticated hem), upper front band (with interfaced facing), and two back bands of doubled layers. The 'straps' are ribbon, caught between the back band layers and the top front band and its facing. Made from stable wovens, straight stitch construction (except for the elastic) and overlock stitch/foot for finishing seams. I made mine in the same pretty patterned pink cotton as the tap pants.

This is possibly the worst fitting garment I've ever made. Putting aside how the ribbons are purely decorative, there is still no support in this style. The stable fabric doesn't move, and the only bit with any give is the elasticated edge, the lower front, which is the only part on a regular bra that doesn't stretch. Perhaps on a person with a smaller bust this could be made to work, but it is definitely not for me.

( Pictures )

It's a dress! Actually, it's the Crepe dress I started two years ago! (You can find previous posts with the tag gerties crepe sew along.) The astute among you will notice a couple of things.

Firstly that it's finished. I didn't want to risk posting another in-progress update in case I put it down and ignored it again for another few months. But yesterday was the annual Crafters Sugar-overdose Night (which has unofficially become the TOG Christmas party), and I was determined to have something to show at it. So despite my intense hatred for hemming I spent all of Sunday doing just that, and felt the relief of actually finishing something. This is my first (non-costume) dress, so I now feel justified in calling myself a 'dressmaker'!

As Craft Night is directly after work I ended up wearing my dress to work. It was a peculiar experience. I have never worn a dress to work before, not even when I worked in retail. Skirts sure, but not a full dress. Being the middle of winter I made one concession, the stockings were swapped for leggings, so please excuse the bagginess in the photos.

Secondly, oh observant followers, you'll have noticed that you've never seen this fabric before. Indeed, the project came to a rather definite halt when I gave up on the fitting and was about to cut the fashion fabric and realised that the fabric wouldn't work well with this dress design. Time passed, and I happened on an online fabric sale. The moment I saw this fabric I knew the dress was back on!

Here, let me do a twirl for you! (These photos are not instagrammed, just shot in poor, yellow, light. That first photo was taken with flash and shows the colours better.)

( Photos! )

Did you spot the pockets? Pockets! Such wonderful inventions. Okay, since this was a sew-along I should talk a bit about the actual construction. The lovely patterned crepe is rather translucent, so it is underlined with black polycotton, which gives it a nice (but slightly stiff) body. Although, the hand-basting took such an impossibly long time that in future I will be saving this technique for particularly special gowns.

This was also my first time doing facings, and it was an adventure. The points on the neckline could have been done better. And my interfacing was so delicate that I melted a few pieces with the iron. That took getting used to. And they are so light that they have to be tacked down in several places to stop them flipping out. (That is one advantage of the underlining; I can tack to the lining without having the stitches visible on the outside.)

My usual method of seam construction is straight-stitch finished with overlocker. In some places, like the skirt side-seams with the pockets, I had to leave the seams open, so I overlocked both sides. Speaking of pockets; I initially put them in the wrong way around. So I had to cut them out and put them back the right way around. Silly mistake, and reminds me to not sew when I'm tired.

Other than that my skirt is 62cm long measured from the waist seam. The ties don't want to lay flat and keep compacting, and there seems to be a bit extra fabric in the body, but I figure that's part of the pattern. I am glad I spent so much time working on getting the fit just so, because this really is a very comfortable dress to wear. (Like it was made for me or something :P )

( Here are some shots of the inside of the dress )

Okay, that's that. *dusts off hands*

I'd like to introduce you to a new member of staff here at chebe studios, her name is Felicity.
( Meet Felicity )

Speaking of which, I'd like to talk about what Felicity is wearing today. The top is simply an old RTW vest-top I bought years and years ago. The bottoms however, are my first attempt at making the knickers from Colette's Nutmeg (#1011).
( Adventures in sewing )

You may have noticed a certain lack of posting around here lately. I have no excuses, last week I used the remainder of my free time to meet up with assorted friends.

Then, on Saturday morning, I slipped, wet runners on painted concrete stairs. I fell, feet first, only about three/four steps, and I'm extremely lucky that I was wearing my backpack properly; it acted as a buffer, protecting my back from the steps, and actually keeping my upper body upright. But, it had the side-effect of channelling the entire force right down my back, to the ass that I landed on. Again, luckily, I'm well padded in that area, so no major damage was done. But consider this; the force was such that when my coat caught against my ribcage the button ripped out and went flying across the stairwell. This isn't to gain sympathy, it's by way of trying to explain how badly I bruised my tail-bone. I can stand fine, I can lay on my side dandy. I cannot sit. Not without pain, and great pain if I shift in just the wrong way.

Which means any activity that involves sitting has been shunned. Which, sadly, is most crafting, especially use of the sewing machine. Then, college started back. The days are long, the workload intense. And all that sitting is so enjoyable! I'm sorry to say large crafting projects will have to take a back-seat for now.

Speaking of which; I haven't forgotten about the Crepe, as much as you'd hoped I had. But limited as I have been, I've had to resort to research. *gasp*

Just what is the bodice supposed to look like anyway?! Unlike the other Colette patterns there aren't any pictures of the Crepe in their Gallery. So I resorted to going back through the blog. It's a pleasant read if you find yourself with time that needs filling. And I came across the post about the Crepe, with nice large images. Is it just me, or does that second picture, the close up of the bodice, have the very same dimpled darts I was complaining about?

Unconvinced that they should be this way I found pictures of a vintage dress with very similar dart arrangement. This bodice seems slightly more fitted, and lacks the dart dimples. But the waist darts don't extend as high as mine either. A quandary! Could it be that the pattern is actually drafted to be not only a bit baggy (understandable in a wrap), but also to have those unflattering darts? And, steady yourselves, was it intentional?

Dear readers (seriously, still reading?), I don't know what to do. If the pattern is drafted that way I'll have to alter the side-seams to take out some of the extra fabric, but that could have undesirable consequences. I have to say, I prefer the flatter, more fitted vintage bodice. Which do you prefer?

Firstly, thank you, all of you who voted to help me choose a fabric for my wrap-ties. In the end, much like myself, you all were torn, fairly equally among the Navy Spots, Los Muertos, and Pirate Skulls. In face of such a deadlock I had no choice, but to involve The Mother. The Mother has many years experience working in fashion, and has declared that things should be kept simple. She has voted for the Plain Black fabric. It also turns out that The Mother has a magical veto power, previously unrealised.

I'm still not sure, but on the plus side, I get to keep those other gorgeous fabrics for other tops and skirts! Have cake, and eat it too? What a strange feeling.