Amish Wedding - Take 3

 In the past several years, we've made friends with several Amish families in our community. And being invited to attend a wedding is kind of a big deal. For the first 2 weddings we went to, I was given a sample of brides fabric to make something to wear. For this one, I bought fabric and made the Vali Dress by Pattern Fantastique

I had made a shirt version last fall, which I love. But that also let me figure out the tricky construction of this bodice.

I bought 4 yards of a navy tonal poly fabric. I used my favorite pocket construction vs. the weirdly cut on pockets in the pattern. 

And because I had made it before, I knew from the top version what changes I wanted to make to the dress. 

Last year I started keeping a notebook of my sewing.  It's the first thing I've really stuck with and I'm glad I did, because my alteration notes are there.  

They say that I added 2" to the skirt length.  I was aiming for maxi and clearly hit midi, which is okay.  I cut a size 20 yoke, but then I cut the 26 sleeve and skirt.  I also put the skirt 2" off the fold for even more room.  What this essentially did was give me more gathers at the top of the sleeve and center front of the skirt.

This is a fun, flowy dress that definitely needs accessories to break it up. While I love how it looks on others, it's honestly not my favorite. All of that being said, this was the perfect dress to wear to an Amish wedding and I received a ton of compliments.

Pictures:  Carolyn from Diary of a Sewing Fanatic

Fabric: Poly something from Belmont Fabric, $6/yard. I had 4 yards

Pattern:  Vali Dress

Sewn:  January 2024

Grainline Myra

 I don't even remember when I 'applied' to be a Grainline tester. But I will admit to being very surprised when I received an email asking if I was interested with the line drawing attached.

 I was hooked as soon as I saw the back detail and that incredibly interesting back yoke shape.

 I feel so honored to have been chosen to be on the testing team for the new Grainline Myra. It was my first time testing for Grainline and I hope it won't be my last.

 From Grainline's website: 

Myra is a sophisticated slip dress and top with angled seam detailing, a square neckline, and spaghetti straps.  Dress Myra up or down with your fabric choice, and select from three length options to make a Myra that's perfect for any occasion.  

 Myra calls for light to medium woven fabrics and I used a fairly lightweight stretch poplin from FabricMart. The fabric was part of my dryer stash, that I'm trying to work through.

The first thing I did was send the pattern file to LaQuana for printing.  I don't need to start a test with problems of my own creating. Q's shop is called BlueCupShop on etsy and she's quick and reasonable. She also reached out to ask questions when I've sent a file that's 6 pages to see if I really need to the B cup files! I appreciate that! 

 After referring to my project notebook that I am being religious about keeping in 2023, I can tell you that I made the following alterations, to fit me:

• traced a size 18 at the bust graded to 20 at the hip;
• added 2" to the length;
• cut 4 straps so they were wide, the pattern has skinny straps
• raised the side slits by 3"
• added inseam pockets
• removed 3 1/2" from the strap length, although I might have been a bit aggressive with shortening the straps.

This dress was an easy sew with a unique look. That lovely back yoke creates a really interesting back view.

And I don't even have back fat pushing out of the top of my dress! And I don't need more room in the back, I'm not standing up straight, I have one hip hitched to the side :)

 Myra feels like the sheath dress I've been trying to make forever! I have plans for more. I have a lovely burnt orange linen to make a version for my solids loving daughter and I have enough of this floral left to make the top version.

 Because I added length, I also increased the length of the side slits. Myra has slits on both side seams. If she wasn't so long, you could alternatively leave a slit in the center back seam.

 

Myra feels like all sass! At least in this bright floral version.

 Finally, in the interest of full disclosure. I should tell you that I've gifted this version to my solids loving daughter. And that I took all my own photos for this blog post.

Donny Dress Hack

 As so many of my projects do, I was inspired by a dress I saw on Instragram.  This time it was thats.sew.sandy - and she hacked the Friday Pattern Co. Donny Shirt into a dress.  Yep!  I can totally get behind that. I waiting until FPC had their sale and then sent the pattern off to Blue Cup Shop for printing. 

 I'm not sure what I was working on when the pattern arrived, but I didn't get to it right away.  Although I did pull fabric and put it with the pattern immediately.

 The fabric is a poly cotton, mostly cotton based on the wrinkling, that I most likely got at an Amish shop. There was no identifiers on the fabric.  I've been 'collecting' gingham and plaid for about 18 months now, and I thought this would be a great Summer dress. 

 It wasn't until I was cutting, that I realized the plaid was uneven and it took a lot more brain power to match the stripes across the center front.  If you look close, you'll see I came close, but it's not quite right.  But who's looking that close?!

 I also knew I wanted to add piping. I didn't have enough small cording in my collection, so I made a quick trip to Cedar Lane and bought 10 yards of piping, which I took apart for the cord.  I pulled a green polka dot cotton from the closet and used that.  It matches the green in the stripes perfectly.

I traced the size XL and made all my "standard" adjustments, which is a 3/4" sway back adjustment. I traced the pattern with a 7" finished side seam for the bodice and I think it's the perfect place for the waist to hit me. For future makes, I'll add about an inch to the center front so that seam hangs even.

 

I took great pains to match the plaid at the side seams and added a bias cut panel on the back pocket piece. 

 The skirt is just 2 lengths of fabric gathered into the waist.  Pockets added to the front. Oh, I don't know what I was thinking, but I originally cut the skirt pieces at 37". I mean, how tall do I think I am?!  Of course the inspo dress was more tea length than knee, but . . . 

 I'm curious, do you consider adding a gathered rectangle to a shirt pattern a hack? I'd love to know what you think a hack is.  

Saved By A Friend

 Actually, this entire dress is thanks to a friend.  

I had a very pretty piece of green linen in my fabric closet.  I didn't remember where it came from when I originally pulled it.  Because, honestly, for years I was *afraid* of linen.  

I love my first linen hope so much, that I decided to make another.  I asked Carolyn which piece of fabric I should use and she suggested one that I wasn't quite ready to sew up.  So, I pulled this beautiful piece from the shelve.

But here's where everything went sideways.  I have this really bad habit of cutting out just the bodice and then setting it aside.  Then when I'm ready to start, I'll construct the bodice and figure out how long the skirt can be when I get there.

Well, once I got started on it, there wasn't enough fabric for a skirt of any length at all!  OH No! At this point, I sent some photos to Carolyn (which is a pretty regular part of any garment I'm making) and she commented, 'You're using my fabric!' Well, that answered the where the fabric came from.  Carolyn most likely gifted it to me to convince me to use linen.

I asked if she had more, and she did.  It was a piece where she had to purchase lots and had given away 3 yard pieces.  Way back in December, I took a day when I wasn't busy and I drove out to visit with her.  The visit was the reason for the day trip to New Jersey and the rest of the fabric was a bonus!

There are really no changes to this dress.  I had previously lowered the neckline and for this version I added inch wide elastic in the sleeve hems.

And that's about all there is to say about this Style Arc Hope Woven Dress.  The pattern is a gem.  If you haven't made it, you really should consider it!

Gingham Anyone?

 If you've made McCall's 7969, there's a good chance you've made it out of gingham.  I mean, I see many gingham versions when I scroll the hashtag on instagram.  And ever since retiring my all time favorite gingham ESP dress, I've needed a new gingham dress in my life. So, it was a no brainer to make another #M7969, just like the first.

The only thing I did different in this dress was to add pockets.  And omit a snap at the cross-over front, but I think I'm gonna add that. 

For the hem on this one, I cut 4" wide bias strips from the scraps.  I sewed them all together. Then, I sewed the bottom of the dress and the bias strip together, with the right side of the bias against the wrong side of the dress.  This was the seam was enclosed.  Sewed, serged, pressed and then top stitched the top of the band down.  I also stitched around the bottom. 

This dress is soo easy to wear.  I bought the fabric at Belmont Fabrics.  It was in their precut section and it's a poly blend of some sort, but it managed to stay cool in the heat and humidity of our corner of Pennyslvania.

Carolyn and I both wore McCalls 7969 when we took a roadtrip up to see Julie at FabricMart.  Isn't it great how different fabrics make the same pattern so unique? 

Seriously, find yourself a friend like Carolyn to take your photos.  I promise you won't be made about it. 

Have you made McCall's 7969 yet?  If not, what's stopping you?