Upcycling to Reuse a pretty Rayon!

 

I made a couple of items in August, and cleaned my sewing room a bit. But I really did take a bit of a break! So here is the first thing I made last month. PatternReview was having an upcycling contest, and I had lots of ideas for complicated projects that would be really cool... but what I really needed was a light summer top. 

And, I had this old McCalls 7115 dress that I made way back in 2016 -- never wore it, but saved it because the fabric was so lovely, and had good memories attached. I bought this at my first PatternReview weekend in Chicago, and so really wanted to reuse it. I thought that I'd waited long enough so I found a top pattern in the stash that would fit onto the odd shaped pieces of the unpicked dress and just went for it. 

I chose Simplicity 2147, an easy pattern that I've had in the stash for a long time. It's a yoked top, which means I could fit it onto my fabric. It also has a nice pleat detail at the yoke, even if it's kind of hidden in this print. It does make the fit quite nice, though. 

I laid out the pleated part of the top on my remnant skirt & both front and back fit widthwise -- I just made the top the length of that original skirt & used the existing hem. It's a bit shorter than the "tunic or minidress" description of the pattern, but as I am also quite short, it's not that different! 

I cut the yoke from the dress bodice & so had to incorporate the button placket from the dress into the front yoke. After I finished I decided to stitch on 2 buttons from the dress to give it a little extra touch. They are nonfunctional.

So while I didn't get around to a complicated upcycle, I am very pleased with this one. It was great to finally reuse this dress, and I have worn this top three times since I finished it. It's light and comfortable, and I feel pleased that I finally made something from the disappointing dress. There are a couple of other items in my stash which could probably use the same treatment. Maybe I'll upcycle something else soon! 

Hinterland #1

Well I made up my first Hinterland Dress, after much pattern fiddling & two muslins (two more than I usually do!) I had to make a lot of changes to this one for a variety of reasons. 

First I had to make a small bust adjustment, as this pattern is designed for a C cup. This was the first time I've actually gone to the trouble to do it, and I'm glad I did, it really worked out. Because of the size differential, this adjustment actually got rid of the bust dart entirely. 

I also added a 1/4" neckline dart (something I often do) and then had to take in a 1" dart on each back shoulder. It was a lot! But the back neckline still wasn't sitting quite right, so after reading a bunch of online reviews both on IG and in the blog world, I adjusted the shoulder slope. When I change the shoulder in a pattern, it's usually to take up the outer edge of (usually) just the right shoulder. But here I took 1/2" up from the NECK edge, tapering out to nothing by the shoulder seam. This was unusual for me, but it really worked. After that the bodice seemed to fit quite well. And so I went ahead with a wearable muslin! 

The changes I made to this particular dress were to lengthen the pocket bag so that I could anchor it into the waist seam - that reduces floppiness, which is great. I used an old rayon from my stash that I'm not overly attached to, so that I wouldn't balk at making mistakes! 

There are still a couple of things I would like to adjust with this pattern. First, the front neckline does gape a bit -- I hope I didn't stretch it out (staystitched it right after cutting but...) but thinking it might need to be adjusted by another 1/4" dart. I often have to take up to 1/2" out of the centre front so this doesn't surprise me terribly. 

The other change is that the waistline, after all my adjustments, is too hi-low for my tastes. I like the height of the front waistline, but then it dips down quite a bit to the side seams and across the back, and I'm not fond of that. I am going to straighten out the waistline to the length of the front bodice all around, and then make another to see if all these adjustments do the trick.

I don't usually spend so much time on fitting a simple dress like this. However, I bought the Creative Hinterland design course, so want to get the fit perfect so that I can begin on the design options and know any issues I'm having are from my redrafting and not the original I've begun on ! 

In any case, this is quite a wearable, light summer dress and I'm sure I will get some use out of it. It was a challenge but I'm happy I followed through on it. 

"Vintage" 90s Sarong Dress in Rayon

My Spring project for Fabricville has arrived! I was excited about this one -- this "vintage" 90s McCalls 8501 was so appealing, and then I found the perfect fabric option. This is a beautiful rayon-nylon blend, in my favourite blue and yellow colourway. 

As part of being a Fabricville blogger, I can choose a pattern and fabric and only have to share it on their blog. But you know I'm going to tell you about it too! 

This is called a "3 Hour Pattern". I find that was a thing I saw often on patterns from the 80s & 90s -- overpromising to get people to buy a pattern ;) That's 3 hours of sewing time, not the careful cutting part. And probably only 3 hours if you're a quick sewist, as I am not. 

But it wasn't too complicated. A front, back and overlay, plus a little tie piece and a neck binding. I of course overcomplicated things by trying to add pockets! But I can't imagine a summer dress without any. It was a bit fiddly to figure out where to attach the pocket bags, somehow that overlay confused me a bit. But it was worth the time.

This fabric is 90% rayon, 10% nylon, and that makes the hand a little different; it's not a challis, it's easier to handle than that. And I really like the way it drapes, too. The front has an overlay that is sewn into the side seam and then ties at the side with another little tie that you sew into the opposite side. Quite secure. 

The changes I made to the pattern:

• Shortened the body above the waist by 3/4"
• Lengthened the bottom hem by 1" (a bit tricky with those curves)
• Added side seam pockets

Isn't it strange to call something from the 90s vintage? I don't feel like it was that long ago. Maybe if you lived through the era, it's not vintage to you! In any case, this is a light summer dress that I know I'll wear this year, vintage or not :)

The Last of the Summer Roses: an 80s pattern

While I was taking a blog break, I did a bit of sewing. Not a huge amount, but I made a couple of summer dresses to add to my closet. The first one was this 1987 McCalls 3220, a pattern I thrifted a while back. 

The very trim dress is hiding on the pattern cover, you only see past the boxy dull jacket when you look at the line drawings. This kind of simple silhouette is one of my faves, especially the cut on drop sleeve, so I grabbed some rayon from the stash to try it out. I've had this fabric for a few years but heard that roses were in fashion again this summer so thought I'd better use it ;) 

This was quite an easy make. I had to make a few length adjustments, and I cut it at 14/16/18 like usual, which gives me most of the circumference adjustments that I need. The bodice and skirt are cut separately and an elastic casing added at the waistline. There is a back slit at the neckine but I find I can pull this over my head if I'm careful so may leave it off next time and just lower the neckline slightly. 

There are pockets, of course! This fabric is so soft and lovely to wear, and I really like the way it fits. It doesn't pull in any part of the dress, and yet covers the underarm area well so there is no bra flashing.

I like this length, and may just have to make this one again with more old rayon in the stash. It works well under a jacket as well, although a few wrinkles may appear at the shoulder. Even though I'm not as keen on florals as I used to be, the strong colours and larger print do it for me here. 

Anyhow, very pleased with this one. I really do love 80s patterns! And I finally got to take some pictures at a location I've been meaning to use for a while, the entrance to Upper Queen's park, near the theatre, where some old cast iron dogs were installed many, many years ago. They used to grace the entrance to a grand home belonging to a local doctor - you can find the story on the fascinating StreetsOfStratford.ca if you're interested in that kind of thing! 

Style 4037, Take Two

I first made a dress from Style 4037 in 2018. I wear it constantly - I think it's my favourite dress! It's comfortable, summery and I feel good in it. 

So when I was trying to think what to make with this precious fabric I won from Minerva in a contest, I decided to remake this dress. 

I love the print and it's uneven enough that I didn't have to worry too much about matching it up across the bodice seams or on the patch pockets. It's a flowy rayon, although this Minerva exclusive print is also available in other substrates (I'm eyeing some linen...). 

I always like a square neckline, and it suits this print well. I made this version longer than my first one, partly because longer skirts are in vogue currently, and partly because I love the flow of this fabric around my legs! 

There were not supposed to be any difficulties with this one; I made it the same as my last one, taking in a 1/2" at the front neckline and reducing the fullness of the back skirt by half. But it was a bit of a comedy of errors: the bodice was far too narrow, even though I thought I had cut it exactly the same as my last (perfectly fitting) dress from this pattern. I didn't want to waste my fabric so I inserted a 2" band in the centre back - due to the print it doesn't look like an insertion at all, thankfully! Then I stitched the bodice to the gathered skirt backwards, and since I didn't think patch pockets on my behind would be much use, I unpicked it and tried again! 

But I finally finished it and really love it. It took me a while to finish  - I cut it out and then stalled on it, due to my slowed down sewjo and also due to being distracted by clearing out my pattern stash (it had to be done!) And mistakes while sewing always make me put it aside for a bit, too. 

But the pattern is pretty easy if you don't make silly mistakes! I have been repeating patterns this summer as a way to get my sewjo going again. But after a couple of these easier projects, and a look through my entire pattern stash, I'm starting to feel like I want to sew more regularly again. I will still need to go through both my fabric stash and my current wardrobe to streamline those as well, and then I think I'll feel more on top of what to sew next. 

Do you ever feel stifled by just having too much and not knowing what to do next? I really want to be intentional about purchasing, making and wearing so that I don't get myself into these bouts of analysis paralysis! The good thing is that I absolutely love this fabric, and am so happy that I've made it up with a pattern I also know I love. 

Patch pockets on the front!

And Lacey Makes Three

To recover from my missing sewjo in June I decided to make a pattern I've made twice before, the Lacey Dress by Style Arc. This is a great pattern to use with stripes, and it's also a nice loose summer dress to wear on hot days.

I had some rayon that I bought at a PatternReview weekend in Chicago in 2016 so it was time to use it! I really like the print but I do find the colours a bit duller than I'd remembered; the pale blue with red gives a mauve-y feel to the dress as a whole. Not sure I completely love it - but it is comfy! 

Because I've made it twice before I just cut without worrying about any pattern alterations. I cut the central bodice pieces with the stripe horizontal, and the outer sleeve and skirt with vertical lines. But I was challenging myself to see if I could sew it all together in 3 hours like a Great British Sewing Bee challenge -- I just made it -- but just like with the timed challenges on the Bee, there are therefore mistakes. I think I will take the skirt off and resew it more neatly and evenly. You can't really see it in the photos (or probably in real life much) but the waist seam is uneven, it's higher in the front, and it's driving me nuts! The problem with rayon that likes to shift and stretch... 

I wore it to work this week on a very warm day and it was cool and airy to wear. I stopped to take photos in the rose garden in the churchyard that I cut through on my way to work; it matches with the dress nicely! It certainly was quick and stress free making a pattern that I was already familiar with, but I have to remember the maxim, Haste Makes Waste, and not try to compete with Sewing Bee timing ;) 

An Oxford Dress for the Literary Sewing Circle

It's time for me to share my project for this round of the Literary Sewing Circle! I considered many things, including patterns that I already owned and plan on making someday. But I couldn't get the Oxford Dress by Treize Cocquelicot out of my mind, after sharing it in our first inspiration post. So I went for it! 

I used some watery print rayon from my stash - I have had it for a long time so was pleased to use it. I only had 2.5 m however, so had to make the short sleeve version. I intend to make the puffed and cuffed longer sleeve another time! This view worked really well with the short sleeve, however, as the rayon challis is very soft and probably wouldn't hold the shape of the puffed sleeve anyhow. 

My alterations were very minimal. I added 1" to the skirt length, graded it from 42 at neck to 44 at waist, and added pockets. I didn't have enough fabric left for four pocket bags, so I pieced together the largest scraps I had and cut the pockets from those bits. The skirt is so full there was no need to worry about seams showing through. This is all I have left from my 2.5 m! 

I stitched the top of the pocket bags into the waist seam to anchor them and this seems to have worked well. I changed a few things in the construction as well - the bodice is lined, and you are supposed to sew the main piece to the skirt then hand stitch down the lining over that seam, for a beautiful clean finish. I just sewed it all together as one and zigzag finished the seam, pressing up to the bodice. There is a slit at the back neck so you can get this over your head, and instead of making a thread loop I sewed a little elastic loop into the opening edge. The pattern suggests this as well as a few more ideas for that area.

The only unusual things about this pattern come from the translation, mainly. The back button loop is called a "flange" but she means the button loop. Also, it's important to note that the sleeve notches are the reverse of English patterns; the front notch is a double notch, and the back one is single. I made a special note on the pattern pieces when I traced them so I would not forget this! 

Overall this was a quick and uncomplicated project. I really like the floatiness of the rayon and it's a cute basic summer dress. While I was sewing I was worrying that the bodice looked quite small but it isn't, it fit just right according to the size I cut corresponding to my measurements (which is generally 42/44 just like Burda). The pattern runs from 32-48 in European sizes so it is fairly limited, unfortunately, as it's a really lovely design. 

I enjoyed making this Oxford Dress from a print reminiscent of the river, or maybe Colonel Mering's fishpond! I hope you have all enjoyed reading and found a fun project to make as well. 

Fresco Blouse in Cobalt Blue

I put the Fresco Blouse by Studio Calicot onto my MakeNine list in 2023 so it was time to finally make this pretty pattern! With the additional impetus of the #SewAprilBlouse24 challenge on Instagram, I got it finished just before the end of the April -- the evening of the 30th to be exact ;) 

I really like it -- I decided to use this cobalt rayon from my stash as it is very fl9uid. It was the perfect weight for this flowy pattern. This is quite an easy pattern, except for the fabric handling when you are using a slippery rayon challis. There is a front and back piece, a neckline tie, and a shoulder placket for buttons so you can get it over your head. It all went together very nicely; just remember to turn your necktie piece right side out before you sew it on...

It is a soft, roomy, and pretty top. I might shorten it a bit as I am pretty short and I'm not sure I like it ending at the widest part of my hip. However, I am going to try it tucked it with a couple of skirts and see if I like it that way. If not, I think I'll take another inch off the length. 

The shoulder button placket takes 2 small buttons, just enough to give you room to slip it over your head. The tie takes a little finagling to get right, as you want it to fall nicely. But it's a relatively quick make and certainly a comfortable wear. I like the 80s aesthetic of a lot of her designs and this one is easy and fun. Very pleased that I finally made a version of this!