Denim Look Vogue Dress

Now here's a dress that has been waiting its turn! I first planned to make this dress in thrifted fabric from a thrifted pattern way back in April of 2020. And I have proof that I cut it out in July of 2020 -- but then it sat on the project shelf until now. I thought that 2 years was plenty long enough for it to wait, so got it out and finished it up in August 2022. 

This was an affordable dress; both the pattern (Vogue 9166) and the fabric (denim look but very lightweight cotton) were thrifted. In fact, the most expensive part of this dress was probably the zipper, as I had to buy it full price since somehow I was out of navy zips! The topstitching thread is new but I did buy it in 2020...

I was so eager to get pics in this nice evening light that I forgot I hadn't
pressed the back yet!! It looks better now that it's had an iron ;)

Anyhow, this is a simple fitted dress, with panel seams front and back, and the extra detail of a triple topstitched line at neck and sleeve. I guess that's what makes it Vogue ;) It had no pockets but of course I just used my favourite pocket pattern and added in some side seam pockets. I need functionality! 

The hardest part was getting the curved seams pressed nicely. I pressed them to one side, clipping at the curves to assist them in lying flat. The topstitching, being such a strong contrast, made me nervous, so I practiced a bit on some scraps (which I'd conveniently left with the cut out dress) to get them right before I started on the dress.

I ended up going with a 3.5 length stitch, and reduced the tension slightly. The sleeves went very well but I had some trouble with the start of the neckline rows; it was hard to get them straight with the lumpy zipper seam there as well. It took a lot of patience and some redoing to get it done to my satisfaction.

I'm quite happy with this project and even if it did have to wait two years to get finished, it now works well with my Blue & Yellow sewing plans of this year. This pattern was also fun to make since when I took it out of the envelope, it had been cut out with all my regular size grading already. 

The only thing I had to change was to shorten it an inch above the waist. I guess the original owner was my size doppelganger ;) I had cut it at 16 neck, bust and waist and graded out to 18 from just at the waist to the hip, which was pretty much what the pattern was prepped for. However, there was a shoulder pad allowance that also needed to be removed from the pattern so that it would fit the shoulder without the extra padding. I do think I will take it in a smidge at the bust-to-waist area though. 

Despite those changes and the anxiety of doing so much contrast topstitching, this was a fairly easy and enjoyable project to work on. Glad to have it off the UFO pile & into the closet! 

Full Sunflower stitched up!

This week I am glad to be able to share a completed motif -- I've got the sunflower all stitched up, with the central arc of french knots all done. It was really well planned, with the inner circle a lighter brown and then filled in with dark brown. It gives such a nice variegated effect.

I enjoyed this bit; I think my French knot technique is improving with all this practice. I did do a quick refresh by watching the stitchlong video on the designer's youtube channel again. And it stitched up so quickly that I also put in the little red sprigs behind the flower to complete the motif.

You might also notice something new in these photos -- yes, I feel legit now that I've got an embroidery stand! I bought this little stand for $10 at a church sale just prior to the pandemic but had never taken it out of the box. My husband kindly noticed that I was starting this big project and went and found it, and put it all together for me. It was all still in the shrink wrap packaging, so brand new and VERY useful. I don't know how I worked without it!

In any case, I'm zipping along (by my standards) on this project and am heading to the little purple periwinkle next. I'm getting more invested in seeing this all done up. And it will be nice to work in a different colour next!

Weekend Review: Fashion Manifesto

 

Fashion Manifesto / Sofia Hedstrom
trans. from the Swedish by Sarah Snavely
NY: Skyhorse, 2013, c2011
184 p.

August is Women in Translation Month, and to celebrate here I'll be reviewing fashion titles this month that were originally published in a non-English form. (for lots of fiction in translation, you can also check out my book blog, The Indextrious Reader, during August, too).

I'm starting with this book from my local library. I've looked through a few times over the years, but realized I've never shared it here. It's very much on trend right now, despite being published almost a decade ago. The author, a fashion journalist, decided to set herself a one year shopping ban challenge, after realizing her purchases were taking over her life and her closet, and that she had clothes stored not only in her own apartment, but her parents' home and even in an ex-boyfriend's parent's place. She was super strict about it, not buying anything new at all for a full year, not even shoes or undies. 

She started her challenge on August 1 so the story of her year of no buying is right on track for this week! The book is fascinating; she's a fashion writer so her style is very engaging and lively. The book is laid out very well, with an intro by Vivienne Westwood, well-known for her motto of "Buy Less, Choose Well". There is an intro of how Hedstrom decided on this project, and then a month by month timeline of her experience -- temptations, alterations, her feelings about the challenge and so on. It was interesting to see the initial 'withdrawal' period followed by more confidence about her existing wardrobe and finally the feeling that her shopping addiction was under control. Creativity came to forefront as she put together new combos of outfits, used things in different ways, learned some mending and dyeing techniques, and borrowed from and swapped with friends. 

Her own story is the main focus here, but she also interviewed other people about their sustainable (or 'style-savvy') shopping habits. The middle of the book is the actual Manifesto, laid out like a cool poster that you can copy and sign and post for your own purposes. And the second half of the book is projects with a variety of people she's interviewed, showing how they maintain and refashion their own wardrobes. It's fascinating, ranging from regular clothing to accessories like shoes and hair stuff, including jewellery. There's a nice mix of young and old, men and women, and some diversity though mostly people on the thinner side.

The projects are great as concepts even if the more edgy, punky ones aren't my style at all. But there are ideas for quilting and mending as well as fishnet jeans or leggings made from sock cuffs. It's interesting to see someone who is travelling around to the high pressure fashion weeks, where it is expected that you'll be dressed in the latest, who is able to redo her existing clothes and not stand out as an oddball. She mentions how not giving in to the temptations for all the latest things helped her sense of self as well as her wallet. Overall, this is probably familiar to you if you've paid attention to the "shop less" sustainable movement of the past decade, but this book is well done and fun to read. I enjoyed it and you might too!

Sunflowers for the Stitchalong

This week's stitching on my Peace for Ukraine project is the sunflower - that's where I started in on the florals. It's really lovely; two layers of petals in two tones of yellow, with an outline stitch, and some details in the base of the petals. 

The petals are all done in satin stitch. I started out on the inner petals, carefully filling them in the way that Natalie shows in her stitchalong video. But as I went along I realized I could save a little thread by switching to a stitch I've seen called "Mexican Satin Stitch" (not sure why). Instead of moving your needle up and down across the space you're filling, which essentially gives you full coverage front and back, the adapted stitch has your needle going from top to bottom, then up again right beside where you just went down, and so on. This means the front looks like satin stitch, and the back is a series of little discrete stitches. Much less thread. 

Using this stitch necessitates careful placement of your needle, though, as you don't want gaps in the satin stitch coverage. I found it worked well with this project, and finished up my petals this way. I did find that my coverage on the sides of the petals wasn't as complete as the pattern was; I should have added a few more small stitches to round out each petal. But I think it's good enough and looks great once the outline stitches and the shading details have been added. I really love it!

Next up: more french knots!! What else could you possibly use to fill in the centre of a sunflower. More chance to practice my technique I guess ;) 

Cover Designs! #28: The Night the Lights Went Out

 

Cover Designs is a feature in which I try to match up the outfit on a book cover with a dress pattern and sometimes even potential fabric matches as well. Today's pick, The Night the Lights Went Out, is a great summery suspenseful read.

Summary from the publisher: 

Recently divorced, Merilee Talbot Dunlap moves with her two children to the Atlanta suburb of Sweet Apple, Georgia. It's not her first time starting over, but her efforts at a new beginning aren't helped by an anonymous local blog that dishes about the scandalous events that caused her marriage to fail.

Merilee finds some measure of peace in the cottage she is renting from town matriarch Sugar Prescott. Though stubborn and irascible, Sugar sees something of herself in Merilee--something that allows her to open up about her own colorful past.

Sugar's stories give Merilee a different perspective on the town and its wealthy school moms in their tennis whites and shiny SUVs, and even on her new friendship with Heather Blackford. Merilee is charmed by the glamorous young mother's seemingly perfect life and finds herself drawn into Heather's world.

In a town like Sweet Apple, where sins and secrets are as likely to be found behind the walls of gated mansions as in the dark woods surrounding Merilee's house, appearance is everything. But just how dangerous that deception can be will shock all three women.... 

And just another bit of info from my review for Library Journal!

“With well-developed characters, a strong sense of place, a suspenseful plot, and plenty of Southern axioms sprinkled in, this is a warm and engaging novel by prolific author White.”

—Library Journal

The striking sundress on the cover of this book can be replicated with the Seamwork Parfait. This dress has the wide straps and midriff panel of the cover image so would copy this well! 

Parfait Sundress by Seamwork

The stripe play on the cover image makes this sundress a little extra, too, so you'd want to be sure to find just the right fabric to make a similar outfit. 

This stripe from Lindley General Store has that extra zip in the red bits

Or if you're looking for a brighter contrast, you can try this print from Joann - it's 
a customizable print so you can change the size and repeat to suit you! 

Whichever one you might use, tie a red headscarf on and grab some binoculars to start spying on the neighbours...you'll feel like you are the main character here in no time ;) 

The Peace Piece of my Stitchalong project

As promised, this week I'm getting to the stitching part of  the Peace for Ukraine stitchalong project. After the central heart is painted, the word "Peace" is filled in with french knots. Uh, that's a lot of french knots! 

Fortunately, Natalie has some videos to follow along with, and since I'm a visual learner I find those really helpful. I watched the video on this step of the stitchalong, and also took a peek at her video on french knot technique as a refresher. Some of the knots in my "P" are a bit messy, but by the time I hit "E" the knots were more consistent, and my thumb was also a bit sore, lol. 

This was a good way to get going; lots of repetition and chance to practice a stitch. Also, the meditative nature of simply repeating a stitch gave me lots of time to think about the issues I'm stitching for. Craft is a great way to meditate on important things, and I was doing that here.

 

A suggestion if you are also interested in Peace in Ukraine:

Take a look at the suggested organizations to donate to on Natalie's Stitchalong page

More suggested organizations thanks to Vinok Collective on IG (a great person to follow, too) 

Or, listen to the Ukrainian Spaces podcast while you stitch, which talks to Ukrainians about many different issues, from war & colonialism to language to feminism and more. Really great stuff. 

Weekend Review: Fashion Forward

 

Fashion Forward: Striving for Sustainable Style / Raina Delisle
Victoria, BC: Orcabooks, c2022.
52 p.

This children's book is a colourful and positive introduction to the idea of sustainable fashion for middle schoolers. It's short but covers a lot of ground. 

It has four sections: Dressed to Impress, Fashion's Footprint, Taking Action on Fashion, and Be a Fashion Hero. Each of these sections cover the realities of fast fashion, the peer pressure of trends, environmental and human rights issues with fast fashion, alternatives to buying new and lots of it, history of shopping and production, and more. The book finishes up with some encouraging information on ethical fashion and how to participate in various movements to increase sustainability in the fashion realm. There's even a final page with a few other reading suggestions and lots of websites to check out. 

I think the author has done a good job of covering these complex subjects in short bites appropriate to the age of the targeted readers. The tone is positive and encouraging, and there are lots of suggestions on how to improve on the problems she brings up. The photos are also plentiful, colourful, and feature a diverse range of people. 

As an introduction to these topics, which many younger readers are already talking about, this is a great addition to a library collection alongside other books on fashion and on the climate crisis. I'd definitely suggest it to any younger reader who is a budding fashionista or is involved with a "green" group through their school or community. It's informative but not overly depressing, which is important - we can only change things when there's still some hope there.