The Gathered Dress in Double Gauze

Each summer, I seem to have a favourite dress pattern which I end up making multiple versions of.  This year, it's The Gathered Dress by Avid Seamstress.  I've made three, this is number two:  short sleeved option and in Nani Iro double gauze.

It's a little crumpled from lots of wear!  It's a great style for a heatwave: loose, but still fitted at the shoulder and with a little back shaping to avoid the sack look.  The sleeves are on the longish side for short sleeves and stop at a flattering place, low on the upper arm. They also help protect against sunburn but I could imagine a cooler version would be a shorter angled sleeve.  Any changes made to the pattern were mentioned here, sleeves were unchanged.  

The double gauze has less drape than the linen I used for the long sleeve version but enough body to cope with the pockets and is of course, nice and airy to wear.  The print is Sen Ritsu and has been in my stash for a long time, years even.  I picked up a great tip from Cheryl of Sewstitchybee. She suggested holding a neck facing in place by adding a label on the back neck facing and stitching through all the layers.  I find labels scratchy so I used some of the fabric selvedge and it works really well!  Great tip. Another Gathered Dress coming up soon...

Merchant & Mills Camber Dress in Nani Iro Double Gauze

September sun, when it actually emerges, gives the best light!  These photos were taken by my daughter this morning, no adjustments needed as the colours are singing and dancing.  I made this Camber dress (by Merchant & Mills) at the start of the month with some Nani Iro double gauze in a gorgeous blue from Eternal Maker that has been waiting for its destiny for over a year! I didn't have sufficient for a standard layout with the pattern piece grainlines following the selvedges so I had to go rogue; the back below the bodice was placed perpendicular to the selvedge with no ill effects and I used all of the 1.5m length, only tiny scraps remained.

Making Notes:

I made a size 8 and a toile first so this dress was made with the following alterations based on 33" bust, 27" waist, 36" hip:

• Lengthened the bust dart to be the equivalent of size 6 and altered the sides accordingly so the point meets the size 8 dart markings at the side seam.
• Reduced the front and back bodice pieces and back yoke at the centre fold mark by 1/2" on each piece- the width was too wide for me and my apex to apex measurement is narrow at 7". I adjusted the neckline so it remained the same, so the shoulder seam width is reduced a little at the neckline front and back. This is a significant reduction of 2" around the garment so creates a more fitted look than the original style.
• I reduced the side seams from below the armhole to a maximum of 3/4" at the waist and blended into the hip line (hipline reduced by 1/4")
• I reduced the A-line side seams from hip to hem so they were a straight diagonal rather than curving outward.

The neckline and back yoke construction is particularly neat. Bias binding finishes the front neckline and a clever bit of seam work over the shoulders means everything is covered and stabilised by the back bodice.  The neckline is quite high but that's fine by me and it would be easy to lower, just allow a longer piece of bias binding, I used a scrap of Liberty lawn.

It's a great pattern to showcase a beautiful print with minimal interruptions.  The dress is fitted enough to feel flattering and loose enough for comfort. The photos below show the moment where Lottie, our dog, joined in on the photo shoot, hence the facial expressions!

I found the same Nani Iro double gauze Fuccra: Rakuen print here  with more options here and in the UK, here.

Soft Sole clogs are from Lotta from Stockholm, these sometimes come up as seconds too.

Camber Set - top and dress pattern is available at The Draper's Daughter and Village Haberdashery.

I'm really happy with the finished dress and it's a great basis for tops too - it's going to be a much used pattern!

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Factory Shirt in Nani Iro Pon Pocho: With High Round Back Adjustment

I have a back-log of projects to share dating back from the last couple of months and I'm off my usual day job for a two week break with lots of sewing work to catch up on  so I'd better get on with it.

I made a couple of Merchant and Mills Factory dresses over the summer- see here and here- and I modified the pattern from the start.  They were much worn and I could see the potential for a top using this pattern so after finding this Nani Iro Pon Pocho on sale during the summer at The Draper's Daughter I bought 1.5 metres and got planning.   I love the relaxed fit of my dresses- loose but not baggy or sack like, and I especially liked the drop shoulder detail which means that you can sew your sleeve in flat- so easy, who doesn't like that?  Setting sleeves in is always tricky!

I had a minor fit issue with my dresses; the front neck was pulling slightly to the back which after a little consultation with Fit for Real People- which I've found to be excellent on all fit issues that I've had- I found diagnosed as high round back .  I followed their instruction and added extra space to the upper back bodice to allow for rounding of the shoulders and back. I blame age, computers and sewing for this- all hard to avoid!  

High round back alteration is easy adjustment to make which basically adds a long narrow wedge to the back to accommodate the rounding.   I've annotated the photo to make it clear what had been added. It involves drawing a line from centre back and stopping at the seam allowance of the shoulder area.   I wasn't exactly sure where to put my line and this time it was quite high- I would go a little lower for a closer fitting top.  Cut along the line stopping at the seam to create a hinge.  Place a piece of pattern paper underneath and open out at the centre back around ¼" to ⅜".  On this I knew I only needed a little.  For other patterns I've made I would add ⅜"- I judge this by how much I feel I want to pull the top bodice forward at the collar when I wear it.  The top part of the centre back needs a minor truing up to keep that line straight.  That little fillet of paper creates just a little more room and gave me a great fit.

For other alterations, I used top patterns that I like the length and fit on so Tova and Carme to draft the waist width and hem length and Kanerva for the sleeves- I used the existing short sleeve pattern from the Factory dress, added length and narrowed it.  The cuff is finished with a cross cut binding. 

As with the dresses, I used David Paige Coffin's Shirtmaking book which I guess was reprinted as it has gone from being unaffordable and hard-to-find to being easily available and I finally got a copy of my own.  The only difference was with this collar, I used light fusible interfacing - Perfect Fuse in Sheer - on both collar and under collar to keep the double gauze under control - it frays very easily.  The placket, under collar and stand facing are from a fat 1/8th of Liberty lawn- it's amazing how a little piece of fabric like that can do all those jobs!  I squeezed this out of my 1.5m with nothing left, only the smallest scraps!  I am very pleased with the result.  It's a casual comfortable, warm top and it works well with my charcoal Fumeterre skirt.  It's easy to pull off and on over my head and the colour and print is uplifting to wear on days when I want to be more practical and keep warm!  I aways like to keep things simple with big prints and strong colours and this style offers a lot of potential for more simple tops with options like a lower neck and a rounded collar.  Thank you to my daughter as ever for her photos- she knows exactly what I want without me even saying. x

June at Eternal Maker

Time for my June visit to Eternal Maker.  Anna is  just swapping the website to a new system so some new arrivals aren't online yet but will be in the next week or so and you can catch pictures of the newest stock on the shops Instagram feed, @eternalmaker and email to buy and they will send you a Paypal invoice.  There's a 20% discount on last-chance-to-buy bolt ends on the website right now- this pic is borrowed from @eternalmaker IG feed.

Meanwhile plenty of goodies have arrived and are listed online and ready to buy.  Summer is the perfect time for double gauze.  This Kokka Anchor double gauze is a lovely print and from the spread of the dots, it looks like it is almost a border print. 

Naomi Ito of Nani Iro is the queen of double gauze.  Frances of Miss Matabi has an interview with her here which is a fascinating read and the first which has been translated into English.  I think this Bird's Eye print in cream multi is from her most recent Spring 15 collection.

Mountain Views is another of Naomi Ito's most recent Nani Iro prints.  You can see a whole width of fabric view of it here.  They really are breathtakingly beautiful fabrics.

Scattered Flower spot by Muddy Works, another Japanese double gauze fabric from Kokka, is a muted pattern and colour with a delicate quality.  I really like this, it looks so wearable.

Cosmo tex 'Bears with Brollies' is a typical Eternal Maker fabric, a Japanese linen blend with a quirky animal print!

Also available in blue:

There's a great cotton canvas print from Kokka, perfect for children- I am imagining this making drawstring gym bags.  The wonderfully named 'Boom! Pow! Pop!'

Another slightly heavier weight fabric is this Cocoland Musical Cats.  It's printed on Oxford cotton which is lighter than canvas but heavier than usual quilting cotton, a bit like heavy shirt fabric.  Also available as a cat only option!

There are some new knit fabric additions.  I love Tasha Noel's Vintage Market Floral Jersey, the first time I've seen Riley Blake produce knit/jersey fabric.

Its a 95% cotton 5% spandex blend (like Art Gallery jersey) and a wide width at 150cm.  I think the colour in real life is a little more minty than this photo which leans towards an aqua turquoise. 

Lillestoff is well known Scandinavian manufacturer of excellent quality jersey fabrics, often found in  Europe although in the UK so much.  This Hedgehog print jersey is cute with an imaginative colour palette.  It's a 95% cotton 5% elastane mix and 150cm wide.

For all Heather Ross fans, Tiger Lily is available for pre-order and there is lawn weight cotton as well as the usual quilting weight.  Some of my favourites include 'Cats on Grids'...

Roses in Blush

Enjoy all the fabric pretties!

I Love Nani Iro Month: En Garden Factory Dress

My heart leapt when I received an email from Frances of Miss Matabi a few weeks ago asking if I would like to take part in her wonderful Nani Iro month of projects and gorgeous fabrics.  I couldn't write my response fast enough and within a short time, my fabric choice, En Garden Ki double gauze arrived.  It is an amazing colour, a green that matches my cutting board.  I am a big fan of green.

I didn't have an immediate idea of what I wanted to make.  I knew it would be a dress and I wanted it to be simple- avoiding zips, buttonholes or fiddly fastenings and making the most of the gorgeous print.   Sewing with double gauze reminds me a little of pastry baking: it needs minimal handling.  Not sure if it needs cold fingers too but you catch my drift.  After some dithering, I settled on the Merchant and Mills Factory Dress pattern but with some changes. The double gauze En Garden fabric definitely needed a prewash; it turned colour catcher jade green.

I sketched out my ideas in a Fashionary- a sketch book with the body 'croquis' already lightly printed on the paper.  I don't usually do this but it did help get my head around a few style variations.  I did my usual internet research to see what others had done with the dress.  Most people make it up in a neutral high quality fabric like a yarn dyed linen chambray or a light denim which looks lovely but for me it is a little like the sewing room with white walls and a single sewing machine on an empty white table- a dream that is never going to happen.  I like pattern, it lifts my spirit in the way plainer fabrics rarely can.     I find the revere collar style of the factory dress a little reminiscent of school uniform and games kit and prefer a collar with stand, so with a library copy of David Paige Coffin's wonderful tome, 'Shirt Making' I set about drafting a two coloured tower placket, a collar stand and a collar.  The benefit of using a placket is that the front piece is cut out of one piece of fabric and maintains the design.  I made a test garment first from some pretty but poor quality cotton found at a car boot sale and I was glad I did, it allowed me to make many mistakes and master the technique!

I used the Deer and Doe Bleuet collar and stand pattern pieces as a stating point and adapted the size to fit the existing neckline of the factory dress.  The front placket with point was in the book and I changed the length of the placket and kept everything else the same.   My contrasting fabric was some Oakshott cotton; the colour is discontinued but you can find similar here.  I added Perfect Fuse sheer tricot fusible interfacing to the placket, mainly to keep the edges stable on the double gauze section.  

Here are the other making stats.

• Cut size 8 Factory Dress pattern and on reduced the bodice sides and waist by a total of 4"-an average of 1" on each side edge.   Repeated on the skirt pieces.  On the front skirt I took the inch from the centre top of the waist and kept the bottom half the same, grading the outside seam line.
• Pattern used 2.5 metres of 110cm fabric.
• Contrast fabric for stand up collar, part of the placket and the pockets.
• Moved the bust dart points upwards by ¾" inch on each point.
• Top stitched the shoulder seams and sleeve seams.

• Changed the pocket construction so that the top of the pocket was caught in the waist seam rather than having pocket bags flapping around.  I used Christine Haynes Emery Dress pocket pieces and her construction method.
• I added bias binding to the inside of the waist seam to neaten it up and have it smooth against the skin.  It looks a little uneven on the inside but on the outside there is a ¼" topstitching line to keep it in place.

• The collar and stand were interfaced with prepared for dyeing bleach white Kona cotton following a suggestion in 'Shirtmaking'. The interfacing pieces is cut minus the seam allowances and glue basted to the wrong side of the collar and stand.  It is held in place temporarily by the glue and permanently by the top stitching.
• The seams are sewn with Gutermann sew all poly thread but the top stitching was all done with Aurifil 50wt and a very small stitch.  Again a suggestion from 'Shirtmaking'.
• I used a 75 ballpoint needle throughout.  I find ballpoint needles are brilliant for the thin threads and loose weave of double gauze. 
• I added waist ties (pattern pieces from Darling Ranges dress pattern) placed 5" either side of the centre back as even after allowing for loose fit, the back was still baggy.  

• I used seam tape for the hem.

As a finished garment, it is wonderfully comfortable.  Great for hot days and cooler days with a camisole underneath and maybe a hoodie.  A practical pretty dress that can take a day's sewing, a dog walk and time at the beach.  I am wearing it with this year's Saltwater sandals.  I buy a pair each year  and they are another pretty practical part of my wardrobe. The Merchant and Mills pattern is based on 1930s utilitarian factory wear for women of the time but my version has a more 1950s feel.   It reminds me of something my Grandmother used to wear.  Thank you Frances for sending such amazing material, it was an utter pleasure to sew.

Here are links to the other Nani Iro month contributors taking part this month.  If you join in and make anything from Nani Iro, or want to share pictured of your Nani Iro fabric stash, be sure to use the #ilovenaniro hashtag.

Straightgrain   ∆   noodlehead   ∆   Ute

verykerryberry   ∆   Make It Perfect   ∆   Groovy Baby and Mama

A Little Goodness   ∆   SKIRT AS TOP   ∆   Cashmerette

Sew Little   ∆   imagine gnats   ∆   you & mie

SANAE ISHIDA   ∆   Miss Matatabi

And there is a frankly AMAZING giveaway with a big parcel of Nani Iro goodies worth $400 waiting for some extremely lucky person to win. It includes 20 metres of Nani Iro fabric, 6 rolls of bias tape, two signed books by Naomi Ito, sewing patterns and an extra surprise gift from Naomi Ito herself!   I know, my jaw dropped too.  Headover to France's blog and get your entry in, it is too good to miss!

Last of the summer wardrobe

The extended summer has been a joy here and some summer clothes that I made towards the end of August are still seeing lots of wear,  These are both patterns that I've made before, stalwarts if you like, where I have perfected the fit or style to just how I want it.  

Starting with the Belcarra, made like this one and this one.   I used a metre of Nani Iro double gauze Pon Pocho in cream peach.  I did have to do some creative cutting to squeeze it out of such a short length and make the most of the pattern. 

The only change was that I sewed the raglan seams down around ¼" either side of the seam line and I made the sleeve cuff slightly bigger along the long edge and it attaches just that little bit more easily. 

I have made three Belcarra's- and considering it was a pattern that I wasn't especially taken with on first glance, it has been the perfect summer top and uses such a small amount of fabric.  It is especially good to use with an expensive fabric that you can't afford to buy a lot of!

The skirt is my second version of Grains De Couture Opale Maxi from this book.   I made the pockets slightly deeper and did a different zig zag of stitching to hold the front pleats.  The fabric is Oakshott Seasons shot cotton in pink early rose and is currently on sale at Oakshott.  It is the same weight as the Colourshott fabrics and needs a good prewash as some of the colour will be lost on the first couple of washes.  The piping was a scrap of Elements in a very pale pink.  I made my piping using a little fusible hem web rather than sewing it together- I saw this tip somewhere ages ago, makes it all come together a little faster!

Instead of my usual helper, Mindy came in for a few photos.  She is generally pretty camera shy and a bit of an old lady at fifteen, but age has made her increasingly mellow and she still has a kittenish side.

I'm hoping to get a dress sewn by Saturday to wear at the next local sewing meet up, something with a hint of Autumn ...