Category: shirt dress

Greeting Fall with two Isca Shirt Dresses

Published on by ellegeemakes10 Comments

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Hi all. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted and I hope this finds you well! In September, I took a break from sewing for most of the month. We took a road trip through Yellowstone and the Tetons. During our trip, the hardest worker in my wardrobe was, hands down, my quilted Tamarack Jacket.

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I wore it everywhere, even hiking. The Merchant and Mills quilted cotton was just the right weight for cooler days, but also light and comfortable when it was warm. I hope there’s more of that fabric in my future! The jacket is so comfortable, I’m contemplating making another. (Here’s my previous post on the jacket if you’re interested.)

But on to the Isca Shirtdress by Marilla Walker.

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Before the trip, I decided a longer sleeved linen shirtdress would be a great travel dress. I couldn’t resist downloading the Isca Shirt dress, a pattern by Marilla Walker. It has a cool v-shaped yoke detailing on the bodice. And the pockets are perfection! Luckily, I had a big enough piece of linen in my stash.

To make the front inset stand out, I wanted the plaid to be on the diagonal, so I cut those two pieces on the bias.

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Construction was generally a breeze, but I did found the front bodice to be challenging. It’s meant to wrap over the shoulder apex and attach to the back bodice. That made it a very strange looking pattern piece! It threw me and I had to study the diagrams carefully to figure it out which pieces were seamed where. Once I saw the ‘light’, the construction was simple. My advice is to trust the pattern instructions, even though at first glance, it seems counter intuitive.

The fit is pretty forgiving (as in loose). I cut the smallest size but ended up taking in the side seams to adjust the volume of the skirt. If you’re between sizes you might want to size down. I shortened the length of the bodice by two inches because I’m short waisted.

I love, love the finished product. In fact, so much so, I quickly made another version out of a navy linen I bought last year in Rome (wow that seems like ages ago….).

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This linen is so wonderful to sew, and it has just the right drape for this project. You don’t want a stiff linen for this dress because of the gathers.

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I’m certain both dresses will get alot of wear once I have somewhere to go, LOL!

These are strange times and my routines have shifted in ways I never expected. Some days, I feel productive, and other days I seem to just be ‘marking time’. For me, having a sewing project to complete really helps. There’s something almost meditative about the process of making by hand. I feel so lucky to have a passion that makes me feel better and friends to share it with.

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by.

#featured, #linen, #shirt-dress, #summer-wardrobe, #travel-wardrobe

ellegeemakes | October 11, 2020 at 1:25 pm | Tags: featured, linen, shirt dress, summer wardrobe, travel wardrobe | Categories: capsule wardrobe, dress pattern, linen, shirt dress, Uncategorized | URL: https://wp.me/p5M1Tl-4vk
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Greeting Fall with two Isca Shirt Dresses

 

New Pattern: Sew Over It Kitty Dress

Published on by ellegeemakes5 Comments

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As a Sew Over It Pattern Insider, I had the opportunity to test Sew Over It’s latest pattern, the Kitty Dress. I love a good shirt dress (here and here) and this one is perfect with lots of design details and options that make it unique – a shawl collar, a gathered or paneled skirt, and your choice of sleeves or no sleeves at all.

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It’s the design of the Kitty dress that makes it tick all the boxes for me. It’s so versatile- – two bodice and skirt styles that you can mix and match!  You can choose a princess seam bodice or a two-dart bodice. Both choices can be paired with one of two skirts: either paneled or a gathered option.  Both skirts feature in-seam pockets, and all versions are cinched in at the waist with a waistband, which makes them look great on everyone.

If I had to rate the difficulty of this pattern, I’d say it’s a great option for an intermediate sewer, or for a beginner who wants to learn some new skills. The instructions are detailed and helpful, so it’s easy to dive right in!

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It’s no secret that I love sewing patterns that give you options so that you can play and modify as inspired. At first, since I’m a fan of a bodice with princess seams, I was drawn to option 1, but when I made my fabric choice, I changed to option two. My rayon print is colorful, and I felt the princess seam detail would be lost in the fabric’s design. So, instead, I paired the double-darted bodice option with the gathered skirt.

I love long flow-y dresses in the Spring and Summer, so I made my Kitty dress from a lovely rayon from Joanns’. This rayon has a bit of texture to it, giving it a casual crinkled look that I love. The drape of this rayon is perfect for my mid-length Kitty because it gives the skirt some swish! For added style, I chose the shawl collar, which has a bit of a vintage vibe.

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The double darted bodice was easy to sew – -just two pattern pieces, both shaped nicely by bust darts and waist darts. Because I have a large waist relative to my bust measurement, I made a test version to make sure the fit was accurate, and I’m glad I did.  I quickly realized the darts needed to be widened slightly to compensate for my non-standard waist.

Fitting the gathered skirt was easy. I used my hip measurements to choose the size to cut and it worked great without adjustments. Gathered skirts are so forgiving and so easy to sew!! I love the way this skirt looks and swishes in the mid-calf length. It’s all I was hoping it woud be.

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I love my Kitty dress, so much, version one is in my sewing queue( princess seams and sleeveless), maybe in a cotton lawn or linen for summer. The updated version of the Kitty is available at Sew Over It now.

The weather here in Portland is improving – I hope to take my Kitty outside for a test run soon!

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by.

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An Anthro-Inspired Corduroy Shirt Dress

Published on by ellegeemakes30 Comments

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Corduroy seems to always find a way into my Fall sewing plans and I can always count on Anthropologie to have a offerings to inspire me. When I saw this shirt dress on their website, I had to have a new corduroy shirt dress of my own.

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I’ve made a couple of shirt dresses before using a variety of Big Four and Indie patterns (here, here and here). I decided to use a new pattern, McCall’s 7575 for this dress, because I loved how the bodice was shaped by long darts. 

I also love shirts with back yokes and two piece sleeves. View C was my choice because it’s tunic length, easily modified to a dress.

 

My corduroy was purchased at Fabric Depot. It has a soft hand and a touch of lycra, which makes a form-fitting dress sooooo comfortable to wear. The rust color caught my eye, a must have!

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I followed the pattern but modified as follows;

  1. I lengthened it by six inches.
  2. I added a very wide self tie to the side seams  (8” wide to allow for turning the edges under for a clean finish) .  Positioning this was a bit tricky. The Anthro waist tie rides a bit above the waist, and it took a few tries to get it right. Also, I think the Anthro waist tie is faced so that you don’t see the wrong side when it’s tied, but I didn’t have enough fabric. I think it looks okay one-sided with an edge stitched finish, but if I had to do it over again, I’d buy more fabric.
  3. To recreate the close-fitting look of the Anthro dress, I lengthened the bodice darts (both front and back) so that they extended the full length of the dress. Then I top stitched them down to give the look of french seams.
  4. I added French seams on the side, back yoke and on the sleeves and topstitched them all.
  5. The Anthro dress doesn’t have pockets, but I added a couple. I’m not sure that was a wise choice ( ??) as the tie overlaps over the pockets. The pockets might be a bit of a distraction from the lines of the dress. Opinions welcome…

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I love this pattern and will definitely add it to my arsenal of shirt patterns! I always feel ready for Fall when I’m wearing corduroy, a throwback to the days when I bought corduroy skirts to wear to school, I suppose. It’s so funny how that ritual of getting ready for the first days of school still dominates my Fall mood in spite of the fact that my family is beyond that stage of life.

When I’m taking photos for a blog post, I always try different shoes with a dress because as long as I’m at it, I might as well see what the options are, am I right?

 

As you can see in the photos, I tried the dress with booties with tights, booties without tights and tall boots. I think I like the tall boots best, although I’m not sure the mustard tone of my tall boots is really warm enough to go with the rust color. Opinions welcome!

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!

Easy, breezy – – the Kalle Shirt Dress

Published on by ellegeemakes14 Comments

I didn’t set out to become a fan girl of Closet Case Patterns, but that’s what seems to have happened!

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After making Closet Case’s Charlie Caftan twice (here and here) and loving it, I decided I had to give Heather’s other patterns a try. I chose the Kalle, although at first glance, it didn’t seem to be the pattern for me.  The pattern envelope drawing wasn’t that appealing to me to be honest.

Kalle_Shirt_Shirtdress_Pattern_Envelope_cover-01_c93b1b82-07e4-4b1c-985d-e5fc30ac905b_1280x1280Then there was the description of the shirt/dress as loose fitting… always bad news for a smallish person like me. But then, I saw a Kalle shirt on a sales person at one of my local fabric stores that was so, so cute, I had to have it.

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I do admire Heather’s design. The pattern is a great contemporary update of the traditional shirtdress. There’s so much to like about this pattern. The sleeves are cut as part of the bodice, which makes construction a breeze. You can make choices to modify the pattern to fit your mood; a hidden placket versus a regular placket? A band collar or standard collar? It’s all up to you.

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As luck would have it though, my concerns about the style were realistic. The fit is very loose and boxy, which meant that even the smallest size was a bit much for me. Here’s my first version. I thought I’d figured out how to make it work, when my husband said, ‘hey, great fabric, BUT isn’t that dress WAY TOO BIG?” (Gutsy guy, don’t you think?)

IMG_0629 2After snarling a bit, and explaining to him that ‘this is the way it’s supposed to look’, I took a snap shot of myself. Darn, if he wasn’t right!! It looked big, but not in that, ‘oh, i just picked up my boyfriend’s shirt from off the floor’ way. So, I went back to the drawing board, adjusted the side seams, and smiled about the whole thing.

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My fabric is Cotton and Steel from last season (Fabric Depot), and the cotton is really nice…not too stiff or heavy, but it isn’t as flowy as rayon or silk would be. I mention this because I believe my fabric choice contributed to the boxy look I experienced before my modifications. I think the Kalle would be great in a soft linen, or maybe a rayon or silk.

Besides taking in the side seams, I also modified the length of my Kalle. I didn’t think I would love the look of what seemed to be a exaggerated high-low hem. So I added 3 inches to the front. It is still pretty short on me, and I am 5’4″. Not sure what it would have looked like if I hadn’t lengthened it, LOL!

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With those modifications, this dress is now in the category of ‘love’. It will likely move quickly into my shirt dress hall of fame. It’s fun to wear, and fun to sew….there’s something so satisfying about sewing a shirt – the placket, the collar, even the button holes are so gratifying. It’s almost as good as the smell of a new book when you first open it, don’t you think?

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 

A travel dress in Barcelona

Published on by ellegeemakes16 Comments

I always love seeing your ‘makes’ in action so I thought I’d do a quick post to show you my new favorite travel dress in Barcelona doing the hard job of keeping me comfortable and cool!

The double gauze I used for this version of Mccalls 7314 is the perfect travel fabric, crease resistent and easy to pack. The fabric is so lightweight it can be rolled easily and fit into a tiny space in my suitcase. A quick shake at my destination and it’s ready to be worn. Because gauze can fray,  I carefully finished my seams so that this dress could survive many washings . MCcalls 7314 is so easy to wear…I’ve made it before and I know I will again!

I am so fortunate to be here in Spain as part of a tour with my choir, Oregon Repertory Singers. Barcelona is so beautiful, and the people have made us feel so welcome, I never want to leave. There are amazing fabric stores here too…Nirvana! Eventually though, I will return home to my sewing machine with some beautiful fabric that will remind me of this city. In the meantime, Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!

Shirt Dress Love: McCall’s 7351

Published on by ellegeemakes22 Comments

IMG_6748 2If I had to choose only one garment to take with me to a desert island it would probably be a shirt dress, because they just make me happy. This one gets bonus points for being a rayon shirt dress, which is pure bliss to wear in any weather. What’s different about this dress for me, is the raspberry print. Raspberry, not blue? I know – – I’m living on the edge here!

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You see, a few weeks ago, I found an old ‘personal color palate’ from a color analysis I paid for several years ago. I’d completely forgotten about it, and the raspberry pink that was identifed as one of my ‘top five’ colors. It’s supposed to make me glow, LOL, yet I rarely wear it. I guess it’s never too late….

I get weak knees over high low hems and I love the one on McCalls’ 7351. In fact, it might be the reason this pattern made it into my shopping cart. You might have seen this pattern on other blogs because it’s so popular.

As patterns go, this fit me pretty well as designed, even though I’m petite. I did modifiy it a bit: I shortened the bodice by 5/8″. I also shorted the skirt by 5/8′ as well, being careful to preserve the cool curved hem. I also ditched the collar, using only the collar band just because I wanted a simple neckline given the print of my fabric. I also raised the sleeve tab placement a bit so that I could roll the sleeves up more when it’s hot, but I think I over did that a bit. I love the yoke and back pleat detail.

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This rayon came from Fabric Depot and it did not disappoint! It wears like a dream and has just the right drape for this dress.

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I think a fabric belt would look good with this dress, but I ran out, so I skipped it. The raspberry color is growing on me… I think I’ll enjoy wearing it.  In fact, now that I’ve found my long lost color analysis swatches, I could start taking them with me when I shop. However, I must admit, my fabric love is color blind. If I see a fabric I love that doesn’t match my palate, it will likely still find its way into my shopping cart.

Are you a color analysis believer, or do you buy what you like and call it good?

Yes, I do love shirt dresses and will likely make this dress again, soon. I’m imagining a linen version, maybe cotton poplin… Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by.