The Perfect Fit (the finished result)

It has been a long road and a steep learning curve, but I have finally finished the outfit previously blogged about here. I had challenged myself to make an outfit, combining elements from three different patterns and putting into practice the fitting skills I had learnt from the Craftsy class Sew The Perfect Fit with Lynda Maynard. The outfit was to wear to my nephew's wedding so I was under pressure to have it completed by September 7th. I finished with a couple of days to spare.

Here are some photos taken at the hotel where we stayed just before leaving for the wedding.

Front view

Back View (this makes me look very bow legged)

I used the bodice from New Look 6130, the sleeves from Vogue 8766 and the skirt was BHL Charlotte Skirt. The fabric I used was Purple Rose Brocade purchased from Spotlight and I used a black anti static Italian Lining also purchased from Spotlight. The brocade frayed madly the minute it was cut, so I overlocked the raw edges as soon as possible. This seemed to keep the fraying under control. 

Peplum detail

I loved how the peplum turned out. Because the brocade was quite stiff, it gave the peplum plenty of body. I ironed the pleats right down to the edge to get them to sit properly. It was difficult to iron a straight crease in the areas cut on the bias, so they are not perfect.

Neckline and bodice.

I was very pleased with how nicely the neckline sat with no gaping. It really is well worth the effort of making a muslin and getting the fit right.

Darts at the sleevehead

Here is a close up of the darts at the sleevehead. I love how neatly they shaped the sleeve and it was very easy to ease into the armscye.

Invisible zip

I was very pleased with my invisible zip insertion. It worked perfectly, first go and even matched the waist seam perfectly. I used the tutorial from The Coletterie. 

To hem the peplum there was one corner that needed to be mitred. I had to practice a lot on some scraps because it was not a perfect right angle and I new that the brocade would not be very forgiving if I stuffed up and had to unpick. To my amazement, it turned out really neat.

Mitred corner right side.

Mitred corner wrong side

Here are some detailed shots of the inside and lining.

Back

Front. I used purchased satin bias binding to cover the overlocked edge of the facing.

Inside sleeve hem. Satin bias binding used as hem tape.

Back. I bound the end of the zip because it was loo long and I had to shorten it.

The lining was sewed by machine to the neckline and the zip, and then hand sewn at the sleeves and the waist.

I had to make quite a few fitting changes to the Charlotte Skirt. I removed 2.5cm from the top of the skirt, which shortened the darts and I reshaped the side seams to match my curves (or lack of). I removed another 7cm from the bottom of the skirt before hemming. This skirt pattern is very long. I also added a slit at the back seam. Without this, it was impossible to walk in this skirt. I was surprised this was not included in the pattern or instructions.

Back slit to enable walking.

Inside back slit.

This inside shot reveals my big mistake. This is why you should not sew late at night when you are too tired to be thinking straight. I cut the lining too short. I had cut off 7cm from the brocade at the hemline, so I proceeded to cut an extra 2 cm off the lining, so that it would be 2cm shorter than the skirt. (But I forgot that I added the satin bias tape to finish off the hem). Too bad...I was not going to start again.

I attached the lining to the slit by machine so that it would not show. This is a technique I clearly need to improve on.

Lining hem

I used a decorative machine stitch to sew the lining hem.

I have learned a lot during the planning and construction of this outfit, and improved some of my sewing skills. I am convinced that it is definitely worth the effort of making a muslin to get the fit right before cutting into the good fabric.

A couple of shots from the wedding

 A big thank you to my Mum for all her help during the fitting process. I couldn't have done it without her.

Me with my two sisters. Didn't the colours of our outfits look pretty together?

Now onto the next project...

Happy Sewing

The Perfect Fit ( a work in progress)

My nephew is tying the knot in September and I have been told it will be a formal affair. I have been thinking and planning my outfit over the last month or so. Recently I took a class on Craftsy Sew The Perfect Fit with Lynda Maynard. I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to try out my newly gained skills or see if I actually learned anything at all. I really can't recommend this class enough. Lynda Maynard has a wonderful teaching style. She is organised and methodical in her teaching method, which makes the class very easy to follow. She clearly demonstrates different fitting woes and the way to correct them, on real life models (and they are not all Barbie doll shapes). She then, very methodically demonstrates how to transfer these changes to the paper pattern. It's almost magical.  The pattern used for this class is Vogue 8766.

I had a few patterns that I liked certain bits of. So I thought I would combine three different patterns to create my outfit. These are:

I love the princess seams and the shaped peplum of View C and the neckline of View A.

VOGUE 8766: I love the 3/4 sleeves. They have 3 small darts at the sleeve cap to shape them.

BHL Charlotte Skirt: I love the highwaisted skirt and the shaping and length.

I started off making a calico muslin of the bodice. The only drawback is that you really need someone to help you with identifying your fitting issues, once you have made up the muslin. My dear partner struggles to pin two pieces of fabric together without the pins falling out two seconds later, so I had to rope my Mum in to help. She really struggled with the idea of slashing the muslin and adding in strips of fabric to correct the fit. It took me quite a lot of convincing that it was only a muslin (never intended to ever be worn), and it was ok to cut holes in it. She was very worried that she would ruin it.

My slashed muslin with strips of fabric added.

There was quite a bit of slashing to do, to get this pattern to fit my body. I am quite rectangular, not much waist definition. I am really hoping that the peplum is going to give the illusion of a waist.

Here are the changes added to the paper pattern.

Using my altered pattern I created a second muslin of the bodice to double check that my alterations were correct. I included the sleeve this time. I had to add more circumference to the sleeve head, tapering to the sleeve hem, to fit the bodice armscye. This worked out surprisingly well.

Notice the small darts in the sleeve head.

I decided that I wanted to use a brocade fabric to construct my outfit. I had either a royal blue or an emerald green colour in mind. I should have learned by now, that the fabric shop will never have what I have in mind. It would eliminate the inevitable disappointment. Anyway, after a two hour trip to the nearest Spotlight (on route to return my daughter to the airport), I emerged from the shop with this Purple Rose Brocade.

Purple Rose Brocade purchased from Spotlight ( the colour is deeper in reality...hard to photograph)

I suspect this is 100% polyester. It is quite stiff and frays like crazy when cut. I paid $19.99 per metre which I thought was quite expensive, but I had little choice. I guess I am starting to warm to it.

Stay tuned for the next progress report.


Happy Sewing.