I like the StyleArc Elle pants. They are quick and easy to sew up and as far as I can tell they don't look that bad on me. Since Mimi can't model pants I had to take the plunge and post a picture of me wearing my latest Elle pants:
Hubby is a little new to this photo thing... all the other photos he took didn't turn out so well. The fabric is a black and white bengaline that I found at fabric.com. It's a good weight for the in between seasons but might be just a little too heavy for the hot summer months. This was a good pair to take to my conference last week as the meeting rooms were so cold. I ended up wearing them twice, the second time I wore it with a long white shirt and a red camisole. It's a good travel piece!
I have been working on the McCalls Shirtdress Sew Along. I knew I had to make a muslin but for me muslins are such a waste of time. So I dug out some plaid fabric from my stash. Of course the plaid made the work of putting together a "muslin" more complicated because I wanted to match the plaid, I wanted to cut the placket on the bias for added interest, etc. So basically this was a "test dress" and not a muslin. I was a little concerned about the fit as I used the 'Ditch the Muslin' concept that Ann St. Clair taught in a class that I took from her. Basically you take your measurements and adjust your flat pattern based on those measurements. So my pattern was basically a size 12 with a size 10 for the neck and armholes. After I cut out my pieces I pinned them onto Mimi and realized it was a tight fit on her... but I marched on!
After I looked at the instructions for the placket I realized that I didn't like it:
As you can see you top stitch clear around the right hand side placket, but notice it is not attached to the front bodice. Instead you sew 2 lines across the placket to attach it the bodice:
Cutting the placket on the bias really added some interest to the front of the dress.
And here is a closer view of the collar band. This was a little tricky and required quite a bit of pinning to get correct. There is room for improvement.
This did fit a little tight on Mimi, but I realized that Mimi is just a little larger than needed. Once I put it on I realized it was a really good fit! Hubby is still working on taking pics... I had to adjust the brightness a little as it was getting dark when we took the picture so the color of the dress is a little off. At least you can see that the fit is pretty good (and the plaids match on the side seams!!)
The length of the hem on the side is a little shorter than I like. I believe the next time around I will just make either View B ( rounded hem on the sides) or View C (regular hem line). Since I like the fit I probably will not make any other adjustments. I am glad that I made this practice dress instead of a muslin. I may not end up wearing to work but it will make a nice casual dress or a swimsuit cover up.
Hubby is a little new to this photo thing... all the other photos he took didn't turn out so well. The fabric is a black and white bengaline that I found at fabric.com. It's a good weight for the in between seasons but might be just a little too heavy for the hot summer months. This was a good pair to take to my conference last week as the meeting rooms were so cold. I ended up wearing them twice, the second time I wore it with a long white shirt and a red camisole. It's a good travel piece!
I have been working on the McCalls Shirtdress Sew Along. I knew I had to make a muslin but for me muslins are such a waste of time. So I dug out some plaid fabric from my stash. Of course the plaid made the work of putting together a "muslin" more complicated because I wanted to match the plaid, I wanted to cut the placket on the bias for added interest, etc. So basically this was a "test dress" and not a muslin. I was a little concerned about the fit as I used the 'Ditch the Muslin' concept that Ann St. Clair taught in a class that I took from her. Basically you take your measurements and adjust your flat pattern based on those measurements. So my pattern was basically a size 12 with a size 10 for the neck and armholes. After I cut out my pieces I pinned them onto Mimi and realized it was a tight fit on her... but I marched on!
After I looked at the instructions for the placket I realized that I didn't like it:
As you can see you top stitch clear around the right hand side placket, but notice it is not attached to the front bodice. Instead you sew 2 lines across the placket to attach it the bodice:
This essentially leaves the lower end of the placket free from the bodice which I really don't care for. So instead, I didn't top stitch around the lower end of the placket. I went ahead and made the pleat on the bodice front, then I pinned the lower part of the placket to the bodice. I then finished the top stitching of the bottom part of the placket, which basically attached it to the front bodice. See the placket is now attached!!
And here is a closer view of the collar band. This was a little tricky and required quite a bit of pinning to get correct. There is room for improvement.
This did fit a little tight on Mimi, but I realized that Mimi is just a little larger than needed. Once I put it on I realized it was a really good fit! Hubby is still working on taking pics... I had to adjust the brightness a little as it was getting dark when we took the picture so the color of the dress is a little off. At least you can see that the fit is pretty good (and the plaids match on the side seams!!)
The length of the hem on the side is a little shorter than I like. I believe the next time around I will just make either View B ( rounded hem on the sides) or View C (regular hem line). Since I like the fit I probably will not make any other adjustments. I am glad that I made this practice dress instead of a muslin. I may not end up wearing to work but it will make a nice casual dress or a swimsuit cover up.
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