I’ve been busy sewing! Besides making an apron for the Sew Weekly Challenge, we all made the same black dress to best showcase the apron. I even ended up sewing a reversible apron so it was definitely a busier week than planned. You can find my TSW post here.
The Dress
Pattern Review
All of us used this capped sleeve dress pattern from burda magazine February 2011 issue, which happened to be the last issue of magazine I bought before joining the Craft Book Challenge.
Looking at the fit this time round, I added the seam allowance which the magazine patterns do not come with. I chose a size 38 which is my normal burda sizing. The bodice came out fine but a little bit loose at the waist. While it is easy enough to put together without following the burda instructions (which were too skimpy as usual), I thought it required a little too much fabric for the skirt! The dimensions given were 100cm by 62cm X 2 panels. I cut a little shorter than that but even then I felt, less fabric would have suffice especially in the width.
Burda magazine 02/2011/101
Be warned if you are thinking of using this pattern as a few TSW contributors had issues with the bodice fit so please do a muslin first.
The Gallery
My dress turned out ok. I’m not overly crazy about it. It’s wearable though not very flattering around the waist, probably a result of the amount of gathers it had. If I do wear it, it will be with a thick red belt or a colored vest. I have always wanted a black dress but somehow after this dress I feel that I am more of a print fabric girl. I think black makes me look pale.
The completely lined dress despite its shortcomings is really comfortable to wear. And, the good thing about black, you can wear it anytime. I had it on the entire day while busy with errands. So, I guess it is a good alternative to have afterall in a wardrobe of prints. But, whether I’ll wear it again, only time will tell.
Either my photography skills suck big time or it’s really tough to photograph the embroidery on the dress so I had to up the exposure of the photos below. If you check out the technical drawings, the bodice back was supposed to be cut as two separate pieces. That’s totally fine if there’s a back zipper placement but the zipper for this dress is at the side. As a result, I made the decision to cut the back bodice on the fold. I think it makes the dress look much better. Especially one with these embroideries. 
After matching the spots on the pendrell blouse, I tried my hand at matching the embroidery at the side seams again and I got to tell you that when they do match perfectly, the feeling is awesome!
The Apron
Pattern Review
I heart this McCall’s pattern from 1954. It is just so feminine and pretty for a full apron without ruffles. The bib is exquisite and I love the idea of creating my own border print on the bottom of the apron. My only issue with it is I thought it would look unsightly on the reverse. I knew no one was gonna see it but I could make it reversible so it looked good on both sides. That’s exactly what I did. I cut the pieces but had to totally disregard the instructions.
All embellishments and pockets had to be sewn on before the pieces are joint. It was smooth sewing until I wanted to sew on the ric racs on the waist which could only be done after both sides were joined. Eventually, I decided to sew the ric rac on one side on first and pin the centre of the other ric rac onto the back stitch line. After I’ve ensured the position was fine, I stitch the second set on so the stitch line on both sides matched as close as possible. The only thing is by using this method, the ric racs on both side and the corresponding thread had to all be one color.
The bib is held at the back of the neck by buttons which I sewed back to back so they share one buttonhole. A method I came up with while making reversible dresses for my girl.
The Gallery
Side A
Time to take out my old tingkat and thermo flasks from the cabinet. They match my apron 🙂
Side B
It’s play pretend laundry time 🙂 The red border at the bottom of the apron is actually a folded in section of the fabric on the other side. I cut the black fabric shorter so that the red border would show.
This side has no border print but is embellished with ribbons, pocket and lace from scraps. The colors kinda reminded me of the Oktober Fest.
Phew! I think I need a short break before working on the next next project.
For next week’s Sew Weekly challenge, it is all about being inspired by mini you and mini me. We’ll be finding one childhood photo and using that outfit as inspiration for our weekly creation! Join us for some fun and photo sharing!
The Sew Convert 