A sewing blog about building a functional, cohesive handmade wardrobe, one garment at a time.

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Style Arc Adeline Dress

It's been a minute, and this isn't how I intended to get back to blogging. But I sewed something and I have some time to write about it, so here we are.

In April, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a shock, as most diagnoses probably are. And it's been a tornado of specialist appointments and allergic reactions and ER visits since then. I'm now halfway through chemo, but only a month into a year-long treatment regime that will also include surgery and radiation.

I haven't sewed much at all over the last couple of years due to just not having any time. Yet, somehow I managed to make this Style Arc Adeline Dress in between chemo cycles last month. 

This pattern had a major moment a few years ago, and, as usual, I'm very late to adopt. I thought of it when looking around for a sack dress that would make me feel put together and that I could wear no matter how much weight I had gained or fluid I had retained. It seemed like a great choice for this use, and I wasn't disappointed.

I went by my measurements and cut a size 12 shoulder graded to a size 14 at the bust on down. I read a lot of reviews and found that most people had skipped making full bust adjustments due to the ease in the pattern, so I decided to follow suit. The only other pattern adjustment I made was a 5/8" high round back adjustment. 

I don't love cuffed sleeves, so I just hemmed the sleeves at 1 1/4" and didn't turn them up. The dress is made of a navy linen that I got from Fabric Mart last year. I had just enough to make the dress without the pockets. I think, though, that if I make it again, I would want inseam pockets, not patch pockets like the ones the pattern comes with.

After making and wearing the dress, I found that my high round back adjustment wasn't enough - the dress still slips back off my shoulders a bit. In anticipation of making this dress again, I altered the pattern for a 3/4" low round back adjustment (because 5/8" is the maximum one should adjust a high round back; you are supposed to get the rest of the length you need from the low round adjustment per Palmer and Pletsch). I also lengthened my pattern 1", though now that I see these photos, I think maybe 1/2" would be enough. There's one more flat pattern adjustment I'd like to do before sewing it again: The v-neck gapes slightly, so I want to take a wedge out of it on either side.

These photos aren't my usual, but energy is in short supply these days. I had my sisters take them when I wore the dress out to dinner with them a couple of weeks ago. I felt stylish despite my swollen ankles and be-kerchiefed head.



Hope to return to this space again soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Saint-Germain Wrap Dress

When I sewed this dress months ago, I was planning to wear it for Easter. Now the entire country of Colombia is quarantined through April 12 (Western Easter). We're all at home and not allowed to leave except to grocery shop (one person only) or walk a dog (20 minutes, one person only) or seek medical attention. Orthodox Easter is April 19 this year and I'm not optimistic that we'll be out of the house by then. So I guess I'll be wearing the dress at home.


This is the Liesl + Co. Saint-Germain Wrap Dress and I'm over on the Oliver + S blog talking about it. I did a LOT of fitting for this dress, including tissue fitting and two bodice muslins. I'm pretty happy with how the fit turned out after all that work. There's not really anything I'd change. 


After all the fitting work was done, the dress was actually not a terribly long sew. I thought it would be more complicated than it was. All the details on fit and fabric are over at O + S. Go have a peek!









Sunday, March 8, 2020

Simplicity 8641 pattern review

I picked up Simplicity 8641 during a JoAnn's pattern sale that occurred when I was home last summer. I had no plans to sew it before we left Bogota; actually, I had planned to cut out a new pair of jeans the day that I ended up taking it out of my pattern box.

And then it was just one of those things that came together perfectly. I had a perfect fabric for it in my stash, and a little bit of free time, and before I knew it, I had a new dress.


Tuesday, March 3, 2020

February 2020

How is it already March? We're moving in less than three months and I have so much to do! Busy-ness notwithstanding, I managed to sew a few things this month. I'm also trying to make some plans for what I would like to sew before I lose my machines for three months, or I am afraid I won't get anything done. I haven't finalized a list, but here are some ideas:

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Velvet Building Block Dress

So, at some point I will get back to posting full blog posts on this blog. Right now I am a little bit snowed under. And I guess we're also preparing for an international move in less than three months, so perhaps it will take a bit longer to recover.


Thursday, February 20, 2020

Flannel Gelato Blouse

I was drawn to the Liesl + Co. Gelato Blouse pattern as soon as it was released. The easy shape is casual, but put-together at the same time. Although the weather in Bogota is the same year-round, seeing people’s fall and winter clothes on Instagram put me in a cuddly frame of mind, and I got the idea to sew the blouse in flannel.

 

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Striped Metro T-Shirt Turtleneck Hack and Tutorial

I'm sharing a tutorial for adding a turtleneck to any t-shirt pattern on the Oliver + S blog. If you're looking for the tutorial, click over there.  If you're interested in fitting details about this Liesl + Co. Metro Tee that I hacked into a turtleneck, keep reading. I'll link to the tutorial again at the bottom of the post.