Mismatched stripe Appleton top

So right after I sewed my second Appleton dress, I decided to try making a top.  After the increased wrinkles that resulted from my original pattern mods, I decided to go back to the size 14 E/F bodice, but I kept the sliver that I added to the back pattern piece, and the size 16 sleeve.  I have similar wrinkly issues with this top so I think I really need to do a proper full-bicep modification on the size 14 sleeve.

To make the top, I cut the bodice 6.5" inches below the hip notch and hemmed it up 3/4".  The Cashmerette tutorial has you cut it at the hip notch, but I knew I'd prefer it much longer. I also cut both front pieces the same width, and used the tie pattern from the dress pattern rather than from the top tutorial.

The fabric I used was an unknown knit (rayon/lycra, I think) purchased several years ago from the $2.96 table at the now-defunct G Street Fabrics.  It is lovely to wear and has fabulous recovery. I only had two yards of it and it has these crazy wide stripes, though, so I had to think hard about where to put them.  I had made a t-shirt last summer out of a similarly wide-striped fabric, and I never wore it because the stripes were placed very unflatteringly relative to my bust.  I decided to eliminate the potential for that problem by using the widest dark teal stripe at the top.

What I didn't count on was that, by doing so, I would end up with a top that looks like I am wearing an apron!  It's especially noticeable when I am wearing my Soviet-cafeteria-lady face (they were the originators of the RBF, you know).

Though you can't tell by looking at it, I actually worked hard to match the stripes for this top.  I laid out my pieces on a single layer, checked and rechecked them.  But what I didn't take into account was that the Appleton has a built-in forward shoulder adjustment.  So my strategy of aligning the stripes starting at the shoulder was a big fail.  I should have aligned them at the bottom of the armscye and again at the hem.  Womp womp.

The result is hugely irritating, but not irritating enough to keep me from wearing the top.  I'm more concerned with the tightness of the top at the back, which illuminates the flab in that area.  It's better with the extra room I added to the back pattern piece after my first Appleton, but it still feels really noticeable.  I wonder if going up to a size 16 in the back bodice would help.  I'm not sure I will test it out any time soon, though - I'm itching to get to a couple other projects for myself.

Anyway, I wear this regularly, and get lots of compliments when I do.  I do have to pin the bodice to keep it modest, as you can see above, but as I mentioned in a previous Appleton post, I don't think that can be helped given the topography of the area.  I really love the wide neckband on this pattern, and might sew it in a contrasting color the next time I make one of these dresses.

Until next time!

The enemy of good

I had forgotten how much I love wrap dresses.  I still own two RTW ones from my working lady days, tucked away as they are in the maybe-I'll-fit-into-it-again-someday box.  They never failed to make me feel stylish and put together when I wore them.  Wrap dresses don't fit into my daily wardrobe anymore, but that didn't stop me from sewing up another Appleton dress the day after I finished my first one.

In hindsight, I think the last one, in a straight size 14 E/F, really came out well.  But hypercritical me just could not leave it alone.  I found the bodice a little low-cut and there were some small wrinkles above my bust.  I also felt the sleeves were too tight and that the bodice was a bit tight across my upper back waist.

So up I went another a cup size, from 14 E/F to 14 G/H. I also added the teeniest sliver to the upper waist on the back pattern piece, and used the size 16 sleeves.  I am not sure which modification is the primary culprit, but I ended up with the same low cut, plus mo' wrinkles, mo' problems.

14 G/H in red, 14 E/F in blue.

Looking at these photos, I think it's got to be the sleeve that's the issue.  I didn't modify the size 14 armhole, but just stretched it to fit the 16 sleeve.  Maybe that's the problem?  I don't really know, so please comment if you have ideas!  The sleeve is also strangely twisty - when I put the dress on I have to shrug my shoulders with my arms straight out in front of me, and turn my wrists inward to get the sleeve to untwist.  I have no idea why.  I did not sew the sleeves on backwards (I checked and rechecked), and I'm at a loss.

On the plus side, my modification of cutting both front pieces the same width (instead of trimming the under layer), gave me more security in the skirt.  I also added 4.5" to the waist tie pattern piece on the fold, which gave me the longer sash that I prefer for bow-tying.  And my 1" lengthening of the skirt allowed me to sew a hem this time.  I didn't lengthen (or hem) the sleeves, though.

This dress does fit better (i.e. not as tightly) across the back.

The fabric is a lovely rayon/lycra jersey recently bought from Fabric Mart.  It was lovely to work with - very stable and substantial.  I think it actually might have some cotton in it too.

The dress is very comfortable to wear.  The neckline really does stay put (with aid of safety-pin to keep the front respectable), even though I don't quite have the bodice fitted properly.  My eyes do go right to the offending folds whenever I look in the mirror (or at one of these photos), but I try to remember that, before sewing, I wouldn't even have noticed the wrinkles when trying on dresses, and I certainly would have bought this one.

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Appleton

I finally made an Appleton dress!

As always, it took me while to hop aboard this train.  When it comes to pricier patterns (i.e. anything other than Big 4 on sale at Joann's), I am really slow to purchase.  I like to see a lot of examples of the garment made up before I plunk down my money.  The Appleton has long seemed like a no-brainer because 90% of the versions I have seen look stunning on their makers.  I acquired both pattern and fabric last summer with the intent of making this dress, but only just got around to it in January.

I used an ITY knit purchased from FabricMart for about $3.60/yard.  The fabric is really nice to work with, and the dress sewed up in a few hours on my serger and coverstitch machine.

I didn't muslin (this is my muslin), and I sewed a 14E/F cup graded to between a 14 and 16 starting at the waist down through the hem (I'm 42.5-35-45).  It is a pretty good start, but I think it needs some tweaks.  I was actually super disappointed when I first tried it on, to see that a good 1/2" of the bridge of my bra was showing at the overlap.  I thought of all the stunning Appletons I had seen in blogland and how none of them had any bra peekaboo going on, and I felt cheated.

But that was stupid.  I've since had a good hard look at the topography on my upper half, and I've come to the conclusion that, if I want the wrap to go under my bust (and I do), then the overlap is necessarily going to be pretty low.  I might be able to gain that 1/2" by tweaking with the angle of the slope on the bodice and the neckband join, but that's a lot of work when I can just safety pin the dress together.  Which is what I did in these photos - without the safety pin the overlap is about an inch lower.

On Instagram, Jenny advised that going up a cup size would provide more coverage, so I am going to try that for the next one, but I'm not going to sweat it if I have to resort to the safety pin.  I think a low cut is simply the nature of a wrap dress for a busty girl.

The print makes it hard to see, but there are some folds in the fabric just above my bust, radiating from the armpit.  I did some research and found a suggestion to shorten the armscye.  I also found suggestions to FBA/increase cup room.  Going up a cup size is easier so I'm going to try that first before messing with the armscye.  I do plan to make this up in a solid, and the wrinkles will be a lot more noticeable then, so hopefully I can figure it out.

Another item of concern was the amount of overlap at the skirt.  When I first tried on the dress, it seemed like it was just begging for a wardrobe malfunction.  But while shooting these pictures, I tried my hardest to get the skirt to separate ...

... by walking determinedly forward ...

... by standing weirdly wide ...

... and leaning awkwardly to the side.

I stopped short of high kicks; though the Appleton kept her ladylike composure during my initial antics, I figured she wouldn't survive martial arts.  A good strong wind could pose a problem, as well.

She only plays peekaboo when I sit, though it's actually ok as long as I keep my knees together and don't cross my legs.  I think I will be able to fix this issue by cutting both wrap fronts the same next time (the pattern has you trim the front piece to be narrower than the back piece).

I also think I need a little more room in my upper waist . While the dress looks fine from the front, from the back I have a little of the mattress-tied-in-the-middle look going on.  My husband says the pattern distracts from it and I think he's probably right, but it still bugs me.  Going up a cup size on the next one should help, but I think I might grade the back piece out a bit more from the bottom of the armscye to the waist, to help it skim over the excess flesh back there.  And I want to try the dress with a size 16 sleeve, as these sleeves are a little too tight for me.

Finally, I will add length to the hem.  I am 5'8" and the pattern is drafted for 5'6".  The dress was the perfect length without hemming, so I didn't hem it (yay knits!).  I would prefer a proper hem, though, so I added an inch to my pattern pieces for next time.

All quibbles aside, the fit out of the envelope was not bad at all.  The dress is totally wearable; even more so with Spanx (which I am not wearing in these photos).  Not having to do an FBA was, frankly, AMAZING.  I can, and do, perform FBAs all the time, but it considerably lengthens the drafting phase of sewing, and I suspect I'm not alone in really not enjoying that part of the process.

I also really appreciated how well all the pattern pieces came together - the notches lined up, the angles lined up, and the instructions were good.  I'm a happy camper.