Monday, December 22, 2008

Blah - Two wadders in a row

Wow, this hasn't happened to me in awhile. And grrrr, I am SO IRRITATED!

Here's the blouse I was making, Vogue 2912. It's the bottom right view. The top of the bodice has pleats across the front. That tie looks a little 80's but I loved it anyway. I knew I needed something silky and slinky so the tie would hang correctly. Now I remember why charmeuse is not my favorite fabric to work with.

But the fabric actually wasn't the problem, it was the unfortunate location of the 4th button. Although a bit hard to tell from this picture, it makes the bodice cave in right under the bust. Had I the insight to place the buttonhole below the horizontal seam, all would have been fine. But I cannot fix this unless I take the entire blouse apart and recut that front piece. We are talking hours of work. And I have tried placing snaps here and there with no change in outcome.


Up next is this cute Butterick 5277, the black view with high collar.

Oh my gosh, this dress was a nightmare. I made it in a crape-backed satin in bright red for the Christmas candlelight service at church. Stupid fabric. You have to use a squirt bottle to get a crisp ironed seam but the water leaves marks from time to time. The pattern calls for zero interfacing, although it certainly needs some along the armhole sleeve seams (which I added because it was stretching out there.) And that collar could definitely benefit from interfacing, since it in no way resembles the standing collar on the pattern envelope. I spray starched the heck out of it to get some firmness. Still droopy. Which I really could have lived with were it not for the awful fit issues I was having. Gaping here, wrinkles there. I worked and worked and worked on the fitting. I'm D-O-N-E with it. I'll have no new dress for Christmas.

Close-up of the droopy collar:

And oh, yes, I bought the perfect shoes to wear with it. Guess I'll have to make another red dress. But not out of crape-backed satin, and not with this awful pattern. It's going in the trash, along with the dress after I salvage the zipper.

I'm feeling rather bah-humbugged about the whole last 2 weeks of sewing. But I am excited about Christmas, so I'm going to walk away from my sewing machine and spend time with my family until after the holiday.

20 comments:

  1. do you ever send the misfits to charity or a thrift store? i bet someone wouldn't mind the issues because they wouldn't know what it was supposed to looke like. ;D

    bummer though... so much work and such beautiful fabric to not have it fit right! sheesh... poor you. :(

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  2. I do donate items that are completely finished from time to time. Usually things that I've had for awhile that don't get worn for various reasons. But for the most part if I have fit issues or the like, I don't actually finish the garment. That red dress needs some hand sewing along the inside zipper and some hooks and eyes applied to the collar. And then I can reuse sewing notions like buttons and zippers so I usually try to salvage those.

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  3. So far from what I see it's really a nice looking dress... but it's on a hanger so what do I know? I hope there is some way you can salvage it.
    Good luck

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  4. Oh I'm sorry this happened right at the end of the year. Both patterns are lovely and actually your photos make both garments look fine, but you know how they make you feel. Hope you get to wear your fab shoes anyway, and have a very happy Christmas with your family and friends.

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  5. So Sorry to hear of your mishaps. Those shoes are dynamite!

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  6. I LOVE the shoes! I have a couple of pair by JRenee and can wear them all day!!! Okay, I was trying to concentrate on the bright spot in the post! :)

    I wouldn't toss the dress pattern - in another fabric this would be a fantastic look on you!

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  7. Sorry about the wadders! They can be so discouraging!

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  8. Darn! They look nice anyway...so disappointing! I have my Christmas dress cut but that is it---I was just thinking of a back up plan like last year's dress!!

    Merry Christmas!

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  9. Sorry about your mishaps...The flaws are not visible at all. I really love the color on both garments and those shoes are to die for....lol....

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  10. LOVE the shoes. Thanks for the heads up on the dress issues. I was thinking about adding that one to the cue, but if you're having fit issues I shudder to think what I'd have to do!! If you see that collar somewhere else, let me know though. I love the look!

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  11. Sorry about all of the issues. At least you got a super cute pair of shoes out of the deal! :(

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  12. Stunning shoes!
    Shame about the dress and top. Both look gorgeous to me.

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  13. Hi amanda, just remembered I have a Vogue pattern with a similar collar to that dress. So with the caveat that I have yet to make this, here is the link to Vogue 8408 http://www.voguepatterns.com/item/V8408.htm??tab=list/very_easy_vogue_dresses_br_includes_koko_beall_designer&page=all

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  14. Oh, what a shame! I have that dress pattern and was hoping to make it in satin back crepe.... maybe I'll try a firmer fabric first!

    LOVELOVELOVE THOSE SHOES!!

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  16. Hi Amanda,

    I've been following your blog for some time, I think your work is great.

    The purple blouse looks fine to me, it is well fitted and very neatly done - it would be petty to drop it.
    I can't tell from the pictures whether you made the button closure with vented button holes? If not - have you considered inserting more buttons between existing ones, to make more dense set? I think it might fix the caving problem, without need for too many alterations. Also, it wouldn't spoil the blouse's style and current look. At least - try fixing it this way, and if it doesn't help, you can throw it away with no second thoughts.

    Best regards,
    Ana

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  17. Oh Amanda, so sorry about that, but thanks for sharing. I am learning so much from you!
    Those shoes are so fabulous! I hope that your next projects go swimmingly.

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  18. Just a thought here that I've done a few times - could you salvage the dress and make another skirt like the black BWOF one you recently made?
    Good luck though, with however you choose to use the fabric

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  19. Just wanted to second Ana's comment. It looks like you can add additional buttons. I would think that would solve the problem. The fabric is so pretty. It would be a frustrating wadder.
    PS Love the blog!

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  20. I'm so sorry... Both projects looked so promising and I love the red dress concept... You must make a dress to pair with those killer shoes!

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