Five Dress Patterns

I went to a four day sewing retreat at Papermaple Studio in New Orleans and had a fabulous time.  The studio was beautiful, spacious, well-equipped, and Leisa was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.  I met some interesting ladies, all of whom were working on really lovely, and sometimes very special projects.  

I however worked on muslins, dress muslins to be specific.  I came home with four muslins, all in the final stages of fit, and I believe manageable for me to finish up on my own.  All of the patterns are for dresses I would make and wear over the summer, wearable shapes that I would probably make repeatedly.    I feel like I am in a good place to jump back into making my own clothes, and I also feel I learned a lot.  Leisa helped me to look at the fitting process in new ways, and I am very excited to move forward.

 

Alas I am traveling most of this month so you will not be seeing immediate progress.

 

I also did some sewing before I went to New Orleans, partially fitting and making up the Closet Core Cielo dress pattern.  

Admittedly I felt a little confused by the entire fitting process.  It had simply been too many years and even though I am more adept at fitting knitting patterns, somehow I just could not wrap my head around the process, so perhaps I was not quite as methodical as I could have been.  I did a quick muslin of the basic pattern, decided I needed to pinch out a pleat on the right side of the dress, from the neckline angled down.  You can see that in the pattern piece above, the green lines, which are all on one side of the center fold only.  

Once I drew that in, and pivoted the pleat out into the dart, it changed the angle of the shoulder and armscye, although it did not change the armscye or sleeve shaping at all.   You can see the repositioning in the blue line above.  I should have made another muslin.  But I did not.  I just went ahead and cut my first dress, rationalizing that I could spend an endless amount of time on muslins and I desperately needed summer clothes.   The final dress was not perfect, but it is wearable, and will get me through the summer.  I suspect I am more aware of the flaws than are most people, except perhaps for my closest and sharpest sewing friends.

Here is a (poor) picture of me in the first dress, a purple 65% linen, 35% cotton blend.  As you can see, I made my dress longer than the pattern illustration.  In fact I had to add about 5 inches in length to the pattern, all below the waist.  I love the shape of this dress, it is exactly the kind of loose, easy, dress that makes hot humid summer dressing tolerable.  

I did note a few problems, but that didn't stop me from making two more dresses.  The second dress is an Australian cotton print, and the third version, my favorite so far, is in a more loosely woven muted green linen check.   I did not go back and perfect the pattern before making these dresses.  As I stated, need trumped perfectionism.  Although I admit that the first time I put them on I was self conscious about my own failings, I promptly forgot that and was simply happy and comfortable. Generally, I hate making things under pressure, which is exactly what I did here.  I needed clothes and I whipped them out.  Now that I have my most basic wardrobe needs covered, I can spend time with my sewing, hopefully learning and improving as I go.  

 

Each project is a learning process, and I don't intend to get so wrapped up in perfectionism that I never wear anything.  I learned a lot about fitting the Cielo dress through making the three copies, more than I did from the muslin.  Then I learned more about fit by working on the four muslins in New Orleans.  Every project is a learning process.  I am sure there will be successes and failures.  If I have an excess of successes, I may grow tired of my three dresses, or I may not.  In the meantime, a part of me feels like a kid again. 

Comments

[Debbie keller]

How do I get this muslin dress pattern?

[Celeste Freeman]

I love your dresses. I'm new at sewing and would like patterns like this one. I would also make same dress in different colors. I just hope it's not to many pieces and it's rather easy.
Thank you

[Brenda Bender]

Your post is inspiring to me. I sewed a lot as a young woman but family and work gradually replaced that hobby. Now retired and with massive body changes I am similarly confused by the fitting process and without a sewing buddy to struggle through it . If anyone is aware of a similar sewing studio or teacher in Colorado preferably near Denver I would appreciate the info. I do not use social media so posting here is preferred. Thanks for any help

[Helen Chesnutt]

Would love to have the pattern

[Mardel]

Chris, I tend to agree about the continuum. I am not convinced that any failure is a failure but more of a learning opportunity, unless of course one fails to learn. I also see that I need to think more about the words I use and how use them. My three dresses are successes. They are beautifully made and they fit at least as well as anything I could buy, if not better in some ways. My disappointments are in my own excessively critical expectations of myself; expectations I do not hold of others. Thank you for calling me to account.

[Chris Schwab]

I do appreciate your way of looking at the sewing process, and I agree wholeheartedly except for 1 small note…my continuum isn’t just success or failure- somewhere along the non-success side sits Learning Event…for me, it is often about how I frame things. Glad you have some things to where in the heat! We recently moved to FL and I am in need of more color, to replace the darker items in there. A closet refresh is a lot of work but pays off every morning. Best wishes on your remaining projects.