Monday, February 11, 2013

Pick Me Up

Here's my second version of the Tiramisu dress:


It's made from wool jersey - a hard find in these parts. Like the denim for yesterday's leggings, I bought it at King Textiles.

Here are the deets about my first foray into the Tiramisu dress.

I modified this version by reverting the front bodice to its pre-FBA width. My first version was too gape-y because it was too wide.

This time, instead of width I tailored to my deep bust by adding 1" length to the front bodice.  This is easily accomplished because the bodice can gain its length by sloping towards the centre from the unaltered side seams. The side seams stay the same, even though you gain length over the bust.

I overdid it a bit and I think the length could be scaled back to 5/8" on my next go round. Point is, this dress is highly scalable whether you have a wide bust or a deep bust.

This fabric is very stable i.e. relatively stretch-free (for a knit) so I didn't have to smallen it up by taking in the side seams in excessively the way I did on my first, ponte version.

Alas, I had a mishap when stabilizing the gathers and sewing the front waistband onto the front bodice. It's a boring story, but after the fact, I couldn't rip the stitches out (due to the nature of the fabric) so I had to do some fancy footwork. It wasn't optimal and, though the dress is wearable, this isn't my opus.

I did intend to make this version with a 3/4 sleeve, interestingly, but I had only 2 yards of fabric (less than 60" wide) and this pattern is a HOG. I actually ended up shortening the skirt by 2" and I even left the hem raw. I used every inch of fabric except a section that was damaged and spotted with rips.

I leave you with this photo:


It's no glamour shot but it truly captures my inner imp. Whatever you imagine I'm thinking, well really, I probably am. :-)

29 comments:

  1. See, that's what I mean -- cute!
    And that looks like such a wearable dress.

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  2. You are so adorable!

    I love the dress. And thank you for the details about adding to the bodice length, not side seams, for a deep bust. Those details are now bookmarked in my brain.

    Love your inner imp :).

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    1. My inner imp is taking a bit of a hit what with the work week. But I'm trying to keep her around :-)

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  3. Cute dress!!!

    I think I understand what you mean about the lengthening of bodice. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing that.

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    1. I wondered if that was vaguely clear. It's hard to explain until you start making the dress. Then it becomes clear. One of the challenges, when you need to lengthen the front (without also lengthening the back) is that the side seams end up being diff lengths, which is fussy to fix, in many patterns.

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  4. I love this dress - one of my favorite pieces you've made so far! Congratulations - very flattering in my view!

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    1. Thanks Pam! It is a flattering dress. Though the pockets add to hip width...

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  5. You naughty girl! That is a wicked wicked thought! (Or was that me?) LOL

    This dress seems to flatter just about everyone! It really is a winner on you! Too bad for the mishap - even worse that it was a boring one!

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    1. :-) I try.

      It is very body friendly, this dress. Have you made it? (Can't remember...)

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  6. Hello, gorgeous!!! So great to see you. I am not surprised to find you sewing beautiful things. Just wanted to stop by and say hello as I think of you often.
    xo
    Tracey( aka La Belette Rouge)

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    1. T: You must be reading my mind. I had a long look at your blog last night for the first time in ages. I'm so pleased for you that things are going so well. xo

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  7. Oh man, it looks so good on you! A nice, solid basic - but so flattering!

    Also, I meant to comment on your denim leggings yesterday but I must have forgot. So here's my comment now. HOT HOT HOT. Seriously - they look amazing on you! Very saucy ;)

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    1. Well, your first version was the one that through me over the edge. No doubt the dress is very figure flattering.

      And thank you!

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  8. LOL! Love the last pic, definitely captures your personality as I know it. :-) This pattern just didn't turn my crank, but seeing all these gorgeous versions I'm slowly but surely being won over....

    So about the wool jersey, is it itchy? Hard to sew? Hard to wash/care for? (I don't do dry clean only, and I avoid handwashing like the plague...) It sounds intriguing, so I'll have to see if I can find some after I find out the answers to the above questions.

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    1. I'm glad to hear it! You should consider this dress. It's very practical. Is it "exciting" - that, I don't know. But it is so wearable and comfortable and bust flattering.

      The jersey was very easy to wash. I hand washed it and dried it flat. Last time I used this fabric (on a shirt), I was afraid to do this. However, coming to terms with the fact that I don't want to dry clean anymore, I washed the shirt I made with it, after the fact. It did shrink a little.

      All this is to say that the fabric washes fine, but you have to wash it before you make the garment.

      Is it itchy? Some would think so. I don't have a problem with wool, unless it's quite scratchy, so I don't mind it. But it's not exactly cashmere.

      Wool jersey wears very beautifully. And I find it quite "retro".

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  9. Gorgeous...both you and the dress!

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  10. Ha! I posted about Tiramisu too, although mine is a mess at the moment. I like your dress, looks awesome with the boots.

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    1. Gotta go read your post more carefully. Just skimmed it after reading this comment. It really does fit larger than you think, huh?

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  11. I can't add more insight than everyone else has already done. :) But I too think this is a cute dress.

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  12. Great dress! It's in my plans for this year.

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  13. It's very chic in the black wool; which sounds gorgeous to wear :)

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  14. It looks FANTASTIC!! And that second photo is ace :)

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  15. i think your inner imp and my outer imp should go drinkin'.

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