Wool Wiggle Dress, Gertie Style

In my last post, I asked people to guess what I was sewing from this picture:



Those funny organza strips went into making underarm gussets for wiggle dress I made for a client last week. 

Pretty cool, huh?

The dress pattern is from Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing.  I've made two other patterns from this book, the Bow-Tied Blouse (here) and her Pencil Skirt (here and here).  The wiggle dress I made had shorter sleeves like the dress on the book cover.

Fitting this dress on my client was relatively easy.  I cut a size 10 on top and scaled down to a size 6 at the hips.  The muslin looked a hot mess at first.  I've been following the LCD fitting technique I learned in a Peggy Sagers workshop (LCD - adjust length then circumference then depth) and when I pinched 1.25 inches off the length of the bodice (where it looked bunchy between bust and waist), it all worked.   The only other alterations I made was to take in the side seams at the hip about 1/4", peg the sides at the hem by 2" overall, and take in the princess seam under the bust at the second fitting.

I used a lot of the skills I learned from Susan Khalje's Couture Dress Craftsy Class and advice I got from Rhonda Buss while making the wedding dress.

The dress is underlined in black cotton batiste, which kept the soft drape of the wool but gave it a bit more support and structure.

I added organza selvedge strips to the back opening to keep the bias cut from stretching and hand-picked the lapped center zipper down the back (most of the zipper was inserted during Cora's piano lesson):

I attached the lining to the sleeves by hand with a slip stitch and understitched the lining with a pick stitch:

I added drapery weights to the back vent and thread chains to help the lining and dress move well together:

I bought 5 yards of this wool/wool blend fabric from a woman who was destashing on Craigslist before moving out-of-state.  The lining is an Ambiance Bemberg lining I purchased from EmmaOneSock.com about a year ago when it was on sale.

This dress made me think about couture vs. home or industrial sewing.  I used a number of couture techniques, but I also used quicker techniques when I thought going couture wouldn't add significantly.   Here are some of the places where I decided to go the home/industrial route:

• I didn't hand baste the pieces before sewing (although I probably should have done this with the princess seams as I had to sew the second one three times before I got it right).
• I serged the seam allowances instead of binding them in some way (I love the way a bound seam looks but I knew my client didn't care enough about this to pay for the extra time).
• I attached the lining to the dress at the neckline by machine and understitched by machine with only a few hand stitches where I thought they were needed (time/cost issue).

One of the co-organizers of Berwyn Makers (a group for folks needing help running a creative business) wrote an interesting blog post on this issue last week.  Elaine Luther is a metal smith and jewelery maker (and lately, a painter).  She recently attended The Zoom Symposium, to discuss the Future of Craft, and she sums up how her thoughts on process have evolved over the years in a post on what she calls The Cult of the Handcrafted.  It's interesting to read about how she has moved away from needing to handcraft everything to deciding in certain instances to use quicker/high tech methods.  You can read the post here.


I'd like to take a course soon on industrial sewing techniques so that I can learn more about that side of things.  I want each garment to involve making decisions about technique based on the fabric, the style, the client, the cost.  What matters to me in this case is that I am happy with the way the dress turned out,  I don't feel like I cheated in order to save time, and my client loves it!

 
What about you?  Do you enjoy couture techniques?  When do you use them and when do you not?

Can you guess?

I have two guessing games for you today.  Who's feeling clever?

First, can you guess what I wrestled into submission yesterday?

Second, I received 500 fancy new labels earlier this week.  I'm so excited to be able to put my signature on my own garments and those I make for clients!  I bought them from xpresalabels.com, (recommended by Angela Wolf in her How to Start a Home-Based Fashion Design Business) and from order to arrival took about 2 weeks.  I love them! 

 

Can anyone guess how long it will take me to use all 500 labels????

How Much Coral is Too Much Coral?

I have been having a grand time these past few weeks.  After months of practicing skills I am already comfortable with, I've learned three new ones in the last three weeks.

Bound buttonholes . . ..

waistband boning . . .

and an underarm gusset (still in muslin form)!

My fellow Gertie readers will note that all of these skills came from Gertie's New Book of Better Sewing.  It arrived about two months back along with a copy of the September Threads magazine, so you know that was a banner day in the PoldaPop household.  Or at least for me.  I think I spent the rest of the day ignoring requests for milk and goldfish and attention in general so that I could scan the pages, plot my new Gertie wardrobe, and read about drafting a peplum.

The first project I wanted to do was the Bow-Tied Blouse.  It looks so sexy in a sexy-librarian sort of way. 

And who doesn't want buttons all down her back like Miss Mary Mack??  I also thought it would work with fabric I picked up from GorgeousFabrics.com with a skirt/top combo in mind.  I had seen this Hart's tutorial for making a stretch lace skirt, and I immediately wanted one for myself.  I love bright coral (I saw it on Belly earlier this fall and it looked so lovely next to her dark brown hair that I wanted it next to mine).  I am slightly nervous that with the skirt there's a little too much coral, but if I'm honest I don't really give a damn what anyone else thinks about this.

 

I found the buttons at The Economy Shop (favorite thrift store). 

I was immediately attracted to them because they look like Werther's Original Hard Candies.  In my late 20's I went through a Werther's phase (I may just love caramel more than chocolate) until I went to the dentist and had 11 (yes, shocking, I know) cavities, when I'd never had a cavity before.  Paying for the fillings cured me of my Werther's addiction, but I'm glad I get to at least remember the flavor whenever I wear this top.  I also liked that the color clashed a little with the pinky coral. 

I am mostly happy with the way the top turned out, especially since I didn't make a muslin or adjust the pattern in any way.  When I make it again, I'll add 1.5 inches to the length so that I feel more comfortable wearing it with low-ish rise jeans.  There's also some extra fabric in the front.  I'm wondering if my more experienced sewing friends can tell me if this is what a top looks like when it needs a SBA? 

Just so you don't think I spend all my time sewing selfishly (I only sew for myself on the weekends, promise!!), I can also report that I've completed a couple of skirts for clients and I've got a couple more awaiting fittings.  I forgot to take a picture of Melissa's pencil skirt (Melissa: can you send a picture, please pretty please??)  but I do have one of Liz's skirt:

This is a high-waisted denim pencil skirt with homemade bias tape along the hem.  And now I'm thinking that I want to add boning to my next high-waisted denim skirt.  I'm itching to get out the wire cutters and pliers again . . .