"Lady Grey"
Just the Facts:
Fabric: 1.5 yards of grey 95% rayon/5% spandex knit from JoAnn's $10.50
Fabric: 1.5 yards of grey 95% rayon/5% spandex knit from JoAnn's $10.50
Notions: Thread, clear elastic $8 (4 cones of serger thread on sale included)
First Worn: June 23, 2014
Wear Again: yuppers
Total Cost: $18.50 not including the pattern
Wear Again: yuppers
Total Cost: $18.50 not including the pattern
I really pushed to get this dress finished on a Sunday evening. I normally would have unpicked seams when the corners didn't line up (like on one of the sleeve cuffs and one of the underarm seams), but I let it go on this dress for the sake of expedience. I am normally a huge perfectionist and I struggle with leaving things slightly off. It's something I'm working on--not being so OCPD about things.
When I bought this fabric, I thought it would make a great basic dress. I rarely wear grey. I think it's boring. So that was probably a mistake. I need to do Colette's Wardrobe Architect project to make sure I'm keeping the personal in personal style.
Trust me. I'll still get lots of wear out of this dress. I will always need to add an accessory of some sort to brighten up my face. See, I have a yellow skin tone and I have to be careful of what I put near my face to avoid looking sallow.
See what I mean? Instant sallow.
I used the same pattern measurements as the last 2 versions: 3 for my shoulders and high bust grading down to a 2 for my waist. I love how easy this pattern makes it to sew for others too. I'm positive I could churn one of these out for anyone and everyone who asked me to. I'm thinking about making one for my mom, but she wouldn't like this clingy fabric (she has a thyroid issue that makes her bloated all the time--gotta hide that).
I bought these adorable grey shoes a couple months ago. They were incredibly inexpensive. I normally HATE cheap shoes, but as it turns out, these shoes are actually well-made. I just need to get a pack of those heel grippers to make the shoes fit perfect.
(This picture is kind of unfortunate.) I'm still embracing the back wrinkles. I'm out of ideas on how to fix it. I may only have this problem when I stand certain ways or something. At least I can't see it, so whatevs.
Demonstrating the twirl, as I do. (Ignore my yard. Limbs needed to be trimmed and it's a LONG walk to the other fence line where I deliver yard waste for decomposition.)
Downside of this fabric is I get to feel like Marilyn Monroe when the wind blows. WHEEEEE!
The lady skater (and most all other knit garment patterns I've found) calls for 1/4" clear elastic to stabilize a few key points. I know certain stores online sell 1/4" elastic, but I find it a bit expensive compared to the slightly wider 3/8" clear elastic I can find in stores. Here's what I do to handle that:
When I begin sewing the elastic to the fabric, I don't match up the ends precisely. Instead, I allow a bit of the elastic to hang over. I put my needle position to the left slightly (which is the 1/4" seam allowance position on my machine), line the elastic up with the 3/8" marking on my throat plate, and line the edge of the fabric up with the edge of my presser foot (aka 1/4" marking). This positioning ensures the elastic will be secure and within the seam allowance. It really doesn't take much extra effort and saves me a bit of money. Win.
You will end up with a clean zig-zag with one point of the stitch on the elastic and one point just off.
Another view of my elastic stitching magic. My serger takes off the overhanging elastic when I finish the edges. FUN FACT: You can also use a strip of the selvedge edge in place of the clear elastic. Self-fabric stabilizer FTW!
This is my machine and part of my sewing area. I call this my watermelon room. It's so green! I have the pipe cleaners near to help keep my bobbin area clean. Pipe cleaners are the bomb. They effortlessly pull out all the fuzzies.
One of the changes I made for the Lady Grey was to put my hem stitching line a bit higher than normal. I usually stitch about 1/4" from the fold, which leaves room for my serged edge to flip down and be annoying. The higher stitching line looks like a hot mess underneath, but that serged edge ain't going nowhere! The stretchy fabric was hard to beat into submission and I have a few wonky areas along the hem where the fabric didn't feed quite right. I'm over it though.
I also decided to use the zig-zag stitch around the neckline. You can see more sections where the fabric didn't pull through correctly and I got a less desirable satin stitch out of the deal. Nothing ventured, nothing gained right. I will be trying to get my walking foot to work correctly before working on my next knit project. IIRC, the thread nested on one side or the other. It's going to take some trial and error to get it right.
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