Wenona dress, Named Clothing: fail?

Dear sewing friends,

When visiting my daughter last year, I had bought some lovely Liberty Tana Lawn. 

After some hesitation, the lovely Wenona dress versions by Megan, Yoshimi and Claudia inspired me to make one, too.

I printed a bunch of the technical drawing to find the best arrangement of the two fabrics for the details.

I chose one size smaller than according to my measurements because every sewist had outlined  a big outcome.

When cutting out, I was quite careful to be accurate with the print.

I finished all seams with french seams.

I snipped the seam allowance to turn it under two times to hem the sleeve slits.

When I finished my dress in july, weather was too hot to wear it. Furthermore, I realised that the print bothered me a bit.

In the first week of Oktober, we had our great sewing bee "AnNäherung Süd" at Würzburg with about fourty lovely women sewing and chattering together. I was very pleased sharing a room with Julia Sewionista, IsaLaBella and Almut of La Couseuse, we had such a great time!

I asked for help how to put an outfit with the dress. This was the only time I wore it. I suppose that I will have to shorten it. It looks too much like an apron dress. What do you think? I appreciate honest opinions!

Pattern: Wenona dress, Named Clothing

Fabric: Liberty Tana Lawn Ruby Templar E and Anderson C

Size: 36

Alterations: One size smaller than my measurements.

Lovely Wenona dresses made by:

Megan "Meggipeg"

Yoshimi "The flying squirrel"

Claudia "Bunte Kleider"

Now it is time to hop over to German MeMadeMittwoch. Have a nice time looking at all those memades,

SaSa

Camden Cape, Seamwork,

My dear sewing friends,

Last fall, at the factory outlet of Tandem (Bühl), I had bought enough woolen double fabric to make two capes, one for my daughter and one for myself.

My Cypress Cape was finished at the end of winter and worn until the first warm days, it's so cozy.

When my daughter was at home, she chose the Camden Cape pattern by Seamwork.

I immediately cut the pieces and began to sew. The fabric being double, a cozy feltlike wool blend at the outside and a knit at the inside, I chose omitting the lining and making the same finish as for my own cape. I changed the center inserting a twoway zip with an underlaid band.
Having sewn the last vertical seam, I realised that I had closed the armslits, too!

I had to wait for daylight to unpick the seams and those of the flat-felled-like finish (where I had graded the seam allowances already).

This was made later on but then- warm days were coming, I was unsure how to finish the slits and I had to draw a back facing...

So it stayed as an unfinished object until the end of september when I would visit my daughter.

I finished the armslits with two interfaced fabric strips each which I first closed to the size of the slit, sewed them right sides facing the cape, graded the seams, turned them and topstitched them in place. Same procedure with the neckfacing, which I drew overlapping the cape pieces at the seamlines. I graded the fabric to the topstiches.

My daughter loves her cape and wore it all the evenings.

Pattern: Camden Cape, Seamwork

Fabric: double fabric feltlike/knit

Alterations: twoway zip with underlaid band

                     omitted the lining; added neckfacing and slitfacing

Do you want to have a look at the other hundred of German sewists who are meeting Susanne at MeMadeMittwoch?

Next weekend about 40 sewists will meet at Würzburg for the southern german sewing bee AnNäherung_Süd 2016. I am quite excited to meet them!
SaSa

Midsummer Night's Dream dress, Papercut Patterns

My dear sewists,

What a lovely summer heat in september! Who had thought that I could wear my lightweight Midsummer Night's Dream dress in these days!

As soon as the pattern was released, I loved it.

To say the truth, I very much love the name. Midsummer Night's Dream was the first ballet my daughters would dance with their Ballett-Ensemble, so I have got some sweet memories.

However, I realised that the pattern has got some issues, described by some of the few bloggers who had already sewn it.

 

The pattern rested in my drawer waiting for the right fabric. Eventually, at a fabric outlet,  I purchased a very lightweight cotton/silk blend, a perfect material for this pattern.

I had intended to use the border print along the neckline, but made an error aligning the waistline. I then cut the back bodice accordingly. I cut the skirt as long as my fabric allowed me to.

I used self bias binding. I sewed the skirt's back center with a french seam, the other ones I made as false flat felled seams (foot #70) to make them more stable.

This was nearly to become a bad dud! The front armhole was way too long. The straps were moved extremely to the center. So I remembered Chantal's solution to gather the front armhole. Sewing three pleats, I pinched three full inches out of each front armhole. 

This way, I've got a lovely airy summerdress. The skirt's overlap is very well designed, no gaping fear! 

Pattern: Midsummer Night's Dream Dress, Papercut Patterns

Size: XS bust, S waist and skirt

Fabric: Cotton/silk blend, paisleylike borderprint, KBC Lörrach

Alterations: 3 pleats of one inch each at front armhole, midi /maxi length.

 

Others' Midsummer Night's Dream dresses:
Chantal's two dresses
Mel's, Juliet's and Kat's
Fiona's and
Rachel's.

Let's see who else is wearing an airy summer dress at this time of the year at MeMadeMittwoch!
 

Enjoy some nice late summer days!

SaSa