Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing: June 2014

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Gertie's Sewing Show, Episode 2!

It's here! The next installment of my new sewing web series. This one is a sewist's review of the exhibit Charles James: Beyond Fashion, now showing at The Met Museum. I'm joined by my lovely fellow sewing nerds Allyson and Fleur.

The purpose of Gertie's Sewing Show was to be "nonstop excitement for the sewing nerd." Not just tutorials, but a dialogue about the things that make us go "Ooh!". Infotainment, if you will. I hope you enjoy it.

Check out my snazzy new intro! Music courtesy of guitar genius and songwriter extraordinaire Mark Ellison (thanks, Mark!). Editing and such done by dear friends Martin Kemp and Fleur Hoare. Entire series made possible by Elna sewing machines.

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss an episode. Upcoming episodes include a tutorial on using spiral steel boning and a look inside some really awesome vintage dresses. Sewing nerds unite!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Wanda Jackson-Inspired Fringe Dress

I made this dress in April and never blogged it, can you believe it? This fringe dress was directly inspired by Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson, who used to wear the hell out of cute little fringed sheath dresses.

Now she wears the hell out of fringed jackets.

Anyway, I made the dress for a performance at our local bowling alley, where I was lucky enough to get to sing several Wanda songs (this was for one of the rock band boot camps at Beacon Music Factory, if you're curious).

I managed to get 40 yards (!) of red chainette fringe at Daytona Trimming in NYC--if you buy the bolt, you get 50% off. How could I resist? I had enough fringe to make a test version, the dress itself, and trim some really cool shirts for my band mate fellas.

And I still have a ton of red fringe.

The pattern is, believe it or not, the Sultry Sheath from my first book. I just re-drew the front and back necklines to form a scoop with peaks at the top, and then added rhinestone straps.

The dress itself is made out of silk zibeline, which I'd never sewn with before. I originally wanted faille, but they were sold out in red. I knew I needed something strong enough to support several pounds of fringe, and the zibeline was perfect. It has a lot of body, so it was the perfect base. Here it is, mid-fringeing. It was almost a shame to cover it up.

I put the dress together in the base fabric first, then sewed fringe rows so they were overlapping by about 1". The top was trickier, since it needed to follow the lines of the the bodice. I did a test in muslin first.

I found that the fringe worked best when it ended at the waist, and then started again at the skirt, so that the fringe doesn't obscure the waistline.

Chainette fringe has a braid at the top, which I left exposed at the neckline.

Then, I just turned in the neckline seam allowances at hand stitched them in place. The silk crepe de chine lining is hand stitched on top of that seam allowance. (Or it would be, if I'd gotten around to sewing the lining in before the performance. Whoops . . . It's on my ironing board, still waiting to be sewn in.)

Fun fact: It's called chainette fringe because it comes with a row of chain stitching at the bottom of the fringe, which holds it together during construction. Once the fringe is sewn in place, you get to pull out the chain stitch, releasing the fringe. Honestly, that's the most fun thing ever.

The best thing about the dress is the way it moves! So much fun to wear.

The other great thing is that I've now gotten over my obsession with fringe, so I don't have to fondle it longingly every time I go into a trim store.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Slip Sew-Along #10: Sew Your Bow!

Hey sew-alongers! I am writing from Arizona, where I'm helping out my parents for a bit. (They are a mess: Dad has broken ribs, Mom has a broken wrist.) I don't have my sew-along materials with me, but luckily there's only one step left: sew on your bow!

It's pretty self-expanatory: just position the bow at the center front seam at the bottom of the neckline lace and sew on by hand securely.

You have a finished slip now! I'll do a tutorial on the panties next week, when I'm back home.

Mom and I set up her sewing machines last night. Don't worry, she can still sew with a broken wrist!

Previous Sew-Along Posts:

Slip Sew-Along #1: Inside the Kit, Plus Other Supplies
Slip Sew-Along #2: Pre-treating Your Fabric
Slip Sew-Along #3: Picking a Size and Making Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #4: Bust Adjustments
Slip Sew-Along #5: Cutting and Marking
Slip Sew-Along #6: Sewing the Bra Top
Slip Sew-Along #7: Sewing the Front and Back
Slip Sew-Along #8: Sewing the Lace Hem
Slip Sew-Along #9: Introducing Gertie's Sewing Show!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Finished Butterick 6019 in Shocking Pink

Yay--a dress made just for fun! This is my pattern, Butterick 6019, which I've been dying to make for myself since it came out last month.

Here's the line drawing, so you can see the two different views.

This pattern was inspired by the designs of Alfred Shaheen, and I developed the pattern by draping it, which was both challenging and fun.

One of the main features of the dress is the bias strip that crosses over the bust. In the pattern, the instructions tell you to tuck the right side of the bias band into the side seam, but I decided to experiment with seaming it and leaving it out. I think it looks pretty cool!

The fabric is an amazing silk shantung woven from hot pink and orange threads. It practically glows. I bought it in Salt Lake City maybe three years ago, and I'm thrilled to have finally sewn it.

There's a lot of understructure in this dress. Let's start with the skirt. I underlined in in silk organza, and used hem lace at the bottom. I decided to use horsehair braid on the skirt lining--I saw this recently when I was lucky enough to look inside a couture gown. It makes so much sense! You get the structure of the horsehair braid, but you can't see it on the outer fabric. (For instructions on sewing with horsehair braid, see this post and this video!)

Here's the dress inside out. The horsehair braid is hidden between the skirt layers.

(Oh, BTW! The pattern doesn't call for a skirt lining, but I added one made of cotton broadcloth.) I also lengthened the skirt by about 3 inches, for a more tea-length vibe.

The bodice has all sorts of stuff.

I added a grosgrain waist stay, underwires (see tutorial here), bra cups, and interfacing. There's fusible batting to support the outer cup, and steel boning throughout.

There are two sections of elastic shirring in the back. I used 1/8" strips of elastic sandwiched into channels rather than elastic thread, which I'm going to put into a tutorial soon.