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.

Portrait Blouse in Strawberry Print Knit

While in Palm Springs teaching at Heather Ross's workshop last week, I took advantage of a few quiet moments to whip up a top! This is Heather's own Briar Rose strawberry print in a jersey knit. It's a stable knit, kind of like an interlock, so I decided to experiment with using it in place of a woven. I used the Portrait Blouse pattern that's included in my book. 

Wow, that was a few hairstyles ago. In the book, the top is made in a silk charmeuse. I found that I could easily replace that with a stable knit. The best part? No side zipper required! The knit makes it stretchy enough to get over one's body. 

I changed the neckline slightly by making it lower and a bit more U-shaped. I finished the neckline with a 1/2" binding rather than the facing that's included with the pattern. 

Pretty much everything else about the construction was exactly the same as detailed in the book. The only exception is that I used a very narrow zigzag stitch (.5 mm wide) on the sleeve and lower hems to allow the fabric to stretch. 

I kept the bust darts and waistline dart tucks for shaping. All in all, it makes a great casual top sewn in a knit. Perfect for layering under cardigans and such. Give it a try on nice firm knit--nothing too slinky or unstable like a single jersey. 

Signing at Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival This Weekend!

Hey, who's the brunette?!

A couple weeks ago, I asked if any of you would be attending the New York Sheep & Wool Festival. Apparently the answer is yes! (I also learned that those "in the know" just call it "Rhinebeck." Good insider tip for a newb like me!)

Anyway! I will be doing two book signings on Saturday, the 19th in the Merritt Books signing area in Building B. Come by from noon to 1:00 pm or 1:30 to 2:30 pm. Hope to see you there!

P.S. Want to win a copy of my book at the festival? There's a social media contest going on. Post (to Instagram or Twitter) a photo of a new craft project you're working on by Thursday the 17th for a chance to win a copy of Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing at the STC Craft table. Be sure to tag it with @sewgertiesew (Twitter) or @gertie18 (Instagram) and use hashtag #sheepandwoolNY. (Are you reading? If so, you totally deserve a free book!)

California Adventure

Good morning, readers! I'm writing this from lovely Los Angeles. I've had a whirlwind few days! I arrived on Friday afternoon and drove to Anaheim for the Craft & Hobby Association show.
Remember how I was making my design, Butterick 5814? Well, I finally finished it on the plane. (Don't worry, I'm going to do some more proper posts on it, plus that 3/4 length sleeve tutorial.) I desperately wanted to wear it that night, since I was going to Butterick's company dinner. They're celebrating their 150th anniversary! I finished it just in time to take a cell phone pic (I call it "Self Portrait with Toilet") and then rush down to dinner, where I had the most amazing time catching up with the Butterick/McCalls folks.

I wore it with a vintage cardigan since it was chilly.

Also, another week, another shade of pink hair! My last dye job was looking weirdly patchy (purple-magenta in places, pink in others) so I went for an emergency touch-up before my trip. We used a mix of Special Effects Atomic Pink, Cupcake Pink, and Cherry Bomb. I think I've found my perfect color!

The next day I had my book signing at the Butterick booth! I wore the scallop waist skirt and Peter Pan collar blouse from my book.

I met some kindred spirits.

 And caught up with friends, old and new. (That's Haley from The Zen of Making on the left there.)

 I also got to see my friends from Creativebug!

Yesterday was my big party at Sew L.A.! It was fabulous, to say the least.

Christine Haynes and the other ladies there went all out with a retro picnic-theme. I put tons of garments from the book and my Butterick line on display.

Everyone came all decked out in their retro finery!


See more fab pics on Christine's blog. Thank you so much, Sew L.A.!
Now I'm heading out for a couple days of exploring Los Angeles, starting with the garment district. (I'm sure I need more fabric, right?)

Pattern Changes for the Pinkie Pie Dress

Hello, readers! As promised, I wanted to walk you through the bodice pattern changes I made to turn the Wiggle Dress pattern from my book into the Pinkie Pie dress. Here's the original in wool tweed:

And then here's the Pinkie Pie version:

Here's an overall map of the bodice pattern changes.

Here's how I did it:

1. Underarm. The pattern, as published, has gussets under the arms for a close fit. They look like this when sewn.

I eliminated the gussets to form a dolman sleeve, which is similar to a kimono sleeve. This is a great option if you're feeling a little intimidated by sewing gussets or if you're using a fray-prone or delicate fabric (these fabrics may tear at the stress points of the gussets during wear).

It's helpful to use a French Curve ruler for this. Here's what mine looks like. (You can most likely find a household item to substitute, like a saucer or other small round object.)

Start with the bodice side front. Place the French curve under the arm, connecting the side seam to the underarm seam. Draw a new line, as indicated in red below. You're adding a little triangle that extends down about 1.5" from the original underarm point.

2. Trace this underarm curve onto your back bodice pattern piece, so that the underarm seams match up perfectly.

3. When sewing, eliminate the gussets. Stitch the front bodice to the back bodice at the overarm seam, and then stitch the underarm seam. Reinforce at the curviest part of the underarm seam by stitching again 1/8" away from your original seam line (in the seam allowance) and then trim close to the second line of stitching. Clip and then press the underarm seam open above and below the underarm curve.

4. Waistline pattern changes. Draw a new seamline at the waistline curve on the dress front, side front, and back pattern pieces. Give yourself a 1" seam allowance (indicated by the dotted purple line) so that you can adjust the waistline if needed during fitting. Cut off the pattern below the 1" seam allowance.

5. You can add any skirt you like to the new bodice. Check out pages 98-103 in my book for full directions on making dirndl and circle skirt patterns. What I did for the Pinkie Pie dress was essentially a dirndl skirt, but with side pleats rather than gathers. Baste the new skirt to the dress bodice and then try on to make sure you're happy with the waistline placement.

That's all there is to it! Let me know if you have any questions.

Pink Haired Lady (with a Sew-Along Idea)

Readers, I think I've wanted pink hair for at least 18 years but I never had the guts to do it. (Yes, I do see the irony in covering my body with tattoos, but being afraid of a little hair color.) But! My friend Fleur (a former hair dresser with a penchant for crazy hair colors) came to visit last weekend, Jeff was out of town, and well . . . it was a perfect storm for pink hair!

We only did the tips, despite me bursting out with "let's just do the whole thing!" every now and then. Fleur suggested starting small. She's hardly a model of restraint in these things, so it seemed wise to listen when she's holding back.

She bleached it first, and then we dyed it with Manic Panic Cotton Candy Pink. It looked pretty good at first (see bad Instagram below).

But in the morning light, it was more of a pale orange than pink. So yesterday I re-did the ends in Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink. The color name did not lie, friends!

I left it on for about half the time of Cotton Candy Pink, and it was still shockingly intense. Basically, it's perfect.

 I set it in rag curls overnight, and it's styled with a comb on each side.

In other news: I've been thinking about doing another sew-along with a pattern from my book! Would you all be interested in making some Portrait Blouses? That's what I'm wearing above. It's the easiest pattern in the book, so it would be a beginner-friendly sew-along. Plus it's a great wardrobe basic that can be made in lots of different fabrics, from charmeuse to cotton to wool jersey. What do you think?

Stuff 'n Thangs

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When Jeff and I lived in San Diego, we always drove by this little thrift store on our way home. It was called Stuff 'n Thangs. Since then, that's been my favorite term for any seemingly random assortment of items. Which is what I have for you today! Many things to share, readers. (Oops, I mean thangs to share.)

*The book giveaway! Would it surprise you to know that I received over 700 email entries for my scholarship book giveaway? It's true. I will be sorting through them today (thank you, Gmail filters!) and sending notifications to the winners. 

*I have a book trailer! It's very Bewitched-inspired. Love twitching whiskers on Henry. 

*Also: a new Creativebug course! This one shows you how to make a 40s-inspired peasant dress from the Portrait Blouse pattern from my book. (The pattern is included as a PDF printout with the course.) Don't forget that until the end of October, you can get $10 off a Creativebug membership with the code GERTIE10.

*Here's the sample dress I made for the Peasant Dress Course.

In the course I show you how to elongate the Portrait Blouse pattern for a dress, add gathers at center front and back, add rows of elastic at the waist (my method uses channels rather than elastic shirring thread), baby hems, and a delicate little bias binding at the neckline.

*If you'd like to see a video of me walking around San Francisco in the Peasant Dress, you're in luck!



*Creativebug is also doing a fab giveaway for my book and a three-month membership. Once you enter, you get my waistband finishing class for free!

*I'll be working on a coat sew-along post today, so watch out for that later on!