Hot weather dress McCalls 5177 variation

Every time we have extremely hot, humid weather, I do not seem to have suitable clothes. This may because any clothes feel far too warm, but is probably because there are weeks and weeks of this weather every year, and the clothes are not only lightweight, but worn and washed to death in a short time.
Last year, I threw out a voile version of McCalls 5177, after it ripped right up the back with fabric fatigue. As soon as the hot weather started this Summer I missed this dress a lot, so have made a replica version in quilting cotton, lined with cotton batiste at the bodice.



It is not quite as good as the last one. I did not read my fitting notes from my previous versions, because I thought I remembered them. I was wrong. Voile version here, linen smocked version here
I used piping in the bodice seams, so could not make fitting changes post construction. This meant that I had to fiddle quite a bit to prevent underwear display. I shirred the centre front. I should have started with a smaller bodice size. It is also a little heavier to wear, not being voile, but this is a self inflicted problem.
Next I will make something in voile, and will aim for handwashing only....

"Mediaeval" costume

 

 

My daughter made the overdress, head dress, surcoat and shoes for her costume, worn to a Mediaeval Day at school as part of this semester's history unit. The dress started as a size 6 tracing of McCalls 5177, no sleeves. The size 6 is the smallest size on the pattern sheet, and my daughter is actually a size4, but as the fabric used is a thick, possibly home dec fabric with some relation to plush cordory, and the dress is worn over a full length, volumious chemise, we thought a size 6 would fit better than the size 4, and did not bother scaling down (The fabric was donated to my mother's quilting group, and passed on to me as it is unsuitable for quilting, and none of the members fancied it). I made the SBA fitting adjustment suitable for a 13year old, and helped with final fitting tweaking, but all the sewing other than the zipper insertion (highly non authentic!)was done by my daughter without further assistance. I am very pleased, as now she can make all next summer's dresses for herself. This pattern has princess seams and a separate bodice and skirt, so I think it is a step up for her sewing.
The surcoat is rectangles of fabric, trimmed with faux fur. The sleeves were cut to shape whilst draped on my daughter. Again the sewing was all my daughter's work. The fabric is tracksuit fleece. This was purchased by mistake. A visitor was stopping at Spotlight on the way up from Brisbane, and asked if I needed anything. I asked for 5m of polar fleece in black or blue to make dressing gowns for my husband and son, and this is what she bought. I am glad to find a use for it! The fur is left over from a once off teddy bear making project which a friend talked me into. Teddy bear making is not my thing. In fact, I did not start the project!
The headpiece is made from scraps from the surcoat, some left over braid from cushion making, and a scrap of polyester chiffon that was purchased for children's Christmas craft projects. My daughter invented this after looking at 13th century engravings on the internet. The shoes are made from vinyl that was lurking at the bottom of the bag from my mother's quilting group, we found a costume making book in the library that showed us how to make shoes from different periods, and my daughter made these as well.
My daughter was kept very busy for several weekends working on this costume. Unfortunately it does not count towards her history grade, but she had a lot of fun, and has learnt some more about sewing.

Winter Indulgence SWAP dress

 

This dress is the final item in my Winter Indulgence SWAP. I had planned this dress quite a while ago, but left it to last, as it is more of a project than some of the other items and I did not want to be pressured when making it. I wanted only to make it for the SWAP if I felt I had plenty of time. I finished an alternate item earlier in the week, so that I could work on this dress calmly and with enjoyment. The pattern is McCalls 5177 in linen with silk lining. I have changed the dress a bit from the pattern. The skirt and sleeves are cut on the bias, and the sleeves have a lower cap and are considerably wider.

 

The pattern calls for lining the bodice only. I have underlined the sleeves with silk cut on the bias, I used the excellent tutorial presented on Laura lo's blog to do this, and was very pleased with the result.

 

After finishing the dress, I decided to hand stitch ivory coloured beads to the vertical front bodice seams, and to the neck back. I used an invisible zipper to close the dress.

 

The insert is smocked, and contains much more fabric that allowed for in the pattern, and I have used a gathered panel as the lining for this bodice section, to maintain the elasticity of the smocking in the completed garment. I blocked the smocking to a similar width to the pattern lining piece, then drew around the edges of this piece, on top of the smocking, with tailors' chalk. I then sewed a fine zig zag stitch all along this chalk line, before trimming the smocked piece to size. The smocking was then treated as flat fabric, although I was careful to maintain straight, tight pleats when stitching the bias band at the top, and the waist seam at the bottom of the pleating.

Finish Line in Sight SWAP2 and 3

I had a very productive sewing day today. My in laws took the children out for the day, and I did not have to go in to work. I sewed all day, it was great. I finished my vogue skirt 8426, except for the hand sewn hem, which I think I can do during some waiting around time tomorrow.


I also completely finished a straight skirt, front and back darts that I did not know I was making until this morning. I made this because after I laid out all my items, I realized that another bottom was all I needed to achieve 2 SWAPS that meet the requirements (I knew I would be pretty close before laying them out, as I have sewn so many clothes, I just wasn't sure if I could meet the requirements twice). I have enough finished items to have officially finished both of my SWAPS (other than the hem). The only reason I have two sets of SWAP clothes is my poor planning in the early stages, and I would not recommend it as a plan! I did really need the clothes.
However, I am still sewing for the SWAP because I would like to use a dress in my indulgence plan. This was part of my earliest planning, and I have previously made a trial version and am happy with the fit. I am sure this will look better in my official wardrobe than the knit top it will replace. The dress is McCall's 5177.
This evening I finished the smocked insert I will use in the bodice. I have been working on this on and off as my portable handwork since I finished knitting the cardigan. It is my first attempt at using smocking in a non ling erie garment for myself. I hope it will not look too juvenile.
 
This evening I cut out the dress, using a linen from Michael's Fabrics, and a china silk from Gorgeous Fabrics. I have cut out the skirt and sleeves on the bias, and have tried the underlining method described by Laura lo on the sleeves. My plan is to get up early and do a little sewing before I go to work, which should leave me ample time to finish the SWAP before the cut off date.