Years ago, I had a couple of cotton jersey t-shirt dresses I had bought from Gap. They were cute, comfy, and nice-fitting. My husband raved about them whenever I wore them, and I wore them a lot. One started to look the part, a bit stretched out and a lot stained, so I decided to copy the one that was less worn before I lost my chance.
Dress #1: Mock-Up
That was at least a couple years ago. It probably took me another year to sew a dress out of the pattern, and when I did it was because I had found a jersey sheet at Goodwill that I could use without risking any good fabric.
Well, the dress turned out really nicely. So nicely, in fact, that I wear that Goodwill sheet Gap dress a lot. It's pretty short and I never hemmed it, so I don't wear it in public...much. But when it's hot, it's awfully nice to wear that lightweight little number.
Well, the dress turned out really nicely. So nicely, in fact, that I wear that Goodwill sheet Gap dress a lot. It's pretty short and I never hemmed it, so I don't wear it in public...much. But when it's hot, it's awfully nice to wear that lightweight little number.
Dress #2: Superhero
Now, I have been meaning to make another for some time. But lots of other things got in the way or took precedence. Then inspiration hit. I was at Joann's getting something for one of the projects I was working on recently...I can't remember what exactly...when I thought: "why not check out the bargain bin again?"
And I found a jewel...a lovely cotton interlock with Marvel superheroes on it...for $3 a yard. C'mon. I could not pass it up.
It didn't take me long to make it up. It's ridiculously easy to put this dress together—except for the f-ing bands. OMG I took out the neckline band twice before I got it where I wanted it. I first sewed it in wrong. Okay, I had only basted that in but still. I rebasted and used my coverstitch. It was infuriatingly bad. Uneven, all over the place, hideous. I came upstairs cursing how much I hated that Janome Coverstitch 900, how I would never use it again, and bemoaning the fact that I chose it over a Babylock (because it was so much less expensive although it was still not cheap). I even started to hunt around for a Babylock Euphoria.
I cooled off, went back to the sewing room, and I ripped the neckline out, not fun, and rebasted and then used a twin needle. That worked beautifully.
I had already done the armbands 0n the coverstitch. They were okay, not great, but not noticeable enough for me to rip them out and do them over.
I added about 4 inches to the pattern that I made and used for the Goodwill version, but I ended up cutting off 2 inches before hemming. Isn't it cute?
And I found a jewel...a lovely cotton interlock with Marvel superheroes on it...for $3 a yard. C'mon. I could not pass it up.
It didn't take me long to make it up. It's ridiculously easy to put this dress together—except for the f-ing bands. OMG I took out the neckline band twice before I got it where I wanted it. I first sewed it in wrong. Okay, I had only basted that in but still. I rebasted and used my coverstitch. It was infuriatingly bad. Uneven, all over the place, hideous. I came upstairs cursing how much I hated that Janome Coverstitch 900, how I would never use it again, and bemoaning the fact that I chose it over a Babylock (because it was so much less expensive although it was still not cheap). I even started to hunt around for a Babylock Euphoria.
I cooled off, went back to the sewing room, and I ripped the neckline out, not fun, and rebasted and then used a twin needle. That worked beautifully.
I had already done the armbands 0n the coverstitch. They were okay, not great, but not noticeable enough for me to rip them out and do them over.
I added about 4 inches to the pattern that I made and used for the Goodwill version, but I ended up cutting off 2 inches before hemming. Isn't it cute?
Closeup of the neckline and fabric design:
Dress #3: Spiderman
Soon after I was back at Joann's getting buttons for the blue linen Harvey when I thought..."what if there is another awesome bargain in that bin?" And do you know what? There was: a similar Marvel-themed interlock, also for $3 a yard. I made up another Gap-copy dress as soon as I had washed the fabric.
This time I went straight to the twin-needle technique but I started with the hem, thank goodness. Because it looked like crap. I tried many settings on my machine and it just would not stop tunneling.
Frustrated, I went back to the coverstitch and tested some stitches on the new fabric. Still terrible. Then, fortunately, it dawned on me that I might not have the settings in the best place. Maybe I could do some research.
I first went to YouTube and found a very helpful and basic tutorial about my machine on the Last Stitch channel. She noted the importance of the differential feed setting. So next I checked in the manual. OMG. Somehow all my settings were in all sorts of strange places. I returned all the tensions, the stitch lengths, and the stitch widths back to recommended settings and played with the differential feed a little and found a setting that created a beautiful hem.
Finally, I basted the arm and neckbands on and coverstitched those. The neckline. Arrrgh! I decided to baste it down on the front and follow the basting on the coverstitch. It turned out much better than when my settings were all awry, but still, the stitch placement was not perfect, and wouldn't you know, the worst spot was on the front. There is a little lip the floats a little bit above the main fabric and irritates me (my sensibilities, not my skin). Still, in the end, I said "fuck it. It's good enough." Now if I can only lose 20 pounds, it might be downright adorable.
This time I went straight to the twin-needle technique but I started with the hem, thank goodness. Because it looked like crap. I tried many settings on my machine and it just would not stop tunneling.
Frustrated, I went back to the coverstitch and tested some stitches on the new fabric. Still terrible. Then, fortunately, it dawned on me that I might not have the settings in the best place. Maybe I could do some research.
I first went to YouTube and found a very helpful and basic tutorial about my machine on the Last Stitch channel. She noted the importance of the differential feed setting. So next I checked in the manual. OMG. Somehow all my settings were in all sorts of strange places. I returned all the tensions, the stitch lengths, and the stitch widths back to recommended settings and played with the differential feed a little and found a setting that created a beautiful hem.
Finally, I basted the arm and neckbands on and coverstitched those. The neckline. Arrrgh! I decided to baste it down on the front and follow the basting on the coverstitch. It turned out much better than when my settings were all awry, but still, the stitch placement was not perfect, and wouldn't you know, the worst spot was on the front. There is a little lip the floats a little bit above the main fabric and irritates me (my sensibilities, not my skin). Still, in the end, I said "fuck it. It's good enough." Now if I can only lose 20 pounds, it might be downright adorable.
Closeup of the neckline and fabric design:
RSS Feed