Bombshell - getting started

Several months ago, I signed up for the Bombshell Dress class at Craftsy.com.  I watched the majority of the videos, read all the information, downloaded the pattern, but didn’t do anything further.  Now that I have a little time, I’ve decided to make the dress.  First, let me say, that even if you never make the dress, the class is worth it just for the wealth of information.  Gretchen Hirsch has a great teaching style and the class is fun to watch.  

The Pattern;  The course uses this pattern from Burdastyle. Actually, I like Gretchen's versions much better.  The dress on the model at Burda doesn't even fit her correctly in the bust.  The pattern comes as part of the class, so you do not have to buy it separately.  I printed off this pattern months ago, but have not looked at it since.  Unfortunately, I did not realize until I had the whole thing taped together that the printing is off by about 1/8”!!  I thought about re-printing the pattern and   putting it all together, but it does take some time to do this.  Since I’m going to be making a muslin anyway, I think it won’t be that big of an issue.  You can follow me on this adventure here on my blog.

First of all, I always seem to have a bit of trouble with downloadable patterns.  They never seem to line up completely perfectly.  At first I thought it might have been because the scale of this one is off a bit, but I had the same problem when I downloaded the Sewing Workshop e-shrug, and that one was right on scale.

Anyway, I did get the pattern put together and cut apart.  You do not cut the pattern to your size because the whole thing is going to be traced onto muslin.

I am also signed up for the Susan Khalji couture dress class (which I also have not started making) and both classes use a lot of the same techniques.  I believe that Gretchen did study under Susan at some point, so that may be why.  Again, both classes are wonderful and well worth the time!  The classes at Craftsy go on sale quite often, so make sure you get on their newsletter if you haven’t done it already.  Anyway, I can’t remember which class recommended the site Richard the Thread  but I believe it is the only place you can get really large sheets of tracing paper.  You have to buy 3 of one color at a time, but it is great stuff.  I used it for the first time today.  It is really dark, and probably won’t wash out, but for using on the muslin it is perfect.

After I traced all of the pattern pieces for the bodice onto muslin, I then “thread traced” them with the sewing machine.  Since I used red tracing paper, I did the stitching in blue so it would be easier to see.  This is as far as I got earlier today since DD and I decided to start re-watching all of the Lost series starting with season one episode one.  They’re starting tonight on TV, but we are watching them with netflix.

I have done some other sewing lately.  I made a dress out of the NL 6104 pattern, but I’m not that thrilled with it.  I’ll wear it at home, but probably not anywhere else.  It feels kind of frumpy to me.  

I also made a cute skirt for my daughter and then one for myself.  I don’t have a picture of mine yet, but will post it later when I get a picture.

So, have any of you signed up for any of the Craftsy classes?  If so, what projects have you completed?  I’d love to see how the rest of you are doing with them.

New Look 6104 - anything but boring

I picked up this pattern because I love wearing woven sleeveless tops in the summer.  I had, in fact, ordered several 1 yard lengths of mid-weight linen from www.fabric-store.com just to make something like this.  This pattern kind of seems a bit "ho-hum" at first glance, but I really like the lines of it, the button front detail, the tucks and different front treatments.

Well, about a week ago I made a pair of shorts and then discovered that I had NO tops that would go with them.  I saw this pattern in my little box of "to-do soon" patterns and grabbed the piece of linen in the color called "chardonnay"

This top took me a little longer than I thought, but I really enjoyed making the front tucks and the other details that took a little longer on this top.  The smallest size this pattern comes in is a 10, but I really need an 8 or smaller across the shoulders. (Before you start thinking, "Oh, she's so tiny"  let me remind you that I am doing a FBA and grading out to a 14 in the hip.  I just have tiny shoulders apparently.)  I am really happy with the fit on this, so I immediately started thinking about making it again.

As you can see at the left, I also changed the button placement on this one.  Wow - I'm really stepping out of the box now (LOL)  Also, I turned the bias binding completely in to the inside instead of wrapping it around the top.  Not because I was being creative, but because I didn't read the directions very well!  Because of this wider binding, I used two rows of topstitching around the neck and armholes.










 I decided to look at some reviews on PR and got inspired by one review in particular.  Look at what this clever girl did with this pattern!!  This is from a review by ACBrown28.  She has some interesting details about this pattern on her blog (and she's a funny writer too!)




Anyway, I was very inspired by her versions and went on to version 2.

For this version I used a piece of cotton I had picked up last year from Beverly's. They mostly sell quilting cotton, but this piece is a bit lighter weight and has a nicer hand and drape. I bought it to make something for my daughter, but she hated the print. I like it.

(Oh, in case you're wondering what in the world I have in my hand, there is actually the most beautiful baby in the world sitting on a little car at the end of that handle. Not that I'm biased or anything.)

 On this version I added a neck ruffle and cap sleeves (both included in the pattern)

 I like the sleeves because they have a little pleat and nice shape.








 I also added a casing for waist elastic. I used bias tape and 1/4" elastic. Next time I need to move the elastic down about 3/4" Next time? Yes, there will be a next time. I also discovered on version one that I could easily slip this over my head and did not need the button front. So, version 2 here has a fake placket down the front and those buttons do nothing but adorn the blouse. They aren't really the buttons I wanted to use, but since I just had foot surgery, I couldn't run to the store to get something else. It's all about stash-diving right now!

Parting shot:  I just had foot surgery on both of my feet less than two weeks ago.  Even though I have to keep my feet up a lot, I'm still finding time to sew!  When I'm not sewing, this little Emma keeps me entertained!