Making a Dirndl 4

ドイツの民族衣装、ディアンドルのメインのドレスに挑戦です。
型紙は引き続きドイツの型紙会社、Burdaの７０５７番。
仮縫い一つ目。
きつっ。みじかっ。縫い代いっぱいいっぱい出してやっと着れた。

Now onto the actual dirndl dress. The pattern is still Burda 7057.

My muslin #1 turned out to be very tight and short. When I make the "Big 4" patterns, I can usually get away with fudging my measurement and go down the size because of the ease. This pattern, however, is pretty true to size.

Making a Dirndl 3

ドイツの民族衣装、ディアンドルのブラウス完成～。
写真を撮ってくれる人が休日出勤のため、自分撮りで失礼。

My dirndl blouse is done. I was so excited and wanted to see how it fits so took some selfies (MOTH is at work this weekend).

I need to re-distribute the hem gathering.

 The fabric is an embroidered cotton with slight stripes.

I raised the front neck line because I have no cleavage to show anyway, but with the ruffles, it may be too high?

Heat Wave

またしても記録的な熱波通過中。気温が４５度を超えると、なんていうかもう、ある意味素晴らしい。そこまで熱くなれるのか、と。風が吹いても、風が熱い。
車の温度計は120度を指してた。摂氏だと４８度くらい（泣）

そんな酷暑の中、玄関先のサボテンが今年も冠のように花を咲かせていました。サボテン、たくましいな。

Record breaking heat wave is going through. Car's thermometer was showing 120F.
I ain't walking dogs tonight. Too damn hot even in the dark.

Making a Dirndl 2

ドイツの民族衣装、ディアンドル作成日記その２はブラウス。
ディアンドルは基本的にジャンパースカート、ブラウス、エプロンで構成されています。着物で言う、長襦袢、着物、帯、みたいな感じかな。
ブラウスと言っても、簡素化された、胸の下までの短いシャツで、私が作成しているのは胸元が四角くて、パフスリーブバージョンです。
試し縫い３回目でやっと満足できるところに達しました。

This is my dirndl blouse muslin #3.

Muslin #1 went terrible. The sleeve of Burda 7057 is like a mutton sleeve: huge and gathering only at the top of the sleeve cap. It just looked ridiculous on me. Also the back neck was gaping.

Muslin #2 fixed the back neck gaping by adding 1/2" to upper back (round-back/forward neck adjustment). My attempt to make the sleeve smaller was unsuccessful and modified sleeve felt very uncomfortable.

I sat on the sleeve for a week. I even considered drafting the sleeve pattern on my own, and watched Suzy Furrrer's Creative Sleeve class on Craftsy (which is worth every penny, especially if you buy it when it is $19.99).

At the end, I decided to use Gertie's Butterick B6217 sleeve and modified it to fit the armhole on the bodice. I was glad that I had watched Suzy's Craftsy class so that I kind of got the basic idea of the sleeve pattern.

I am happy with the muslin #3 with a minor tweak (need to pinch the front neck just a bit) and I think I can move on to my real fabric.

Shishito Galore Continues

食べるのに追いつかないシシトウ。毎週ボウルに一杯採れます。

Every week, we get a bowl of Shishito peppers. Can't keep up with them.

Making a Dirndl 1

次の裁縫プロジェクトは、ドイツの民族衣装、ディアンドル。チロルなワンピース？アルプスの少女ハイジ？
型紙はドイツの型紙雑誌Burdaの７０５７番。
ちなみに私の苗字、ドイツ系ですからね（笑）
いつものように型紙にアイロンかけるところから始まります。

My next sewing project is dirndl. Yes, the German folk dress. I know, I am Japanese. Guess what, my last name is German, so that's OK.

The pattern is Burda 7057.

This is the first time I'm using a Burda pattern, and I freaked out a bit when I could not find the sizing chart on the back of the pattern envelope. I had to download it from their website, then I found that the size chart was printed on the tissue. Why, Simplicity? Anyway, I am starting from ironing out the tissue pattern as usual.

Completed Refashioned Men's Polo Shirt

男性用ポロシャツのリサイクルTシャツ出来上がり。
首周りのバンドはポロシャツの袖についていたリブニットを再利用。
裾も元のポロシャツの裾を使っているので縫う必要なし。
飾りに胸ポケットをつけてみたけど、位置がちょっと端過ぎたかな。

My men's polo shirt refashion T-shirt is completed. I wore it all day on Sunday, and I think this is a keeper.

The pattern is Maria Denmark Kirsten Kimono Tee.
I made it before with cotton/Lycra jersey, but since this time I am using a pretty stable polo shirt fabric, I made some changes.

This time, I cut the pattern at size Medium line (the pattern has no seam allowance, FYI) at the side and size Small at the neck, then used 1/4" seam allowance to serge. This increase in size on the width allowed enough ease, since the pattern is drafted with zero- or negative ease at the bust.

I kept the original polo shirt hem, and used the polo shirt's ribbing on the sleeve for the neck band.

What I did not like about the shirt in my previous version was how the sleeves kind of stuck out. So I lengthened the shoulder/sleeve by about 2" and also curved the shoulder slope down a bit. Now my sleeves drape down nicely.

The shirt was pretty plain, so I added a small pocket (used the Cake Patterns' The Tee for pocket template), and used pink thread for top stitching. I used the coverstitch machine for pocket so the pivoting at the corner isn't perfect.

Now that I have made 2 of this pattern, maybe next time when I have an extra large T-shirt or some scrap fabric, I will try Cake Patterns' The Tee pattern to see how the two are different.

Men's Polo Shirt Refashion

熱波通過中で、気温が４５度ぐらいあるんだわ。庭にすら出る気しないです。
特に予定もない週末なので、家にこもっております。

オットが会社からもらってきた巨大ポロシャツをリサイクルして私用のTシャツにすることにしました。

It is 115 degrees outside this weekend. I don't even want to go out in the back yard to pick vegetables from the garden. Just too damn hot. Luckily, we have no plans this weekend so we are staying home.

I am working on a men's polo shirt refashion project. It's one of those company freebie shirt that the Man of the House brings home once in a while with company logos. He picked the largest size he could get, 4XL, so that I can play with the fabric. Thank you, MOTH. I am going to make a T-shirt using Maria Denmanrk's Kirsten Kimono Tee pattern.

Wearing My New Look 6184 Dress

完成したワンピース、着てみました。
一日会社で着てみた感想は、うーん、ちょっとゆるめすぎたかな？オケツ回りや胸の下が結構ガバガバしていました。大食いする予定な時に着たらちょうどいいかも。

Recap of my New Look 6184 dress.

I made View D with square neck line and straight skirt. This was a difficult pattern to fit for some reason. I originally began working on this pattern a year ago. After a couple of muslins, I ditched it, and it sat on a shelf for a year. I started from scratch this time, and made 2 muslins with bunch of alterations.

For the skirt front, I cut size 16 at waist and graded down to 12 at hip.
For the skirt back, I cut size 12.
I shortened the skirt by 1 1/2". (I am 5'3")
Bodice is mainly size 12, with bodice back waist being size 16 to match the skirt.
I raised the armscye by 1/2", took in the side seam at underarm 1/2" (and nothing at waist).
I pinched about 3/4" at center front.
Center back was pinched 3/4" at back neck (and nothing at waist), and I had to pinch 1/4 more at the very top.

I lined the entire dress so I did not use the facing patterns. I did fuse interfacing at zipper seam, neck line and vent.

The fabric is Amy Butler's cotton poplin. The pattern and the fabric was purchased from Craftsy as a kit when it was on sale.

The lining fabric is a 30+ years old kimono undergarment fabric from my mother's stash. According to my mother, it is wool, and it did shrink considerably after a regular cycle wash and dryer. Since the fabric was only 13" wide (and less than 12" wide after the wash), the bodice and the skirt front has a center seam.

After wearing it all day at work, I still found the fitting not perfect. It is actually fairly loose fitting especially front bodice and hip and back waist. It feels slightly dowdy. I think the fabric print helps to cover up the fitting issues. This would be a good dress to pick if I am going to a big dinner. The back neck is still gaping a bit, and front neck is pretty loose.

The other reason why I feel slightly dowdy in this dress is the fabric. Nice cotton, LOVE the print, but no drape. The feel of the cotton makes the dress feel a bit home-ec.

Two things I am very proud of:
1. The pattern matching. Even I can hardly tell there is a waist seam.
2. My very first vent. I did mess it up but the mess is hidden so it does not count.

As I mentioned in my previous post, my attachment of lining to the zipper could be improved, but overall, this was a good learning experience to line a whole dress. I'm still not sure what the best way to line a dress with center back zipper and a vent is. I think I need to make a few more lined dresses to understand the best order of construction and method to line with professional look, especially with a vent.