Double Take: McCalls 5972

Hey I am back with a red flower: Papaver somniferum (Red oriental poppy)

Caveat: Please do this kind of thing at home but this could be a month or 2 overhaul
(It took me from July to October)


You know, for a while now, I haven't posted. I have been losing weight and as frustrating as it was, it did take a while to settle to a level state and in doing the waiting game I thought of so much I could be adding to my blog.  I have so much wanted to add to my inventory that in the process I knew I couldn't while I was transitioning into smaller sizes every other month or so and here I am posting my latest.

Well, as everyone who has encountered this dilemma will know this:

" I want this look, but the dress is the wrong cut...or the print pattern is all wrong....or it's the wrong price...or I can't find a dupe online....or it is out of style and it is nowhere to be bought....or there is no sewing pattern out there for a dupe"

Yeah...sewer's have been asking and perhaps struggling with these issues for some time and it seems to me that the old voice inside of me keeps saying:

"You can by the fabric, buy the embroidery floss and put the design on your 'blank' canvas youself"

And you know what?   I did just that. 

Well what exactly...poppies.  The ones you see as fabric prints but you search all over on the internet and just can't seem to find what it is you're looking for?
I mean really... it just blows my mind how hard it can be.  But if you have the patience and willingness to finish a lengthly project then this IS your answer.

The first step for me was to research the growth habit of poppies themselves, find the right size of images and colour gradients within the petals themselves.  Then we are ready to go ahead.

I came up with a number of images that worked which I then modified a lot or very little.  My main point was to focus on the reality of the natural stages of the bloom period and its various stages of growth to make it feel real.

I am telling you this was no weekend thing.  It took months.  I also like challenges.

The thing is, I have been making my dresses in a pattern size 16, now it is 14. It fits with a 1 cm seam allowance instead of 1.5cm. So, I could be a 15? I don't know.

As usual, I started with the bodice pieces because I also had traced out drawings of flowers that were small than I would have liked and I also knew that the bodice pieces were smaller in area than the skirt portions.
So, starting with the bodice back (don't ask why... I just did)
 




First flower on the bodice back




More flowers on the bodice back




Completed bodice back

And then I did the front:

And then I proceeded to finish the front and back of the skirt.  This phase took the longest because the flowers were larger and  had to put some more thought into it to make the growth habits more life-like.
I didn't mind that too much because since I was half way through, I felt "Hey let's go for it!" and so I ended up putting 5 flowers on the front and 4 on the back.

Finished front

Finished back

Now, since it is all done here are the finished views.

Front:

Back:




Do you want to know what else?  I already did this dress before in size 16 with a B&W colour block for an evening kind of look and I made this one when a 16 felt snug with some stretchy material.  The poppy dress happens to be made of a linen-rayon blend so quite strictly a woven material

See how much of a size difference this is?

The one last thing to add to this is:

1. I fully lined the Papaver somniferum dress
2. I only lined the bodice in the B&W dress because I beaded the bodice with some toho beads
3. Both dresses are the exactly the same view of McCalls's 5972

 

 

Colour Block evening version

Of course I have plans for more!

Bye Bye!




McCalls 5972 view A.... Recycle Please!

This is another: BUILD YOUR WARDROBE piece


Well, I seem to have an obsession with window shopping.  Most of the time I look so much that my memory on the things I like won't stay, so, I made notes of the things that I see on the fly that attracts me the most and as luck would have it, Christmas is coming so

SPARKLE SPARKLE SPARKLE!!!

And, since I have billions of beads in my tote boxes, what am I saving them for...the Pope?!!!

I have to use my existing supplies!  That includes my fabric pieces and a mish mash of what I have already done and before you may yawn, yes, recycle your supplies and ideas because you never know for what situation you'll need those clothing items for.

And besides, since we can save oodles in a DIY haze it's OK to hoard a little.  Having said that, I can't get enough of being a clothing horse and yes I want to keep these!

So, since I have mentioned that, I also have tonnes of patterns I haven't used yet, and most of the time dresses in this fashion tend to repeat themselves from company to company because I suppose they advertise them for the easy type, we can devote a section to the closet for evening wear alone.

McCalls 5972 View A

I also want to make this dress in a blue suit weight wool, and yes, wool rocks, although the price doesn't.

I initially bought this pattern because I am in to the sleeveless dresses, and it is a Laura Ashley design, which I love her products because I bought two of her umbrellas, which it makes sense because it rains here alot so better get a high quality umbrella collection going.

I decided to colour block mine the first try with some poly/rayon blend stretchy knit.  I then decided to cut out a size 16 because of the stretch, and the dress bodice is lined so I also re-used some white light fabric and that is where the trouble began....

OK, first, my knit fabric worked, but unlined.  I also decided to omit the zipper but the lining messed that up, so I threw it out and installed the zipper.  Now, I had to serge my pieces and I did not at first so, back tracking is so fun!
Then, I had to finish the neckline and armholes which I serged and get this..top stitched with a zig zag stitch.  I thought it turned out fine!  Honestly, it doesn't look too old school but anyway.

The lace overlay was the easy part.  I have accomplished this 3 times now so, it shouldn't fail.  And I was right.

What I did change was adding a lace edging to the main lace fabric with a straight stitch and then zig zag stitch as a topstitch.  Delicate!

I loved this dress, but I think a woven fabric like wool, linen, silk (The holy trinity of fabrics) would make for a better dress overall, although I must say that the knit that I bought fits really well.

Front bodice
See the lace edging on the top?  FAB!!!
Beading of green-gold, red cranberry AB finish, royal blue AB finish beads

Whole Front



Back bodice.  No lace overlay

So, I really recycled my materials here, so, whatever you can do with what you have left over, it's a good idea to further save money.

And if you are thinking "Why didn't you put lace on the back bodice?"

The answer is 2 fold.  

1. This dress can then be casual, or evening
2. I ran out of lace fabric

It is sad though that I won't be buying this lace fabric anymore, so that is it!  I will, but perhaps other designs or colours.

Have fun, and if it's raining buy lots of umbrellas!!!!!!

Bye!!!