I'm making Butterick 4849 for a singing gig I have in two weeks. My decision on fabrication was - and still is - a rayon matte jersey that I bought from Kashi at Metro Textiles in New York. I am n admitted muslin hound. I had not made this pattern before, and I have had spotty results with the fit on Butterick patterns, so I decided to make one. Since I'm working with a 4 way stretch, I started with a size 12. I should use a size 12 in patterns always, based on my cross-chest measurement. But I get lazy sometimes, and use a 14, since I can mostly fit in that size. First I made a bodice muslin without sleeves from a stretch lightweight wool. I hoped to just get an idea of the fit over the bust. I don't have that muslin anymore, unfortunately. I threw it out last week in a big cleaning fit. But take my word for it, it was the right size, and it indicated that I needed to both do a full bust adjustment, and lower the empire waist seam by about 5/8" to give myself the room and look I was going for. So I adjusted the bodice pieces accordingly:
Once that was done, I found some remnants of the same rayon matte jersey in brown that I had used to make another outfit. I didnt' have enough to make the whole bodice, so I had yet more jersey in black (Kashi is very persuasive) that I used for the trim on the bodice and, ultimately, the skirt. I started sewing, and immediately noticed a problem. The crosswise stretch on this beast was huge! The bust on the pattern as it is printed for a size 12 is 40 1/2". I added room with the FBA, but when I basted the seams together, I was swimming in the top. At this point I had decided to use the muslin to make a dress for myself for the fall, so I went back, adjusted the seams, and re-stitched with much wider seam allowances. It was better, but still big. I basted on the skirt, and then closed up the back seam. I was going to put a zipper in, but this baby has so much room that I can pull it on over my head.
The other thing I noticed was that, like slinky knits (which I have decided I hate, BTW), this fabric seems to be prone to length creep. It's not as bad as slinky, which I compare to wearing bungee cord fabric on your back, but it definitely gets weighed down. Check out the length of the bodice on this dress:
Definitely longer than the original, two-way stretch muslin was. I haven't hemmed any of the sleeves or such. I'd like to try to salvage this, and I know what I need to do to make it work (Love that Tim Gunn!). But I think I'll come back to this one and institute the changes on my final version.
One final note. I did pre-wash all the fabrics to get any shrinkage (significant) out. But matte jersey stretches like crazy. I'll keep you posted. If I were making this in a non-stretch, I think most of my adjustments would be pretty dead on. But I'm going to have to rein them in with this fabric. Lesson learned - when working with a new fabric (matte jersey is pretty new to me), make a muslin!
I'll keep you posted, and when the final version is done, I'll review the pattern.
Happy sewing!
9 comments:
In spite of all the unanticipated aggravation the style looks great on you Ann! I much prefer the Duro look with a long fitted sleeve and skirt over the billowy kimono sleeve/gathered skirt versions. I think in the end the trouble will all be worth it. Also an embellishment consultation is yours whenever you need one :o) !
Keep at it, it doesn't need much to "make it work"!
I appreciate reading about your experience so I know how to approach the rayon/lycra jersey in my stash. I definitely like the color combination in your test dress and believe it is worth what you'll do to make it work. I also wanted to point out Robert Cavalli's kimono dress which I came across yesterday - http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/16168 -my thinking is only that it could add some inspiration for your dress.
Thanks for all that you add to the world of sewing!
One would never know from the use of the two colors in your muslin that this is a test dress. If this one cannot be salvaged, consider repeating it in another dress sometime. Perhaps the dresses can be stored folded to prevent stretch between wearings.
hello ann
this looks really good - neat looking fit on the bodice. look forward to hearing more about your duro dresses. who is tim gunn?
ruth
Ruth, Tim Gunn is the chair of the fashion design department at Parsons The New School of Design in New York City. He is also the father hen to the designers on the Bravo TV show, "Project Runway". One of his signature lines is, "Make it work!" He uses that line when a designer has come up against a problem. Tim helps them think through the problem, then tells them that phrase. You can read his Project Runway Blog and hear his podcasts on www.bravotv.com
Ann
good morning ann
thanks for this - i've seen moments of project runway - as my family surf the channels looking for a football game - but have never sat down to watch it. but now i know about 'making it work'.
best wishes
ruth
Can I be the VP of your "Hate Slinky" club?! Hate is not a strong enough word for how I feel about that stuff! *smile* I know you will make it work...can't wait to see the final version!
The dress looks fab on you and thanks for the tip on shaping the trim. I bought this pattern and I have a question on the matte jersey. Were the problems you encountered because of the inherent issues with matte jersey, or because you needed to support the heavy trim? I don't know if you answer from this blog, but my e mail is nkarpen@earthlink.net
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