The Blueberry Picking Dress

So, Fall for Cotton? Done.  Did I fall?  Um, yes. 

This cotton is so soft and drapey.  Maybe it's softened with age?

I found it at an antique store a couple of weeks ago, and at a grand total of $3.50 for the lot, I went with it.  This print reminds me of blueberries, and I just feel like I should be out in the garden picking fruit.  Maybe barefoot, maybe not--only if the yard's been pooper-scooped recently.

Work?  No, I'll just supervise.

The Facts:

Fabric: 100% cotton, vintage, 3+ yards and 35" wide; ivory cotton lawn for bodice underlining

Pattern: Colette Parfait (gifted from Suzy in swap)

Notions: 4 7/8" white buttons (new), 2 1/2" clear buttons from stash, invisible zip

Total cost: $3.50 for fabric + $4.00 for white buttons

Construction notes:

• I did a small bust adjustment to grade down to a B-cup courtesy of Sew L.A.
• I graded from a six at the top of waistline to 8 at the bottom of the waistline, then to a 10 at the hips.
• I underlined the bodice with ivory cotton voile, then slip-stitched the facings flat to the underlining
• I did not sew buttonholes on pockets: they're not handy if they're buttoned shut
• I used bigger buttons--7/8"--and 1/2" clear ones under tabs
• I made top button hole on tab horizontal (no room for a vertical one)
• I faced the hem with a 2" wide bias strip, then top-stitched it flat--the unhemmed skirt was exactly the length I wanted, so next time I will hopefully remember to lengthen the skirt pieces.
• I could probably shorten the straps a smidge, I don't remember right now if I traced them at a six or an eight, but they could stand a little shortening
• The six-gore skirt really worked well with the narrow fabric width!

 On a completely unrelated note, I always love browsing through catalogs, but I'm beginning to think that part of the reason I love catalog shopping so much is the pictures.  Those catalog models always seem to have such glamorous lives.

Wait.  Cool enough for stockings, but no coat needed?

How clean is that desk?  

And don't get me started on the Athleta catalog.  I just want to live wherever it is they shoot pictures.

I think it's not just the clothes (which don't get me wrong, they're fabulous), it's the whole life.  I think I'm as seduced by the backdrops as I am the actual clothes. I try to make a point to picture the clothes in my kitchen making mac and cheese, getting cough medicine at my local grocery store, or while waiting in the drive-thru as a little litmus test: is it the dress/skirt/pants/shirt I love, or is it just the imagined lifestyle?

In any case, here is how I really wear my clothes: 

Standing outside in the middle of street while my kids play...

...and getting super sweet hugs and loud wet kisses.

And I'm good with that.

Fall for Cotton Plans

True story: I have never sewn a Colette pattern before, and honestly have been kind of hiding from them, for the sole reason that I don't want to have to do a Small Bust Adjustment.

I follow the Colette blog.  It's awesome.  I like their styling; it's pretty awesome too.  I even have the Colette Sewing Handbook, again, awesome.  But still haven't sewn a thing out of it.  My feeling has always been that they have a curvy fit model, and while I have curves, they are not those curves.

Until I got the Parfait pattern from Suzy, and thought, Hmm.

fabric detail: any guesses on approximate vintage?

The fabric is from a shopping weekend with my mom, dad, and youngest son a couple of weeks ago.  We spent the day browsing in antique stores, and in the basement of one, I found what looked to be vintage cotton, labeled 2+ yards for $2.50.  I like the colors, thought it would make a great gathered skirt, and really, for that price, why not.  Just as I was leaving, though, I spied the same fabric on a garment rack.  It turned out to be a half-finished smock, rather large sized and only a dollar, so I grabbed that too.  I'm not above cutting facings or small pieces out of other garments.  When I got home, I realized I actually had about 3 yards of approximately 36" fabric, and at least another yard in the half-finished sleeveless shirt.

I used this tutorial from Sew L.A. for the bodice modification, and honestly, it wasn't so bad.  In fact, I'm kind of impressed with myself.  I may or may not be secretly thinking about using this method to alter sleeves for my strong arms (ahem: big guns)  : )  Also, I'm in love with Swedish tracing paper.

Muslin for altered bodice

My muslin is pretty ugly for many reasons, but we're not getting technical on this.  It fits.  

I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but my dress form wears a slip.  Maybe its for modesty, but more likely its because she's clothed in some funky jersey-ish material that is kind of grippy, and not all that lovely to slide dresses over.  Sorry.  She's also broader across the back than I am, but I have her beat in the butt area.  So we're even.  

If we were taking score, that is.

Sew Weekly Reunion Pantone Challenge

Thank you, Picmonkey!

Whew! My Sew Weekly Reunion project is complete!  I'm so glad we had a month for this instead of just a week.  I have much more appreciation for the hard work everyone did!

All apologies for the wrinkles...we're blaming wind, drinks, and a sloping driveway.

The Facts
Fabric: blouse: cotton voile, skirt: wool (from inherited stash), cotton voile scraps for facing

Notions: blouse: thread, skirt: 9" zip (from stash), lightweight interfacing, navy rayon seam binding (from stash), dark turquoise seam binding for hem (from Suzy), 2  3/4" buttons, (from stash) 

Pantone Challenge colors:

blouse: vivacious, koi, turbulence,  a smidge of acai?
skirt: I'm going with deep lichen...but maybe my skirt is a bit  more olive-y

Patterns: 
blouse: Sewaholic Pendrell (gifted by Suzy of SuzyBee Sews), modified view B, skirt: Simplicity 2475 Amazing Fit skirt, view B

Year: 
blouse: 2010
skirt: current

Time to complete:
blouse: an evening or two
skirt: a week of evenings

First worn: 
blouse: to work on Thursday 8/22
skirt:  to the Kansas City Historic Garment District Museum

Wear again? Yep! (but maybe not together)
Aside from parent/teacher meetings, our staff is fairly casual

Total cost: about 1 1/2 yards of fabric @ $6.99/yd, and skirt thread, so we'll say about $15.00.

My mom and dad and I spent Saturday with a trip to the River Market and the Kansas City Garment District Museum, followed by lunch and a trip to Bob Jones shoes.  I was so excited to finally go, and I swear I took lots of great pictures.  Unfortunately, when I got home this is all I had: 

Hmm.  I don't know why my camera ate the pictures, but I'm pretty sure my sister's laughing.  We went on a trip to Panama City together a couple of years ago, and came home with a million pictures of me, and exactly 1 picture of her feet.

I did get this great picture of my parents, though, in front of the giant needle & button statue.

Aren't they great? In solidarity, my mom wore a shirt I made for her from the Maria Denmark Day-to-Night Drape top pattern.  

Both Mom and Dad declared that the skirt was something my grandmother (my dad's mother) would have loved.  That olive-y green was her favorite color, which would explain why I had matching buttons, zipper, and fabric in my inherited stash.   It is a good color; I think it will go with pretty much everything I own.  For the blouse, I just serged the seams, but on the skirt, I kind of felt that the green wool deserved more attention, so I used bias binding on each seam and on the hem.  

In any case, my husband took some pictures for me at home that evening after dinner. 

Apparently, my kids think I'm wide enough to hide not just one, but two...

Bucket List: Kansas City Historic Garment District Museum

 

Three great things about the Kansas City Historic Garment District Museum:

1. Pictures are allowed.
2. If you have clean hands, you can touch anything you want.
3. Ann Brownfield, who worked as a designer in the district for 30 years, is on-hand for guided tours. Seriously, that alone should count for about 99.9% of your reason to go.

Why has it taken me so long to finally go?

1. Well, its hours vary by season.  Its currently open Fridays and Saturdays from 10-3, through the end of September, or by appointment. Because it's not a large museum, spring and summer dresses are currently on display; they'll switch out dresses for the holidays.
2. I needed to go with someone who wouldn't be ready to leave after 30 minutes *cough cough*
3. Um.  I don't know.  Life's busy and all that.

Wait.  You didn't know Kansas City had a garment district?  

After World War I, and through the 1940s, the area employed over 4,000 persons and boasted that 1 out of every 7 women in the U.S. purchased a garment designed and made in Kansas City. The garment manufacturing industry was the second largest employer of any industry in Kansas City.

http://www.kcgarmentmuseum.org/history/

The city's number 1 employer? That would have been the stockyards.

If you're the type of person who hates looking at other people's vacation photos, I'm sorry in advance. 

(read: here they come...)

Vintage machines and cutting tools

Designed by Valentino, but sewn here in Kansas City.  TWA was headquartered here until 1964.  

close up of cut work...how cool is that?

cotton dress with matching bolero

detail of fabric print

  

wool coat

 1/2 size dress; with photo below of designer

 silk halter dress with bolero

Ann Brownfield, the curator, has been accepting donations of dresses for the museum collection for about a decade.  Each donation came with a story about who wore it, where it was purchased, and what events it was worn to, so she can tell stories about every item, and then some.  I would have loved to hear more about her design process and traveling for purchasing fabrics, though.

My takeaways? 

How many companies today publish yearbooks of their employees?

Although they did have sergers, a lot of garments had seams that were pinked, pinked and overcast, or hand-hemmed.  Personally, I'm feeling better about seam finishing.

I also finally learned the differences between pattern sizing for juniors, missy, and 1/2 size.

So, are you wondering why Kansas City doesn't have a garment district anymore? 

The clothing manufacturers here in KC did not sell to the large department stores; they couldn't produce the amount of stock need for large department stores within the time frame.  Salesmen sold to smaller Mom-and-Pop stores all around the country, and as those stores closed, the garment manufacturers dwindled, too. I guess I never thought about how the closing of smaller stores would impact producers. 

If you've time to kill on the internets:

Kansas City Historic Garment District Museum 

We Were Hanging by a Thread, Ann Brownfield's book about the garment industry

KSHB Fox 41 news clip about the museum

Nelly Don, KC native

KC Public Library video series Meet the Past: Nell Donnelly (27 minutes)

And last, but not least, who wouldn't want to visit the park with a giant statue of a needle and button?

I finished my project for the Sew Weekly Reunion, too, and will be posting those later this week!