Saturday, November 30, 2013

New Look 6225 -- Sweatshirt Dress

A while back I saw this dress (at least I think it's a dress, it may be a tunic) by Philip Lim on pinterest and thought how I would love to wear that.  (I know, that may not be what you were thinking, but to each his own, okay;).  Sewing is changing the way I think about clothes.  Instead of thinking "Where can I find this?" "Can I afford this?" or "Will this fit me?" I think "Maybe I could make this."  That starts the wheels rolling, and I think about what fabric and patterns I could use.

There are not many dress patterns with raglan sleeves, so I decided to use New Look 6225, view D, which is a raglan top pattern with cap sleeves, and just extend the lines of the top down to my knees (one of the few times having a relatively straight figure is to my advantage).   I made a size 14, and added one inch to the side seams, tapering out from the underarm.  I also lowered the neckline in the front by 3 inches.  Because I was being a little experimental, I basted the side seams first to check the fit.  I found out that this is a good practice:  the fit check is much more accurate than just using pins, and if it needs to be fixed, basted seams are MUCH easier to unpick.  For the fabric I used a cozy charcoal sweatshirt fleece from Joann Fabric that has no stretch, which worked out since New Look 6225 is drafted for wovens.
I know this dress is a little 'out there', but I've worn it to an art gallery opening already, and it's very comfortable while being a little edgy.  I do wonder if I am on my way to 'crazy old lady' status; on the other hand, I have always loved that poem "When I Am Old I Shall Wear Purple,"  so I guess I'm okay with that. Life is too short to take oneself seriously all the time:)

Usually I am not a fan of asymmetrical hemlines, but I felt in this case it was necessary to add a little 'oomph.'  Instead of cutting each pattern piece on the slant (I was getting a headache trying to make sure each side was correct), I made the dress a normal length, then tried it on and marked where I wanted the hem to go on each side.  I then chopped it off, leaving enough fabric to turn up the hem.  (One note here:  I wish I had made the dress longer and given myself more room to work with, because the differential between one side and the other needs to be greater than I anticipated for it to have the right effect.)

This is not the most flattering view of my backside, but honesty in blogging and all that;)

The shoulders were unpleasantly constricting after the sleeves were sewn in.  I unpicked them -- every project needs a little seam ripper action;) -- and resewed them with a 3/8"  instead of a 5/8" seam allowance.  The sleeves are two pieces with a center top seam, so that gave me another inch of room (4 seams at 1/4" increase), which was helpful.  I'm not very experienced with raglan sleeves, so I'm not sure why the shoulders turned out too tight, and there may be a better way to fix this problem, but for now it worked.  I added a little interest to the sleeves by binding them and leaving the raw edges exposed.  I also added a binding to the neckline and topstitched the raglan seams.

Also I finally figured out how to mount my camera on a tripod and take photos of myself using a timer.  (I looked on the good old internet and downloaded a very helpful manual for my camera -- much more extensive than the booklet that came with it!).  I need a lot more practice with picture quality and height, etc. but not bad for my first try.
Of course, I did get photo-bombed by my furry friends:
(Note:  my little dog Penny, who has appeared on my blog before, disappeared under sad circumstances early last summer.  We got Luna, the little dog on the left, this fall from a rescue shelter.  Angus is our Australian Shepherd.)

I also got photo-bombed by my husband and older son, who hammed it up and danced grotesquely for the camera.  But those photos are certainly not fit for public consumption;)

Lessons from this dress:
It's fun (and possible) to copy -- or loosely adapt -- ideas from pinterest or other inspirational sites
A top pattern can be turned into a dress pattern
Basting seams is worth the extra time -- they are so much easier to unpick, and they allow me to check the fit before I permanently commit to it
I can take pictures of myself when necessary

19 comments:

  1. What a great idea -- this is a wonderful copy. I like the idea of using grey fleece to make a dress, the combination of casual and stylish is nice! What a lot of alterations you made, and very successfully -- the hemline looks trendy & attractive.

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  2. I really like this! It looks great as a dress- love the raw edges on the sleeves- and it looks like it would be great as a tunic with boots and leggings, too. Great job taking that designer inspiration and making it real!

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  3. Love this dress-and I really like the idea of using a sweatshirt fleece. The assymetrical hemline is cute :-)

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  4. Not too out there at all--very nice and, as you say, a little bit edgy. We have to keep things interesting for ourselves and others. It just won't do to have everything figured out and never to push the envelope at all. The shape is wonderful on you.

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  5. Great design on this dress ~ simple but different (in a great way!) You definitely took your inspiration dress piccie and made it your own - love it ... J

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  6. You have made a great replica. It looks fab on you showing off your lovely pins. Very edgy indeed.

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  7. Fantastic copy of your inspiration dress. Love the sleeve binding with the exposed raw edges. This shape is so flattering on your figure and shows off your fabulous legs. Well done.

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  8. Angela, you never cease to amaze me! This dress is darling...and looks great on you. I do love an asymmetrical hemline. You are an adventurous seamstress for sure!

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  9. I like it! Looks like a fun dress to wear. I wish that I could because it also looks very comfortable.

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  11. Oh Angela, I absolutely LOVE this dress!! It turned out so nice and it looks awesome on you.

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  12. I think it looks amazing, The asymmetrical hemline is what makes it, I think. Very chic!

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  13. I never fail to be impressed by your dressmaking skills and how you can change and adapt patterns as necessary. The dress is lovely and shows off your great legs. The hemline was definitely a good choice. x

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  14. wow you look amazing what fabulous legs you have.You made that??wow , you are awesome

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  15. you have toooooooooooooo much fun sewing!!! This is cute! You rock girl...and now taking your own pictures. Now I want to see the ones you didn't show! I can imagine.
    Love the shoes also!

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  16. Let's hear it for being old ladies!! Fine job, I say. It looks very good on you, and as you say, the hemline gives it the added interest it really needs. The shoulder sewing looks very good, I think. You're so experimental, and I know that must keep it fun, yes? Your photo bombs are a hoot :) Great job!

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  17. This dress is really cute! The asymmetrical hemline is very cool :)

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  18. How's the New Year treating you? Very well I hope. Hope that you are too busy creating to be blogging.

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