Paradox dress

What came first: did I imagine this dress or did I copy it from ready to wear? This dress represents the classic chicken or egg paradox. I might have come up with the design for this easy summer play dress, or I may have simply reinterpreted a great dress I glimpsed online in ready to wear- I really can’t remember which came first. 

In any case, I am super pleased with this project.  I had this fabulous blue cotton spandex knit fabric from Mood Fabrics in my stash, and I wanted a dress with plenty of ease of movement and comfort for summer antics.  This is a dress I can ride my bicycle in.

To make this dress I began with my favorite t-shirt pattern which is the Ruska t-shirt in the book Breaking the Pattern by Named Clothing.  And then I simply added a big rectangle skirt.  The only tricky part was the pleats and this is where the fun -and another paradox- began. 

I wanted to use pleats for the skirt for a flatter and fancier finish than gathering the skirt. I decided to use knife pleats which are a simple pleat where the folds are pressed to one side in the same direction which makes the pleat three layers thick. The knife pleat can be used as a style effect or across the entire part of a garment, as I did with this skirt. Knife pleats are the style of pleat used for kilts.

Since I didn’t have a pattern, I needed to figure out how to pleat this entire skirt. Happily, while searching for tips for measuring and creating knife pleats, I found a trick that eliminated measuring and marking. You can simply use a FORK to create knife pleats!   Another paradox. I read the written instructions, but couldn’t puzzle it out until I watched a YouTube instructional video here.  Basically, you insert the fork and turn the fabric and fork toward you for a full turn, and sew. This was not only easy and fast- it was super fun. Watch me start pleating EVERYTHING now.

The only other decision point on this dress is how long to make the drop waist. I am long waisted and fiddled quite a bit, but ended up letting the hemline dictate the placement.

Desert Performance Ruska

This is my first bona fide performance wear top!

I needed a long sleeve active wear top for a holiday weekend hiking trip in Joshua Tree National Park. Desert weather can be harsh- and I need both sun protection and climate control.  Desert climate and making active wear are both pretty foreign to this Northern girl- so where to start?

To simplify things, I chose my favorite t-shirt pattern from Named Clothing Breaking the Pattern book- Ruska.  I made four Ruska tops this past year, including two merino wool Ruska tops which are absolutely suitable for active pursuits.  But this latest make turned out to be next level active wear.

Fabric choice was a big question mark.  I know my way around natural fibers- since that’s predominately what I sew- but active wear fabric is another ball game.  So, before buying, I did a little research.

I knew I needed a fabric with wicking power.   This is true even in our cold weather climate here in Minnesota.  Wicking means the fabric wicks moisture away and the fabric doesn’t absorb moisture- so after exertion (and sweating) you stay dry and comfortable.  You want to avoid-sweating after a run or climb and then getting chilly because your shirt is wet.  Wicking fabric also acts as a good insulator. Note the snow in the desert below.

Wool is a wicking fiber; it wicks water from the body.  However, wool doesn’t dry as fast as some synthetics because the wool fibers absorb moisture.  Polyester is a core fiber for athletic wear because of its moisture control benefits:  it both dries rapidly (it doesn’t absorb moisture) and it wicks sweat from the body due to the yarn structure. Nylon has the same moisture control properties. In addition, nylon is also super strong and abrasion resistant- or long-lasting. Note, nylon is more expensive than polyester.

Stretch is the other key quality for performance wear.  Again, natural fiber knits have stretch, but special stretch fibers provide four way stretch capacity, and/or better recovery- read- no bagging.  So for performance fabric stretch, the fabric should contain Lycra, elastene or spandex.  One active wear designer recommends the fabric contain at least 12% Lycra, spandex or elastane to give you performance level freedom of movement.

This particular performance wear fabric is from Fabric.com.  It is described as an athletic medium weight double knit.  The description suggests it is “perfect for athletic tops, leggings, low impact sports bras, dancewear and swimwear.”  That pretty much covers all the performance bases.  The fabric content is 75% polyester and 25% Lycra- which is plenty of Lycra for a maximum range of movement. Bonus- it’s a floral, for cute desert hiking style. Another bonus quality of polyester is it’s color vibrancy and ability to hold color- which means this fabric will continue to blossom brightly even after many desert suns.

Sewing with this athletic knit was a stroll in the park.  The knit is super stable, absolutely no raveling or curling. I sewed this up on my regular machine with a straight stitch even though I have a zig zag option on my machine.  When sewing knits, I simply increase the stitch length slightly to 3 mm and hold onto the fabric both in front of and behind the needle.  With both hands, I pull the fabric very slightly -and gently- as it feeds under the presser foot. And that’s it. 

Happily, this beauty performed outstandingly while covering approximately 10 miles in one day and comfortably withstanding wind and sun and changing temps. I plan to make some bottoms out of this fabric soon.

That 1980s Feeling- Designer Vogue and Pink Landers for Fall

I recently took a gander through my old, old patterns and found this Vogue American Designer pattern from the 1980s.  How about those sleeves?! So is this vintage? or retro? Whatever the term, it is most definitely awesome and not at all outdated.

Yes- I was alive in the 1980s; and yes- I was sewing clothes for myself way back then.  I still remember -vividly- how great I felt in the dress I made from this pattern even though I don’t remember much else from the 1980s. I was in graduate school and a newly-wed during that decade. I do remember the Police, Talking Heads, shoulder pads, E.T., Duran Duran, Dirty Dancing, mullets, The Breakfast Club, big hair, arcade games and Madonna. I have seen the 1980s referred to as the greed decade- which might have something to do with the size of those sleeves- among other things.

I decided that another go-around with this pattern in a new century might recapture that great 1980s feeling- minus the greed part. Plus, I love how aspects of this pattern still feel modern and current.

I remember my first dress out of this pattern was a black and red print. And I know I sewed the pattern view B. This time around, it was easy to modify the pattern to create a spiffy knit top.  I simply widened the bodice from the bust-line and lengthened it slightly. 

This fabric is a very drapey knit from Treadle Yard Goods- so the sleeves did not turn out as voluminous as the first dress I made.  The pattern also calls for a sleeve cap header, that I remember making out of interfacing as a shoulder pad stand in- but I skipped that step.  I also modified the pattern to button on one shoulder, and sewed the other shoulder closed. Finally, I eliminated the button cuffs for the sleeves and simply attached sleeve bands.

I actually hand hemmed this top- because I wanted it to look pretty when worn untucked. Although, I found out I prefer how the top looks when it is tucked into these newly made Landers.

The pants are stripped down True Bias Lander pants with the zipper expansion.  No pockets anywhere. The fabric is a soft and comfortable- albeit a tad wrinkly- Robert Kaufman all cotton twill from Fabric.com.  The Lander pants are a great fit for me.  I blogged about these previously, you can get all the details here.