Although I am working at the moment, my waitressing job isn't the most lucrative source of income, and practically every penny I do earn goes into a savings account in preparation for "the future". Needless to say, my wardrobe has suffered significantly... in fact I genuinely cannot remember the last time I bought any new clothes! When invitations to the work Christmas party came out back in November, therefore, the last thing I wanted to do was blow my money on a pricey dress that would probably never get worn again! I was also stubbornly determined, however, to find exactly what my mind's eye wanted (Christmassy red, midi-length, peplum with cut-outs, that actually fit my longer-than-average body), for a low price.....
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| World's most awkward model? |
.... After much frustrated internet searching I eventually came to the conclusion I would just have to make something myself - all good in theory - nice fit, lower cost, my own style, etc... apart from the fact I hadn't even tried to sew anything remotely wearable since the strange and quickly falling apart party creations of my mid-teen years..! Nonetheless, I must have been feeling a bit mad that day, as I decided to just go for it, swiftly buying two metres of deep red viscose jersey...
I went with a knit fabric as I was making a pattern myself, and wanted the easy, close fit a stretch knit would provide, rather than getting into the mind-boggling-ness of drafting darts etc. A simple pattern for the bodice was easy to make using my bust, waist and back length measurements (although I think a little miraculous luck got thrown in there too), and similarly one for the skirt using waist, hip, and waist-hip length measurements.
The front and back parts of the bodice were made by cutting a double layer of fabric for each pattern piece, then stitching the layers, right sides together, around the cutout, neckline and armholes, before turning right side out and pressing. The double layer acted like one giant facing, meaning no ugly hemming/visible stitching and a nice smooth, thick finish that I thought the jersey needed to have more structure. I added an unusual, scalloped-edged zip that I had in my bits and bobs collection to the back, simply stitching it on top as a decorative feature rather than making it functional - it didn't need to be! Then it was just a simple case of stitching side and shoulder seams.
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| Apologies for the grimy mirror selfies... |
Now, whilst sewing with knits means the pattern-making is much easier, the sewing part itself becomes much, much harder, especially without an overlocker. It took me endless experimentation on scraps of jersey to get my machine to the right settings, without ending up with a stretched-out, wibbly seam. Crucial points for sewing with knits that worked for me are:
1) make sure you are using a 'stretch stitch' setting if your machine has one, or if not, use a long, narrow zig-zag stitch. If not, when the garment stretches around your body, the stitches in the seam will pop open and break as the fabric tries to stretch against them.
2) make sure you use a Jersey or ballpoint needle - NOT a universal one. Whilst a normal needle has sharp edges that cut through the threads of the fabric you are sewing on, a jersey or ballpoint needle passes through the knit rather than cutting, leaving the knit structure intact and preventing an excess wibbly finish to your seams!
3) I found it very helpful to reduce the pressure of my presser foot, which stopped the fabric stretching out underneath it as I sewed. I'm not sure if all machines have this feature though.
4) tension, tension, tension! Have a good long play around to find out what works best!
5) Fusible knit interfacing was a godsend. I found it really hard to find anywhere that stocked it in the UK, until I found the lovely website sewbox.co.uk (they sent me a metre of lovely tartan ribbon as an extra gift with my order and have thus bought my allegiance forever). I bought a metre of black fusible knit interfacing and cut off long, half-inch wide strips to use as iron-on stay tape on all the seams, as you can see in the picture below. It made all the difference, especially where extra structure was needed around the cutouts, neckline and armholes. The interfacing had to be knit interfacing, of course, so that the fabric it was fused to could still stretch!
6) Hemming the bottom of the skirt was done with the help of a twin ballpoint needle. As the name suggests, this is a needle that slots in as one yet splits into two. You then need an additional spool pin and reel of thread, to thread both the needles. The sewn hem comes out as two neat rows of straight stitching on the front of the fabric, yet on the back the bobbin thread zigzags between the two rows of stitching, therefore allowing the hem to stretch. I had debated whether to get into the 'stretch blind hemming' that my machine manual promised was possible, but eventually decided that as the hem was all the way down at my shins, I'd let a little visible stitching slide by... and the finish is very neat and professional looking.
7) My final, bizarre tip for smooth sewing on knits is one I randomly picked up on youtube, yet is probably the most effective of all. If you pin toilet paper to the back of the seam you are sewing, so the paper lies between the fabric and the feed dogs, it gives perfect results. You just have to tear away the toilet paper afterwards as you would do tearaway stabilizer. I'm not sure why it works so well... but it does!
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| Top left: my pattern pieces, top right: sewing seam over stay tape with some loo-roll pinned on the back just visible! Bottom: Finished back section with zip, front two layers ready for sewing with stay tape |
Once I had mastered how to sew on the knit jersey, and got the bodice done, the skirt and peplum were pretty easy! The peplum was made by cutting a circle of fabric and snipping away at its centre until it matched my waist measurement. Again, the peplum was made with a double layer, and I also ironed a layer of the fusible knit interfacing to the wrong side of one of the layers, all of which gave the peplum that bit more structure and flare. The skirt was just a simple case of sewing up the side seams of my cut out pattern pieces (again, double layer... nobody wants jersey stretching see-through over the underwear region...)
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| Stitching it all together... |
Sewing the three elements together, bodice, peplum and skirt, was probably one of the most challenging bits. I didn't want to end up with so many double layers all sandwiched inside a bulky seam at the waist, and things were also complicated by the cut-out waist sections, which meant that there needed to also be a clean finish across those sections. In the end, rather than sandwiching everything right-sides together, I first sewed the peplum and bodice right sides together in the parts where they joined, then sewed this section, with the peplum lifted up towards the bodice, to the inside of the skirt (see left). This meant that in the cutout sections the peplum just flowed outwards over the top of its join to the skirt, covering it and meaning that no stitching was visible unless you lifted the peplum right up and looked underneath. There was probably a better way to do it, but my head just couldn't get around it!
Indulging myself with sewing in the run-up to the Christmas party was already far more enjoyable to me than walking into a shop and quickly spending a load of cash, so whilst I know I could probably have bought a much more spectacular dress, I was proud of my efforts and the happiness that making the dress had given me. A nice surprise was that I somehow managed to win the prize for best dressed! I know this was most likely just because I made the dress myself rather than legitimately being best dressed, but I certainly won't complain about the magnum of fancy wine that was my prize! The whole experience has certainly given me the dressmaking bug (I can justify new clothes if it means practicing my textile skills rather than simply spending money) and I've kept on making things from that point onwards... watch this space!
