Finished Project: My first, ever, midi-length dress; frock for Get Your Frock On!

Lets quickly skip past the fact that I made another Georgia (groan, groan, groan), and focus on the fact that this is my first, ever, midi-length dress. 

Okay, I know it’s not technically midi; but it’s below the knee and bordering on calves territory, so that’s enough for me to call this a midi-Georgia . Just easing myself into the trend, guys, plus only had 1.5m of fabric ;)

It’s no secret that my love for Georgia is bordering on obsessive – this is my fifth Georgia – so with this version I was committed to perfecting the fit, everywhere.

I went into this project with the mentality that Clover unpicker and I would be spending a lot of time together.

Here we go....

Fitting the bodice - I pointed out in my last post that I noticed the bodice was sitting about 3cms above the underwire of my bra, therefore not doing their job as cups. It was challenging because adding 3cm back into the ‘length’ of the bodice was essentially reversing the SBA I had already done. I gave it a shot anyway, making sure that the 3cm added were above the apex, and making sure that it did not affect the measurement of the neckline. It seems to have worked.

In both photos, I have my finger on my bra underwire.
You can see the difference between the last bodice I made and this bodice, where I have lengthened it by 3cm.

Lower back - I usually avoid RTW dresses that are fitted around the hips/lower back/bum area because I can guarantee that there will be unattractive drag lines; and when sewing, every pattern needs massive tweaking.

With this dress, there was pool of fabric in the lower back (no surprise), had to 'pinch it out'.
This adjustment does get easier and easier, but I figured it was time to transfer the adjustment to my pattern pieces.

Goodbye pool of fabric in the lower back. The purple dots is where I snipped.

The straps – I recall the original straps are quite long and I shortened them when I traced the pattern – here both straps the same length, but ended up taking out some length as I was fitting. 

Difference between left and right strap is 0.75cm.

Lengthening the mini-Georgia skirt -  I am a complete air head because the Georgia pattern comes with a knee-length version. Duh.  Anyway, I added 18cm to the mini-Georgia cos that's all I could afford with my yardage; was aiming for above-the-knee, but hello, look who can't do maths.

I rarely wear skirts/dresses that are mid-knee or below knee because anything longer than above-the-knee makes me look dowdy, and emphasizes the fullness of my calves, and not in a good way.

Originally I was aiming for above-the-knee, but added too much length. Decided to just go for it... it did look dowdy but after I pegged the skirt, I loved it.

Pegging the skirt and adding split/vent – I used my favourite pencil skirt as a guide and pegged (in?) the side seams. Of course this meant that the skirt could no longer be hitched up after having too many vodka-sodas... so I added a split/vent on the left side of the dress, cos I can't get enough of thigh splits.
I had to shave off some width at the hips as well.

Pegging! The purple dots is where I snipped.

Split/vent.

Very proud of my hand stitching. Best so far.

If at first you don't succeed... just keep sewing randomly.

Had to unpick the zipper, but the result was worth it.

Finished project. Very happy ending.

This dress turned out exactly how I pictured in my mind. This is the dress I have wanted to make ever since I started sewing. This dress is why I am grateful that #isew.

I have never been able to fit anything RTW that has this fitted silhouette or is this length.
A small upper body and larger lower body means that anything that fits my bust, won’t fit my bum and vice versa; anything slightly lowcut will gape; lower back will have drag lines and a pool of fabric; and the length is always unflattering.

Skirt split.

Skirt split in action.

The inside seams were 'turned and stitched' on the machine, the lining was hand stitched using the 'fell stitch', and hem was finished using same method.

'Fell stitch' - practically invisible. Need to unpick my stay-stitching.

Still can't believe I forgot the pattern comes with a knee-length version. Facepalm.

Inside, understitching on the machine.

Project details -

Pattern: sounding like a broken record, but it's my all time favourite pattern, BHL 'Georgia'.
Size: Bust 2/6, Waist 6/10, Hips 2/6.
Fabric:  1.5m cotton sateen; selvedge folded the middle to fit all the pieces.
Notions: 16" invisible zipper, thread.
Cost: $25 fabric, $5 zipper.
Pattern Modification/Adjustments: as detailed in post.
Hours: roughly 13 hours; most of the time spent was on unpicking, adjustments and tweeting.
Completed on: Tuesday 14th October 2014.
First worn: Thursday 16th October 2014, to GYFO Melbourne Fundraiser.

I made this dress to wear to GYFO Melbourne Charity Frocktails fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer.
It was a fun night; the function was at Fall from Grace, a beautiful venue hidden behind a bookcase; entertaining us was Emily Williams; and there were awesome raffle prizes kindly donated by sponsors - skincare, wine, expensive candles, restaurant gift cards, movie tickets, kilos of chocolate goodies...

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier...

I'm blue, da ba dee da ba die... 

I ain't goin' no where, I can't be stopped now cos it's "Tim Tams" for life.

Bonus points if anyone can pick the lyrics in the photo captions.

I won one of the Arnott's Hamper!!!! I spent the following 4 days aggressively eating them on my lounge room floor, till my sister came and took the hamper away. This is the third "prize" I've won in my life, so got over excited: first thing I ever won was the Hanson 'Snowed In' CD when I was 10 years old, second thing I won was Gold Class movie tickets from a function last year, probably cos I was the only person there who used social media and knew what hashtags were uploading photos on to Twitter using their event hashtag, lol.

I have two events coming up in November, you bet your sweet ass I will be sewing something for them. Happy sewing!

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Finished Project: Another 'Georgia' Maxi Dress.

I hope you don't mind that I have a habit making the same dresses over and over. 

In 2011/2012 I was obsessed with full gathered skirt; 2013/2014 I'm in love with maxi dresses.

If I have to make a billion adjustments to a pattern to accommodate my small bust, erect back, hollow chest, swayback, forward shoulders, long torso, short legs, narrow underbust, long upper torso "unique" body, why not sew it to death.

With Georgia, I didn't encounter many fitting issues as I did with Anna (fitting posts here), so only one 'fitting post' was blogged... however, now that I've made my fourth Georgia, I'm picking up on things that are bugging me...

1) The bodice cups: I think this was discussed in the comments of one of my previous Georgia posts, or on Twitter; but the cups don't sit correctly over my boob/bra cup. It sits about 3cm above the underwire of my bra (refer to pic below). Even when I am bra-less, the cups don't 'cup' my boobs. 

Does anyone else have the same issue with the bodice cups?

There was a discussion on an old blog post, and another sewist said I may have a 'narrow underbust' and 'long upper torso' so simply lengthening the straps probably won't fix the issue, because it will then expose more skin up top, which I hate.

I will be lengthening the bodice (cups and back piece) on my next Georgia. Fingers crossed.

My finger is sitting just under my bra underwire. Cups are so not in the correct spot! 

2) The lower back: I had to "pinch" out some excess fabric in the lower back of this skirt. This adjustment was made last minute on my Georgia mini but not on my rayon maxi or Valentines Day mini.

I thought the problem was with my buns; but I think it could be due to my long torso extending into the area where my buns should be. I got validation from a lovely follower on Twitter that my buns are sufficient and anacondas want. Haha, Nicki Minaj, you kill me with that song.

Lengthening the bodice will "drop" the skirt 3cm lower and may solve all my issues, so I'll start with lengthening the bodice. 

How much fabric I "pinched" out of my lower back. 

Before and after.
Any thoughts on why this happens to me? It happens on RTW and all patterns that skim my back.

3) The straps: Might add some length back into them, and reassess their position at the back, particularly the left (my RHS) strap, did I put it in wrong spot??? WTHHHHH! 

I swear both straps are in the same position and when I hold up the dress, it looks fine; when I wear it, it looks odd. GAHHH. The photo below annoys me so much!!!! 

The strap on right (my LHS) is the shortened one.

There is something NQR with the strap on the left (my RHS).

Apart from the three issues above, I absolutely LOVE this version!!!!
I love it so much that I wore the dress to dinner with Ling on Saturday, then again on Sunday out to lunch with Libby (The Very Very Hungry Caterpillar).

I also took a nap in it and Georgia was very comfy to sleep in, just like my floral Anna.

Thanks Libby for taking pics... ignore the wrinkles on the back, that's just from sitting down for a 2 hour American food feast at Le Bon Ton; I couldn't be more happy with the fit. Best so far, I think.

The sweetheart-style neckline is very flattering, gives the appearance of a fuller bust. The dress as a whole makes me feel womanly cos it hugs in all the right places, and the fabric is just so pretty.

I kinda regret not putting in the side split; although it is walk-able, I tend to run late to everything and am power walking most of the time.

Front bodice.

Side view.

Inside/back bodice.

Sorry for selfies, still camera-less... but like that I can blog straight from my iphone. No need to hook camera up to laptop.

Project details -

Pattern: BHL 'Georgia' + 53cm!

Size: 2/6 bust, 6/10 waist, 2/6 hips

Fabric:  2.5m cotton voile

Notions: 16" invisible zipper, thread, cotton tape

Cost: The fabric was in my stash reserved for a Flora wearable muslin, bought it months ago. My guess is $25 for cotton voile and $5 for zipper. $30 maxi dress. Bargain, if you ask me.

Pattern Modification/Adjustments: 

• The usual adjustments I made for previous Georgia dresses:
• hollow chest adjustment
• small bust adjustment
• shortening the strap on my right shoulder
• wider straps (smaller SA)
• moving the position of the straps to sit more to the side of front bodice, just next to the outside of cup seams
• took a chunk out of my lower back skirt
• Added 53cm to skirt, for maxi length

Hours: I know for sure that cutting and construction of entire dress took 5hrs. The zipper, hemming and hand-sewing took another 2 hours or so, plus another hour for final adjustments on lower back. Lets say, 8 hours total.

Completed on: Thursday 2nd October 2014.

First worn: Saturday 5th October 2014, to Ling's (Six Inch Heel) birthday dinner.

Happy Birthday Ling!!

Ling and I have been friends for almost 4 years... she was the first person I met from Twitter.
We bonded quickly in real life over blogging and food, I'm a frequent guest at her family BBQs and her boys call me 'Aunty Nee'.

Ling's birthday dinner was at Teppanyaki Inn. It was delicious, best wagyu steak I have had, ever. Her boys made me laugh constantly, they are so smart and funny, well behaved too. Yep, am kinda clucky! I spent most of the night saying "awwwwwwww, he's sooo cute, awww!!" Was a wonderful night out. Thanks for the invite, Ling!!!!

Next up on my sewing table will be a dress for the 'GYFOMelbourne 2014 Charity Frocktails' hosted by Team Get Your Frock On. Their mission is to raise awareness and funds for Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.

The event is on Thursday 16th October 2014, so still plenty of time for you to get yourself a ticket (here).

I have a couple of ideas for my GYFO dress; maybe a houndstooth maxi (I hear you groaning, haha) or a floral strapless mini. I am being so predictable and boring, but I can't move on till I have nailed the pattern (typical Virgo - perfectionist, fussy, borderline OCD).

I need to ace the bodice cups; does anyone else have the same issue as me with the bodice cups?
How did you fix it?

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Away from Sewing: Melbourne Frocktails!

What a night. 

I walked into BMH wearing my Flora, feeling a little nervous and intimidated - the venue was bigger than I expected and the main hall was full.

How the hell was I going to find my "party"?

I stood at the doorway, looking around like a lost puppy... then a green, sparkly dress caught my attention. 

I walked over to the group and saw a couple of friendly faces - Oanh (Unique Schmuck) who I had met before at Social Sewing; and Liz (Sewn By Elizabeth) who I talk to on Twitter a lot, so naturally I said "Hi, Sewn-by-Elizabeth!!". I had found my people :)

I was soon introduced to the sexy lady in the sparkly green number, Lara (aka Thornberry) and the rest of the group - at this point, I was so overwhelmed by the beautiful handmade dresses that I was only able to absorb pattern names, not actual names of the ladies... I'm so sorry!!!

I had MAJOR dress envy, all night long.

After about half an hour of pre-dinner cocktails, the 17 of us were seated on a long, wooden table. And yes Abby, I did go home with a sore butt from the bench too, haha.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to chat to everyone down the other end; but I did get to share edamame beans and conversation with Belle, Ros, Abby, Renee and Liz down the front end.

I had already met Belle at Social Sewing, but didn't recognise her immediately because she was rocking a hot new hairstyle. We talked about food, food trucks and blogs.

Ros showed me the shirring on her Washi dress and explained how easy it was to shir... might give it a go soon!! We immediately started following each other on Instagram. 

After entrees and mains were served, there was a little bit of seat shuffling, like speed dating! 

I had the pleasure of meeting Claire and Carita, who I kept wanting to call "Anna" cos both were wearing Anna's; which I recognised easily because I have had hour long death-stare matches with the bodice; and Helen who I have met before at Social Sewing. Helen, I want to recreate your short and sexy shift dress... I need that Go Anywhere Dress ASAP!!  

I wish I took photos with the ladies, but nowadays I feel like such a crazy fangirl when I insist on taking photos with people... photo below is from Ros' blog.

The night wrapped up just after 11:30pm. Last ones standing were Oanh, Helen, Claire and I. We left the venue with our tummies full of delicious food and heads full of sewing inspiration.

It was wonderful to put voices to the faces I already know from social media. 
Thank you ladies for a great Saturday night! Look forward to seeing you all soon :)

(photo source: Sew Delicious blog)

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Finished Project: The 'Georgia' Mini Dress.

Ahhh, another BHL Georgia, I really can't get enough of this dress. 

I love By Hand London patterns, their style is my style! So glad I found them, they have rekindled my love for sewing.

About October last year my maxi dress obsession began, somehow I came across the Anna dress online and that was the beginning of my BHL love affair. 'Anna' and 'Georgia' went on my Christmas wishlist and Santa* got them for me cos I was a good girl last year.

 

*Santa - my little sister, who always gets me amazing pressies. She will always get me something that I want, plus some little surprises. Last Christmas, she got me the BHL patterns and a vintage sewing clamp. She also did me a huge favour and picked up a new computerised sewing machine from Costco for me using her membership. Best. Sister. Ever.

My sewing attitude has changed ever since By Hand London came into my life. 

If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know that I used to line all my dresses (bagging technique, tutorial here). I started lining my dresses to hide my raw seams back when I didn't have a serger, but over time I became addicted to the clean machine finish on the insides. 
I might skip lining the skirt on a full gathered skirt, but majority of the time I would fully-line my dresses (all my lined dresses tagged here). 

I thought that lining the dress was easier than sewing facings. Whattttt?! 

Despite having to cut out TWO of everything and working with slippery and fraying sunsilky polyester, I still favoured lining over facings.

I wanted to line my first Anna, but I didn't have time or fabric. I finished the neckline with facings, and guess what, I love facings, they look gooooooood and they cut the construction time in half!!! 

Since I started sewing BHL patterns, I haven't had the urge to fully line anything at all, and all my insides look just as fabulous.

By Hand London patterns have also inspired and motivated me work hard to get the perfect fit and perfect constructions on my dresses. It's bordering on OCD - the other night, I unpicked the bodice because the bodice cup seam and the skirt seam was misaligned by 2mm. You couldn't even see it!! But it bothered me so much, I unpicked and restitched. You know what, I still haven't made a dress "perfect enough" to have the precious 'By Hand London and Me' tag sewn on. One day!!

This version of my Georgia is pretty darn close to perfection though...

The fabric is printed cotton sateen, floral of course, and plain black cotton sateen for the side skirt panels and straps. 

Originally the dress looked like this, with printed straps...

I always planned on black straps, but I simply forgot. Need to start keeping notes me thinks.

... but it just didn't look right. It took me two days till I realised it was the straps that made the dress look "off"!!! I replaced the straps with plain black straps. It was a very painful process because the seam allowances were already chopped off and seam clipped and understitched :(

The strap for my right shoulder is shortened by about 2cm (because I have uneven shoulders) and sewn with a smaller seam allowance, that's why they look wider than my previous Georgias;) 

Sew Short Nissa did that and hers looked great! Nissa said she was inspired by my "unsewn muslin straps" on Twitter so she made the straps wider using a 8mm SA. I then took inspiration from her and sewed my straps with a 5mm SA. 

I moved the position of my straps to sit on the "outer" side of my bodice cup seam rather than in the centre to give more coverage to that side boob/armpit/fleshy bit, and to cover my bra straps. 
Also re-positioned the strap at the back too, if you want to do this, put on your favourite bra and reposition accordingly.

I used cotton tape (which I think is the same as twill tape?) on the straps to stop them from stretching over time as well as on the neckline, following Lladybird's tip.

Straps are wider, positioned on the outer-side of the cup seams.

A last minute adjustment had to be made to the skirt around my lower back, I took in the seams slightly. This is always my problem area. I didn't have any fitting issues in this area with my rayon maxi Georgia, I'm guessing that's because the drape and weight of the rayon helped everything sit nicely in place.

Adjustment on my lower back.
I had to unpick the finished seams, trim it back to 15mm and 'turn & stitch' the seam again.

I didn't take a pic of how this Georgia looked before I took a chunk out of the lower back, but the above pic is my first Georgia which had same problem with fabric billowing out at the lower back. The adjustment makes a huge difference to the fit.

My patience sewing skills are improving, I am getting better and better at joining the bodice and skirt at those tricky peaks, they're no longer making me tear my eyebrows out! And since learning that the needle position can move on my machine, installing the invisible zipper has been a dream.

Inside seams were folded under, pressed and stitched. I believe this is the 'turned and stitch' technique AKA 'clean finish'.

I used a 'fell stitch' to join lining to the shell.

Hello perfect peak!

'Turn & stitch' seam finish. Hem finished on the machine, don't judge.

Had no idea it was called a 'fell stitch', just googled it now. My favourite hand stitch!

Grrr, uneven shoulders - I'm guessing it's cos I always carry my handbag on my left shoulder.

Project details -

Pattern: By Hand London 'Georgia'
Size: 2/6 bust, 6/10 waist, 2/6 hips
Fabric: cotton sateen (1m plain black and 1m printed floral)
Notions: cotton tape, 16" invisible zipper
Cost: approx $30 for plain black cotton sateen, printed cotton sateen and invisible zipper.
Pattern Modification/Adjustments: 

• The usual adjustments I have been making for the Georgia bodice:
•  hollow chest adjustment
• small bust adjustment
• As well as some new adjustments:
• shortening the strap on my right shoulder
• moving the position of the straps to sit more to the side of front bodice, just next to the outside of cup seams
• took a chunk out of my lower back skirt

Hours: 12 hours.
Completed on: Saturday 8th March 2014, I just love leaving things till the last minute!!
First worn: Saturday 8th March 2014 to my friend's wedding.

Even though this dress is completed in March, I'm counting it as Feb-make. I made all the dresses I aimed to make when I came up with my February sewing plan, including a bonus Valentines Day dress. Also smashed my goal of completing one garment per month, woot woot. 

March is a quiet month, I don't have any more weddings or fancy events coming up and it's now the beginning of autumn in Australia so no more mini dresses. I just got my hands on the Sewaholic Pendrell (first Sewaholic pattern yey!) and BHL Charlotte so I'll probably be experimenting with those patterns this month.

I have had a fun journey with Georgia and Anna, but I think it's time for me to give them a rest. 
I've been seeing so many HOT, SEXY, BEAUTIFUL, FABULOUS Flora dresses around, I love them on all the pattern testers (lucky, lucky girls!! I want to be a tester!!) but I'm not sure if I could pull off the mullet hem. 

What do you guys think, should I add Flora to my BHL collection? 
Are you getting your Flora on?

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