This lesson hurt. I bought this herringbone wool from Canadian vendor Wool House when Sewing Expo came to Atlanta in 2010. I waited a year to cut into it, and finally decided that it would make a nice addition to my work wardrobe as a dressy vest, especially since silk tie blouses are in this year. I have even made this vest before, but I made it from a tapestry fabric where interfacing wasn't an issue.
So hopefully by photographing it here, you will retain a mental picture of my mistake and why you shouldn't skip interfacing with wool herringbone. I did interface the front flaps, which is all the pattern called for. But the fabric needs something sturdier under it to keep from looking frumpy.
The biggest mistake was using flannel on the back to line the rayon lining. When I made the vest before, the tapestry on the front and sides hung heavier than the lining and made the vest hitch forward. This time, I added a layer of lightweight flannel to the lining, thinking the back would be heavier and balance out the garment. But this time, the back was heavier than the front, and the place it really shows is the pointed corners at the vent where the side joins the back.
So the lesson learned is this: the front, side, and back pieces' weights should pull at the seams evenly. If they are not interfaced in a way that balances their weights out, the difference shows up in a wavy seam.
I promised to use this blog to document the hiccups I come across while sewing, so here is the latest lesson learned. As I was pressing my rayon vest lining, the iron spit out steam on the rayon and spotted it. I looked around on the internet and several sources suggested steaming it. I tried that, but the spots remained. I finally wet down the whole lining and pressed it with a dry iron on the synthetic setting and the water spots are no longer visible.
I really don't like to shop retail anymore, but I'm not quite fast enough to turn out a whole season's wardrobe in my spare time and it would be as hard to find all the right fabrics as it is to find all the right cuts in ready-to-wear. So I was pretty excited about an article that was in In Style magazine this summer, explaining how easy it was to breathe new life into old clothes by dyeing them another shade. There are several things hanging in my closet underutilized because they are an odd shade, so I decided to give it a try. I used Rit dyes available from JoAnn's. There is a custom color chart on their website that gives the recipe for a desired color. I chose a burnt orange, which was 1 t Tangerine, 1 t Sunshine Orange, and 1/2 t Cocoa Brown.
Blouse after dyeing
Blouse before dyeing
The first garment that came to mind was a wrinkle resistant blouse from Coldwater Creek that had always been too peachy to match anything. I wanted a little more burnt orange to match a skirt I had made. It was wrinkle resistant, so it probably has some sort of coating on the fiber to resist wrinkles and I wasn't sure it would take the dye. But it was 100% cotton, so I thought I'd give it a try. Even though I doubled the dye, it did not take the dye the way the tee did. I made sure to heat the water to 140 degrees, doubled the amount of dye I used, and soaked for 30 minutes, hoping for a much deeper orange. It did darken the shirt up a little, but the color is a little uneven, so I do not recommend using dyes on wrinkle-free shirts, even if they are 100% cotton.
Tee after dyeing
Tee before dyeing
The second thing was a mauve tee that I never wear, but would probably work into my fall weekends if it was also burnt orange. It took the dye really well and was true to the shade I was mixing for. The only problem was that the dye is a little uneven on the right side front. I stirred the shirt in the dye bath with a spoon consistently, but I recommend unfurling it and submerging it again throughout the bath to make sure the color takes evenly.
All in all, it is really easy to do and it doesn't have to be messy. The directions explained a stove-top method and specified no non-stick for heating the dyes, so I used a bucket in my double sink. But the color takes better if the water is heated, so I used my non-stick pot to heat the water to 140 degrees and poured it in the bucket.
The first step is to use the color remover. I used one packet for the bucket and let it soak for 30 minutes. I stirred with a wooden spoon frequently to avoid creases. During the 30 minutes, I heated up additional water and poured it in the sink around the bucket to keep the solution warm without diluting it.
After 30 minutes, you rinse with hot water, then with warm water, and then you are ready to dye to your color.
I measured out the colors and mixed them with 2 cups of water in a stainless steel bowl. I also ran hot tap water in the bucket and dissolved 1 cup of salt and 1 tbsp of detergent. Once that is setup, you add the colors to the bucket. Soak the garment for 30 minutes, stirring to distribute the dye. After 30 minutes, rinse in hot water, then warm water until the dye runs clear. It took about 10 rinses to get clear water.
So that's it! Easy, right? I can't wait to experiment with more dyeing techniques.
Well, here it is. I love this dress, but I will never, never, NEVER go on a trip with the intention of finishing the dress on the way. I had to leave for Phoenix a week before the party and decided I would insert the pockets, the zipper, tack on the ruffle, and close up the side seams BY HAND in the hotel in the evenings after work. I must have been nuts. But I must say, this pattern is really well suited for a nice professional cocktail dress because the pockets are just great for parties where you are standing, talking and aren't sure where to put your hands. It's a dress that doesn't require shape wear to pull off that is all right with me! I'm sure I will make it again in a number of variations. I recommend hand tacking on the ruffle instead of sewing it by machine because it is much more floral that way. I also recommend drafting a facing (I think Threads Magazine has a tutorial on how to do this) so that you have a clean edge on the arm hole edge.
And, as always, I have a lesson to relate, having learned it the hard way. I reasoned that since I was mounting rhinestones on the waistband that the facing should be adhered to the outward facing waistband as opposed to the facing. As a result, it looks a little bit home made in that area. My advice is to adhere the interfacing to the facing (inside) so that the visible side will be crisp at the edges where it attaches to the gathering.
So get out there ladies and start sewing for those New Year's bashes!
I first started sewing 10 years ago. I love sewing clothes and I'm particularly interested in refining the fit and duplicating unique ready to wear techniques.
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