Reverse Appliqué Jersey Dress: The Great Pattern Review Sewing Bee- Round # 3

So I, along with 24 other contestants, have advanced to the next round of the The Great Pattern Review Sewing Bee- Round #3. For this project, we have been given the Winter Street Dress, to make a dress using two knit fabrics. Both fabrics should be knits (printed or solid colors). There is no limit on how much or how little of the 2nd fabric you use, as long as its visible and enhances the garment.

Winter Street Dress Courtesy of Pattern Review

On my initial reading of this project and the rules, I have to say I was enthused. I am NOT a fan of PDF patterns with all of the cutting and pasting together. (I think I may have mentioned that a million times before). Additionally, though others look great in it, I am not a fan of this style of dress. I don't think the is waistline flattering on me. I do love the sleeve variations especially the slight flounce. Given a choice however, I would not have not have chosen this pattern.

  

Given my reticence about this round, I chose to rely on my old favorite sewing technique of hand-sewing jersey knit fabric. I thought the requirement to use two knit fabrics made this an awesome candidate for reverse applique. I briefly considered making my stencil, as I have done before. Given the time constraints, I decided against it. I recently purchased another fabulous home decor stencil from the same company that I used to make my Moroccan Halter and Tank top.  I had yet to use it and thought this would be a great opportunity.

Stencil image

                     

The rules allow you to modify the pattern in any way you like. I was really excited about that. I wanted to accentuate the lattice work in the stencil. The front and back of the dress are cut as two pieces with box pleats. I decided to make the front and back pieces one continuous silhouette and eliminate the pleats. I have never done this type of modification to a pattern. I have a large  pattern stash. If I want a pattern in a specific style I simply look in my stash and find one that works. 

I thought the path of least resistance would be to change the pattern rather than working with the cut fabric. After downloading and cutting the pattern (grrr), I prepared it for my modification. I simply chose to pleat the skirt portion of the pattern and tape it to the upper bodies of the front and back pieces. This way I got the pattern to the size I wanted while eliminating the pleats.

I cut the medium to begin with, but graded down to the small.  My dress is constructed in a double layer of 100% jersey knit in cream and light green. The front cream layer of the fabric is airbrushed painted in an opaque gold paint. I stenciled the front in 4 sections with 30 minutes drying time between each painting. You can read about my airbrush in this long ago post.

Airbrushed along the edges because the centers will be removed.

Fabric stenciled in for sections and covered to prevent over spray.

Two hours later, it is all dry

This dress is embellished with the reverse applique technique. To achieve this effect, I basted the stenciled front to the green under layer at the arms and neckline. Using white button and craft thread, I hand-stitched along the outside of the stenciled shapes through the two layers of fabric.

Once the entire front was stitched, I cut the center of the shapes leaving about a 1/4 inch or so of the gold painted area.

Front of dress stitched with the centers removed.

I even like the back of the stitched panel.

Next, I sewed the front to back at the shoulders and side seams on my machine with regular thread. I checked the fit, and adjusted it at the side seams for a closer fit at the bust and waist. I serged the seams for a clean finish, pressed them to the back and felled them down with hand-stitches. A leather thimble was crucial to aid in sewing through six layers of fabric with the thick thread. 

The neckline of the dress is trimmed with 1.5 inch jersey bias binding folded in half. The binding was pinned, basted, and then secured with a hand-stitched herringbone stitch. This stitch was made using button and craft thread. The hem of the dress and sleeves are left raw and will curl in time.

Here is the completed dress:

Sleeve Detail

Solid back

Herringbone stitch on the neckline.

We are asked to explain why our garment should advance to the next round. Here is what I said:

This dress looks great on the many people who have made and reviewed it. I however, did not purchase this pattern because the front and back pleats and two piece front is not my style. I feel my modification is true to the original design while making it more appealing to those who passed on it for the same reasons I did. The fact that the modification is an easy fix further bolsters the appeal to those who may now be interested.

I made a largely hand-sewn garment in a fairly short time. I have made hand-sewn garments over the course of many months with impressive results. I am pleased that I was able to complete this dress with pattern modifications in a matter of days. I know many people have wanted to venture into hand-sewing projects, but are intimidated by the time commitment and perceived difficulty. I feel this project may inspire someone to see it is manageable and may encourage them to try something new. An impressive project focuses on the creator, while an inspiring project focuses back to the observer. I hope this dress achieves both of those things qualifying me for the next round. 

I am happy with this dress. I love the feel of the double layers of jersey. I am pleased with the way color scheme worked together. The sleeves are adorable and the length is perfect straight from the pattern. I love the texture of the reverse applique in this large scale motif. I will make this again. What do you think of an ombre dyed bottom layer?

We do not get feedback from the judges as to why we advance or are eliminated. I do not know where I stand. The results for this round will be announced in one week. I will let you know how I do on the Thanksimadethem Facebook Page.

Happy sewing,
Bianca

Moroccan Stenciled Halter with Maxi Skirt.

The summer break is over and our home is finally settling into a new routine. It has been a difficult adjustment for me to change our waking and sleeping schedules to accommodate early rising for school. I got used to my children's daily naps as a chance to sneak in a bit of hand-sewing. 

You may remember seeing this hand-sewn reverse applique top with the asymmetrical hem seen below and blogged here.

When I stenciled that fabric, using the Moroccan stencil by Stencil Ease, I prepared  teal fabric for another garment. This time, I used the stencil to create the opposite effect of a texture filled applique design.

To get this look, I cut the pattern front twice and basted them together. Using white button and craft thread, I then stitched a running stitch along the lines of the painted shapes. I tied the threads off on the underside of the fabric so the the applique shapes are the only feature. When the top layer shapes were stitched, I cut between the spaces leaving a little bit of the unpainted edge visible. When washed, the edges will curl up adding to the texture.

I machine stitched the inside seams and then hand-stitched them down toward the back. For the binding on the armscye, I used a machine applied decorative stitch on 1/2-inch bias binding. I chose to use this method because this area is not a focal point and is faster than hand-sewing. It is more subtle than the hand-stitched binding on the cranberry and slate top above.

I paired this halter with a maxi skirt in the same teal fabric. I made it using a vintage Mccalls 4021 skirt pattern.

Of the two techniques,  reverse applique was faster to stitch. I was able to sew continually along the outside of the shapes and tie them off less frequently. I love both tops and this stencil. I plan to use it again to make a wrap for my many jersey maxi dresses as we transition into fall.

Project Breakdown:

Fabric cutting time: 1 hour
Stencil setup and application time: 2.5 hours.
Fabric Yardage: approx. 5 Yards
Sewing time: Top: 23 hours  Skirt: 2.5 hours
Thread: 2 Spools of White Button and Craft Thread 
One of a kind hand-sewn piece: PRICELESS.


Happy Sewing,
Bianca