Burdastyle Flapper dress: Fabric Selection

continuing on the topic of delicate fabrics, today's post will cover fabric selection for my flapper dress. I am making it as a part of my Burdastyle Couture Challenge series in June.

I settled for the combination of navy-color silks:

• crepe-de-chine for the underdress fashion fabric
• charmeuse for the underdress underlining
• chiffon for the skirt 
• chantilly lace for the top

UNDERLINING

As I move forward with the couture challenge, I am really glad to notice that I am slowly developing some kind of intuitive confidence with regard to the choices I make. And so, this time I was sure I needed to use silk charmeuse to underline the crepe-de-chine underdress. Don't ask me why... Or actually, I can explain it. Silk organza - the workhorse of underlining - was too stiff for this project. I could imagine it for a full skirt, or more fitted piece (depends), but here I wanted soft and sumptuous drape, with some weight to it, similar to 3-ply silk... I am glad Susan Khalje (who very generously acts as a mentor of this self-imposed couture undertaking on Burdastyle) approved of it.

"Charmeuse would be lovely as an underlining, and it can almost serve as a lining as well.  Organza would be too stiff - too unlike the charmeuse in drape and movement." 

LINING

As you can see I haven't mentioned lining. And even though I initially considered to use lining for this dress, I was not sure. Somehow, it seemed to me that the dress will have too many layers for no obvious reason. Susan confirmed this doubt and suggested not to use lining as well.

"I think the crepe de chine and charmeuse would be enough, unless for some reason you want things to be heavier, in which case you could always use the matte side of a heavy charmeuse instead of crepe de chine,  but I think that would be too much.  It's a light dress."

CHIFFON ON A BUDGET

Selecting chiffon turned out to be more challenging than I initially thought. I bought crepe-de-chine and charmeuse at Mood Fabrics. But I could not get chiffon that would be lustrous enough to match the silks on the underdress and the lace on the top. All navy chiffons I checked were in a way 'milky', somehow not quite as transparent as I wanted them to be. Maybe I was too picky, but I decided to try elsewhere as well. So, at B&J I found two types of chiffon, Korean (similar to Mood's selection) and French (twice the price of the Korean). But, readers, you should see that French chiffon - it is just perfect - lustrous, bright, transparent, deep - you name it. I did splurge on French chiffon, readers. There was too much difference between the two to hesitate. The morale of the story, shop with all the fabrics you use for the project and compare. Never settle for the first best thing.

LACE

Now, since I splurged on chiffon, I decided to be super frugal with the lace. The magazine suggests purchasing 1.5m (1.6 yard) of 90cm - wide (appr. a yard) of lace. Of course, I did want to get a good French Chantilly lace for this project, but 1.5 meters was just out of question. 


I could only get half the length with the money left for the dress, so I had to think where I can save lace. I needed scallops on the hem only, because the armholes and the neckline are going to be treated with matching organza bias tape. The navy lace that B&J had, is 120cm wide (appr. 47"), and has scallops on both sides, so I can position the pattern pieces on 'crossgrain' to be able to make use of it. The only problem was the width of the lace, as I needed additional 20 cm to accommodate the finished length of the top. 


The answer was piecing at the top portions of the lace top, the last 10cm between the neckline and the armhole. I will need only four small pieces of lace which I will invisibly attach following the pattern and using tiny fell stitches. Bias binding will give the top additional support to compensate for the loss of the lace strength where it is pieced.  Yes, it is extra work, but is it worth the money I saved - absolutely! And, remember, I got that gorgeous chiffon, so...

Couture Camp: Field Dispatch #3. Alençon Lace

Readers, this is another lace sample from Susan. What you can see here is how seams are finished on a Alençon lace blouse, and how the lace is appliqued to painstakingly match the motifs.

Here, you the armhole seam is bound with flesh-colored silk organza, which virtually disappears against the skin. This technique can be found in Valentino's Haute Couture pieces

Here, the motifs along the side seams are overlapped, trimmed and appliqued using tiny fell stitches... 

...The  same seam from the inside.

Lace scallops were appliqued to the front edge to follow the scallop edge of the hem.  

Thanks for following these little dispatches. Hope you can learn from these examples as well. Two more pieces to go!

'Pimp my' pencil skirt

Readers, tell me, honestly, what do you think of pencil skirts. I love(d) them but I keep on thinking on how you can make them more special, how to add a personal touch that represents you as a character. For example, I am a lace addict, and, when in Mood, I spend most time at their lace remnants box. I got wonderful pieces there, readers... But back to pencil skirts! I always look for those nice details, such as lace, for example, to embellish pencil skirts. Or, forget lace! Add structural lines (=seams), pockets, plackets, trims.... and and and

I think the Fall 2012 Dolce & Gabbana collection demonstrated  a few creative ways to do exactly that - make a simple pencil skirt special, using construction lines, prints, and lace. Check it out yourself, here are my favorites (source: Stylebistro):

upholstery-style fabric is in again, and I am happy, because I have a beautiful one in my stash. I think this combination of lace and flower print is beautiful!

very cute lace - it has this three-dimensional effect that has some edginess because of the material used for this lace. I wonder what it is though... Anyway, with the right type of fabric, this is an easy project even for a beginner.

Instant upgrade for a 'boring' black pencil skirt - a vertical guipure lace panel. And, slimming! If you decide to use this effect, apply by hand and stabilize the panel by basting it with matching thread to the fashion fabric.

So simple, but the lace makes it so romantic. The jacket is underlined with organza, I believe, see the crispiness of it. I woudl underline the skirt as will, and experiment with nude and off-white colors for organza

Gorgeous! My absolute favourite! For a DIY be careful with the placement of the middle panel - it can be a key for how your hips look! On this skirt, it is placed just under the hip line. The top and the bottom portions are dramatic enough to shift the emphasis from the middle panel. And, at the end, if you are worried about widening your hips, skip the middle panel alltogether - it will still look beautiful (provided you have similarly dramatic scallops on your lace) As a true couture enthusiast I would question a straight seam that attaches the bottom lace panel to the fashion fabric, but it may be a design choice...

I love the combination of two different lace types on this skirt - not a quick project if you haven't got a piece that has the laces combined!

 Did you like these skirts, readers? Which one is your favourite?

Couture techniques & a mystery netting

I am having very very busy days on all fronts, but today there is something I had to share with you! Look at this:

I was looking for this fabric  for months, on eBay, on Etsy, in online stores, in the Garment District. In vain. But last week I passed by one of my favorite stores and asked them if they had Swiss Illusion. - They had no idea what I was talking about. - Netting in flesh color, maybe? - They discussed it and said that they had an unidentified bolt in their storage, which may be what I was looking for.

Ten minutes later.... Yay! That was it, can you imagine! They said they had no idea what it was - a close-out piece that was bought along with bolts of other fabric. Well, I packed my three-yards of this this weightless treasure and hurried home.

So, what is it? I saw it for the first time in a beautiful vintage garment, and then, again, in Baltimore - Susan Khalje brought a small piece of it to demonstrate how she works with Chantilly or Alençon lace. She calls it Swiss Illusion -  a sheer but strong netting used as a lace underlay in mostly close-fitting styles.

Some of you may have used organza to underlay fragile lace, so you may ask what is the difference. Well, the main difference is that organza is a woven, and Swiss illusion is a knit. So, organza would give a stronger structure, while Swiss Illusion will remain some flexibility. Also, in my opinion, organza is more opaque than Swiss Illusion, so if you want to achieve that nude effect - use it.

This fabric is relatively expensive at $30 a yard, so, if you find it, use it sparingly. But for details, such as lace yoke, or sleeves - you won't need much, and a yard will take you a long way.


What about your readers, how, or do you underlay expensive lace. Share your thoughts!

Ugly pattern: from frumpy to fabulous (or so I hope)

Monday morning… In couple of hours got to head back to work and try to hope I can finish something during the short weekday evenings. There are three projects so close to conclusion; I am really optimistic about this week.

Well, this post is about the ugliest pattern in my stash, an old Sew Weekly challenge. Here is the pattern, which I found in my stash …

I was not sure whether I could or wanted to make something out of it. That patchwork number was such a turn-off, on the verge of being ridiculous.  But I wanted to give it a try and made a muslin.  Two darts and two side seams, but, it came out sooo ugly and shapeless, creating several huge bulges on the back, so I looked like a human armadillo. How can something that basic fit so bad???

Still, I thought I would try to fit the pattern; so I transferred grain lines to the muslin and decided that the best way to go was to drape it using the original pattern pieces but ignoring all the previous darts, marks and seam lines (so, basically creating a new pattern). I lengthened the bodice and made new darts. After some 20 to 30 minutes of work the bodice was done. And, it was such an improvement. I finally had a pattern to work with.

Now, all I had to do was to find a nice fabric to upgrade the look from frumpy to fabulous. I looked through some magazines, before they landed in recycling bin, and came across this Jardin Lace Vest by J. Crew from the J. Crew Collection line.

Can you imagine the price tag for this creation? A staggering $500! And check out what they say: 

"We're sorry. This item has been so popular, it has sold out. We've got other great ideas--just call us 800 562 0258, we're here to help."

Well we live in New York, so no comments... However, for me, the decision was obvious – beautiful Swiss or French guipure lace! Even with the best-quality lace, the final cost will be way below the price of this J. Crew vest.  Have you seen pieces from J.Crew collection? I mean all these pieces are a no-brainer with regard to construction – any seamstress with some reasonable knowledge of sewing will be able to put together most of their styles.  Many of their garments look so fabulous because of glamorous fabric: superior quality materials combined with great styling. I must add that I like how J. Crew designers combine simple design and sophisticated materials. 

So, wouldn’t you agree that it’s all DIY-able???

Meanwhile the Sew Weekly challenge week was ending, and I went to the Mood looking for a nice neutral-colour guipure lace, but could not find anything. They mostly had Alencon and Chantilly in white and black. I then went over to B&J Fabrics (checking my account status first) and found this gorgeous Swiss Guipure Lace.

Don’t ask me how much I paid for it. Hasn’t it ever happened to you that you know you can hardly afford some gorgeous fabric, but there two voices inside of you, one trying to convince you that you cannot afford this fabric and it may end up in your stash anyway, and another one arguing that you ought to own at least one statement piece, your personal one-of-a-kind creation (sorry for this run-on sentence – it’s emotional). So, you end up leaving the store with this treasure in your tote, which you hold with both hands feeling like a criminal stealing a masterpiece.  The lace will be then carefully folded, put somewhere next to your fabric stash and then casually presented to your hubby as something that you had for a while: another de-stashification project, that is. Yes, I feel guilty, but I bought it nevertheless J

…Ok, I had a new pattern, I had the lace – but no, I still had to buy backing/lining fabric. The whole new challenge… And since these shopping tours have to be squeezed in one-hour lunch, every time I go to the Garment district I only get 20 minutes to shop. 20 minutes for fabric shopping is an offence to any serious seamstress, so, after two fabric stores, a trim purchase trip, a week of nasty flu, and in-depth reading of Susan Khalje’s Bridal Couture (for its invaluable lace techniques), I am ready to plunge into sewing my hopefully-fabulous vest. Just need to decide which backing I will choose, the sky-blue one or the gray. What do you think?

At MJ Trims I also got this piece of neon-ish yellow Italian leather trim, which I want to use for a matching belt, as featured on two different backings. I wanted to keep the vest casual, so I can wear it with white summer suit pants, jeans, skirts, or dresses. I will also try to get a dressier belt for an upgraded look, but for now, I am happy with this neon piece.

the color changes slightly on a different background
it becomes yellow-ish and I am not sure I love it

I would love to hear your opinion about the backing and belt options! Any ideas?