Christy Slip Dress + Kate Bias top HACK - Just Patterns

The Pattern
To make this dress I used the Christy Slip Dress by Just Patterns, with the front neckline of the Kate Bias Top also by Just Patterns.

I've made the bias top THREE TIMES, and it's just a balanced, well engineered design, so it knew it would translate well into a dress.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Oct 1, 2019 at 4:41pm PDT

I'm wearing the dress with my me-made leather jacket, which you can read about here.

Pattern Hack
Because these two patterns are from the same company, this was a super easy hack.

I lay the Kate Bias top over the pattern for the Christy Slip, which both have the same width and shape from the side notch, which is conveniently positioned in the same spot.

I then simply traced the Kate Bias Top neckline onto the Christy Slip Dress pattern and cut out the modified pattern.

The Fabric
A glorious silk satin from Tessuti Fabrics.
It has a 22mm weight, and is the colour 'almond'.
Tessuti always stock the most beautiful silk satins, and I'm yet to find better quality elsewhere.

The fabric is cut on the bias, interfaced at the necklines with silk organza and fully lined with a poly georgette.

The Details
This is a classic, straightforward dress, and I love adding extra details that make a dress more wearable and more precious.

I FULLY LINED the dress, and FRENCHED my seams.

Instead of under-stitching the neckline with a machine, I PICK-STITCHED the neckline on the inside of the garment. This gave me so much more control, and allowed me to reach spots on the neckline that you normally can't get to with a machine.

Narrow bias cut SPAGHETTI STRAPS hold the dress up at the shoulders.

I finished the dress with a delicate NARROW HEM that looks so polished on bias cut fabric.

Neckline Tip
To stabilise the neckline, I forewent the iron-on stay tape and used the pattern pieces to cut out a facing of silk organza (about 8cm in length).

Silk satin cut on the bias is a tricky textile to deal with, and iron on interfacing, even stay tape, can distort the lovely drape of the bias fabric and the stiffness can show through to the outside of the garment.

Using silk organza, which is about 6momme (mm) in weight, gives the neckline structure, support and strength, without adding bulk and is invisible from the right side.

Just like regular interfacing, you attach it to the individual pattern pieces on the wrong side. I hand basted my organza facings along the necklines and side seams, and pinked the organza edges.

The finished result is a smooth, sharp neckline that doesn't pucker, pull, flip out or bulge. It's well worth the extra 15 minutes it might take to cut out and attach.

The Changes
I cut the pattern in a size 42 as the pattern was drafted with negative ease, and I wanted to make sure I allowed enough room for my lower body.

Aside from hacking the neckline from the Kate Top, there were no fit changes.

I added 18cm to the length at the hem, as I love silk in a midi length and the original hem sits just below the knee.

Final Thoughts
I love the proportions of this bias cut dress and I love how it can transition from a day look to a night time look, depending on the shoes or the accessories.

It's super comfortable, straight forward to make and surprisingly flattering to wear on this curvy frame.

I think I just found my new favourite pattern for summer!

A blazer + Leather skirt + Silk Cami = Melbourne FROCKTAILS 2019

MELBOURNE FROCKTAILS TIME!

Melbourne Frocktails, organised by the fabulous Shelley and Lisa, has quickly become the anticipated sewing highlight of the year!
It's a night of socialising, fabric stroking and dressing up in a me-made outfit of your choice.

THIS YEAR I made:

• A tailored blazer, complete with full canvas interfacing, pad stitching and hand stitched everything
• A leather skirt and
• A silk cami.

So, you know, just kept it casual, obvs.

Here's a few pics from the night, posing with my sewing bestie, Leisl from the blog Jorth

Photo by Samara Clifford Photography

Photo by Samara Clifford Photography

Photo by Samara Clifford Photography

Photo by Samara Clifford Photography

The Blazer

It's Burda 6875, in View B in a size 12 (with modifications) that I shortened by 10cm.

THE FABRIC is an incredibly stunning (stunning!!) 210gms silk wool blend (51% silk/49% wool) from Mood Fabrics in colour 'Whisper White'
The fabric has a tight weave and the true colour is more of an ivory than a white.

The jacket is lined with a decadent 22mm silk satin from Tessuti Fabrics in Ivory

I recently made my FIRST EVER tailored jacket and I was so in love with the creative process and the final result, that I immediately dived into making my SECOND ONE.

Most of this jacket is HAND SEWN and comes with the following:

• Pad stitched lapels and under-collar
• Silk organza back stay
• Double welt pockets with flaps
• Hand sewn lining
• Sleeve heads and shoulder pads
• Full canvas interfacing - Soft Hair Canvas from Spotlight Stores
• Canvas (hair cloth) sleeve and hem interfacing
• Bound buttonhole closure
• Wool felt under collar, fell stitched in place. Wool felt from Two Blue Birdies
• Ventred and mitred sleeve hems
• Silk thread for all hand stitching

Changes:

• Hand stitched the under collar and upper collar to the gore line and lapels by hand
• Added a single welt, breast pocket
• Shortened length of jacket by 10cm
• Curved the front of jacket facing hem to mimic a suit jacket and not a coat
• Lengthened the sleeve vents to 11cm
• Added a back stay
• Added twill tape to roll line of lapel
• Changed from a two button closure to a one button closure and lowered the position of the button closure slightly.

You can check out my photo heavy post with all the details of how I constructed my tailored blazers here: 'Inside the Tailored Jacket -  Taking a Look at the Couture Construction of Burda 6875'

The Skirt

The skirt is SELF DRAFTED with a centre front seam and a waistband.

It's made with black nappa leather from Leffler Leather Merchant and is closed with a metal zipper down the centre back.

I MADE THE HEM OF THE SKIRT BACK 2cm's longer than the front of the skirt, grading out from the side seam. I've found that my bigger bottom tends to lift the hem the skirt, and adding the extra length meant that the hem line looked completely straight all the way around!

The Cami

It's the Kate Bias Top by Just Patterns (my third!) in a beautiful floaty silk satin from Home Craft Fabrics

You can see my other two versions (and reviews) of the Kate Bias Top here and here

Final Thoughts

My heart is full meeting and catching up with wonderful, like minded people. The ladies really put on an amazing night with some fabulous sponsors and I was so impressed at the quality and variety of wonderful me-made clothing.

Melbourne, you are awesome!!!

You can check out my blog post for my First Tailored Blazer here:

You can check out my blog post detailing how I constructed my tailored jacket here:

My First TAILORED Blazer - Burda 6875

I am so excited to share with you, my FIRST ever, TAILORED BLAZER!!!! ALL THE EMOTIONS!

For many years I've fantasised about making a tailored blazer.
A blazer that included canvas interfacing, pad stitching, roll-lines and is mainly sewn by hand.

I've always been fascinated by the engineering of such garments and intimidated by their apparent complexity but I decided I was ready to take the plunge and challenge myself to make a proper, bespoke blazer; and HERE IT IS!

THIS BLAZER includes:

1. Canvas (soft hair cloth) interfacing
2. Pad stitched lapels and under collar
3. Bound button holes
4. Surgeon sleeves (vented sleeves) with mitred corners
5. Sleeve heads and shoulder pads
6. Silk organza back stay
7. Double welted pockets
8. Twill tape along roll line and facing edges
9. Liberty of London pocket lining
10. Silk lining, each piece sewn in by hand
11. Blind stitched and canvased hems
12. Wool felt under collar
13. Upper and under collar sewn to neck and gorge line by hand
14. Vintage buttons
15. All hand sewing completed with silk thread

The Fabric

The most beautiful Italian double wool crepe from Mood Fabrics.
The weight and drape of this fabric work so well with this pattern, and the thick texture hides hand stitching well.

It is lined with a 19mm silk satin from Home Craft Textiles, which makes wearing the jacket feel luxurious and super comfortable.

The Pattern

For the JACKET I used Burda 6875 in View A

THE SKIRT is self-drafted with a faux button placket, fully lined and a blind stitched hem. The waistband of the skirt is interfaced with silk organza (attached by hand) and closed with an invisible zipper down the centre back.

The CAMI is another Kate Bias Top by Just Patterns in a silk satin from Home Craft Textiles. I used silk organza as interfacing, instead of stay tape and I under-stitched the lining with a pick stitch by hand.

Changes

The construction of this jacket was very different to the original pattern, considering it was tailored and mostly hand sewn, but as for changes to the actual pattern, I did the following:

• Lowered the top button and removed the second to make it a one button closure
• Made a bound button hole instead of a machine button hole
• Lengthened the sleeve vents to 11.5cm
• Removed the centre back vent for a European style
• Made a 2cm sway back adjustment
• increased the width of the hip at the side seams and back princess seams by 4cm total.
• Added 3cm to the width of the lining armhole to accommodate the shoulder pad and sleeve heads.
• Vented the sleeve lining hems so surgeon sleeves could be functional

Pad Stitching

Pad stitching is the art of sewing together the two layers of fabric, the garment and the canvas interfacing, to act as one. 

It is done using small hand stitches that run along and parallel to the roll lines of the collar and lapel. When done correctly these stitches are almost invisible on the right side of the garment.

When stitching, the fabric and canvas is rolled over the index finger to encourage a curve in the fabric. Smaller stitches are made at lapel corners and at the roll line to set the roll line and to make corners of lapels and collars turn slightly to the body, rather than sticking out.

This is my first time pad-stitching and the results are so effective that it has completely won me over. No more stick-out corners, or twisted lapels. The lapel and collar curve to the body and refuse to fold anywhere but along the roll lines.

The under collar is made of wool felt and cut with out seam allowances. The under and upper collars are sewn by hand and attached to the garment with a fell stitch. This gives such wonderful control, and is apparently the mark of a true bespoke jacket.

Tailoring

I spent countless hours sleuthing the internet for any bits of information I could find on pad stitching and tailoring. If it's on the web, I've likely seen it by now. I also purchased the book 'Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket" which is an excellent resource and very picture heavy.

Below are a few progress pics of jacket, which I documented in my Instagram stories.

You can see the whole process and a lot more photos on my instagram highlights saved under 'Tailored Jacket'.

Final Thoughts

This jacket took countless hours and a lot of patience. I took my time to do a toile before I started sewing, and to practise making the welt pockets and bound buttonholes.

I originally set myself the challenge of making a tailored jacket to further my learning and to see just how much of an impact the engineering had on the final product. What I didn't expect is just how much I would enjoy and fall in love with it! Since posting this I have made and completed my SECOND tailored blazer (coming soon) and I already have plans for my next.

This was a project of love and I am so thrilled to learn these news skills. They have absolutely heightened my enjoyment of the final garment and makes me excited to learn more!