Another completed project to share – victory! This one is my official contribution to the Sew Sexy Sew-Along hosted by Lisette, Wanette and Clio. Here are the details…

• Pattern: Sewaholic Cambie (bodice) and By Hand London Charlotte (skirt)
• Size: 4 bust transitioning to 6 waist/hip
• Fabric:  Silk dupioni shell (Mulberry Fabrics), silk organza underlining, and China silk lining (both from B & J Fabrics)
• Notions: 20″ zipper, stay tape at hem
• Alterations: Cambie – shortened bodice 1/2″ and went down to a size 4 bust (I went with a size 6 last time); Charlotte – changes same as last time

I decided some time ago that I wanted to combine these two patterns so I could have myself a Charmbie dress. And I absolutely love how it turned out! I had this dress in mind before the sew-along was announced, but I’m so thrilled I joined because it gave me a deadline to finish this one. Plus, it’s been great seeing what everyone else has come up with!

I’ve made the Cambie before, but in that version I cut a straight size 6 for the bust and waist. Fine for the waist, too big for the bust. Here, I’ve gone with a size 4 at the bust and transitioned to the 6 waist – a much better fit without the gaping issues!

I’m going to say it also helped that I used Kenneth King’s method of stabilizing a neckline by using strips of silk organza. I basted these on at the very beginning of the process before the bodice had much of a chance to stretch. He shared this technique in a Threads article that’s now closed to non-magazine subscribers, but I managed to find Gertie’s post from her Crepe sew-along that shows it. Just note that she folded them in half differently to Kenneth’s (I ended up following his instruction).

Silk organza platter! The top photo shows all these little organza strips pinned to the neckline before I hand-basted them and then machine stitched them just inside the seam line. This took time but it was worth it, I say.

This was my first attempt at working with silk dupioni, so I did a little research on how best to handle it. Since it’s pretty delicate, and this dress is so fitted, I found that underlining it with silk organza was a common suggestion. Actually I learned this from a site called Artisan’s Square. Have you heard of it? It’s kind of like Pattern Review with all its helpfulness, and the name makes me want to go to there (confession: a lot of 30 Rock was watched during the making of this dress).

Each piece was hand-basted to the dupioni. I wonder if I even needed to stabilize the neckline with organza strips since it was already underlined with organza? If anyone knows if that’s overkill, I’d love to know. It was great having the organza already built-in to the dress to strengthen the zipper seams too. Handy!

A close-up of the fabric to see the texture. Isn’t that great?! Dupioni is made from two or more silk worm cocoons, which creates this neat effect. Also, randomly, when I was pressing it a smoked salmon smell arose from the fabric. Or maybe I’ve just been eating too many bagels with lox lately. ;)

I picked up the dupioni from a great little place near Chapel Hill, NC called Mulberry Silks (I chatted about that trip way back when). It was especially amazing because it’s housed in an old warehouse building. Yay, I love the adaptive reuse of historic buildings!! Okay, putting aside my geeky architectural historian self to get back to the dress…

This is to prove I can sit down in the dress as I stare at the phone, waiting for it to ring. Ring, ring? Actually if you go back up to the second photo in this post you’ll see how this dress reacts to bunching up after I sat down – it behaves beautifully! I had read that silk dupioni is good at resisting wrinkles, and it seems to be so, it seems to be so.

Okay, I must confess I’m a little bummed about the vent. I’m still trying to master the art of vents, and since mine is self-drafted I kind of think I messed something up (or I just need to work on it). The vent actually hangs just fine, but here I think I unintentionally added some bunching at the top of the vent (not visible from the outside) when I was stitching up the lining, and that’s causing it to hang a bit odd when I wear it. I shall have to work on that one.

I think it’s one of those things that you really scrutinize on your blog and then when you’re out in the world wearing it – for a drink at the Campbell Apartment perhaps – it’s not as big of a deal. That’s what I tell myself. :-D

But while I’m being nit picky, I think some of the fullness may need to be taken out of the hips. Yeah, we’ll see if I ever get around to doing that! It wasn’t an issue in my wool versions, as I recall…

I just threw this photo in for kicks because I’m walking forward so you can see the dress in action, kind of.

That’s about it! Red dupioni, red organza, red China silk. Oh, and red seam binding at the hem. Lots of red! I guess when I think of sexy (this is the Sew Sexy Sew-Along after all), I think of all those great actresses from Old Hollywood and how confident and classy they looked. And that’s the kind of dress I’d like to think I recreated here. This is all to say that if I ever happen to find myself in a room with Gregory Peck and Cary Grant, I’ll know what to wear. ;)

Woohoo! I just managed to post this at the end of January. You didn’t think I was going to make it, did you? ;) I also have a Wearing Yesteryear: January 2012 edition to post (I haven’t forgotten!).

Pattern: Charlotte Skirt from By Hand London
Fabric: Black and light grey herringbone wool from Mood; midnight blue Bemberg lining
Notions: 8″ invisible zipper; a snap at the waistband tab
Size: 6, but reduced the curve at the hips
Alterations: Added a vent using Sunni’s tutorials

This is my second pencil skirt using this BHL pattern, and I wish I had a zillion more! It’s a great wardrobe staple, especially made in wool for winter (I can never figure out what to wear in winter that keeps me feeling put together). I found this wool at Mood and really loved the herringbone pattern. It feels kind of festive and is great paired with lots of tops!

I added a vent this time (rather than the slit), which took me a little longer to figure out – especially how to line – but it’s totally worth it in the end. It feels much more professional to me. These photos were taken after I got home from work, and it seems as if the vent flipped outward right before I sat down at my desk resulting in a crease. Whoops! I’ll have to fix that.

As I mentioned up above, I used Sunni’s vent tutorials on her blog, A Fashionable Stitch. These are from her pencil skirt sew-along from about three years ago now I think (wow, time flies – I remember when she was hosting that one!). She did a wonderful job sharing her tips, but I also found it helpful to go to YouTube to find videos of other tutorials. Sometimes seeing things in action just really helps me figure things out.

I machine stitched the lining to the invisible zipper, which is the look I prefer. The hem is catch-stitched. I had the toughest time hemming the lining for some reason. That seemed to hold up the entire project! Actually, it wasn’t the actual stitching (hem is turned up twice and machine-stitched); it was trying to make everything level with the skirt hem. Not sure why I was having such issues. I blame this frigid winter. :)

The lining is machine-stitched to the vent. Following Sunni’s tutorial, I now have lining pieces (front; back with vent; back with inverted vent), which the original BHL pattern doesn’t come with.

Oh, and I actually wore this outfit with two layers of sweater tights and boots, if you’re wondering! It’s FREEZING outside, but too warm in my apartment so I switched to one of my favorite pairs of heels. It’s going to be 40 degrees (~5C) this weekend. Heat wave!

I had been working on this pencil skirt on and off for the past month. Some of that was not having the time, but I was really determined to improve on my first version. Here’s to more pencil skirts in the future. :)

I’m looking forward to tackling a brand new project. As much as I’d love to make some more pencil skirts (and I do have the wool to make that happen), I’d like to switch gears and make a dress. Perhaps a button-down shirtdress using the buffalo check I bought from AK Fabrics during the 3rd annual MPB Day last summer!

Pattern and Fabric
This is the Charlotte Skirt of By Hand London fame. I’ve been wanting to add some sass to my wardrobe with a high-waisted pencil skirt and who better to turn to than those sassy London ladies? Of course I went for the plainest variation of this pattern, but oh well. I still love how it turned out (with some changes) and I can’t wait to have a bunch more in my closet!

(US readers: you can order BHL and Deer & Doe patterns through Grey’s Fabric in Boston and avoid international fees! I was really happy to discover this.)

The fabric is a pumpkin orange wool blend with brown lines that I picked up from Mood here in the city last spring (you can see the print detail better in that post). I lined the skirt with beige Bemberg, also from Mood. Rare to buy the outer fabric and lining on the same day and actually make the skirt I had intended to make!

Being put on hold is just the pits.

I like how this skirt offers up the illusion of an hourglass shape (I’m a rectangle) by hitting at the waist and tapering in at the hem. However! I can’t even begin to imagine actually walking comfortably in this skirt as originally drafted given the narrowness of the hem and the absence of a slit. I tested walking up steps in my apartment building and it was a definite no go! Or maybe it just means I’m not graceful enough hehe.

Following are changes I made to make it more practical for my everyday use of walking in the city and up and down subway steps (though I think it’s also useful for getting in and out of a car).

Size and Length Adjustments
The Charlotte skirt is designed to be figure-hugging, which is nice, but definitely take that into account when picking out sizes. I cut a US size 6 at the waist (comparing my measurements to the size chart, I’d be between a 4 and a 6) and a size 4 at the hips (I would be a 2). The waist fits just right, but the hips are just a wee bit snug so I’ll go up to a 6 for my next version.

I’ll admit, I thought if anything I’d need to take the hips in since the pattern is designed with a generous amount of ease there to accommodate an hourglass shape. If I bend down it almost feels like I could one day pop the invisible zipper at center back! Definitely happy I added in a lining to help the skirt move, especially since I’ll be pairing it with sweater tights through these cold wintery months.

I ended up shortening the skirt 5″ so it hits just below the knee. The original length hit me at mid-calf, and I’m 5’6″ just to give you an idea.

Slit, Please
Even when shortened I needed to add in a 7.5″ slit to be able to walk up steps without too much restriction. This felt kind of extreme, but I checked and thankfully it’s not scandalously high! In the future, I’m going to widen the width of the hem a bit.

As is, I wore it to work this week and was able to get from A to B – yippy! I was kind of laughing to myself as I darted up the subway steps when I heard the train approaching since I couldn’t do my usual skip-two-steps-at-a-time dealy. It was more like dainty, dainty, dainty goes the lass!

Nice Knowin’ Ya, Front Darts
One more change I made was eliminating both sets of paired darts on the front skirt piece. Instead, I brought in the side seams 2″ on each side. A much better fit and no bubbling.

Just a little tight in the hips.

Waistband: Good Times
I really liked the instructions for creating and attaching the waistband. I’m no expert here, but I’ve done a few waistbands in my day and I thought this one came together nicely thanks to the instructions. A little surprised it didn’t call for interfacing, though. In any case, I added two snaps to the waist tab.

Thoughts on the Pattern
All told, I liked this pattern with the adjustments I made. I wonder why a slit wasn’t part of the original design since it’s so fitted (however, if you made this skirt without a slit I’d love to know how wearable you find it!). Also, I think a skirt this fitted benefits from having a lining, but at least this is quite easy to create from the existing pieces.

I’m pleased to have a go-to pencil skirt pattern! Should I have spent $20 for one? Perhaps not, but at least it’s a pattern I’m going to use a great deal. The high-waisted design was a big draw for me, as I find this look suits me best. (Okay, fess up, Amanda: anything “London” makes you super happy.) In short, I feel good wearing this baby. And I honestly can’t ask for more than that.

Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!