Miss Emery Packs Her Bags

Good morning, lovely ones! Today's project is a bit of mixed bag, I have to be honest. While it's a perfectly nice dress, the final product is a lesson in almosts. It's almost exactly what I wanted. It almost fits correctly. It's almost the perfect spring dress. 

Let's start with the good first, though, shall we? For my Mood project this month, there was a challenge to meet. We were asked to pick a designer collection from the Spring/Summer 2014 runways shows, then sew a piece that could fit into the collection we fancied most. There were quite a few gorgeous collections this season, but I ended up choosing one of my stand-by inspirations: Orla Kiely. 

Kiely's collection is utterly delightful, filled with gorgeous linens, whimsical animal prints, and early 60's silhouettes. It's very Wes Anderson meets The African Queen. The S/S 14 Kiely girl is a twee, binocular-toting naturalist on her first safari after grad school. 

In order to properly channel this aesthetic, I ordered two lengths of linen in my favorite of Kiely's color pairings: navy and coral. Mood has an absolutely gorgeous selection of linens and these two are no exceptions. The navy is actually a Ralph Lauren fabric, lightweight and with gorgeous body, while the coral is a midweight linen-cotton blend with a sturdy hand. They are a really lovely pair. 

Initially, I had planned to turn these fabrics into a Hawthorn from Colette Patterns—a simple navy shirtdress, with coordinating coral buttons and collar. It would have been gorgeous, but a shipping mix-up meant I didn't actually get these fabrics until last weekend, so the time just wasn't there. Instead,  I reached for the Emery Dress from Christine Haynes, determined to finally make a proper version. The collar variation was perfect for my Kiely-esque vision and the skirt was wide enough to take advantage of the flowy navy linen. Even better, I'd already fit the Emery bodice to perfection! What could go wrong?  

Well—contain your shock, kittens—it turns out that linen and faille don't drape in the same manner. They are, in fact, polar opposites. Where faille holds any structure you can imagine, linen is much more loosey-goosey. It wants to float and blouse. That's why we love it, after all. It's the ideal summer fabric! Unfortunately, that meant that my perfectly fitted Emery bodice wasn't perfect at all. The armscyes gaped, while the underbust poofed. 

I took it in where I could, but the dress is still just a bit big those in areas. Not enough to bother me when wearing it, but enough that I still notice in these pictures. You can also totally see where my seatbelt crossed my chest in the car before taking these. Oh, linen. Won't you hide any sins? 

Let's circle back to the bright side, though! This fabric is lush, y'all. I've written three different analogies, trying to capture what it feels like, and one of them involved angel butts. The navy is slightly slubby in texture, as a good linen should be, and so breathable. When Texas summer hits, I'm going to wear the hell out of this dress. Usually, I give up on pretty clothes sometime in mid-August, instead wearing thin shapeless knit pieces and murmuring, "Whhhhyyyyy?" This year, I will have linen to cool my heat-stricken fashion senses. Joy!

 Now, onto construction details! The Emery was mostly fun to sew up. It's a very simple pattern, which makes it ideal for beginners, but could be embellished a hundred fabulous ways. There are eight darts, gathering of the skirt waistband, installation of the bodice lining, and an invisible zipper. From start to finish, this dress took me about six hours to sew, because I chose to sew the lining in completely by hand. 

There were a few things that gave me issues, but they were a cutting mishap and a thing I shouldn't have tried anyhow. First off, one of my back bodice pieces was just a touch wider than the other, which made installing the collar on that side an adventure. The other was the Fucking Invisible Zipper of Doom.

Holy banana slugs! Invisible zippers are worse than mayonnaise. No matter how precisely I measure or what tricks I use, my waist seams never line up properly. This one, I installed three separate times to no avail. Despite both back pieces being identical in length, the zipper decided the seams should be separated forever. Ugh. They're still like a centimeter off, but I don't even care. I am done letting that zipper toy with my emotions! My gut said to sub it out for a hand-picked zipper, as is my wont, but I wanted to stick to the pattern instruction for an honest Emery experience. 

So, that was a mistake. My next Emery—because, I will conquer this pattern's fit—will have a traditional zip.

Overall, my review for the Emery herself is two thumbs up. All of these issues with this dress were user error. I think that, in the wake of some good news this week, the universe wanted to reinforce that I'm not Coco Chanel yet: "You can successfully sew with silk and sign on for A Cool Secret Thing, but I still have your number, Mary. Here, have a box full of invisible zippers for your trouble."

The Details...

Things I Loved:

• The collar! Such a sweet touch.
• The fabric! Mood rocks, as ever. I want to only wear linen and silk faille, because they've spoiled me so. 
• The skirt! Swishy full delight. 
• The skirt length! I didn't have to lengthen, in order to get the perfect hem length. Wonder! Awe!

Things I Changed:

• 2.5 inch FBA

Things I Will Change Next Time:

• Sub out for a traditional zipper, so that I don't turn into a fire-breathing sewing monster. 
• Revisit that FBA on a size smaller, so that I can address the fit issues in drapier fabrics. 

Tips & Tricks:

• If you hate invisible zippers, don't sew them. 

Notions & Fabric:

• Emery Dress - Christine Haynes Patterns - $18 - Goes up to a 45" bust
• Ralph Lauren Navy Linen - Courtesy of Mood Fabrics
• Coral Linen-Cotton Blend - Courtesy of Mood Fabrics
• 22" Invisible Zipper of Doom
• Interfacing for collar

Miss Emery Finds Her Wiggle: Gertie's Wiggle Dress

Happy Valentine's Day, dear ones! This holiday has always been one of my favorites, no matter my relationship status. How much quibble can you have with a day that's centered around flowers, appreciation for your fellow man, and dessert? It's the triumvirate of happy things!  I've ever been a fan. 

This year, of course, there are romantic things to celebrate. It's not only The Perry/Danielson Perry's first Valentine's as a married couple, but our first one living in the same city. Wonders never cease! Since we both have a healthy aversion to crowded spaces, Sam is making us dinner tonight (His world-famous steak, roasted balsamic Brussels sprouts, and fingerling potatoes, followed by my less-famous marble pound cake), then we're off to a showing of Dead Man's Cellphone, by the Baylor Theater Department.  It will be a lovely night! 

Naturally, I needed a lovely dress to wear. Or, let's be honest, an excuse to order this Oscar de la Renta silk faille from Mood. 

Y'all, I have never been so in love with a fabric. This faille is the perfect Mary fabric: bold color, giant flowers, retro feel, and so lush against the skin. I want to make All Of The Things out of it. Sure, an entire floral silk wardrobe may not sound practical, but it would be downright gorgeous. Which is more important? 

Practicality, I know. But: sigh and swoon. A girl does need a little pomp and circumstance in her closet, right? A silk wiggle dress is a basic, darling!  Everyone needs an emergency cocktail dress. This one is mine. 

While I labeled this the wiggle dress from Gertie's New Book For Better Sewing, that's not strictly true. Though her pattern is the inspiration, this dress is actually a mash-up of Christine Haynes' Emery Dress bodice and Gertie's pencil skirt. After making a muslin of the Emery dress a few weeks back, I fell in love with the bodice fit. It was the easiest FBA I've ever performed and fits like a dream. So, instead of adding a side bust dart and rotating it out, as Gertie's would require for a true FBA, I just chose Miss Emery instead! There will be a true Emery Dress in the near future, of course. You know I can't pass up a swooshy, full-skirted silhouette for long. 

So, the Emery-Gertie dress was born! 

Gertie's sizing is a bit weird for me--my bust and waist fitting a 14, but my hips needing the 16, despite cited measurements. I suppose I prefer a bit more skim over that region, than the oh-so-glamorous designer herself. For this dress, I cut a 14 at the waist, then very quickly blended over to a 16 for the hips, then back down to the 14 toward the knees, so it would be properly pegged. Since I was matching up two separate patterns, I also turned Gertie's skirt darts into pleats. Instead of moving darts, I just took a small pleat to match the placement of Emery's bodice darts. Then, I top-stitched them down two inches and called it a day! Too easy. 

To preserve the integrity of this wonderful fabric, I used a few couture techniques on this dress. Silk faille, though beautiful and perfect in all ways, frays faster than my nerves on an ancient, creaking Ferris Wheel. (I hate them so!) In order to mitigate that, I serged all the seams of the bodice, as they were sewn, and used French seams on the skirt itself. Then, I lined the bodice in black china silk. So fancy!

Additionally, I inserted a vintage metal zipper by hand. I love hand-picking in zippers, because not only is it a beautiful finish, but it allows me more control during insertion. They always turn out splendidly! I may never go back to machine zips, y'all. 

The final construction details were simple: slip-stitching the lining to the zipper and waistband, hemming the skirt by hand, and nipping in the upper hip seam just a bit. Voila! A wiggle dress Joan Holloway would call her own! 

This was such a simple make, friends. It turned out beautifully, but it's really a case of pairing super luxe fabric with an easy pattern. There is nothing more straight-forward to construct than a wiggle dress, as long as the pattern fits you well. I can't recommend either pattern or fabric enough, for that reason. Faille and a sheath dress are a sartorial dream team! 

The only thing I truly obsessed over with this one was pattern placement. With flowers this ostentatious fabulous, I knew they needed to match perfectly over the major seams: center back, the front waist, and the back waist. Otherwise, the eye could get lost in a sea of giant, mismatched petals. The horror! Luckily, all of my perfectionism paid off and they blend perfectly. Is there any prouder moment for a sewist than perfectly matched seams? I think not. 

The Details...

Things I Loved:

• The fabric! This one is all about the fabric for me. My love for it abounds. 
• The fit! Not to pat myself on the back, but I nailed it on this one. The Emery bodice was a dream to fit, of course, so that helped. 

Things I Changed:

• Hand-picked zipper
• Shortened the skirt by three inches.
• Frankenpattern! Used an Emery Dress bodice and Gertie pencil skirt. 
• Blended from a Size 14 at the waist to a Size 16 at the hips.

Things I Would Change, If Making Again: 

• Not a thing!

Tips & Tricks:

• Here is, once again, my favorite tutorial for by hand zipper insertion from the lovely Tasia!

Notions & Fabric:

• 20-inch metal zipper
• 2.5 yards of Oscar de la Renta Silk Faille courtesy of Mood Fabrics
• 1.5 yards of black china silk courtesy of Mood Fabrics

Incidentally, these pictures are such a mismatch, I know! We had one sunny day this weekend, in between two well-publicized polar storms, so I dragged Sam to our neighborhood park to photograph this dress. Of course, I was also running a 101° fever at the time and could barely talk without grimacing. Most of the original photos reflected that, but they were on time for my MSN post, at least. Yesterday, hopped up on antibiotics, steroids, and the return of sunshine, I trotted out into the backyard for some happier shots. If any dress deserves two photo shoots, it's this one, don't you think?

Finally, thank you so much for all your kind words and congratulations yesterday! You made my first project for MSN all the better, because of your support. It meant the absolute world to me. You're the very best!

Happy Valentine's Day, one and all!