Rosalind and the Collage of Even More Shame

So, it being the end of the year and all that, my original plan was to revisit January's Collage of Shame and remind myself which fabrics had actually made it from stash to finished item.

The evidence

It didn't take long, because the answer is - one. Just one. So now everything else on the collage is 12 months older, and therefore even more shameful.

The lucky winner!

This fabric got made up because Marie and Kerry invited me to contribute to the Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge July Extravaganza, and I knew that I wanted to make up one of my vintage patterns rather than a re-issue; without this prompt my total could have been a big fat zero!

The end result is called the Rosalind dress, after Rosalind Franklin and her work on the double-helix structure of DNA.

Most of the details about the dress are in the post on Marie's blog here, but I thought I'd write up the pocket construction as it caused a lot of frustration but produced perfect 1950s pockets.

First the flaps are made up.

Symmetrical pocket flaps

Then the flap and the pocket front are sewn onto the centre front panel of the skirt. I used plain white cotton for the pocket fonts, as the main fabric would have been too bulky.

The three pieces sewn together

Then the pocket front is flipped to the inside, and the pocket back/ side panel of the skirt is attached. I was pleased with the pattern matching, but initially completely mystified by the line of the skirt side seam.

Showing the extra fabric in the pocket

Once the sides are aligned, the 'jutting pockets' of the pattern description become clear.

The shape of the flaps keeps them clear of the side seam

When I was in London at the start of the month I visited What Katy Did, and bought some fabulous Splendette earrings and some stocking with green seams, so this seemed like a good reason to take some more photographs of the dress.

Showing off the earrings

And the stockings

So now the question is; can I do better in 2017? Because let's face it, I'd be hard-pressed to do any worse!

It's been that kind of week

You know, THAT kind

So there I was, trying to get the blackbird dress finished for a friend's birthday party. The bodice is lined, with the sort of lining which you sew on round the neckline and armholes and then pull through, so that all the edges are neatly finished. I'd never tried this before, but was pleased with the end result.

The zip should be put in towards the end, but because I was using an invisible zip I decided to do this step earlier. So I attached the skirt backs with about 2.5cm / 1"of stitching, and put in the zip. Then I laid the dress out flat.

All was not well (see top left)

There was a twist in the left shoulder of the bodice. I thought that I'd just zipped it up wrongly, so undid the zip and turned the left back though, so that the shoulder was flat. And got this.

All was even less well

I'd managed to twist the zip while in the process of setting it in, and the only solution was to unpick one side completely and start again. While on a very tight deadline.

And the really annoying thing? I've got form in this area. I've made exactly the same mistake before, with the Vegas Night dress back in 2012. Which coincidentally I was making to go on a night out with the same group of friends. On an even tighter deadline.

Lesson learned - if going out with these friends, do not try to make a new dress! I wore New Look 6070 instead.

On the plus side, I can now reveal the Secret Sewing Project. Earlier in the year I was thrilled to be asked if I'd contribute something to this year's Vintage Sewing Pattern Pledge 2016. The result was the 'Rosalind dress'; Butterick 6877 in a fabulous double-helix print cotton.

The secret's out!

The full details are on Marie's A Stitching Odyssey blog here. It had its moments, many of them involving pattern matching, but I'm really pleased with the end result. A huge thank you to Marie and Kerry for the invitation.

The Rosalind dress