Sunday, 2 November 2014

Ray Stitch Shirtdress Workshop

On Tuesday's for the next two weeks I will be skilfully guided through making the McCalls M6696 shirtdress by the lovely Clare from Sew Dixie Lou at Ray Stitch in Islington.


I booked this course a while ago pre-finishing my MA dissertation as a little treat to look forward to. I originally bought a textured grey 100% linen to use but when I got it home and saw how the grey looked against my face (too similar a tone ie. pale) I decided to search for another fabric (don't worry the linen will make a lovely skirt / trousers).
The first of three sessions was on 28th October. I managed to cut out all sections of the 3/4 sleeve, straight skirt version of the dress (View D).


The only sewing I managed was to create gathers in the back and attach to the yoke. It was at this point I realised the the slight bulk of the corduroy would be a disadvantage with certain aspects of the pattern - I just didn't like the puffy effect on the corduroy that doesn't drape as well as other fabrics such as viscose, silk or a lightweight chambray.... I was getting a bit tired at this point of the class and decided to unpick / re-do this part at home.


To get rid of the gathers I did this... it may not be right but hey, you live and learn!

I am looking forward to the next session on Tuesday and hope that my free-styled modifications will match up with the waistband part of the dress. If it doesn't I could always add a little box pleat and call it a design feature. Seeing these photos made me realise I really should iron my bodice to get rid of the ex-gathers!
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous2 November 2014 at 09:55

    I like the contrast lining at the yolk and a good call to remove the gathers in cord (another possibility might have been a pleat instead).
    Can't wait to see the finished dress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caroline2 November 2014 at 10:08

      Good idea - but I tried a pleat after the gathers and I felt it was still too bulky. I may need to add a little pleat at the waistline but I won't really know until I get to that part of the construction.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous2 November 2014 at 12:46

    Good luck with the course! I find I learn the best when somebody is actually right there, demonstrating and helping me fit. This pattern is so popular, so it must have something going for it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caroline2 November 2014 at 13:20

      Thanks Catja - I really like having somebody there to show you some of the tricky things. I am looking forward to learning how to do a successful collar. I will keep you posted on my progress ; )

      Delete
  3. Alex4 November 2014 at 01:33

    Love the colour of your fabric! Looks like this will be a really lovely autumn/winter dress. Enjoy the rest of the course :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Caroline4 November 2014 at 14:12

      Thanks Alex. I attended session two this evening so will do an update this weekend.

      Delete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)