Friday, December 8, 2023

Chintz Babydoll

Another try at adapting Fake Burda 6401 to have a Fake McCall's 8197 variation (again, I do have McCall's 8197, I just disagree with some of its design decisions and wanted something with a similar look but different construction/shapes.)  I feel like this is where I want it!

...although this particular dress may be a bit too pretty for me...

Not to mention having a lot more white than I'm usually inclined to wear, because I am a messy person.  However!  Since this is technically an interior decorating fabric, it actually has, according to the selvedge, some Scotchgard on it.  I know Scotchgard doesn't hold up to a lot of washing, so it wouldn't be there forever, but it would give this a chance of remaining unstained for a while. (Unfortunately I don't know how old this fabric is, so I don't know if it's the horrible Scotchgard or not.)

I decided to skip the edge stitching around the neckline, but I did under stitch, and also tacked the facing to the shoulder seams, so the neckline facing shouldn't be inclined to flipping to the outside.

And I have the sleeve cap worked out to no ease, so it fits right into the armscye with no hassle.  It's a bell sleeve shape, though, so the angle is such that proper pattern matching won't ever be possible.  I have, so far, tried to go for repeat coordination instead.

The sleeves are gathered to fit the bands with the ruffler, leaving a few inches ungathered near the sleeve seams. 

Of course I used the ruffler to gather the skirt--I didn't manage to get it adjusted perfectly this time, but it was a bit large so I was still able to draw up the thread to reduce it.  I have started sewing the gathered parts to the flat parts with the gathers up, so I can fiddle with them as the fabric is advancing toward the needle, and make sure they're flat when sewn.  The result is really lovely and even.  I don't know why it took me so long to start doing it that way.

Pockets!  Even pretty dresses deserve pockets!

I made the hem only 1½" deep.  Since I raised the waistline but cut the skirt the same length as needed for the lower waistline, I figured it would be better to make the hem slightly less generous than the 2" I did in the last version of this.

Also, this fabric is decorator weight, so it can get away with a smaller hem without losing body or crispness.  And this dress is very crisp, making lots of nice rustling sounds when swished around.  It's also noticeably heavier than other cotton pullover babydoll dresses I've made.  This only adds to the feelings of fanciness.

White serger thread still in the machine--completely appropriate this time!

This fabric was thrifted at 3½ yards of 56" wide, so I could take the time and fabric to fussy cut the graphic motifs, centering them on each piece.  I didn't try pattern matching from side to side, because I very quickly discovered that the print was every so slightly off grain--a rip across the fabric resulted in the motifs being offset by about an inch vertically, when it was obvious they were supposed to  match up perfectly.  It's close enough that it's not immediately obvious on the skirt side seams, and it also influenced me to not even worry about getting things aligned on the bodice side seams, so I could center the large motif on the back.


I do  think this might be a little fancy for me, but the fabric is pretty and the gathers are so nicely precise and it rustles so pleasingly.  It can stay.

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