Burda 06-2014 #102 - Twisted Dress (June Burda Challenge)

Who loves a simple knit dress? This girl! I knew when I saw this dress in the Burda magazine, I would have to make it. It’s simple and a knit. The pattern itself is a simple t-shirt dress with a little extra. The side seams are cut to be crooked, but then you are supposed to twist it when you wear it to create a lightly gathered look. Great idea. More on that in a minute.

 

Here’s my version. You probably can’t see the light gathering because of the fabric. Love this fabric, by the way. It’s from the Swap Meet in San Diego.

 

The fit is nice. I made my standard 34 with no alterations.

 

I love that the back and front are similar with the slight v-necks.

 

The inside has a lined bodice that also serves as the facing. I went ahead and used it because I’ve found that a facing works best when you want a crisp v-neck like this. Yes, there are other ways to do it. See the “side” seam??

 

Let’s talk about this fabric for a second. I love it. You may see it again as a dolman top. I think I have enough scraps to get a small top out of it.

 

Now let’s talk about the light gathering and the twists in this dress. Yes, it’s a great idea to make the dress fit with curved side seams that you adjust to make them straight. However, what really happens is those little buggers slip back around your body so that the “side” seam comes around to the front and back of the body. You can’t see it in my version because of the print, but it would drive me crazy in a solid version because you would see that the “side” seam isn’t really at the side. Also, the sleeves have the same little twist, but I think it looks more like an accident than a design feature. Again, super glad this is in a crazy print.

 

Here I tried to outline the gathering so you can see it better. As I would walk, the dress would slip around me like a hula-hoop and I was adjusting it every 5 minutes. It’s not that annoying and I will wear the dress, just be forewarned. I made the dress a little tighter at the waist and top of the hips and that stopped a lot of the hula-hooping, but still . . .

 

Next up, commercial fishing soon!!!! Raincoats and maybe rain pants for a herd of kids!!!

Best. Day. Evah.

June 1st? Best day ever. First, I had a great half-marathon and got a personal best of 1:45. I realize that's not super fast, but it's fast for me. Here's me at the end. It's super hot for an Alaskan girl. I wore my Jalie shorts and they were fantastic for 13.1 miles. I put GU in my pockets and there was no jiggling at all. 

Then, from there, we went to the Swap Meet to buy tons of fun fabric. 

Then we went to Yardage Town to buy a few other things. We didn't take a picture so I drew a little one. We bought swimwear fabric mostly. 

We finished off the day with margaritas by the pool and beach. 

I was a tired puppy, but it was a great day. :)

(I'm posting from the Blogger app so I hope the formatting works better.)

Jalie 3352 #3 - My Favorite One!!!!

This is my third and favorite Jalie Dolman Top. I was inspired by Jalie's own version where they used this same print but in a different colorway. I used (like totally copied) the same placement of fabric and everything. I love, love, love it and I've been wearing it often in the sunny land of California. The placement of the motif looks crooked, but it's not. It's the wind. 

Pretend that the first picture is here. The one of the front.

(I freaking hate posting from my phone. I can't get the text to go with the pictures like I want!!!!!!!!!!! ARG! Just work with me and pretend. Squint your eyes if it helps.)

I love how the back is longer than the front (pretend you are looking at the second picture of my bum with the Jalie top covering it).

And I seriously love the colors of this knit. (pretend you are looking at the close-up of the knit - work with me here). 

I did really well in my half-marathon and I'll tell you more about that later. It was like the best day of my life. 

Jalie 3351 Again (I know, I know, move ON, Dawn!)

I know I need to move on and make something that isn’t a Jalie pattern. Come ON, though. Isn’t this a great pair of shorts? I had to go ahead and make a pair for my Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. This is the same thing I made the other day except it’s in a nylon/lycra fabric. I’m in love! Fabric is great, fit is great.

 

There’s no butt-cling, no tightness, and they feel fantastic. So fantastic, I’m going to run 13.1 miles in them next week. This is my typical Jalie size R – no modification. (This is my Nike Victory Define Sports Bra. Super comfortable and supportive. Of course, I don’t need a crazy amount of support either.)

 

I added a little glitz to them because I can’t resist and I have all this girl leotard fabric everywhere. The underpocket is made from glitter purple snakeskin fabric.

 

I will make these over and over again. I love the waistband on these. I’m going to start using this waist-elastic application to other patterns. It’s a super dark and dreary day outside, so I had to mess with the lighting in Photoshop. It makes the walls look all washed out and weird.

 

Front.

 

Back. Love the chevron.

 

From the side. The right side is CB. You can see it’s quite a bit higher.

 

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee. A little glitter goodness just for me.

 

That fabulous waistband again.

 

In case you forgot what the pattern looks like again. They are supposed to have a mesh lining underwear option but I left that out on my two pairs.

 

Wish me luck! I may get to crank out another top or dress before we leave for San Diego! Swap Meet, here I come!!!!!!

Jalie 3351 - Swim Shorts as Running Shorts

 

I’m running in the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon soon and need some shorts and shininess to keep me going. I wanted to demo this pattern before I used something more appropriate for workout wear. These are made from a cotton knit (with sparkles). That’s a goofy-ass look on my face. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

I ran eight miles in them this morning and they are super comfortable. When I run distance, I either want something looser like these or tight like the Fehr Trade Duathlon shorts (I made a pair of those too – not run-tested yet though).

 

I know they don’t look all that rad here, but they are cotton and wrinkly. This is a great pattern and will be my go-to casual summer shorts pattern.

 

I love the two side pockets and the overlap detail on the sides. I ran with Goo in each pocket and I was worried that it would pull down the waistband, but I was pleasantly surprised. These was no waistband movement at all. I don’t think I would ever put my phone in there though – too much weight.

 

Here’s the CF. You can’t see too much with this fabric.

 

Here’s a bit closer with some details drawn in.

 

Here they are on the side and you can see the CB is quite a bit higher that CF. The pocket is wide enough that the goo can go in sideways. I could put two in each pocket and have plenty of room.

 

Here’s the bottom overlap detail that I love.

 

Here’s the inside, not exciting, I know. But so comfy!!

 

Here’s the awesome part. I love the wide waistband and how Jalie has you put it together. You use a 3/4” loop of elastic for the waistband, but it’s inside the two-piece band. There is a wide waistband and a narrow facing. You sew those together and then add the elastic to the seam allowance. You fold the elastic so it’s against the facing and understitch it. When you fold them right sides out, the understitching and the narrow facing match the waistband. The elastic is at the top of wide waistband but encased. It felt snug, but not tight. Another Jalie construction technique I love!!!!!

 

Another winner-winner chicken dinner.

Another Jalie 3352 - Dolman Top

 

I made another dolman top. This one is cotton knit with print front and back with solid sleeves. This knit was printed so there was a lot of lot knit along the edges. I cut the sleeves on the cross grain to get as much solid as possible. (These are the most comfortable, slouchy, cropped boyfriend jeans ever.)

 

I rather like how it turned out. It’s comfortable and casual which is just what I need for the next few days of work. I have oodles of bottles, scales, models, rocks, etc. to put away in the storeroom and I need to be able to move around.

 

I love that the back is lower than the front. I folded down the neckline and stitched it again. I still haven’t tried the Jalie method of applying the trim piece.

 

Here is why I have the sleeves rolled up. When I cut out the arms, I thought the tiny bit of print on the cuffs would be cute. Turns out it’s just distracting and a bit weird. I like it just as much with the sleeves rolled up thought, so it’s all good.

 

Next up? I have requests for another swimsuit (the Jalie cross-top one) and more pairs of pajamas (Mom! Make sure they are two-piece with pants and tops. We get cold at night!!!!!!!! Oh Mom?? May them cute too.) I will probably make a bulk set of like six pairs of pajamas. Things go so fast when you put them in an assembly line.

Jalie 3354 - Gymnastics Leotard

This is another one of the new releases from Jalie. We needed a swimsuit and a leotard so good timing, Jalie!

 

Hideous, shiny fabric? Check. She does not look amused here, but trust me, she’s in love. I added 1.5” to the torso and I think that’s about the perfect amount. She has a little bit of space too grow, but it fits great with nice booty coverage.

 

She’s in love and she might marry it. And when we went to the park, she insisted on wearing it with her new circle skirt.

 

She loves how it sparkles and how the lacy pink skirt moves and how she was the only person wearing a leotard at the park. And that boy, he’s such a boy. Sigh. Is he putting bugs in her hair?

 

Here’s a bad picture of the back. Basically, the front and back are the same. You try to get action shots of the back of a leotard when The Boy is making them go Mach 10 on the tire swing.

 

Here it is flat so you can see it a little better. I used Mystique silver for the accent piece, hot pink for the contrast trim, and orange/pink/silver for the main body section. The main fabric I found at JoAnn’s and the other two were found in San Diego.

 

What’s interesting here is the elastic is encased in the contrast trim piece. It takes a little bit to get used to. Definitely try it out on some scraps first!! Next time, I might increase my width by about 1/8” or 1/4”. My serger snips off a bit more than 1/4” so I need just a smidge more width.

 

Here’s what they look like from the inside. I coverstitched everything instead of zigzagging it. I love the finish inside and love the pop of color on the outside.

Another Jalie winner! I’ll be making another hideous, sparkly leotard here in the next week or so. This one will be even more wild!

Before you start this pattern:

• Jalie has you mark when the accent shoulder hits the body. I did that by notching it. When you encase that seam in the contrast trim, you lose your notch, duh. Mark it on the body of the fabric with chalk or something. Mine turned out fine but I had to wing it.
• Practice the elastic/trim application. Really. It’s not hard, but it takes practice and you don’t want to screw up your real pattern piece!
• This has no CB seam, but I would reinforce the crotch with a serger and a zing-sag just to be sure!
• Remember that this is an asymmetric design. The first time I cut the silver piece, I cut it on the wrong side! For this pattern, you actually have to pay attention to that!
  

Next up? Something for momma!