Finished Project: The 'Georgia' Mini Dress.
Ahhh, another BHL Georgia, I really can't get enough of this dress. I love By Hand London patterns, their style is my style! So glad I found them, they have rekindled my love for sewing.
About October last year my maxi dress obsession began, somehow I came across the Anna dress online and that was the beginning of my BHL love affair. 'Anna' and 'Georgia' went on my Christmas wishlist and Santa* got them for me cos I was a good girl last year.
*Santa - my little sister, who always gets me amazing pressies. She will always get me something that I want, plus some little surprises. Last Christmas, she got me the BHL patterns and a vintage sewing clamp. She also did me a huge favour and picked up a new computerised sewing machine from Costco for me using her membership. Best. Sister. Ever.
The best sister ever, pictured above - little sister Judy and I at dinner last week for her birthday.
I'm wearing a maxi dress I made last year, for the first time!!
My sewing attitude has changed ever since By Hand London came into my life.
If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know that I used to line all my dresses (bagging technique, tutorial here). I started lining my dresses to hide my raw seams back when I didn't have a serger, but over time I became addicted to the clean machine finish on the insides.
I might skip lining the skirt on a full gathered skirt, but majority of the time I would fully-line my dresses (all my lined dresses tagged here).
I thought that lining the dress was easier than sewing facings. Whattttt?!
Despite having to cut out TWO of everything and working with slippery and fraying sunsilky polyester, I still favoured lining over facings.
I wanted to line my first Anna, but I didn't have time or fabric. I finished the neckline with facings, and guess what, I love facings, they look gooooooood and they cut the construction time in half!!!
Since I started sewing BHL patterns, I haven't had the urge to fully line anything at all, and all my insides look just as fabulous.
By Hand London patterns have also inspired and motivated me work hard to get the perfect fit and perfect constructions on my dresses. It's bordering on OCD - the other night, I unpicked the bodice because the bodice cup seam and the skirt seam was misaligned by 2mm. You couldn't even see it!! But it bothered me so much, I unpicked and restitched. You know what, I still haven't made a dress "perfect enough" to have the precious 'By Hand London and Me' tag sewn on. One day!!
This version of my Georgia is pretty darn close to perfection though...
The fabric is printed cotton sateen, floral of course, and plain black cotton sateen for the side skirt panels and straps.
Originally the dress looked like this, with printed straps...
I always planned on black straps, but I simply forgot. Need to start keeping notes me thinks.
... but it just didn't look right. It took me two days till I realised it was the straps that made the dress look "off"!!! I replaced the straps with plain black straps. It was a very painful process because the seam allowances were already chopped off and seam clipped and understitched :(
The strap for my right shoulder is shortened by about 2cm (because I have uneven shoulders) and sewn with a smaller seam allowance, that's why they look wider than my previous Georgias;) Sew Short Nissa did that and hers looked great! Nissa said she was inspired by my "unsewn muslin straps" on Twitter so she made the straps wider using a 8mm SA. I then took inspiration from her and sewed my straps with a 5mm SA.
I moved the position of my straps to sit on the "outer" side of my bodice cup seam rather than in the centre to give more coverage to that side boob/armpit/fleshy bit, and to cover my bra straps.
Also re-positioned the strap at the back too, if you want to do this, put on your favourite bra and reposition accordingly.
I used cotton tape (which I think is the same as twill tape?) on the straps to stop them from stretching over time as well as on the neckline, following Lladybird's tip.
A last minute adjustment had to be made to the skirt around my lower back, I took in the seams slightly. This is always my problem area. I didn't have any fitting issues in this area with my rayon maxi Georgia, I'm guessing that's because the drape and weight of the rayon helped everything sit nicely in place.
Adjustment on my lower back.
I had to unpick the finished seams, trim it back to 15mm and 'turn & stitch' the seam again.
I didn't take a pic of how this Georgia looked before I took a chunk out of the lower back, but the above pic is my first Georgia which had same problem with fabric billowing out at the lower back. The adjustment makes a huge difference to the fit.
My patience sewing skills are improving, I am getting better and better at joining the bodice and skirt at those tricky peaks, they're no longer making me tear my eyebrows out! And since learning that the needle position can move on my machine, installing the invisible zipper has been a dream.
Inside seams were folded under, pressed and stitched. I believe this is the 'turned and stitch' technique AKA 'clean finish'.
I used a 'fell stitch' to join lining to the shell.
Project details -
Pattern: By Hand London 'Georgia'
Size: 2/6 bust, 6/10 waist, 2/6 hips
Fabric: cotton sateen (1m plain black and 1m printed floral)
Notions: cotton tape, 16" invisible zipper
Cost: approx $30 for plain black cotton sateen, printed cotton sateen and invisible zipper.
Pattern Modification/Adjustments:
- The usual adjustments I have been making for the Georgia bodice:
-
- hollow chest adjustment
- small bust adjustment
- As well as some new adjustments:
-
- shortening the strap on my right shoulder
- moving the position of the straps to sit more to the side of front bodice, just next to the outside of cup seams
- took a chunk out of my lower back skirt
Completed on: Saturday 8th March 2014, I just love leaving things till the last minute!!
First worn: Saturday 8th March 2014 to my friend's wedding.
Even though this dress is completed in March, I'm counting it as Feb-make. I made all the dresses I aimed to make when I came up with my February sewing plan, including a bonus Valentines Day dress. Also smashed my goal of completing one garment per month, woot woot.
March is a quiet month, I don't have any more weddings or fancy events coming up and it's now the beginning of autumn in Australia so no more mini dresses. I just got my hands on the Sewaholic Pendrell (first Sewaholic pattern yey!) and BHL Charlotte so I'll probably be experimenting with those patterns this month.
I have had a fun journey with Georgia and Anna, but I think it's time for me to give them a rest.
I've been seeing so many HOT, SEXY, BEAUTIFUL, FABULOUS Flora dresses around, I love them on all the pattern testers (lucky, lucky girls!! I want to be a tester!!) but I'm not sure if I could pull off the mullet hem.
What do you guys think, should I add Flora to my BHL collection?
Are you getting your Flora on?
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