Wednesday, March 23, 2016

The Magrath Dress by Sew Much Ado.

Let's start by how we are feeling about this dress.


That was her idea with the heart by the way (but I do agree). And it's obviously double perfect because not only do we love it, it also imitates the cuuuute top-of-a-heart shape on the front bodice and bottom-of-a-heart on the back bodice. You are basically being hugged by a heart when you are wearing this dress.


My photos didn't turn out so good technical wise, so I decided to have some fun with them instead. I always becomes so unsure when I try to be artsy so I had the one and only Celina to confirm that they were okay. Thank you my friend!


The dress is The Magrath Dress by Sew Much Ado.
I have previously made her Pretty in Peplum Dress so I knew I was in good hands. (See that post HERE.) The patterns are well drafted and FULL of useful information.


First of all I promise you that the fabric over the curved seam does not look as bad in real life as it does in some of the photos. I think it's the contrast in the photos that enhances the wrinkles in the fabric. Second of all you are not even suppose to do it the way I did it, ha. You know I'm notorious (stupid) for not reading through the whole tutorial before I start. I just find the seam allowance info and then quickly scroll through the photos. Yeah, not very smart!

So I sewed that curved front seam together, pivoting in the middle and while I did so I thought, wow this is hardcore difficult and props to everyone for getting such nice results. THEN I decided to check the tutorial and realized Abby had been cleverer than that. She recommends that you iron your SA (which is clearly marked on the pattern) and then stitch it directly on top of the the other piece. AH!
That might not be 'the official right way' to do it but it certainly makes WAY more sense for a commercial sewing pattern. And I have looked at many photos of this dress from other bloggers and never noticed that the yokes were stitched directly on. IN fact I have thought, wow everyone is getting such nice results with this dress, ha.

My way of doing it helped me in one way though. I didn't wanted to line the bodice because we live such a warm place, so 'my way' allowed me to serge the seams afterwards. I also trimmed them to same width as my 3 thread overlock stitch - that works as well as clipping the seam, which you have to do since it is curved.

Okay, enough babbling of what I did, that you shouldn't do, unless you need a serious challenge in life, ha.


We call this E's Easter dress even though we do not at all have an easter dress tradition in this house.
Awhile back we were in Target and E was sending heart eyes to all the pretty floral dresses that was suddenly everywhere (I later realized they were of course Target's contribution to the Easter dress craze) and I almost bought her one (probably mostly so we could move on with our day) when I remembered that Abby had offered me her Magrath Dress pattern and I had initially turned it down (while sobbing) because my girls really do not need more clothes now that they wear uniforms 5 days a week.

She was mostly attracted to the green dresses and I had just bought this amazing green floral printed Japanese cotton lawn from Drygoods Design. So I showed her the fabric and a photo of the dress and got permission to proceed, ha.

The heathered blue fabric is a double gauze from Imagine Gnats which was a perfect neutral pairing fabric for the floral print.


I should had adjusted the dress on her before taking the photo, ha. I think it pulls a bit to the back because I choose to put in a metal zipper which obviously is quite heavy compared to the thin lawn fabric. Not a big deal at all to me but I just wanted you to know that the pattern is correctly balanced.


Here is a look at the stunning back. I love that detail and finally a visible zipper that is easy to do.



Of course I would recommend that you spend some time getting your left and right back pieces to meet up nicely on the back. It's one of  those details that take your dress from homemade to handmade in my opinion.

The pattern does not call for a strip of interfacing along the zipper but I would definitely recommend that. It might not always be necessary depending on fabric but you will only know after you finished sewing in the zipper and how annoying would that be to redo it at that point. And a strip of interfacing can never hurt the dress and takes max 30 seconds to add, haha.


Since I choose to use a metal zipper I also choose to make a zipper guard. It is literally just a folded (lightly interfaced) rectangle. Same length as the zipper and double width. I closed it at the top (the bottom goes in the waist seam), serged the raw side and stitched it to the zipper after it was sewn to the dress. If you line your dress (as the pattern calls for) then you don't have to serge the raw seam since you just place it between the zipper and the lining and no raw seam will be visible. Super easy!

I think the metal gives a great cool contrast to the sweetness of the dress. 


I used the lining pattern pieces to make my neckline facings. Again I will recommend adding fusible interfacing in the neckline. Especially if your fabric is on the thinner side.


More hearts from this girl!

I made her a size 7 (she turned 6 in January) and it is exactly the size I want. Room for growing without looking ridiculous. 


The skirt is a gathered rectangle and gives that great wearable result. It works for some twirling but at the same time totally suitable for everyday use. Perfect.


Yeah, I agree :-)

Get your own Magrath (or Migrate as my autocorrect kept wanted to change it to, ha) Dress Pattern HERE.

Thank you!

18 comments:

  1. So lovely, Mie! The small floral print reminds me of dresses my mom used to sew me as a kid. Oh, and I adore the zipper guard. So clever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking when I saw the print :-) Thank you!

      Delete
  2. So so beautiful! Love the fabric choices! Happy Easter!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's gorgeous! I think this heart-shape would really make a nice A-line dress as wel. So cute!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the zipper guard! Gorgeous dress and so many good tips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I'm so happy you find it helpful!!!

      Delete
  5. It's lovely! I can't believe you got such a crisp point on the front sewing it the way you did. Actually, I CAN believe it because you are MIE ;). And I agree with the others, the zipper guard is a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Super cute! And I would totally have made the same "mistake" as you! haha. And seriously you did not need to tag me in the post- the photos are lovely, I love their moodiness. They look a little vintage which fits this dress perfectly! <3

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am still in awe of how you managed to sew the top pieces RST, lol! Seriously, there is a reason why you are the queen of sewing :). Actually, there are many reasons, and this is just one, hahaha! I adore how this dress turned out!

    ReplyDelete
  8. So delicate and perfect! <3 And I probably would have tried to do the same "mistake", but definitely would have not got your perfect results <3 Looks amazing, you rock!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautifully made - that zip looks great! I really like the fabric combo you used, too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is so you (and your girl) - perfect fabric pairing, cool details (that zipper - yum!!!) I am a zip guard girl, so I get a little wee excited when I see them :) I am sorry but I had a giggle reading how you made your life difficult while sewing the neckline :) It turned out awesome! But who would have expected anything else from you?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Such a great dress! Everyday wearable, yet special with the curved piecing. Your fabric choices look so sweet and comfortable too.

    ReplyDelete

I love your comments.
Thank you!