Friday, February 1, 2013

Fox+lady=foxy lady?

I guess you can say looking at these photos of Wilma in the Spoonflower-fabric version of my latest jersey dress that you don't win every time. 
It has been a freezing cold day here in North Carolina and taking her warm jacket away from her to take these photos was really not very Mother-like.....so I guess I got what I deserved. 
I was just so eager to show you this version as well. It is definitely a very good example of how clothes can change depending on which fabric you use. Another factor, why this looks so different from the first version, is that Wilma looks much better in darker colors because of her fair skin color (a dress looks better if it actually suits the person wearing it if you know what I mean) but when I saw this fabric on www.spoonflower.com of the girl with the red hair and a fox I just could not resist. 
I ordered it in this great thick organic interlock - yum, what a pleasure to sew with (and wear I bet). 
I am not being paid to say this but if you don't already know Spoonflower you should really check out that website. Graphic designers (and other good people) can upload their designs, and everyone can then order the prints on several types of fabric (jersey, silk, cotton and so on...you decide) and Spoonflower pays a part of the sale to the designer when you order their print. They even do wallpaper and decals now too. Ahhh, I don't even want to think about it!!

If you 'like' Sewing Like Mad on Facebook (and you really should do that because well a 'like' is always nice) you know that I spend almost the same time sewing this dress that I did choosing the colors of the snaps. What I did not mention was that I ended up choosing two colors....that was kind of a surprise to me too. I think it matches the playful fabric though. And having the snaps continue on the skirt (the first version only had snaps in the top part....but of course you already know that! If not you can see it HERE) kind of works too.

Next you can see a mini tutorial on how to sew a front placket and hem with one continuous stitch.
First you put some thin interlining on your placket, then you iron the folding line for the placket plus your hem. If this was woven fabric I would not have folded the seam allowance away but in knit fabric I am keeping it simple and leaves the overlock seam visible.

Then you sew over the placket following the hem's folding line on both plackets of course (see dots at #1), then you fold in the stitch and turn around (see finger technique on #2).

You can very carefully and gentle use a sharp object like a scissor to veeeeery gently make the corner sharp (90 degrees) and then iron before you are ready for the placket-hem-stitch-in-one.

And here you have it seen both from the front and back side. I am sewing it from the front side and is using a few pins (which I move right before I get to them) to help me keep everything in place.

Another 'seriously Mom?!'-photo.



10 comments:

  1. She is adorable and I love the dress. I think it looks really cute on her.. Happy sewing.

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  2. Such a cute idea! I love that dress!
    Thanks for sharing!
    --Kaite

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  3. This is sooo stinking adorable.. I just love the fabrics you chose! And your little lovely is such a cutie!
    Thanks for sharing with the Pink Hippo party~
    xoxo
    Amie @ Pinkapotamus

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  4. Lovely dress! Your creations are truly one of a kind!

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  5. I seriously love this dress! I have not bought anything from Spoonflower yet, but I have ooh and awed at all the gorgeous fabrics and patterns! :D

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  6. Another NC girl (I'm just South of Raleigh) here stopping by to say how cute your dress is. I saw you on a couple of different link parties and thought you might like to link up at my Show & Tell party today. http://www.gingerlymade.com/2013/02/show-tell-12.html

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  7. I found your blog through alida makes. Your clothes are brilliant and I love the quick tutorials you offer. This is a brilliant blog, thanks for writing it.
    I thought I would share a quick tip I discovered last year when I was sewing for my children, if you kept your children's cutlery from when they were small, the knife makes a great seam setter and corner turner. You put the blunt end of the knife on the seam and then push it along the seam, either before ironing or as you are ironing and the seam comes out beautifully, especially the curved seams of a collar etc.
    Once again, thanks for your brilliant blog

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  8. Lovely dress,the material is great too :) Thanks for sharing with us at Creative Mondays last, featuring this week :)

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  9. Another adorable dress, Mie. I like how you've alternated the button colours to match the colours in the dress.

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  10. This is a good one, Mie, thank you!

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