Burda's Vintage Jane Dress

It's been so long since I've done a blog post of any kind.

I don't really know what my excuse is aside from just.... life. Not making as many garments as I once did (although I keep buying patterns and fabric for the next projects). I finally have decided to take a page from the book of some other bloggers and just take photos of things I make in my sewing room instead of wait for a good day to take them in a scenic place outside.

Sure, scenic is nice but.... it's not always possible.

So here we are! I finally cut and sewed Burda's Jane dress (which has also been done for like a month now). The pattern packet I made for it said I printed it in January. Yikes.

There are a few minor things that bother me about this pattern. I didn't make a muslin (as always) and because of that, on me the bust darts are far lower than they should be. (See if you can tell in the photos).

This dress also particularly makes me feel a bit boobalicious somehow. See below.

  I think it just might be the white contrast. Maybe? I can't tell. I haven't gained any weight (if anything, I lost about 5 lbs since I lived in Michigan and on a 5 foot girl, that's significant enough) but perhaps it's my bra? I've been wearing the same brand/design for YEARS now, so maybe not that. Could be that I just got used to how I look in loose, flowy clothing in my everyday life and forgot what I actually look like beneath all of that.

Here's the back! (See below.) 

 

 I also feel a bit like Veruca Salt in this dress, but that's ok since she's from one of my favorite movies. My demeanor is the complete opposite of hers though!

I also made this dress in a stable but soft ponte knit although the pattern is technially for wovens. I've been doing far more stretch knits lately and I am loving wearing the garments far more. I do love a good woven shirtdress every now and then but as most of you know, our modern wardrobe doesn't usually consist of those types of fabrics.

You can, however see in the background that I am working on a woven: a Butterick reproduction dress from 1947! Some of you on Instagram were surprised that I would deviate from my 1960s typical look, but I have so many facets that I don't always show on the blog.... or even on social media for that matter.

I fell in love with a fabric on Fabric.com produced by Art Gallery fabrics (specifically Leah Duncan) and had to have the fabric. The 1947 pattern I have had since 2012 and have never even thought about making anything with it until I found the fabric. (Head to @manicpop on Instagram and scroll through to find photos of me in my muslin to see a fabric swatch too!)

Here is Burda's Jane Dress on my dressform:

Another slight thing that bothers me on this dress: the circle part. I know what I did wrong though.

 You can't tell from this photo, but I had stitched it PERFECTLY on the inside. What I should have done? Dialed my stitch down from 3 to about 1. That way, when I flipped the lining part behind it to the outside for a clean edge, I would have been able to have a rounder circle. Next time!

Otherwise, the dress wasn't hard to sew and I sewed the majority of it on my serger due to the knit I used.

 Yes, there is a minor hole near the end of the zipper there, and yes it's been fixed since this photo! Shhhh!

And while we're here, let's show off my new sewing room!

We unfortunately had to move in May (which was a complete surprise.) There were issues in the apartment we were in and the management decided we would need to move out so they could fix said issues. That's another reason for not sewing as much: constant life upheaval. I know everyone deals differently but I need to be settled a bit more before I can sit down and sew.

We were lucky enough to have a unit open up in the same building and up one floor and the result is a much nicer apartment and even though the square footage of this sewing room is actually SMALLER it's laid out way differently so it feels bigger. Weird, right? 

 You can see a peek of that gorgeous Leah Duncan fabric for Art Gallery right there!

One thing I love most that I got only last year was a bulletin board. Just anything that I want ends up on here. Sometimes it's patterns I want to make, other times it's artwork that I printed, and some is artwork I've made or papercrafts. 

I also upgraded to a cube organizer instead of an old bookshelf that I had painted in my old backyard. This organizer is stackable so I eventually might buy a second one. We'll see, but for me that might be excessive. I do love the bright colors I have in it!

So that's the latest update. I can't wait to get working on the Butterick 1947 dress, but I'm also being lazy about cutting the fabric. Such is life. 

Have you made or plan to make the Burda Jane dress?