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Monday 28 December 2015

I Made It Monday: My Christmas Dress.

For my Christmas dress I decided to brave knit fabric.  A fabric that has  previously struck terror into my heart due to many failed attempts sewing with it.

 


I had always used my trusty old 1960's Lemair machine, however it skipped stitches and looked a mess.  I was using the correct needle, but the results were terrible.  When my Mum gave me her 1976 Bernina 807 I decided to give knits another try.  And it worked!  No skipped stitches or breaking stitches, happy days!  I even used a double needle for the hem with no dramas!

I had this lovely red organic cotton jersey in my stash which was just asking to be a Christmas dress!  I found this free pattern online by So Sew Easy, which promised to be simple, and it was! 

I didn't make a muslin, so the fit is not perfect.  I would have liked the shoulders to be slightly wider, but other than that I am happy with it.  I didn't have to add length to the bodice, which is unusual for me.  If you're not tall or don't have a long body you may need to shorten it.  I did add length to the skirt (standard!).

To dress it up a little I added some vintage sequin trim from Nona's stash.  It's actually a dark brown, but looks black from a distance. 

Friends on Instagram had been telling me how easy sewing with knits was, and they were right.  I just needed a machine that could handle them! 

Photos c/o my wonderful Husband

5 comments:

  1. You look stunning in red and the fit of the dress is really flattering. I bet the fabric is super comfy too. Ok...so...I was curious what you meant when you said "I didn't make a muslin, so the fit is not perfect". Having now been educated by Google and Wiki, I can say that making a muslin sounds pretty genius in general and I'm impressed that this dress fits so well even though you didn't do it. Hope you enjoyed your Christmas and have a Happy New Year

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    1. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! Well researched! Yes, a muslin is a good idea if you're making something for the first time especially if it is fitted. However, I was in a rush (story of my life!) and knew the stretchy material would be forgiving. x Allison

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  2. Fabulous dress, the colour really makes it sing! Great shape too, glad you got over your fear of knits they are fun.

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    1. Thank you Louise! I'm happy to have had success with knits, the right machine makes such a difference! x Allison

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  3. Thank you Dawn Lucy! Happy New Year! x Allison

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