The Fabric Alchemist

After a string of costume projects and handmade holiday gifts, I was itching to work on an everyday clothing project for myself.

Korra [the costume] alleviated many of my fears about sewing with knits. Armed with new knowledge and a smaller ballpoint needle (11), I felt emboldened to retackle an in-progress knit wrap dress from autumn 2012. I found the free pattern (Hope Wrap Dress) on BurdaStyle.

Previously, I had struggled with the hem of this dress because I let it stretch too much during sewing. Taking out the tiny zig zag stitch took me two episodes of “Bones.” I opted to re-hem the dress with a straight stitch and proceeded much slower so I could *try* to keep the fabric from stretching. Then I pressed the wrong side of the hem to scare away any remaining lumpiness. The hem looks so much better now.

Applying the binding trim and the ties was simple, in terms of steps, but I am only moderately happy with the results. My top stitching is uneven in places and somewhat lumpy.

Overall I am satisfied with the final product and I think [from a distance and with blurred vision] it looks good on me. I did not realize how low the neck line would be. The pattern is actually a size too small for me, which may be why the neckline does not cross higher up. My other gripe about the dress is how clingy the jersey fabric is. In hindsight, I should have found either a thicker jersey or one with a pattern to conceal underwear lines.

I originally bought this fabric near the start of my sewing career in early 2011 for a long cardigan pattern, but never made that project and I really wanted a knit dress.

When paired with a camisole and a slip, the dress clings less and I feel like I can go out in public. Of course, Seattle can be a windy city so we will have to see how well this wrap dress handles the elements.

In the end I am thrilled to be done with the project. Incomplete work nags at me and now I feel free to start new projects (for myself and for Greg).

Lessons learned?

• Double check the pattern size—don’t assume 34 is close enough to 36 when pattern has negative ease
• Be more discriminating when choosing knit fabrics—don’t just choose by color.