Friday, August 27, 2010

I sewed something out of knit.

Dear Liz-

I told you I was going to try to make a knit dress today, because "why not?!", I said.  You told me I could totally do it.  

Thanks for believing in me.  

You can totally make one too, if you want.


For my first effort, it's not half bad (I hope).  It's late, and the ladies are asleep, so I'm holding off on hemming everything until someone can try it on for me.

The hardest part?  Probably two things.  1) the neck.  I don't know if I did it correctly.  The instructions were vague.  Or rather, I think I did it correctly, but I'm not sure if I made it the right size.  There was gathering involved, but how gathered?  Perhaps if the girls had been awake, I could have sized it on them.  Oh the perils of sewing in the wee of the night!  2) the sleeves.  They aren't that tricky persay, but sleeves are always a bit nerve rattling, no?!  The little ruffle band on top help to hide any flaws, but man, I was sweating a little bit as I did that step.

Okay, want the details of how you might be able to make a "Go To Dress" too?!  Here come the links...

First of all, it's a FREE pattern/tutorial.  Available to anyone who wants to give it a go.  How truly kind is that?!  It's why I love the online sewing community so much.  It's just bursting at the seams with kind hearted people giving free patterns away!  Thank so much to Andrea from "The Train To Crazy".  (Love that title) 

A few final notes, be sure and read through the FAQ section at the end of the tutorial page.  It really was essential to getting the dress done.  Tons of helpful tips and links!  Wonderful.

Secondly, I don't remember how I found it, but my knits came from Chez Amis, here in Raleigh.  A great find.  These were really nice knits to sew with at really nice, factory wearhouse prices.  They open to the public only once a month, and I just happened to stumble upon them on the week they were open!  Coincidence?  I think not.  But I actaully checked Joann's first and really, they had tons of great solid colors, and I think even a few prints.  So there are options.

I hope it fits well.  I'm worried it's a bit short, but I'm all about laying it up in the fall/winter, so I guess that won't be the end of the world.  If the neck is too big, that might be the end of the world!  That would entail a whole lot of seam ripping!  Pray for me. 

I'm off to bed.  Knit sewing attempted and conquered.  Bring on the "90-minute shirt".

2 comments:

Liz said...

Yea!!! It looks so cute. I can't wait to see it on Jane and Ruby. Was it hard?? Are you going to totally be into knits now? :)

I knew you could do it. I just knew it!

Sarah said...

Wow! Fabulous!! This post couldn't come at a better time, I was just talking to mer about how I wanted to make her a dress and she's all about comfort so we decided stretchy would be best. I'll check that tutorial out. It looks really great. I hope the hemming goes well, for me that seems like it would be the scariest part(to get it to lay flat). If it's too short you could always add a little tier to it with a slight ruffle.

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