Tag Archive for 'Stylish Dress Book'

STYLISH DRESS BOOK 2 : DRESS ‘S’ IN EBS

Published on October 30, 2011 in clothing, japanese dress/craft and textiles. 13 Comments Tags: ebs, Liberty of London, sewing summit, shirring, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book 2 : available at the workroom
Liberty of London : Ebs

What can I say, I love this pattern. This is version #3. Version #1 & #2 get tons of use and I was feeling like I should add another version into the rotation. The only change I made was to add side seam pockets to this version.

This Liberty of London print is called ‘Ebs’. This soft colour palette is so incredible and the print looks like it was coloured in with pencil crayon. It has been sitting in my stash for way too long. I’m pretty happy it’s now hanging on my closet and joining me on adventures like the Sewing Summit.

STYLISH DRESS BOOK : DRESS S

Published on February 20, 2011 in japanese dress/craft, stitchery and textiles. 28 Comments Tags: Japanese dress book, Liberty of London, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book (available at the workroom)
Dress ‘S’ : Navy Metal Blend Fabric with Liberty of London ‘Mirabelle’ detail

Finally! I’ve been wanting to share this dress with you for a while. When I first made it last year, I did something silly and made the scalloped hem detail with just 2″ of Liberty of London Mirabelle as the lining. This meant when I sat down or really even just walked, you could see past the lining. I finally re-did the hem with about 10″ of lining and I honestly don’t know why I didn’t just line the entire skirt. I’m not redoing it again, but next time I would make that modification. I had been wanting to try a scalloped hem for a while and it’s really not that hard at all. I used Liesl’s tutorial to guide me through. I like how she did the scallop detail on just the back of her skirt.

This pattern is from Stylish Dress Book. What’s unusual about this pattern is that it actually has a zipper in the back! Most Japanese Dress Book dresses just slip over your head. What’s great about having a zipper is that the pattern is actually more fitted than most of the loose tunics I usually make. The main fabric of the dress is a navy metal blend fabric that I got at the Liday Baday Designer Fabric Showroom. This is the second metal blend fabric that I’ve sewn with and it’s interesting to see the different properties that metal brings to fabric. What attracts me is the shimmer, but the fabric also has more memory and hold creases quite tightly, similar to the look of linen. I’d like to try this pattern again in a softer fabric, perhaps even a Liberty of London print.

I added side seam pockets, of course. I used the same Mirabelle print for the pockets that I used on the hem detail.

Without a doubt, Stylish Dress Book has been my favourite book to sew from. Taking a look through the pages, I’m thinking that Tunic G is going to be next!

STYLISH DRESS BOOK : ‘B’ LIBERTY DRESS

Published on November 1, 2010 in japanese dress/craft, stitchery and textiles. 19 Comments Tags: Liberty of London, mauvey, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book (available at the workroom)
Dress ‘B’ : Liberty of London ‘Mauvey’

I wanted to try making Top ‘B’ from Stylish Dress Book as a dress since I loved the pattern so much. I’ve already made this pattern twice (version 1 & 2). The pattern modifications were pretty simple. I extended the pattern pieces for the front and back and added side seam pockets.

This darker version of the ‘Mauvey’ Liberty of London print seemed so perfect for this fall. I’ve been adding purple tones to my standard grey wardrobe recently. Every time I wear one of my Liberty dresses, I always want to make more. They are so easy to wear and feel really great!

Similar to Dress ‘S’, I knew that I would be adding shirring to get the dress to fit better. This time I started my lines lower, closer to my waist and did seven lines. It is amazing what a difference this simple technique makes and now the dress fits like a glove.

I have never put pockets in a Liberty dress before, so I wasn’t sure what to use. I ended up cutting into a piece of fabric that I bought in Paris. I almost feel like a Liberty dress should be lined with more Liberty. Mostly because there really isn’t anything like the weight and feel of the Tana Lawn cotton.

As soon as the weather turns cold, I get the urge to dress only in jeans and sweaters. I’m trying to resist the urge this season and make more dresses and skirts that are suitable for colder weather with tights. So far, so good.

NOTE : Please note there is a tricky part to making the gathered sleeve on this pattern when you are tracing out the pattern. See my comments here.

STYLISH DRESS BOOK 3 : DRESS ‘W’, NANI IRO

Published on August 31, 2010 in japanese dress/craft, stitchery and textiles. 9 Comments Tags: double gauze cotton, nani IRO, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book 3 (available at the workroom)
Dress ‘W’ : nani IRO ‘Pocho’

This nani IRO double gauze fabric was one of those bolts that arrived at the shop one morning and by the time the shop closed that night, it was all gone. I’ve ordered more, of course. These huge polka dots are just too cute!

I envisioned a dress made from this fabric with a little gathered sleeve, so I went back and pulled out my pattern for Dress ‘W’ from Stylish Dress book 3. Instead of cutting out a yoke, I just put the two front pattern pieces together and cut a single front bodice piece. The rest of the dress is pretty simple. For the pockets, I used a lovely tiny stars prints. I think it goes perfectly.

One detail that I’m really happy with is that if you look at the sleeves, the polka dot colours match on each side. Love!

This is the first dress that I’ve made of the double gauze, I’ve mostly made tops. The one thing I’ve noticed is that with the fabric being so soft, if I have anything heavy in my pocket (ie. my iPhone) then the side seams pulls down a bit. Nothing major, just something I’ll keep in mind for the future.

I had cut two metres of this fabric and after making the dress, there was a little bit left. I didn’t want any of it to go unused, so I was able to make something else with the leftovers. I’ll share that project with you tomorrow!

STYLISH DRESS BOOK 3 : TOP "Y"

Published on June 21, 2010 in japanese dress/craft and stitchery. 10 Comments Tags: Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book 3 (available at the workroom)
Top ‘Y’ : French General ‘Rouenneries’

I wore this new top to the Yard Sale Trunk Show for the first time. A few of you have already spotted me in photos and asked if the top was from Stylish Dress Book 3. Wow, you guys are REALLY good! I’m so impressed.

I wanted to make this one for a few reasons. Firstly, it wasn’t a dress. I need more tops in my wardrobe! I also liked the shoulder ruffles. I decided to use this pretty French General fabric. The ruffles feel a bit like wings, but I think they’ll soften up as I wash the fabric more. I think they would drape much nicer and softly with a cotton voile or tana lawn cotton. I used the rolled hem foot to create perfect tiny hems on edge of the ruffles. I’ve been using this foot more and more and really love it.

This is a fairly simple pattern – bias tape up and around the neckline and along the armholes with some gathering along the waist. I love the billowy look and the long side ties. I’m thinking about putting a little hook and eye at the neck to hold the top together. Otherwise, I need to make myself some cute tank tops to layer underneath.

p.s. Have you heard of New Dress a Day? Marisa is impressively remaking 365 thrifted dresses on a budget of $365. Wow!

STYLISH DRESS BOOK 3 : DRESS 'W'

Published on June 1, 2010 in japanese dress/craft, stitchery and textiles. 21 Comments Tags: anna maria horner, Good Folks, Stylish Dress Book.

The one textile that I picked up when we went to Brimfield a few weeks ago was a vintage swatch of navy lace. I specifically was looking for something to go with this navy Anna Maria Horner ‘Good Folks‘ fabric for the yoke of a dress. When I found this swatch, I couldn’t believe how perfect it was. I have never seen a ‘plaid’-looking lace like this, but it certainly echoes the diamond pattern of the fabric. This particular vendor had lots of lovely lace swatches, but they were a bit pricey and so I decided to just get this one.

The pattern is the first that I’ve made from Stylish Dress Book 3. It is a slight variation on Dress ‘W’. Rather than create a separate skirt, I simply extended the bodice to make a short shift. I’ve been wanting to try doing a lace yoke on a dress for a while, I was a bit worried about sewing it and whether it would hold properly since the holes are rather large in between the lacey bits. I serged all the edges of the lace when I serged the rest of the pieces for the dress. I thought this would help to give it a bit more stability. The sewing was easier than I thought it would be. I was extra careful when attaching the bias tape around the neck since you can see through the lace to the underside of the bias tape. I think it turned out really well. I really like the little gathered sleeves on this pattern.

My special pocket detail this time used the fuschia Heather Ross mermaid fabric. Surprisingly, I haven’t used any of this fabric before and now I’m a bit sad that I didn’t have the foresight to stash a bit more of it away for myself. Oh well. I did just order the ENTIRE new Heather Ross Far Far Away 2 collection for the shop and I won’t make that mistake again.

Navy is where it’s at right now. I have another navy dress that I’m trying to finish off. (that’s 3 navy dresses in a row!) It has a super cute detail that I’m excited to show you!

365 : 104

Published on April 21, 2010 in 365 and japanese dress/craft. 9 Comments Tags: 365, Rosalyn Faustino, Stylish Dress Book.

April 15, 2010 of 365 : rosalyn wearing stylish dress book ‘s’

This was the very first photo I took with my new camera! Rosalyn took the Japanese Dress Book class and this is one of the cute dresses she has made.

STYLISH DRESS BOOK 3

Published on March 23, 2010 in japanese dress/craft and reading. 10 Comments Tags: ISBN 9784579112852, Japanese dress book, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book 3
ISBN 9784579112852

I’m just back from a lovely long weekend in New York City with Andrew. It was like summer there, which was such a wonderful surprise. I have not even had a chance to download the photos from my trip. As soon as I do, I’ll be sharing them with with you.

In the meantime, I wanted to post photos of one of the most recent books I received. They have come out with volume 3 in the Stylish Dress Book series. I haven’t had a chance to fully examine every detail, but top ‘Y’ will be my first project for sure.

STYLISH DRESS BOOK

Published on March 5, 2010 in japanese dress/craft, reading and stitchery. 16 Comments Tags: Japanese dress book, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book
ISBN 9784579111855

I’m not sure how, but I noticed yesterday that I never did a post about the mother of all Japanese Dress Books – Stylish Dress Book. It is probably a bit redundant at this point, as most of you have the book, know each page by heart and have seen quite a few of these patterns posted here and elsewhere. Nonetheless, I feel my little dress book resource would be incomplete without this.

To date, I have made seven of the patterns in the book myself. I have helped other people make most of the others in the class I teach. Where some of the books I have contain just a couple standout patterns, this book has a great variety of styles that are very appealing. I can still pull this dog-eared book out and pore over every page with great interest.

I really like the layout of the Stylish Dress Book series. The technical drawings and instruction pages are well laid out and very clear. The pattern sheets are printed in one colour, which can be very overwhelming to look at. I have seen books that do multicolour printing for the pattern pages and it makes extracting the pattern a bit easier, especially when you’re first starting out. This is a small detail that would not deter me from buying this book, but I just mention it as a note of comparison.

Looking through the book, I see that I still have not made dress ‘S’. I need to pick a fabric and get on it. I’m deciding between this, this, this or a lovely plain indigo black cotton/inox (steel) blend. Thoughts?

STYLISH DRESS BOOK : "B" IN VOILE

Published on March 4, 2010 in japanese dress/craft, stitchery, textiles and the workroom. 15 Comments Tags: anna maria horner, cotton voile, Japanese dress book, little folks, Stylish Dress Book.

Stylish Dress Book (available at the workroom)
Top ‘B’ : Anna Maria Horner voile ‘Berry Colouring Garden’

I really wanted to try a project out with Anna Maria Horner’s new cotton voile. When you feel it, you can hardly believe how silky smooth it is. Voile is a very lightweight fabric that is slightly sheer and has great drape. I had never sewn with it before, so I was unsure of how tricky it would be to handle.

I chose to use a tried and loved pattern from Stylish Dress Book. Style “B”, is a favourite. I’ve seen it made up in various different fabrics and on different people and the result is always really cute.

I’d like to make a note here about drafting out this pattern, that I didn’t mention in the post about my first style “B” top in nani IRO. When tracing out the pattern pieces for the sleeve you’ll notice that the two sleeve pieces (top of the sleeve & gathered bottom of the sleeve) are printed beside each other on the pattern sheet. When you trace the bottom of the sleeve, you may notice that it is the same width as the top of the sleeve. In order to create the gathering and fullness in the bottom sleeve piece, you need to split that pattern piece down the centre and spread it apart by 10cm. This is something that you can easily miss, because the only notation for this is found on the huge pattern sheet and is well, in Japanese.

Sewing with the voile was no problem. Even making bias trim was easy to manage. For any pattern that has a ‘flowy’ style, this fabric would look amazing the way it falls and drapes. This is why it is a great fabric to use for many of the Japanese Dress Book patterns, as it can make that extra fullness of some of the styles look more elegant. For sure, the best part is how it feels. Wearing this fabric will just put you in a blissful mood.

This particular print is called, ‘Colouring Garden‘ and the colour is ‘Berry’. I really appreciate how Anna Maria Horner has taken prints from her ‘Good Folks’ collection and recoloured and reprinted them in flannel and now voile. It’s exciting to have new fabrications to choose from.