The Dress

I told you before about Cal Patch's online garment design course I'm taking...and how fabulous it is. Well, I have a finished product! A dress that I just adore. It is a simple tunic shape with long sleeves and a wide neckline.

Me mugging for the camera!

I could have chosen to make short sleeves, no sleeves, a collar...etc. That is the beauty of creating patterns from scratch. This freedom has rekindled my interest in garment sewing. Being able to make a pattern that is pretty darn close to my actual shape and then refining it even further on a muslin gives me a finished product that fits better than any commercial pattern ever has. It's more work on the front-end, but way less tailoring on the back-end.

My muslin taking shape.

What I love most about this class is that Cal starts with the basics of garment design. I feel as if I've learned the "best practice" way of drafting a pattern and fitting it properly. All without being snooty or too full of details that go over a beginner's head. I feel like I have a basis for doing more complicated designs.

The edging makes this dress.

The quilter in me wanted to use a bias tape edging around the collar as an accent. I made my own bias tape out of a coordinating (in my mind) fabric using this great tutorial. I did finish the edging by hand because I didn't want to see a stitching line on the front. But that was no big thing considering I recently hand stitched a queen-size quilt binding!

All done during the RuPaul Drag Race finale!

The fabric is Amy Butler Soul Blossoms Passion Lily Mulberry. It is gorgeous. A little loud...but gorgeous! There's no hiding your light under a bushel in this frock. :)

–Cassandra

PS - My friend Troy says this fabric reminds him of this..

Garment Sewing

It's been busy, busy, busy over here!

Last weekend I spent both Saturday and Sunday cleaning my studio. The place was a hot mess and it needed a heavy hand of purging and polishing. But oh, how it shines now! It's making me really itchy to spend some more time down there designing and sewing. I'm attracted to a clean room like a moth to a flame.

One of the projects on my sewing table right now is a tunic dress for me. I'm taking this amazing class taught by Cal Patch on Creativebug where I'm learning how to do proper body measurements and draft a pattern. Yes, draft a real sewing pattern to my own measurements! In this course she's teaching the tunic, an a-line skirt, and how to draft a pattern from an existing garment that you love. The tunic and the skirt are very basic but she goes through the process of modifying them to suit your taste with collars and waistbands, ruffles, etc.

Drafting a sleeve under Cal's tutelage.

I've always wanted to learn how to design my own garments properly. And the instruction in this class is just what I needed. Very hands-on and the technical information is explained in plain talk. Learning these basic rules of pattern design has really given me a lot of confidence. Expect to see me strolling down the avenue in something original this summer! (And surely talking your ear off about it here, ahem)

I've also been sewing up some quilt blocks that I've never tried before. It's going well, I've learned a ton. Expect a new quilt block tutorial here very soon!

Here is a close-up sneak-peek!

Have a beautiful day,

Cassandra

PS - Cal Patch also has a great book on pattern design here.