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So, you hate to sew it, but why?

Published by The Dreamstress

This week’s poll is about your sewing bête noir – the thing that you just hate doing.

I know a lot of seamstresses of various skill levels who hate doing zips, buttons, or sleeves, but those don’t fuss me.  What I really loathe, stuff-up all the time, and try to avoid, is gathering.

I did not enjoy making the skirt of this dress!

I know!  It seems so simple!  But my gathering lines are always breaking, and going wonky, and when I sew the gathered pieces together somehow I always get a big pleat caught up in the gathering.  It’s horrible and evil I tell you, evil.

That’s why I love corded gathering so much.  I was so, so excited when I discovered it.  It’s so much easier!

Wonderful, wonderful cord gathering

And my desire to avoid gathering is also why I am willing to pleat metres and metres of silk organza into tiny pin pleats by hand.  Anything is good as long as it means I don’t have to machine gather!

Itsy bitsy pin pleats

My very first garment that I learned to make was actually a gathered circle skirt with metres and metres of fabric cut into 8 quarters and gathered into the waistband.  It was so enormous!  And I had no problem with it, but ever since, I’ve loathed gathering.  I think I just overdid it the first time!

Funny isn’t it, what we don’t like doing, and find hard, and avoid?

So, what did you pick in the poll?  And why?  Have you always hated/been scared of it?  Or is it based on one particular time when the technique went horribly wrong?  Do you invent elaborate stratagems to get around doing it?  Or try to force yourself to do it in the hope you will get past the dislike?

Rate the dress: Embroidered mull

Published by The Dreamstress

So.  Sigismund III.  Badass or just bad?  Well, between the fez, the collar, the hose, and the scimitar, almost everyone said his outfit made them giggle.    And yet, for all that, it made a 7.3 out of 10.  Pretty good for so many giggles!

This week lets go from dark and badass to light and sweet.  I find Regency frocks so appealing.  They are so simple and pure and youthful in their barely-adorned whiteness.  Of course the problem with Regency frocks is that they are often so similar, and simple and pure and unadorned, that they don’t make for a very interesting Rate the Dress.

I’ve tried to get around this by posting really unusual examples, or portraits with accessories, but sometimes you just want to show a simple dress.  So here is a Regency frock from  the MFA Boston  that hopefully is still a classic example of Regency fashion, without being too uninteresting.

White mull dress, early 19th century, American, MFA Boston

White mull dress, American, early 19th c, MFA Boston, 53.206

This white mull cotton evening dress from the early 19th century features a gathered bodice, short puffed sleeves, a narrow back with extra fullness in the train, a floor length hem perfect for dancing in, and for extra interest, a star motif worked in flat silver embroidery.

What do you think?  Does it make you yawn with disinterest?  Or swoon with its sweetness?  Or is it so saccharine that your teeth hurt? Or are you put off by how unflattering the shape can be on some figures?

Rate the Dress on a scale of 1 to 10.

Anyone for tap pants?

Published by The Dreamstress

I’m in the last stages of preparing for next Sunday’s tap pants class at Made Marion.

My life is all about checking patterns and sizing, redrafting, and making sure I have the best possible technique figured out.

And I’m excited!

There are a few spaces left in the class, so if you know anyone in Wellington who might be interested – spread the word!

To inspire you, here is Madge Bellamy in her wedding lingerie in White Zombie:

Madge Bellamy in White Zombie

Awww!  Aren’t those tap pants adorable!

And here are some of the ones I’ve made:

Tap pants!

So whether you want to call them French knickers, cami-knickers, tap pants, or lingerie shorts, come and make them next Sunday!