Masha Richart

Hi Julie @juviboston

If this young lady measures just 22 1/2″ around the chest, I would be inclined to make a size 4 and use the length of an 8 if she is within the height measurements specified for this size. It would make it far too big to make a size 6 as the amount of ease is 2 inches and it is ample.

I would measure her height to find out…[Read more]

Sorry for the silence! Yes, the hem for both views is the same allowance. Like Lightning says, it’s a short boxy style. It looks darling on her! It also depends on what you’re wearing with it. The cropped length looks great with the culottes, but it might be on the short side for other styles. It’s all about the silhouette, right?

Hey Diane, I’d suggest lining with lawn. Kaufman makes a nice line of solid lawns that would be a great lining. I’m not sure you’d need to underline the dress, especially if you’re going to include the tulle, which will give the skirt more body for sure. Does that help?

The Upton would be great!

Hello there Heidi😄

Thanks for the reply. Yes I think they might’ve felt a little overdressed last year judging from the comments in the newsletter. We didn’t purposefully go looking for dresses over the summer holidays but as we were walking through Myer she made the comment of “I like that one!” To a black and red fit and flare on the mannequin.…[Read more]

A fit and flare dress is silk would beautiful and appropriate for the situation. If you already have a pattern she likes (and optimistically fits) that is quite casual making it out of silk will bring a simple design into appropriate for 14 year old “cocktail” style.
I suspect the “cocktail” specification is to prevent some girls turning up in…[Read more]

What about using the Building Block Dress book to draft a collar of your own to fit the cape? A fur Peter Pan collar would be adorable!

Hi Martha,

You can use the bodice hem of the basic Building Block Dress pattern as an estimated waist, but you’ll want to check it when doing a fitting with the muslin to be sure it’s accurate. Everyone is different, so it’s helpful to check and adjust as necessary.

Cheers,
Liesl

The pattern should be correct. There’s a good deal of negative ease here to account for a knit fabric with at least 25% stretch. They should fit to that body measurement fine. Did you use a knit with at least 25% stretch? That could be part of the issue.

I’m so glad you found what you needed! The people are Farmhouse are lovely.

I would suggest holding the side front panel up to your body so you can determine where the waist and hips are for you vs. the pattern. I’d also suggest making a muslin because there is quite a bit of ease through the waist and the hips in this pattern. You might find that you don’t need to change it too much. But if you do, here is a tutorial to…[Read more]

Well done!

Hi @grandmak

I honestly couldn’t say why! I have made the field trip raglan many times and have honestly not noticed the instructions not mentioning to finish the seams. I just go ahead and do that anyway. If you have an overlocker/ serger you can opt to use this instead of the sewing machine and this way it finishes the seams as you sew. If not…[Read more]

Great! If it still doesn’t lie flat after a good pressing, maybe try hemming it again? If your machine tension is off that could make the hem wavy. I think it’s just one of those things that gets better with practice. Glad you’re having fun with it!

What kind of fabric did you use? Slippery fabrics are more difficult to hem then more stable fabrics, so maybe that had something to do with it? Also, a good pressing can often solve a wavy hem…

It’s pretty easy to shorten sleeves. Just decide where you want them to end, add a hem, and cut the sleeves at that point on the pattern piece. Or wait until you can try it on and decide how short you want them to be then. You can always pin them to see if you’re happy with the length.

Completely agree, Sarvi. In fact, I think I wrote something similar in this post: https://oliverands.com/community/blog/2014/12/ask-me-how-to-buy-a-sewing-machine.html

I’m going to go off course here and say that you should check Yelp and ask around in your local sewing community to see who the most reputable dealer/repair shop is, and look at the brand they sell. If anything goes hinky or you just need service done, you don’t want to have to ship your machine. Also a local dealer will often include a few free…[Read more]

I’m going to go off course here and say that you should check Yelp and ask around in your local sewing community to see who the most reputable dealer/repair shop is. If anything goes hinky or you just need service done, you don’t want to have to ship your machine. Also a local dealer will often include a few free lessons/machine orientation to…[Read more]