7 years ago
Hello there! I’m excited to share a fun project with you today.
I’ve been a big fan of the Rifle Paper Co Designed Fabric prints from Cotton and Steel. I’ve been admiring them from afar as I had not gotten a chance to work with one. When I found this lovely amazing Rayon Challis Fabric at Minerva, I jumped at the chance to work with it!
Before working with this fabric, I machine washed and dried it twice with warm water and air temperature settings. Rayons will shrink and move around a bit over time. Washing them a few times first helps pre-shrink the fabric and brings out the buttery softness that makes challis’ so endearing.
For the pattern I decided to revisit a project that I’ve made before, the Faux Leather Shift Dress. My thought for this garment was to think of a tried and true pattern (or TNT) from my previous makes. I have to admit that it’s not as common for me to have a catalog of TNT patterns. I really enjoy sewing new patterns as I love the process of learning new construction methods, exploring the design and figuring out the pattern. That said, thinking about TNT patterns (ones that you make over and over again) are a smart way to approach sewing. Having a selection of TNT patterns in your stash saves time as you are already familiar with the fit (and a speedier sewing project sounds amazing, doesn’t it?).
I picked the SOI Ultimate Shift Top as it’s a great pattern for printed fabrics. The only shaping in the pattern are two bust darts (so that a printed fabric can shine and not be interrupted by shaping darts).
Although I have sewn this pattern a few times, I decided to make a muslin (or toile) for this project. Whereas this may feel like overkill to some as I’ve sewn this pattern before, I have never regretted making a muslin. Sewing a muslin does take time and extra materials (which could be considered the negatives) but I have always appreciated what I learn with them. With the Rifle Paper Co fabric being a special one, I felt making a muslin was more than worth the extra time for this project.
For the muslin I used a poly satin type fabric that I’ve had in my stash.
I kept the same mods for this project as I did in the Faux Leather dress I made. I utilized the additional underarm gusset (that I self-drafted and included in the previous post), kept the full bicep adjustment for the sleeve, and sewed the same seam allowance diversions (I’ll share those again in the Final Top section of this post). The main areas that I wanted to check for this test version were the sleeve and top lengths.
For this project I wanted to document more about the process of inserting the underarm gussets. I first sewed the underarm and side seams. I left the beginning and end of the shoulder seams open on each side of the sleeves (to insert the underarm gusset). At the “Front” shoulder notch I started the seam at approximately 3.75” (9.5 cm), as shown in the photo below.
I stopped the other shoulder seam at the second “Back” shoulder notch mark.
Continued in my next post…
#minervamakes #minervamakers #isew #memade #memades #sewing #sewist #sewists #sewinginspo #sewinginspiration #sew #sewcialist #sewingproject #sewingprojects #sewingideas #sewingprojectideas #sewingpatterninspo #lovesewing #ilovesewing #sewsewsew #sewersgonnasew #makersgonnamake #sewaholic #sewaholics #shareyoursewing #sewinglove #handmadewardrobe #handemadeclothes #isewmyclothes #diyclothes #dressmaking #fabricinspo #seamstress #memadeeveryday #imakemyclothes #imakemyownclothes #fashion #fashioninspo #memadewardrobe #memadefashion #diyfashion #diywardrobe #fashionsewing #indiepatterns #indiesewingpatterns #sewoveritpatterns #sewoveritultimateshifttop #soiultimateshifttop #ultimateshifttop #sewingtops #riflepapercofabrics #sewingwithrayon #sewingwithchallis #challissewingprojects #teal #florals
I’ve been a big fan of the Rifle Paper Co Designed Fabric prints from Cotton and Steel. I’ve been admiring them from afar as I had not gotten a chance to work with one. When I found this lovely amazing Rayon Challis Fabric at Minerva, I jumped at the chance to work with it!
Before working with this fabric, I machine washed and dried it twice with warm water and air temperature settings. Rayons will shrink and move around a bit over time. Washing them a few times first helps pre-shrink the fabric and brings out the buttery softness that makes challis’ so endearing.
For the pattern I decided to revisit a project that I’ve made before, the Faux Leather Shift Dress. My thought for this garment was to think of a tried and true pattern (or TNT) from my previous makes. I have to admit that it’s not as common for me to have a catalog of TNT patterns. I really enjoy sewing new patterns as I love the process of learning new construction methods, exploring the design and figuring out the pattern. That said, thinking about TNT patterns (ones that you make over and over again) are a smart way to approach sewing. Having a selection of TNT patterns in your stash saves time as you are already familiar with the fit (and a speedier sewing project sounds amazing, doesn’t it?).
I picked the SOI Ultimate Shift Top as it’s a great pattern for printed fabrics. The only shaping in the pattern are two bust darts (so that a printed fabric can shine and not be interrupted by shaping darts).
Although I have sewn this pattern a few times, I decided to make a muslin (or toile) for this project. Whereas this may feel like overkill to some as I’ve sewn this pattern before, I have never regretted making a muslin. Sewing a muslin does take time and extra materials (which could be considered the negatives) but I have always appreciated what I learn with them. With the Rifle Paper Co fabric being a special one, I felt making a muslin was more than worth the extra time for this project.
For the muslin I used a poly satin type fabric that I’ve had in my stash.
I kept the same mods for this project as I did in the Faux Leather dress I made. I utilized the additional underarm gusset (that I self-drafted and included in the previous post), kept the full bicep adjustment for the sleeve, and sewed the same seam allowance diversions (I’ll share those again in the Final Top section of this post). The main areas that I wanted to check for this test version were the sleeve and top lengths.
For this project I wanted to document more about the process of inserting the underarm gussets. I first sewed the underarm and side seams. I left the beginning and end of the shoulder seams open on each side of the sleeves (to insert the underarm gusset). At the “Front” shoulder notch I started the seam at approximately 3.75” (9.5 cm), as shown in the photo below.
I stopped the other shoulder seam at the second “Back” shoulder notch mark.
Continued in my next post…
#minervamakes #minervamakers #isew #memade #memades #sewing #sewist #sewists #sewinginspo #sewinginspiration #sew #sewcialist #sewingproject #sewingprojects #sewingideas #sewingprojectideas #sewingpatterninspo #lovesewing #ilovesewing #sewsewsew #sewersgonnasew #makersgonnamake #sewaholic #sewaholics #shareyoursewing #sewinglove #handmadewardrobe #handemadeclothes #isewmyclothes #diyclothes #dressmaking #fabricinspo #seamstress #memadeeveryday #imakemyclothes #imakemyownclothes #fashion #fashioninspo #memadewardrobe #memadefashion #diyfashion #diywardrobe #fashionsewing #indiepatterns #indiesewingpatterns #sewoveritpatterns #sewoveritultimateshifttop #soiultimateshifttop #ultimateshifttop #sewingtops #riflepapercofabrics #sewingwithrayon #sewingwithchallis #challissewingprojects #teal #florals