Flower dress stage 5: The completed dress

So, here I am wearing the completed dress – the difference a belt makes!
(You will notice some wounds, nose and right little finger – both longer stories!)

Why I love this dress:
I enjoyed making it
I know I will not meet anyone else wearing this dress
The construction is the best I could achieve – and I am a bit of a perfectionist!
It fits ME
The pattern design is placed where I wanted it, as I took considerable effort to plan this
The pattern design allowed for the top to be cut on the cross to works cut on the cross – even though the pattern is predominately ‘vertical’
The material ( silk jersey) does not crease – so great for sitting down in and packing
It is very versatile and I can wear red, green or black belts to give quite different looks.
The style (& colour) is good for me (I feel taller wearing it! )
I have had LOADS of great comments about it (which is always encouraging!)

Flower dress stage 4 ; the construction

The stitching of the dress went to plan; the hem was a challenge, to make it not too stretchy or too tight. In the end I decided on hand stitching.

Particular things that were helpful:
My amazing body duplicate model that makes fitting a dress a dream, I wouldn’t be without it. Every time I see a manikin for sale I want to go and put a little not on it and say don’t buy one – unless you are that identical shape- and who is? I have not yet met anyone….

Putting in a sleeve head, this makes such a difference to the hang of any sleeve. The ones in this dress I made from a thin piece of padding that I teased out to what I judged to be the right thickness.I then covered each with dress material (the cream background) allowing this to hang over the filling.
Inside the sleeve head

I then hand stitched these in.

This is the finished dress, but it is missing something!

The next and last posting about this will be a photo of me in the dress and why I love it so…

Flower Dress Stage 3 : Planning the Construction

I have found that time spent planning before jumping in to get stitching always pays dividends. These are particular techniques I employed in stitching this pattern and this fabric, perhaps they will help you work with a similar style and fabric.
I have altered the pattern (see previous) for fewer seams and cut each pattern piece so it can be placed on the pattern – by this I mean I have opened up the front and made a whole front rather than putting it to the fold. I use Fabribaste for this and hand stitch it to the original pattern piece.

I use fine thread in both the sewing machine and overlocker – industrial rather than commercial as I find the commercial yarn does not allow such a good seam, it increases the tendency to pucker! I also use a super stretch needle in the sewing machine.
Seams – use the Elna Overlocker set for stretch knit stitch ( a safety 4 thread making use of the differential feed and stitch length settings)
Darts , waist seam etc stitch – stitch with my Janome sewing machine- stitch 5 (zigzag) with 0.5 width & 2.2 length
When stitching use Fabribaste at the start & end of seam. I stitch this on by hand securely before I start to stitch on the machine so I can pull and get straight seams
Skim the outer edge of the front & back neck facings – to prevent laddering. I use the overlocker for this.
I will use one of my own finger pincushions – which will go on any finger or thumb – so versatile!

Make a mental note to press for as long as I stitch!
Now I am ready to start!
(My Elna Overlocker is a much loved machine – Model 945 Computer – which gives me automatic settings for loads of stitches, the sewing machine is also much loved – a Janome Memory Craft 4800)

Flower dress stage 2 pattern adjustments

Stage 2: Pattern adjustments
I decided to use my favourite dress pattern with a cowl neck. This will make the best use of the wonderful drape of the fabric. I have already made all the necessary fitting adjustments to the pattern. Although the pattern has a zip in the back I know this is unnecessary so I have decided to cut the back to the fold.

The back of the dress has a kick pleat but I have decided to add two side slits to the dress and remove this - then I can put the centre back of the skirt to the fold too. However, I will need to add a small centre back dart to get a good fit to the small of my back. By eliminating the centre back seam the pattern will remain unbroken. I have specifically chosen a pattern with a waist seam as this will fit far better than a shapeless shift dress where the material would just hang rather than drape beautifully. I have already made this patten in a fine crepe so know that it works well with this silk jersey

Flower dress stage 1

Stage 1: Preliminary checks on the fabric.
Just as I always do a tension square when knitting I have learnt to do a sample square when sewing too!
I washed a 30cm square to check if there was colour run and that it didn’t shrink or stretch significantly. Having a decent size sample also allowed me to determine the best way to press the fabric. No colour run, no stretching, no shrinking. Pressing will need care using my custom silk muslin pressing cloth with gentle steam and a low/ medium heat. It was good to see all the creases in the full length disappear.

Making a dress in a rose print

As with my previous postings about making a coat, I will write about this in stages, explaining the challenges I had and how I solved them – hoping it will help other seamstresses who aim for perfection like me!

I love my blue dress

I thought the pattern (Vogue) would be great for some wonderful silk jersey with a striking rose pattern that I had in my store.


The fabric I fell in love with – yes, following the given pattern placement will not work!

In terms of turning this material into the dress I dream of there are (at least!) two challenges; sewing this beautiful ‘drapey’ material so the seams are perfect and placing the design to best advantage.

A diversion as a ‘discerning diner’ on Anglesey and the Lleyn Peninsula, Wales

Introduction
As some of you know I have to be wheat, dairy and gluten free for medical reasons. Just a small amount of any of these and it can take me up to a fortnight to recover! Hence eating out is challenging but not something I intend to give up. So, in the interests of helping others I will document places that were excellent and places that I will avoid in future. I hope it will help others. I have learnt in the 4 years that I have been like this that it is worth searching for a place that has a chef present – usually they see it as a bit of a change and do a brilliant job for me. Using the Alistair Sawday series of books has proved really helpful – and no I am not getting any money for saying this. The following are taken from Alistair Sawday’s Special Places : Pubs and Inns of England and Wales.

So lunch on Anglesey, we had decided on The Ship Inn, Red Wharf Bay. Lunch looked expensive (more like dinner price) but I am prepared to pay more to have something that does not make me ill. I found a dish, produced my card for the chef and the order was typed in and then phoned through (concern number one, the chef did not see the card). Concern number two- only ‘no gluten’ mentioned on the food receipt, I asked if this could be corrected (as it was). My husband was able to have a smaller portion of fish and chips so all looked sorted. The food came very quickly (concern three- in my experience not a good indicator); I had a jug of sauce on my plate – smelling like lemon butter (concern four). The fish also trickled yellow liquid and the potatoes looked like they had butter on them. The waitress explained the kitchen was unsure whether or not the sauce was OK, hence why it was in a jug on my plate!! My meal was changed and the fish arrived with no butter, and the vegetables lacked the potatoes. I was not ill but this was not a great start to 3 days of eating out. I did mention my concern to one of the staff but I am unsure if she realised how serious this could have been.

We stayed at Y Beuno, just south of Caernarfon. 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts here were fantastic- bacon at breakfast was more like a gammon steak. The waiting staff were very understanding, the chef made the necessary modifications to dinner and my toast (Genius bread that I carried with me) was well toasted. I enjoyed the food. It was a great place to stay and we hope to return before too long.
Lunches are usually more tricky. I am better with a hot lunch but do get a bit fed up with baked potato! We had hoped for lunch in Aberdaron but having looked at the café and the 2 hotels decided that we might be better in Abersoch. This was an excellent decision as we found the Abersoch Café ( next to the Deli) where I had steak & salad (without the roll, but with my bread toasted) and the staff offered me crisps as an extra – having already checked they were OK for me. This was a great lunch and to be recommended as a lunch place if you are in the area.

We were in Portmeirion for the second day, the sun shone, the bay was glorious and we had targeted the Gwesty Hotel for lunch. We sat in the window overlooking the sea in a glorious room as the sun poured in. It was delightful. I chose a ‘small plate’ of chicken, lentils and salad minus the ciabata. Help was sought when I produced my card and the kitchen was consulted. Not only was my bread toasted as a replacement for the croutons, it was even turned into croutons. My only slight concern was that dressing had been added (once in a different place butter had been added to my own bread!), but of course this proved to be suitable. The venue was delightful, the staff were delightful and the food was delightful. We are already planning when we can go and stay at Portmeirion.

So, in all I had 6 meals out and of these only one was very disappointing, showing a lack of understanding and I was made to feel as if I was being awkward. As the other 3 places show when the kitchen gets it right then eating out is a pleasure and not a frightening ordeal.

I hope that others with dietary intolerances find this helpful. I will add other places as I try them out.