Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Kwik Sew 4154 - A Winner! (The reveal and the review)

Long time, no see. Kinda like my sewing mojo these days. My mental list of things I want to make always overtakes the Department of Time and Energy.

Summer is (and has been) here in Florida and it's back to hot and humid. I always call this time of year the Florida "winter," which only means that I compare this time of wanting to stay inside and avoid the weather to actual winter months for colder climates. I wouldn't want to go outside in January in Wisconsin, for example, and neither do I want to spend much time outside here in Tampa in July/August. Well, at least not very far from ice-cold cocktails and the air-conditioner for a quick cool-down. :-)


Well, I did finally trap some sewjo and set about to make a new summer dress. (I have at least 20 more summer garments I want to make. Yeah, don't hold your breath.)

From the Kwik Sew website: Dresses have semi-fitted bodice with center front seam, V-neckline finished with self-fabric facing, front and back partial gathers at waist seam, tie ends at sides to be tied in front and back zipper closure. Dress A: Narrow hemmed short sleeves, straight skirt with front and back waist darts and back vent. Dress B: Armholes finished with bias tape and narrow-hemmed flared skirt.

I made view B, but added the view A sleeves. KS patterns are sized XS-S-M-L-XL, which corresponds to measurement ranges per size given on the envelope. The letter size usually correlates to the larger of the measurement range so if you're in between sizes, keep that in mind. My experience with KS is also that they tend to have more ease than I want. I started with the M for neckline/shoulders/bodice and morphed to L/LX at waist and below. This pattern has gathers at the waist which I figured would give the girls plenty of breathing room, and I was right. No FBA was done or was needed. Before cutting the pattern, I made my usual 3/8" square shoulder adjustment with KS patterns and raised the M armhole 3/8" to match the shoulder adjustment. This worked well. The armholes hit my armpits high, like I prefer. Not too high, but just enough. For next time, though, I probably will move the side front armhole inward toward my chest as it's sitting a bit too wide for my personal preference. Nothing that screams "bad fit" or anything, just not how I want it to be in a perfect dress. The only other "alteration" I made was to add an inch to the bottom hem when I cut, for insurance. I turned a 1.25" hem in the end and I like the finished length so this was a good call, although I don't think it would be too short if I didn't add that inch.


While I really like the finished dress and the pattern overall, I absolutely HATE the facings. First of all, this pattern is supposed to be for knits and wovens and while the facings are interfaced, there's no way in a knit they would ever stand up per the pattern photograph. Which is actually a happy accident for me, because I do prefer them falling into a "lapel" and opening the neckline somewhat. It's a much more flattering look on me. I stitched and understitched the facings and still they wanted to roll outward. Grrr. I knew this would happen but didn't heed my inner voice. I even topstitched the entire neckline edge and down the "vee" and still they rolled. I settled on the sledge hammer approach and just fused the damn things completely at the front and strategically on the back neckline, using some 3/8" Steam-a-Seam. It worked. I'm good. But next time, I'm either changing the neckline and binding it or I'm making a self-fabric upper lining.


I did make a few changes to the construction, mostly because I was using a knit. A heavy knit. (This is a rayon knit from the Nicole Miller collection at Joann's. Yes, Joann's. And I actually ordered it online instead of in person. This was a first for me. The fabric is very, very nice. I highly recommend it.)

First, I eliminated all ease in the sleeve cap by cutting a smaller size and sewed it in flat. And while I did follow the instructions for creating the waist gathers front and back (which you can see in the photo above), in the end it wasn't really necessary since I made an interior "casing" by sewing the bodice and skirt seam allowances together and inserting 3/8" elastic. The rayon knit is very heavy and I knew it would need some support for the waist seam to actually stay at my waist. I'm glad I did this and I recommend it for anyone making the knit version of this dress. I also eliminated the back zip and CB bodice seam. I knew I'd be able to put this dress on over my head. And I can. Easily.

I did keep the back skirt in two pieces to conserve fabric but I think I'd consider using the front one-piece pattern for the back too next time because it's drapey-er/swishy-er than the back. But since I can't see it, I don't even think about it.

The last change I made was to add a key card loop thingie like I did for my last dress. I love this feature on that dress! And yes, I could've hooked the card onto the tie front, but I didn't want to distort the sash, so the loop is in the seam under the ties. Which also means it won't show if/when I wear this dress outside of the office.


And here's the dress on me, complete with goofy work bathroom mirror selfie face.


And back view. You can't see a CB seam in the skirt (yay!) but you can see how it's not quite as swishy. It still looks nice and I'm not unhappy with it.


Yep, I'm in the bathroom. I wish Gillian lived closer (and I bet she does too every January!) because I'd definitely bribe her to be my blog photo buddy.


What's on your summer sewing list?


35 comments:

  1. Love it, Debbie! I like how the neckline forms those "lapels," too! And the fabric is great... isn't that Nicole Miller stuff delightful?

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    1. Thanks Meg! Yes, love that fabric ... and I owe it to you and your mom. :-)

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  2. What a beautiful fabric! I also like the Nicole Miller fabrics at JoAnn's - very pretty prints. I too like the lapel look better than the neckline depicted on the envelope. Love the dress on you - it fits you beautifully!

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    1. Thank you Tomasa! I'm very happy with this dress.

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  3. Beautiful! I haven't used Kwik Sew for dresses, and now is a good time to start. In fact, it has been years since I made a dress for myself. I could get excited about this pattern. It is a bright spot in a forest of dull clothing found in even the high end stores.

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    1. I have a number of Kwik Sew patterns but, of course, never sew as many as I buy. They are usually winners, this one included.

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  4. This is a nice dress indeed. Great fabric.

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  5. This is a nice dress indeed. Great fabric.

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  6. You look great in that dress! I'll have to check out the Nicole Miller line.

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    1. Thank you Valerie! Do check out the fabric ... these rayon knits are the high-quality I love ... vs. the thin, icky stuff usually around.

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  7. Fabulous dress and I love the fabric. Looks lovely on you too.

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    1. Thank you Jean! It feels very summery (which probably sounds weird to you right now Down Under!).

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  8. Nice! And I like the card loop idea. I'll have to re-check those fabrics, just holding out the flap of fabric on the bolt sitting on the shelf, the fabric really didn't do anything for me. But now that I see an entire garment, I'm liking it more.

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    1. Thank you Gail. I used to buy a lot of rayon knits, but then quality went way downhill at the online sellers and I got tired of being burned. This from Joann's is the good stuff. It feels "heavy" on the hanger, but not while wearing and it's a dream to wear in summer heat and humidity.

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  9. Love your fabric selection ... FIESTA :)

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    1. Thank you! Haha ... love the Fiesta!! It's perfect.

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  10. Oh my what a beautiful dress on you!!

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  11. Looks great! I picked up some of the Nicole Miller fabric at Joann's too and it is very good quality woven fabric.

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    1. Thanks Joen. I hope Joann's keeps up with some decent fabrics.

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  12. It's a great dress Debbie. I do miss your sewing however. Is that selfish of me? Ummmm yes! *LOL*

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    1. Haha. I miss my sewing too. Eventually, I'll get in a better groove.

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  13. I was going to mention this on a previous post. That card holder loop is the best Ida. When I worked I wish I had the idea to do something like this. This dress looks really nice on you. Hope the sewing mojo stays around for awhile.

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    1. Thanks Donna. I'm kinda proud of the loopy card holder. Silly and easy, yes! But oh so ridiculously useful at work.

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  14. Very cute dress -- looks fantastic on you! I will have to look for the fabric at Joann's.

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  15. Cute dress! Love the colors. I'm not a fan of center front seams, but your bright print disguised it well. The key card loop is genius. I have to sew replacement drapes for one window (only one set was completely water stained by the fire - yay!), and I want some new summer dresses. Correct that: I deserve some new summer dresses. Have a great weekend.

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  16. Debbie, this dress looks great on you! Also, you look like you have lost some weight. I think it's hysterical that you're in the bathroom at work taking outfit selfies for your blog. :-)

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  17. I am a long time reader of your blog from Montreal where our winters are notoriously cold and damp. When I was younger, I thought I would like to live in Florida. Now that I am past 50, I know I could never wndure the heat of summer in Florida. Now I'm not so sure. I never thought to equate your summer (staying indoors) with our winters (also staying indoors).
    Indeed, very similar in extremes. We're in our most perfect summer months now. In not too long, I'll envy your weather.......

    Love the dress. You'll get a lot of wear out of that one!

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  18. Nice job! My summer sewing list includes denim shorts and nice looking tshirts. I am making slow progress.

    Best wishes

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  19. Fab dress. Love that fabric and the cut is great - love the neckline - even if you had to fight with it. What a brilliant idea the key card loop is - absolutely brilliant!! And thanks for dropping by my blog and checking in on me. This is the first time I have taken a breath for quite some time. Work has been crazy. Still won't be sewing for quite a while but at least I have time to read blogs now.

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Thank you for each and every comment. I appreciate them all, but I have to be honest and let you know that I'm usually bad about answering questions. I hope you understand that there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do.

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