Wool Jersey Karen Dress

 

I am so pleased with this dress! Squeeze!

However, this is a cautionary tale about how it almost didn't get made. I queued this project in November 2015. 2015! More than a year ago. 

Fabric

I bought the fabric as an impulse purchase, when I was actually shopping for boiled wool for a cape - still not made. The colours caught my eye first. The navy, taupe and magenta are very "me" and the bold geometric pattern was interesting. I wasn't quite prepared for how large the scale of the pattern is. The chevrons are massive, as you can see. The risks of shopping on the internets. 

But the benefits of shopping on the internets is that anything can be returned for any reason (at least in the EU, of which we are a member for another two years). The boiled wool order got returned but I kept this: 1.5m of wool jersey.

I have never seen a wool jersey in a fabric piece before. It was so mysterious to me. And quite daunting. It is, without doubt, the bounciest fabric I have ever encountered. Bouncy. There is no better description for it. The fabric composition is 78% viscose, 14% wool and 8% spandex. I don't know if that is a high spandex content or not. Despite the majority viscose, the feel is unmistakably wool, so that is what I am calling it. It is lovely and soft too, and the bounciness is not apparent once it is made up into a garment. The weight of the fabric and the high stretch combined made it seem so bouncy.

I admit, the pattern is loud, and the horizontal stripes are a challenge to wear. But I was determined that this was going to be a dress.

Pattern

Due to the sheer drape (bounciness) of this fabric, the pattern was always going to have to be something with a drape element to the design. I also wanted sleeves, because having a wool dress without full length sleeves seems a little silly. I deliberated over the pattern for some time. I considered using my Burda Cowl Neck pattern, and adding sleeves, maybe with Tilly's Coco sleeve as a template. But the fabric was too precious to hack about with. Sew Over It's Cowl Neck Dress was a serious contender, but I worried it wasn't forgiving enough over the tummy. This fabric shows every single lump and bump, even with a lining.

But once I made the Karen Drape Dress from Maria Denmark, I knew that I would be able to get my winter wool jersey dress.

And yet still I dithered.

The project moved down my queue. From Autumn... through Winter... finally into Spring. My thanks go to Heather Lou of Closet Case. Her words ring in my head: "Just cut it! No fabric is too precious to cut!" She is so right! I could hang on to My Precious and never make a dress that, yes, might have gone straight in the bin; but might also go out and about with me and make me happy. Easy! Being wool particularly, I probably only have a year or two before the moths get to it. Imagine coming to find the piece and it's fallen to bits? Better to cut.

So I did.

I just went and cut it out. 

Pattern Placement

I think the bounciness helped to keep the fabric on grain when I cut out. I roughly used the horizontal stripes for grain matching. Only roughly, and they are irregular, but broadly horizontal.

I did concern myself with pattern placement. To a point. I had only 1.5m so I didn't have much scope for rearranging. I also had a really hard time figuring out how the pattern might look cut, draped and on. So I just cut. Just like that!

I knew I wanted the stripes around the hem of the skirt, and not like a sash across the body. The drape of the pattern means that the skirt is on grain (horizontal stripes), but the front bodice fans up through 45 degrees. By keeping the diamond pattern through the centre front of the bodice, I kept the patterns looking quite similar. I don't love the stripes through the lower edge of the draped section, but I didn't have a lot of alternatives. I love the pattern placement on the back. And I did stripe match through the skirt. Perfectly on the one side, and the irregular pattern means a complete stripe jog on the other side.

I also kept the sleeve stripes at the height of a cap sleeve and a wrist band. Plus nice downward pointing chevrons in the centre front. And... check out that brilliant stripe matching through the shoulder seams and upper back!!!

This is my happy face. Note the stripe matching? Good.

Making up

I was so, so careful to not handle the fabric more than I had to. I used tailors tacks to pin the pleats in place, and hand basted the seam through the pleats.  I worked as though I was sewing rose petals together. That said, I found that I got a better seam from my overlocker if I pulled slightly to create stretch on the way through, and relaxed it on the way out. My overlocker tension isn't right. I need to adjust the presser foot pressure. 

I made up the complete dress before trying to attach a lining. If it was going to be a wadder, I wanted to find out before I put any more time or resources into it.

Lining

I knew that this fabric was going to need lining. Every lump and bump is on show, plus the fabric has a slight sheerness and the winter style of dress = lining required.

I bought one meter of beige cotton jersey from Girl Charlee for the lining. I could have chosen a whiter colour but prefer that beige brings down the tone of the cream stripes while ivory or white would have made them pop more. I think it makes the dress just a little bit more neutral. Because, obviously, I am trying to blend in with this dress...

1m was enough fabric for the lining, because I used the back pattern piece for cutting both front and back of the lining, with no draping or sleeves included. I attached the lining by overlocking at the neckline and under stitched with the sewing machine. I secured the sleeves to the lining by hand with fagoting stitches.

Adjustments

I have found it to be impossible to stop the back neckline from flaring outward slightly. The pattern calls for clear elastic around the neckline and I successfully used ordinary elastic in my Black Karen. I tried attaching some along the inside of the back neckline, between the outer fabric and the lining, but the waviness just got worse. I pulled it out and trimmed lower (chilly!), but still no luck. I adjusted the shoulder seams in, but it really needs some back neck darts. If I hunch forward it's fine.  I have had to leave a slight amount of lining on show at the back. It's not terribly noticeable. I didn't get a picture of it in the end.

Finishing

Rather than be dissapointed with the sleeve edges, I made cuffs for them and attached with my overlocker. They are not as polished as I would like, but better than lettuce fluting, and I got a bit of length that I was lacking.

The skirt hem is hand stitched, again with fagoting stitch. The lining hem is machine zig zagged. The hem length is the same as the pattern. My Black one is slightly longer, but this one didn't work out nicely with the pattern placement, so the hem on the banded stripes worked best.

I've decided that the Karen not really suited to horizontal stripes, nor such a draped fabric. I don't really like the poochy look around the tummy that the draped stripes create. They draw attention to an area that the design does a good job of hiding. The fabric choice for my black version are a better match, both in style and fabric weight.

That said, I still do love the dress. It is so comfortable, warm and fun to wear. The second I finished, it went out for lunch, a meeting, a gallery and drinks. Fun times!

Costs:
  Fabric: 1.5m, £12.15
  Lining: 1m, £5.95
  Pattern: £0.00 (used previously)
  Thread: £0.00 (used previously)
  Other: none
Total: £18.10