The Refashioners: Suit to Dress

The Refashioners is an annual challenge to take an old garment (or garments) and refashion something new. This is the first year I have taken part. While I love the Refashioners Challenge, and am full of admiration for the people who participate, I didn't think I would actually ever do it. But M told me he was going to go through his old suits and have a clearout. This was too good an opportunity to pass up, his suits are top quality, and I need a new grey work dress. 

The suit is Armani, the fabric is pure wool and is actually a navy, not charcoal. It has a fine grey pinstripe through it, which makes the final look appear charcoal. Isn't suit fabric fascinating?

I spent a great deal of time unpicking. Days and days, the thread all over the carpet was such a mess! I didn't want to cut the seams and then find out that I didn't have enough fabric to make up my dress.

I didn't keep any of the suit details such as pockets, lapels, or waistband in the finished garment. These were all cut around and not used. But I did keep the sleeve cuffs, and used them in my dress sleeves. I also kept and used the lining for the dress lining. And I saved the horsehair canvas from the front of the jacket as well as the shoulder pads and sleeve caps.

 

I went through my pattern stash, looking for a dress pattern with as many small pieces as possible. This one, Dress 109 from BurdaStyle 11/2013, has 16 separate pieces. I had to do some extra piecing and ended up with 24 pieces in total. I had to draw myself a diagram so I could keep track of where I was when I was cutting out all the pieces.

M's suits all wear out in the same place: the seat. The jackets are in pristine condition, but the trousers are completely worn through. Trousers have more large fabric pieces in them than jackets, so I planned on using the trousers, despite the wear. I got all the main pieces from the trousers, except the top of the back bodice. These were cut from the centre back of the top of the jacket. I kept the sleeves for the sleeves, and the flounce was pieced from the seat of the trousers and the rest of the centre back jacket.

The pattern is actually a hidden gem. The line drawing was very unappealing, just a grid of seam lines, and the photography, while beautifully done, isn't really showing the dress very well, particularly in a black fabric. But while I was tracing this pattern, I realised how interesting and well put together it really is. Funny how sometimes you have to really get to know something before you like it better. All the shaping is achieved from the seam lines. No darts, tucks or pleats. When made up in a dark fabric, the seam lines don't really show anyway. (I had to photograph the finished dress in full sun.) The shoulder seams are slanted to the back, there is a lovely neckline curve, and it has two piece sleeves. The hemline is pegged and the flounce makes it a proper wiggle dress.

I didn't make any fitting adjustments to the paper pattern. I traced a size 36, grading out to a 38 at the waist. I added 1.5mm seam allowances, which I am not finding as much of a pain as I used to.

You can see how shaped all the pieces are. And how small. This is the back of the dress. I cut little numbers and pinned them to the left bottom on the right side of each piece. Everything looked the same! But the tiny pieces meant I could use the suit trousers, and cutting out was so easy because every piece fitted on my cutting mat without me having to move the mat around - something I am quite sure makes my sewing inaccurate.

I love working with wool. It cuts beautifully, presses well and sews so nicely. I even washed all these pieces before I cut them out. The wool and the linings seemed to make it through the wash fine (I didn't wash the interfaced parts of the jacket), and I believe I might have a machine washable dress here. 

I pieced together the dress in quarters (right front, left front, right back, left back), then joined the shoulder seams. I then basted the centre front, side seams and centre back (as far as the zip) to check the fit and make any fitting adjustments to the seams before I finished the seams and sewed it together properly.

Alterations:

• side seams (hips and waist), release each seam by 5mm from below bust through to hem;
• shoulder seams: increase seam allowance by 1cm at neckline, taper to normal at armscye;
• horizontal bust seam: increase seam allowance by 5mm through all seams, front and back;
• sway back adjustment: back waist seam, increase seam allowance by 1cm, taper to 0 by centre of section (half way between centre back and side seam);
• sleeves: release lower part by another 5mm on both seams;
• flounce: shorten (by 2 inches, I think)

I overlocked all the raw edges. Everywhere. They are very prone to fraying, so it was necessary. (This project used a lot of thread!)

I kept the cuffs and the button detail on the sleeves, but I shortened the sleeve length and made them 3/4 length. I had to unpick the jacket sleeves, down to the vent. The curve of the sleeve wasn't quite right for this length. This is an example of unpicking something, altering it, and then sewing it up to (hopefully) look exactly the same. The bottom of the sleeves came out too narrow, so I had to let the seam allowances out a bit more. I kept the horsehair canvas band around the cuff, and tacked the outer fabric to the inside, ready to hand sew the lining in to the cuff. The original suit buttons were not fastened with buttonholes. Not couture, but very helpful to me here. I need to leave them unfastened for the extra ease I need in the elbow.

I did a lapped zip because that is what I had to hand. I stabilised the back seam allowances of the whole dress. I wanted to use the waist stay ribbon from the Armani trousers, but decided it was too thick so I used adhesive stabilising tape instead. I can use the Armani ribbon as a zip guard, an exposed zip is very uncomfortable. I'll do that and add a new photo.

I am not usually a fan of a flounce, and considered leaving it off. But the dress is indecently short without it, and I hadn't added extra fabric to the bottom pieces. It also makes quite a severe dress more playful. Of course, I didn't have any fabric pieces wide enough to cut it in one, it uses a lot of fabric, and is cut on the fold. I pieced it from eight pieces in the end. All are cut on grain and sewed together, including overlocked seams. I used the very worn sections through the seat of the pants, because I wanted a lightweight fabric here. I cut quite a bit of length off the pattern, and was definitely not going to add the suggested 3cm hem allowance to a curved hem such as this. I overlocked and turned up once. Bad me, I machine hemmed it, but I was quite pleased with myself for switching to a zig zag stitch for the hem - it made less of a hard line through the fabric.

I used the suit lining for some of the dress lining. Curiously, the suit had a different lining for the jacket and the trousers. The jacket has a nice navy lining, while the front upper part of the trousers has a much thinner black lining. I had used up all the navy on the child's waistcoat, so I only had the sleeves left - for the sleeves - and used the black for the upper bodice lining. At the moment, the rest of the dress is unlined, as the pattern instructs, but I think I will go back and add a new lining as far as the flounce. I am just mulling over using a different pattern so that I don't have a pieced lining. Maybe I can draft one from the finished dress...

I found the v-neck very difficult to get right. I trimmed and turned and pressed, and pressed, and hammered, and eventually it sits flat-ish. I should have read the pattern instructions. By this point, I was just sewing things together. It has a slight gape at one side too. I only stay stitched very late in the make. 

But that is about the only niggle. I am so delighted with my dress, I want to make exactly the same refashion again! I have my eye on one of M's other suits, a gorgeous combed wool with a waffle check pattern. Too bad he just bought it this year!

Costs:

 Fabric: refashioned suit, £0.00

 Lining fabric: refashioned suit, £0.00

 Pattern: BurdaStyle, used previously, £0.00

 Notions: 

  Thread: local fabric store, £4.00

  Overlocker thread: used previously, £0.00

  Zip: thrifted gift, £0.00

  Seam tape: 2m, £1.50

  Buttons: refashioned suit, £0.00

Total: £5.50

The Refashioners: Child Waistcoat

This is an unexpected, additional contribution to The Refashioners, SuitsYou refashion, going on this October. The Refashioners is a fun challenge which pretty much sounds like what it is: refashion an unwanted garment into something new. 2017's challenge is to use a suit. Luckily for me, M's favourite outfit is a suit and he has plenty of them. He also got two new ones this year, so it was time for a clear out.

This navy beauty is Georgio Armani. The fabric is actually navy, with a tiny grey pinstripe giving an overall effect of a charcoal colour with a subtle stripe.  

My first garment going in to the Refashioners is a dress for me. But this was finished first because it had to jump the queue since the child told me she is going on a school trip and needs a Victorian costume.

Oh dear, there was a lot of drama getting to the right costume! She wasn't hearing of wearing an apron over a dress. No matter how much we Googled, or how many pictures we looked at. No way! But she was willing to dress as a boy, so we solved the drama with this waistcoat.

Here is the suit before refashioning. (You can see I have gone to a lot of trouble with my hair and makeup for this photo shoot.)

I had cut up most of the suit for my dress: trousers, back jacket panel and jacket sleeves. Only the front of the jacket was left. I used half the fronts, and all of the jacket lining (minus sleeves) for this waistcoat.

The pattern is Burda Style 11/2013 which has some great child sized patterns in that issue. This pattern is actually for a fur vest, not a proper waistcoat. I traced the largest size, and added 1 1/4 inch of length.

I cut the two back pieces from the back jacket lining. These have a seam instead of on the fold, but they were already stitched together, so I left them as they were. They just fitted, with no other seams, but I did have to unpick the side backs from the centre backs. They had been taken in there so the seam allowance was large. 

This photo shows the whole lining being used. The pattern was lengthened after I took this. The two backs are going to run down the centre back and the two fronts are taking up the whole front lining, including the welt pocket on the right.

The front pieces were cut from the front of the jacket, with the jacket hem used as the waistcoat hem. The tailors had sewn bias binding around the hem curve and I wanted to make the most of their work. The front jacket is also interfaced with fusible interfacing. After I lengthened the pattern, I could just squeeze out the fronts without running into the buttonhole. It is in the seam allowance, as is the side of the outside welt pocket.

I managed to keep the small welt pocket from the lining that sits high on the inside of the left front jacket. I moved this to the lower inside waistcoat as it was the only pocket where the scale was right for a child's garment. All the other pockets were way too big. The handkerchief pocket would have been cute, but I couldn't get a lower front from it. The care instructions label was just below the welt, so I kept both of those features.

I had a terrible job figuring out the instructions for turning the waistcoat and a quick and simple project turned into a lot of unpicking. I unpicked the shoulder seams to try to get the turn the way Burda instructed. I unpicked the side seams when that didn't work. I sewed them up again, and still it didn't work, so they got unpicked a third time. Gosh, I'm so bored just writing this! I got there in the end, thanks to this tutorial. I was able to sew most of the hem closed from the inside and just hand sewed the last little bit. I wish I had stabilised the back neckline with a bit of ribbon or stay tape, it seems very flimsy.

I didn't add any closures, hanging open is fine, and kept the edge looking clean, preserving the edge that the nice suit tailors put there, stabilised and steamed so beautifully.

We decided that she looks like a farmer's son in Sunday best, rather than a beggar boy. She is going to put some pennies in her pocket and pretend she is a thief!

Wool Pinstripe Pencil Skirt

I do believe that my sewing has reached the “big leagues” today. By that, I mean wearing a me-made garment to work. Proper work wear. What an achievement! My self-imposed standards mean a knitted hat or scarf does not count. Actually, I did wear this dress to my first day of the new job and I've worn this one too, but they are not office-only garments. This one is strictly office only.

The wool-blend fabric was the inspiration behind the skirt. I spotted it on Clothspot about a year ago and ordered a metre. It was always going to be a pencil skirt. It was a great price and has turned out to be a great fabric to sew. The colour is one of my go-to colours. Rather too much actually, at one stage in my life, I realized I could put together an entire outfit in this colour, including my underwear, shoes, coat and lipstick. Enough is enough and I’ve tried to cut back since then.

No cutting back on the wool pinstripe, although I did refrain from making a matching jacket. The fabric is soft and stable and the stitches disappear into it perfectly. It frays a bit, but nothing too dramatic. The pinstripes make following grainlines and matching seams easy peasy. I loved drawing on it with chalk, I pretended I was a real tailor! I am thinking about what else I might make (it comes in turquoise!) No! No, step away from the fabric.

I have a selection of pencil skirt patterns to choose from. All of them purchased for the jacket patterns. I ended up going with Burda 7135 in view C. The double vents at the back were the winner; a side zip and no waistband helped seal the deal. I was a bit doubtful about so many seams breaking up the stripe but in hindsight, the princess seams are better than darts in a bulky fabric. 

I have a few fit issues with the skirt, some of the seams are not sitting right. But my biggest issue with this pattern was the sizing. I’ve read that the big pattern companies sizes run large, but c’mon! This is a pencil skirt, it is supposed to be fitted! I could have cut two sizes smaller than my measurements and still had room for a big lunch. I was so careful to grade the pattern, cut and fit the lining first and it was still miles too large. If I have to unpick because I’ve made a mistake, fair enough. If I am unpicking because the fit is way off, that’s just annoying. I could have finished this in half the time if the sizing was better. I had to take in 5 seams at the waist and the side seam all the way down.

Zip? What zip?

The result is that the skirt is actually unbalanced. I did such a magnificent job of installing the invisible zip - first go, check it out! - that there was no way I was going to unpick it to take that seam in. Ditto the back vents: they were so fabulous that I wasn’t touching them either.

In the end, I decided to enjoy the process and get on with resizing it, rather than bemoaning the extra work and resist re-doing. I did love working with this wool (blend). I still think I should take in both side seams below the hip. But I never get around to remaking or mending stuff that I consider finished.  Why do that when there are always new projects in the queue?

I modified the pattern to eliminate the above-waist finish of the skirt. I have a very short waist and all my skirts already look above-waist. Another 5cms and I could have tucked it into my bra. Instead, I attached the skirt to the lining at the waistline and folded the extra centimetres in, as a facing.

My lining was also from Clothspot. I love a loud lining on a conservative garment. I’ve got some work to do to learn how to attach the lining to the vent openings. In the end, I made it up and hand stitched the linking down through the vents. It doesn't sit flat and there is some slight puckering around those vents. For some reason, they are not well fitted. I hope I get away with it as a pressing issue, rather than a home-made skirt.

I'm proud of my understitching and hand stitching the lining down against the inside of the zip.

I wore it to work the day after it was finished. I didn’t even wait to take pictures first. (I was extra careful not to spill my lunch on myself that day!)

Costs:   Fabric:    Clothspot £7.98

              Lining:    Clothspot £5.78

              Zip:         Mood        £0.30
              Pattern: Burda        £4.63
Total:                                    £18.69

BurdaStyle Cowl Neck Jersey Top

A sleeveless summer top in double jersey with a cowl neckline.

In fact, this fabric was purchased to be a dress but the fabric had other ideas. It is part of my knit jersey stash that I bought way back in the summer.

I'm afraid that the 2 yards I ordered, and was charged for, turned out to be closer to 1.5 yards. When I decided that the time had come for the dress to unfold, I discovered that it wasn't going to be enough. The knit is crooked and the fabric yardage wasn't there. A single layer dress in fabric this thin would not have been pretty so I faced facts and made a top instead.

I realised how many patterns were at my disposal, now that I have a copy of Burda Style so I had a look and quickly found what I was looking for. Sleeveless, double layer, stretch fabric. Pattern tracing is not something I enjoyed, but I look at it as the price to pay for this many patterns for $9.50. I had to go over the outline with a black marker to be able to see it through my (gift wrap) tissue paper. I added a 1cm seam allowance.

The top was super-easy to sew. Cutting out the knit was the second hardest part (after the pattern tracing). I now use a layer of computer paper under the knit fabric and the needle-jumping has become minimal. I learned a new construction technique for enclosing seams within a lining - the first that are fully enclosed with all machine sewing. I'll be trying it again for sure, although I don't know if it will be as easy with cotton which is thicker and stiffer. It requires a bit of reaching through tunnels of fabric. The thin jersey lends itself to the cowl neckline perfectly and the neckline means no need for nice finishes or exposed seams. Perfect!

I've left the hem unfinished but I now have a twin needle so I am going to hem it. The pattern is also a bit too large and I am going to go back and take in the top pieces of the side seams.

Final cost: $20 (unless I make something else from Burda)

For the record, the pattern is BurdaStyle 11/2013 Dress 112, I made a 38, but the arms feel a little large.

Chiffon top

Here's my first make from the new fabric stash: a sleeveless chiffon top.

The fabric is from Clothspot, the pattern from Burda.  Both are detailed in my earlier post.  The camisole is not part of the top.

As I said earlier, I don't really think my skills are up to working with chiffon but it has come out better than I expected.  It is a very forgiving style: loose, gathered and flowy.  I really like the style, I love the gathers at the neckline, and the turtleneck shows off the chiffon nicely.  I wore it to work and then out that evening - I got compliments both times!  

I resized the waist for my own measurements but, as a note for next time, I should have left everything as a size 12. Cutting out was an absolute pain, the fabric moved if you breathed on it, but the rows of flowers were extremely useful and served as a guide to make sure it was straight before I cut.  Thank goodness for my rotary cutter, it really proved its worth with this project.

For the sides and shoulders, I did French seams at 1.5cm width, I wasn't up for trying anything smaller.  If I was really keen, I could hand stitch each seam in half again (but I wasn't).  I set my machine tension to almost zero but the seams still gathered.  I didn't backstitch the ends so I smoothed out the gathers then tied off the ends.  I didn't follow the pattern instructions for the sleeve hems (zig zag finish), I did a sort of rolled hem: stitch one row near edge, fold in, stitch a second row on top, fold in, stitch a third row.  The great part about the chiffon is that I could stitch with the right side up and get a nice seam finish on the right side.  My bobbin thread never looks as nice as the top thread.

Total cost: £7.64
Fabric: £4.25
Shipping allocation: £1.85
Pattern (1/3 allocation w shipping): £1.54

PS: Apologies to Burda for my comments about the missing size guide and pattern layout.  I found both in the pattern sheets.  I had only looked in the instruction sheets.  I also easily found a Burda size guide online.