Double Collared Licorice Dress

Happy Chinese New Year 2012 of the Dragon!  I joined the 2012 third challenge theme for the week of 23 Jan.  The following post was my entry for Sew Weekly's 'Made This Look' challenge:

The Facts

Fabric: A slippery, drapey, geometric print named ‘Bunga Cinta’ (Flower of Love in Bahasa Malaysia) at RM5.90/USD1.80 a yard (after 70% off), 2 yards.  Most probably polyester.  Malaysian fabric stores prioritize on the name of the fabric collection rather than accurately spelling out the fiber contents; and the salesmen are also ditto about these details.  Off-white Lining Fabric to line the dress (yay to another lined dress!)

Pattern: Licorice Pattern from the Colette Sewing Handbook (the handbook has such ‘yummy’ pattern names!)

Year: 2011

Notions: Basic Zipper and Covered Buttons

Time to complete: About 10 hours

Make This Look Inspiration From: ModCloth Magnetic Personality Dress

First worn: 22 Jan 2012 for Chinese New Year Eve celebrations

Wear again? Yes! I like how this dress is comfortable and the dress just skims over my curves and the tie belt gives the right amount of shape to the body.

Total Cost (excluding Colette Handbook): Approximately RM16/USD5

I was browsing Modcloth.com and it appeared to me that the collar of this dress is so much like the famous Licorice pattern.  I have seen a few completed Licorice dresses online sewn with solids; and the dresses featured in the book and Colette’s blog are all in solids as well.

Previously I was really wondering if I made a huge mistake choosing a busy print for my version. I was feeling very insecure and not confident as the dress was nearing completion, I suspected that I will not like this dress in the end as I have always associated the Licorice with solid colours; and already regretting that I was such a rebel to use a busy print. But when I tried it on for the second time I realized that I really like it; this is what my good seamstress friend used to call as ‘Let the Dress Simmer’.

It was really a nice coincidence that I chanced upon this modcloth version and it gave me the idea to ‘break’  the busy print by adding another collar made with leftover purple lining cloth underneath the main collar.  The purple covered cottons on each side of the collar also provided good contrast and lent a hint of cuteness to the dress.  I sewed the purple collar according to the original seam allowance of the collar pattern piece; but added another 1cm seam allowance to make the smaller collar piece in busy print.

For this challenge, it’s my first time using slippery and drapey fabric, as I have only sewn using the good old easy-to-sew cotton/blends to-date.    I referred to this useful tutorial to cut the slinky fabric, it does help!    Another tip to generously use pins..and more pins to hold your fabric in place before joining the seams  I noted that it is tougher to set a sleeve using slinky fabric compared to the good old cotton.

Thoughts on the Pattern + Instructions:-

I cut a size 2 from the Licorice pattern but sewed a 1cm seam allowance instead of the normal 1.5cm.  For modesty sake, I also lengthened the skirt, I usually do not have do this with my other patterns as I am only 158cm tall, but the original style is meant to be above the knee.  This is really a cute pattern with a retro twist (the boat neck collar) and puffed sleeves are so darling (one has to use drapey fabric to enjoy the effect).

The Colette Sewing Handbook has instructions on how to sew lining to the main dress using a sewing machine. I have made 4 other lined dresses using patterns and instructions from McCalls and Butterick which calls for handstitching the lining - after attaching the lining to the dress on the neckline, they recommend to machine sew the centre back seam beneath the zipper, then hand slip stitch the rest of the lining to the main fabric (i.e. slip stitch lining to the edge of the zipper and around the armscyes).  Colette on the other hand recommends: After attaching lining to the neckline, turn the lining and dress so the right sides of both dress and lining meet each other; and sew the lining to the edge of the zipper using your sewing machine (take care not to catch the main dress) - the last step is to join the remaining center back seam of the lining beneath the zipper.  This eliminates the need for hand stitching your lining!