by Jessica Rose on May 27, 2010
After hours of work- there is still unfortunately more to be done. The dress on the left is how the design has turned out so far, and something is still missing. I’m not 100% sure what exactly it needs, but I’ve decided to start with adding a bit of length and fullness to the overskirt, and adding a full vertical line down the front of the dress with the floral fabric (something like the image on the right with the fabric pinned up).
I’ve spent half the week buried in receipts entering months of sales and purchases into my accounting software, and am anxious to get back to this design- I know it has so much potential!
by Jessica Rose on May 20, 2010
Making the pattern for this dress is taking much longer than expected- but simple shapes especially need to be perfectly fitted to flatter the body & I always need to be thinking about how this will be sewn together while drafting the pattern! After much consideration I have decided to make the lining for this dress as one front and one back (with no waist seam) to eliminate bulk at the waist- but this of course is not as simple as it seems- especially with the V insert and the skirt overlay- while making sure it won’t shift when worn.
Just pinning the fabric pieces up to the form- I’m getting excited, and can’t wait to see this finished! I love the elegant cut combined with a colourful floral for a bit of fun.
by Jessica Rose on May 19, 2010
Moving forward with the collection, my next design will have a slimmer shape with a peplum skirt, and a natural waistline. Called the Luncheon dress- because it’s perfect for summer garden parties!
After a week of meetings with fabric reps, I’ve just about finished choosing my fabrics for next summer, and am now just waiting for them to arrive! This dress features the first fabric I selected for the season- a Liberty floral printed viscose with a beautiful drape.
Inspiration: Elegant summer parties à la Henry Clarke’s Summer Pleasures for Sunny Days-1960
by Jessica Rose on May 15, 2010
So, once again, it’s not quite the finalized version of this dress- but here it is! I’ve decided to use a slightly deeper ivory for the collection (this one really just looks like a creamy white against anything other than stark white), and the ribbon won’t be quite as bridal-looking (this is supposed to be a sailor-inspired dress after all!) but otherwise it will be the same.
I tried giving the hems on this a baby serge finish (which looks like a tiny serged, and slightly wavy hem) but it just didn’t look polished enough for the design, and the weight of this fabric- so I decided to stay with my usual turned under hem.
This dress, by the way, is surprisingly heavy when you hold it up (but still feels light & airy when on)! This is the first time I’ve done a double skirt with this fabric, and the weight of the fabric actually pulled the skirt down in the back underlayer a good inch. Despite drafting the pattern to be perfect, with stretch fabrics and a full skirt, there always seem to be hem adjustments!
by Jessica Rose on May 13, 2010
Almost finished! I was able to make the bodice pattern by altering patterns I already have made- which should have meant a perfect fit- but I didn’t account for the fabric losing some of its stretch by doubling it up! Other than that though- it’s looking beautiful!
The fabric is so light, I had to add an extra layer to the skirt- but the extra layer makes it so much nicer so the extra fabric used will be well worth it!
Inserting the grommets in the bodice was so much fun! I forgot to bring my proper mallet to the studio (my husband has it for leather work), so a small pattern weight with a felted bottom did the trick. I’m so impressed with the grommet setting tool/die- The quality is the same as when these are done on a hand press- only so much easier to do on my cutting table!
by Jessica Rose on May 9, 2010
Something I’ve been wanting to add to the collection for a while now- is a poetic laced-up style dress. This one will be in a pale ivory white jersey, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
I haven’t quite finalized my colour palette for next summer, so for now the bow will be in a beautiful plum silk ribbon (tip: never go ribbon shopping without deciding on colour first!), and the grommets will be antique brass.
I’ve been up since 4:30am this morning getting the first of my fall/winter patterns finalized for production, and even the girl in my sketch is looking a bit sleepy eyed- so working the pattern out for this design will be my treat for tomorrow!
by Jessica Rose on May 5, 2010
It’s not 100% perfect, but I’ve finished the first dress in my Spring/Summer 2011 collection! I am loving the design, but will still need to make another- as this one is a bit too short- and I would like to fine tune a few other details- (rosettes, neckline). As usual, perfecting the cut took longer than expected, but was worth the work!
On my first test sew of the pattern, my dress turned out to be way too big in the back! I always start with the pattern being a little larger than needed so I can take it in to the perfect size- but this was just way too loose- and the back was swinging into the front of the dress. To make it fit snugger in the bodice, I had to sew down the pleats, and ended up taking in the sides about 4″ total!
Three full days later, here I am- with a new & exciting cut of dress- which is my first in jersey using pleating rather than princess seams for shaping! I am very happy with the fit, and am ready to give this a bit of a break before re-cutting my patterns, and tackling the final sample.
by Jessica Rose on May 1, 2010
Because this is such a flowy type of dress, I decided to create the pattern by draping the fabric on the form in a lightweight jersey to see how it falls. In this design, I am creating the shaping using darts- which are nice, because in addition to shaping, the darts also create pleats to even out the flares on the skirt.
My original idea was to pleat the back of the dress to fit it at the waist, and have a tie to adjust the fit- but after some thought, this just didn’t seem elegant enough for the design, and I decided instead to keep it loose at the back, and create fullness instead with pleats coming from the center of the neckline.
Just playing with some fabric scraps to show the positioning of the rosette detailing at the neckline- I’m loving how it looks, and am really excited to see the finished product!
