Michelle, ma belle... tres bien ensemble
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Michelle ma belle, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble,

Tres bien ensemble

Gather 'Round

3/21/2012

18 Comments

 
I don't want to jinx things, but, gals &guys, it's going to happen. I'm going to have this dress finished in time for Sunday'a premiere of season 5!!! I got my straps attached, my skirt securely in place, and my facing and lining stitched down,  which leaves my zipper and hemming.... the hemming...hmmm. There is a lot of skirt there. So much skirt, I feared I would run out of fabric while I was cutting. I had to sacrifice pattern matching to make it work.  
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When you take into consideration this skirt has four 34inch gores (x2 when you count the lining basted to it), I'm pretty sure there's over a quarter yard of skirt fabric per inch of bodice. It felt like more. I cursed and got supremely frustrated while I worked on this portion of my project. 

Still, it could have been worse. I used to have a TERRIBLE time evenly distributing my gathers.  I would spend painful hours with the seam ripper trying to get things right, but never felt truly satisfied with the results. 

When I run into these types of obstacles, I  like to chat-up my grandma. She's got more than a few tricks up her sleeve. You could have pushed me over with a feather when she tipped me off to the way she does her gathered skirts (she also uses this trick when she's setting in a sleeve). 

In the off-chance there are others out there running into the same wall, I'll share it with you.  
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Grandma Charlotte's Secret to Gorgeous Gathers and Stunning Sleeves:     PIN FIRST, THEN PULL! 

I'm primarily self taught and rely heavily on pattern instructions during the construction process. Patterns will tell you to create your rows of stitching, pull your bobbin thread, and then ease the skirt to the pattern, matching your notches as you go.

Grandma says, create 2-3 rows of long stitching along the gather line (have a back-up to your back-up in case your bobbin thread(s) goes bust), match-up and pin the notches and seams of the skirt and bodice (or sleeve and bodice), THEN PULL THE BOBBIN THREAD. 

Because the skirt and bodice are already lined up and pinned where they ought to be, you just need to gather until the fabric fits between the fastened areas.

 
VOILA!  


Here's a shot of the interior. It's almost as pretty inside out as it is with the right side showing!  
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The progress on my sweater isn't as awesome and definitely not worth sharing. I may have contributed the entire 33% of sock time to sewing instead of dividing it. I also might have cast-on a miniature cardigan... it can't be helped. More of my friends are pregnant than not, and I don't want any of those babies feeling neglected!  
18 Comments
Christina link
3/21/2012 02:37:17 pm

Your dress is beautiful!

And that's a really good tip for for gathering. I tend to just pin the beginning and the end and just go - spacing out pins first and then gathering would make it look better. Thankfully I've only really sewn faire garb, so if it's a little messy it's okay.

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Truly Myrtle link
3/21/2012 05:35:21 pm

Brilliant tip! Thanks grandma!
The dress is gorgeous by the way!!!! : )

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heather link
3/21/2012 07:07:37 pm

love the dress, and aren't grandma's awesome?? :) thanks for the info about season 5:) i was wondering when it was coming back on:)

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Sarah - Crafts From The Cwtch link
3/21/2012 08:22:38 pm

That is so beautiful!

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Liz link
3/21/2012 09:17:38 pm

The dress is gorgeous! I love the fabric

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steph@woolythyme link
3/21/2012 10:21:05 pm

OMG!! I dream of having those kind of sewing skills! Your dress is outstanding! My skills are limited to things that don't require either buttonholes or zippers!
You said you just got a new lens.....what did you choose? I'm looking to upgrade my equipment a bit but am pretty clueless.

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Amy link
3/21/2012 10:36:30 pm

The dress is gorgeous.

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Pumpkin link
3/22/2012 12:13:10 am

oh my, that is an attractive dress! I can certainly imagine Betty wearing it too due to the floral pattern. You can get it done!

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HillyT link
3/22/2012 06:45:01 am

You have made me want to get out my sewing machine again, your dress is absolutely fabulous.

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autumngeisha link
3/22/2012 01:28:13 pm

Such a pretty dress! I love the floral pattern and colors of the fabric. That is a great tip from your grandma, too.

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Kristen link
3/22/2012 06:03:09 pm

That dress is gorgeous!

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Cheryl link
3/23/2012 12:41:49 am

Oh wow, that is unbelievably beautiful! The colours are so delicate and perfect! I'm in complete awe of your sewing skills. Sounds like your Grandma's got some golden tips too :)

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Charity Shop Chic link
3/23/2012 02:11:17 am

Beautiful! And just as lovely on the inside. They say the true test of sewing is to have everything looking just as beautiful on the inside, and I think you pass! You could almost wear it that way out too.

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Lisa link
3/23/2012 02:48:11 am

That's a very pretty dress!

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Nadia link
3/23/2012 05:36:06 am

Your dress is so pretty! Good on you. I've tried making y own clothes in the past & everything turned out to be a hot mess. You give me hope that maybe I will succeed in the future.

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Faye link
3/23/2012 08:50:41 am

Wow, this looks ama`zing! I love the fabric and its so beautifully made. Great tip from Grandma too! This page has inspired me to start sewing again, my machine needs dusting off!

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Carla link
3/24/2012 12:21:42 pm

Oh my goodness, that's a gorgeous dress!! Agh, I can't wait until Spring Break to start sewing and creating!

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sue link
3/30/2012 05:13:00 am

your dress is lovely, really suits you. Love your sofa too. Thanks for your message re my cardi, so pleased it s done.

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