Well hiya everyone.

Last week’s speedy-ish post went okay. I did notice a couple of typos…one being that I wrote #2108MakeNine in my title…not sure where I’ll be in 90 years, but pretty sure it won’t be here. Although. If I hang around long enough to sew my stash…

Speaking of titles, I made my very first Kalle Shirtdress a year ago and the post title was Easy, Breezy, Summery. And today’s Kalle? Also easy, breezy and summery. I love this silhouette right now…so much so that I’ve sewn the pattern twice in a matter of days. This dress is technically the second sew of the two, but I haven’t found the right buttons for the first. {translation…the buttons I just bought are not working} 

When I blogged my shirt version last autumn, I mentioned a minor fit issue. Both my dress and shirt have a tendency to shift backwards at the shoulder seam. Not a huge deal, but I do catch myself adjusting the lie of the garment. Not quite annoying, but…

Priscilla of Minimalist Granny commented that I may need to do a forward shoulder adjustment. I had never heard of this tweak. After a little trip down the rabbit hole I decided to try both an FSA and a high round back adjustment…let’s call that an HRBA. And…they worked. The fit on my most recent Kalle’s are so much better. Thanks so very much for the tip Priscilla.

Sigh….I can’t say I’m thrilled that I have to do a pattern alteration for a rounded back and forward sloping shoulders. I can say that I am paying better attention to my posture and I’m doing exercises specific to spinal alignment {silver linings}.

Above top left – a close-up of the popover button placket, which of course you can’t really see.  I will say this about that. It turned out beautifully…after a near disaster. Reminder; this is the second of two back-to-back Kalle dresses…the first one turning out aaaawe-some. So. Away I went, awash with confidence, merrily sewing along.  I sewed. And cut. The placket perfectly. OH. WHOOPS. I followed the wrong sewing lines and subsequently, the WRONG cutting line. After a tiny meltdown, I determined that the cutting line on the dress was in the right place…whew…so I could breathe again. But the problem remained: I had to redo the placket and I didn’t have enough fabric to cut another. One never does, amirite? Always leftover fabric when you don’t need it. Never when you do. Determined to save my dress, I ended up doing minor surgery on the already attached placket, adding a strip of facing to the top of the placket, trimming off the bottom….impossible to explain. Let’s leave it at…it was a nightmare with a very happy ending.

Top right – Inverted pleat which, personal preference, I like better than the box pleat on my first version here. 

Bottom left – since making my Highlands Wrap Dress I want to use Allie’s hemline instructions on everything.

Bottom right – the forward shoulder adjustment, FSA, and high round back adjustment, HRBA, on the yoke. I opened up the yoke horizontally 3/4″, cutting to, but not through the armhole edge. In order to keep the center back seam true, I had to add in a small dart at the neckline. I added 1/2″ to the the shoulder seam at the armhole, tapering to nothing at the neckline. I removed this exact amount from the front bodice. EDIT: I should have made clear that when cutting the horizontal line from CB to the armhole edge, I stopped the cut 5/8″ from the edge, then I made a short cut back from the armhole edge ending just shy of my previous cut. The pattern remains attached at the seam allowance point. 

I may have accidentally walked into the quilting department of my local Fabricland. I’m not sure how…it’s a separate room at the far end of the store. This blue gem practically jumped out at me. It’s a Fabricland exclusive; it’s cheery; and it was super easy to work with. I’m happy I ventured off path and it found me.

This month there are a couple of community events that I plan to participate in. It’s Style Hero Month with the Sewcialists which I’m very much looking forward to. And over on Instagram it’s #Braugust2018. I have a swimsuit in the works and it’s also about time that I shared some of my bra making process with you here on the blog.

All righty. Thanks so much for reading. I hope to see you soon.

Wearing:

Kalle Shirtdress : : Closet Case Patterns also seen here and here