Marta dress

MARTA dress:

Wisdom gained:

When you hit an obstacle in your sewing, step back, and delay your work.

I have also added a review of this pattern to pattern review

nearly finished Marta

(first drafted July 31) That day, after working meticulously on the Marta dress for my daughter …

I had already done 3 muslins (two for me, the size is still not right), and one for her. The top was tight across the back (petite woman with a muscular back), and she had no wearing ease. I added 1 cm to each back half, the back waistband, and at the waist of the skirt (tapering to the full width). The three inches I took from the length made a perfect length.

I underlined the gorgeous washed linen (from Blackbird fabric) with a rayon found on sale at the local Fabricland. Worked slowly and meticulously, paying attention to detail. I want this to be right.

So far I have modified some of the finishing - instead of just folding over the hem and the top of the bodice, I used a new-to-me technique picked up in my (not-so)wearable muslin of the Kalle top (more on that later!). The Kalle tunic has you use a bias tape finish for the hem; I love it! It may have made the bottom of this Marta dress a bit stiff.

(And by the way, if you have not yet discovered the joy of making your own CONTINUOUS bias tape in three easy steps…. check this out at ‘Shecansew’. 

But back to the obstacle faced by the Marta. The bodice and the skirt were not fitting together. The skirt was too big.  YIKES. So what to do. Immediate thought was: get out the scissors and trim the front of the skirt. But…. 

Take a step back. and think about it. Go eat lunch, go do some groceries, let the idea percolate. Think of various possible solutions.

The question is WHY? And what worried me was that the whole bodice might be smaller than it was supposed to be.

Possible solution one - trim the centre front (which will have the button band attached in the final step. Possible problem - the line of the front of the dress might look wonky.

Possible solution two: take some of the side seams in. Better solution, even if I have ‘finished’ the seams. 

BUT - what if the problem is that I messed up in the bodice - what if it is too tight? 

Possible solution number three: wait and have daughter try on the bodice and somehow ( in spite of the small 1 cm seam allowances) find a way to add something…

Problem with this solution: daughter is in Montreal - two hours from Ottawa, and neither of us are travelling much back and forth. And besides not sure how I would solve that problem  in any case.

So more waiting and thinking….

Decision: 

I compared the waist of the dress to the muslin - which I added a couple of cm to, and the bodice was fine; so I went with possible solution two - I lined up all the side seams, and took in a bit of a couple of other seams. It all looks great!

Other notes about the Marta:

1. 
   
   
   
   
   In many cases the pieces came together magically (barring problem above!). I loved using the 1 cm seam allowance!

2. The markings were hard to use - it was not clear what notches matched up with what pieces; it is possible that I have some of the skirt panels backwards. This might be partly because it is hard to see your cutting line on a multisized pattern.

3. The instructions are okay; two parts of a sew-along are available on-line. Again, it was not always obvious exactly how the pieces should be joined.

4. Due to the very structured and fitted nature of the bodice front it is not easy to make any fitting adjustments - especially to the cup size.

August 5 (sewing road trip!)

I was obviously going to have to visit daughter, since she was not coming to Ottawa. This was becoming a very expensive dress! Should I go? I would have to borrow or rent a car, travel two hours each way… but decided that in the end this was about more than a dress; I was not a professional dressmaker travelling to finish a commission; I was a mom and this was a good way to spend time with daughter.

So I borrowed a vehicle (with GPS, thankfully!), packed a sewing kit (including sewing machine, and EVERYTHING) and made my way to the centre of Montreal. Arrived after 10:00 and got to work. Here is what was left to do:

• sew the button facing down; I had only basted it, in case I needed to make a new, wider,  button facing;

• affix the shoulder straps

• go to the store with daughter to buy buttons

• create buttonholes (which, for some reason, is a real pain in the bottom) (I had not yet discovered what I now know about the tension)

• sew on buttons.

She tried on the dress and it fit (basically). But she asked “why is the hem so stiff?” I knew that would be an issue. So add to the above list

• unsew the hem, and sew without bias tape.

I started with that, and proceeded with the other tasks. The walk to the store for the buttons was a bit further than expected, and we stopped to buy sandwiches for lunch. It also took her a while to decide on buttons, but the selection was perfect! (see pic)

I had recently listened to an interview called “Let’s talk about thread” (yes!) at Just get it done quilts, where Anita suggested using a finer than usual thread for stitching in the ditch; or invisible thread. I asked at this shop about finer thread than all-purpose but they did not have any, so I bought some invisible thread. Not sure I am thrilled with the result; it is like sewing with fishing line (albeit finer!), and it shows up as a bit shiny.  I need to reconsider if I would do it again. 

We then tried to place the buttons. There was still some gaping, but if I placed the buttons correctly, this would work. Of course, there was bulk at the crucial button hole placement, and somehow the placement moved a bit when I sewed it. There was also the concern about what to do at the very top; bulk there was going to make creating a buttonhole impossible with my machine. A hook and eye would be ideal; however, that was an item I had not brought with me. But somehow a small sewing kit that I had given her MANY years before came to the rescue - there were snaps! A temporary solution, mind you!

She had to leave at around 3:30 for work, and I was not quite finished. Took a photo before she left (with pins, instead of buttons), and then finished by 4:15, cleaned up and came home!

Worth it? I hope so. She did wear it a couple of days later. Straps need to be adjusted, and I am thinking another snap...