Sometimes you just have to suck it up, accept your losses and make the best of a less than ideal situation.

For each fabric success there has been, at the least, three failures. Today, I share a failure turned into a success.

After a few photography classes I purchased a decent camera, umbrella lights and a black velvet backdrop to do my own shots. Unfortunately the black velvet made the lighting funky. I was stuck with $40 worth of fabric and unsure what to do with it.

Inspired by the television series The Handmaid’s Tale and Serena Joy’s green cloak I decided to take a stab at making a coat dress.

I drew up a sketch and then searched my patterns. I found a pattern I could alter and although my thick black velvet had zero stretch I decided to do it anyways.

I don’t even know why I used a pattern because I made so many alterations that you would never think my dress came from one. It did though! I pretended like it was free fabric and just cut away!

I used pattern pieces for the sleeves, bodice back and bodice front. I took the empire waist out by pinning the two front pieces together and making a new pattern. I used the french darts in the front of the bodice, omitted the shoulder darts and drafted a new collar.

How was I going to get in and out this garment? Always a good second thought, right… I decided to take the seam out of the back and move it to the front. I added 1 1/2″ to the front to have an over lap for buttons that would go all the way down the front of the coat dress.

Once I had the bodice how I wanted it I tried it on to make sure it fit. Then I started cutting up quarter circles for the skirt of the dress.

I knew I wanted pockets. This meant making sure I had all of my measurements correct for the skirt to fit the waistline of the shirt of the dress. I would also have to make side seams to put pockets in. The last pocket obstacle was do I have enough material do all this with no pattern.

I cut four large gores (quarter circles) and just went with it like I didn’t have a care in the world. Remember, I was pretending it was free fabric.

When winging it with designs there are always problems. My skirt was a little too big to fit to my top. I solved this problem by slightly gathering the waist of the skirt. Worked like a charm.

I also put the pockets in a bit low for how short I am. I will think about that next time because I wasn’t about to rip those out since they were not visible.

It was starting to come together. I finished the sleeves and hemline with my serger and topstitching. I added the collar and then I made a long facing that I interfaced to give it a crisp look with the buttons for the two front openings.

Picking out buttons is so much fun. I got all of my gold 1/2″ ish buttons out and played.

The last problem I had was that some of the button holes were too big and I kept getting peek-a-boo spots. I tried fixing them all by making smaller bar tacks on each one and I am hoping that solves the issue.

I’m excited to say this dress even doubles as a halloween costume.

Behind the scenes~

I’ve been studying eco scarves for a few months and have started making them out of dress scraps from the hemlines of Dayton’s brides, bridesmaids and mother’s of brides.  I’m overjoyed to announce this year I will be selling my wares at the Rosewood Holiday Arts Festival. Come see me.

Tracy’s Sewing Studio’s Open Studio at the Rosewood Holiday

Thank you for reading,

Tracy McElfresh

Dream it! Sew it!

 

 

 

 

 

Tracy McElfresh
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