La Robe Thématique de Noël / The Christmas Stunt Dress


Vous ne l'avez pas vue, ben moi non plus!
Je l'ai commencé avant Noël, puis j'ai passé une grosse semaine au fond de mon lit, je l'ai finie entre deux quintes de toux, je l'ai porté pour aller prendre l'apéro chez des copains, deux heures, aucune photo n'a été prise de l'événement et je suis retournée me coucher.
Avant de la ranger jusqu'à l'an prochain, j'ai profité d'une rare éclaircie pour en photographier quelques détails. Dans la vraie vie, elle est bien noire pas grisâtre.
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You didn't see it, neither did I!
I started it before Christmas, then I spent a week in bed, I finished it between fits of coughing, I wore it once for aperitif with friends, two hours, no pictures were taken, and I went back to bed.
Before storing it until next year, I took advantage of a rare rift to take pictures. In real life, this dress is pitch black.


C'est un super patron, c'est facile de s'en rendre compte, on a qu'à taper McCall's 6696 dans Google image pour voir plein de super belles réalisations. Il taille un peu grand, l'aisance des patrons américain est telle que je recommande de vous fier sur les dimensions du produit fini qui se trouvent à l'intérieur, mais j'adore ces patrons avec lesquels on peut choisir sa taille de bonnet.
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It's a really good pattern, just Google image McCall's 6696 to see how successful people have been with this pattern. It's a little big as all Big4 patterns have a lot of ease, so I recommend choosing your size according to the finished measurements on the pattern, but I love that you can choose your cup size.


Bon je dois vous avouer que je ne me suis pas trop foulé avec les ajustements, j'ai sorti le patron de l'enveloppe et je l'ai fait. C'est pas la peine de me dire que j'ai fait les plis à l'envers, je sais, ou que les boutons sont juste un peu trop grands pour cette patte de boutonnage, je les avais en stock et j'étais malade et je ne voulais pas sortir. Elle est trop grande, mais c'est une robe que je vais porter au maximum 2-3 fois par an, il faut savoir choisir quoi faire avec son temps de couture, des ajustements à n'en plus finir qui paralysent ou plein de robes rigolotes.
Vous allez revoir ce modèle de toute façon, j'ai une cliente qui m'en a demandé une avec un motif assez délirant et en décembre prochain, je vais certainement la porter en décembre.
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Ok, so I have to admit I spent no time on adjusting this one, I got the pattern out of the envelope and started sewing. You don't have to tell me about the pleats going in the wrong direction, duh!, or the buttons being a little too big for this placket, I had them in stock, I was sick and didn't want to go out. It's big, but it's a dress I'm only going to wear 2-3 times a year max, you got to choose how to occupy your precious sewing time, paralyzing endless adjustments or a lot of fun dresses.
You are going to see it again anyway, a customer ordered this model in a really wicked print and next December, I'll certainly wear it in December.

The Jim Jones Review Stunt Dress E02


Here is the Stunt Dress... I am ready to rock!



The dress feels so good! The cotton is heavenly, I really like the fit, the dress has pockets (Erin would be proud of me! She loves pockets and stunt dresses!) and though the fabric is loud and not age appropriate, I might even wear it in real life because I don't care what people think. I might even make another one next summer.


I am just as proud of the innards. I have figured out how to bag it and do minimal hand sewing. I took pictures as I have not seen this RTW finishing method anywhere.
Start with an almost finished dress. The lining which I made from the toile, don't mind the Crayolas washable marker's marks, is all attached. I used the method described by Saraï from Colette Patterns to sew a facing to the invisible zipper, sewed and topstitched the top and pressed the allowance at the bottom. At this point, you have the choice to whipstitch the bottom, stitch in the ditch or turn it all inside out with the skirt inside. Which is what I did, pin.


Sew real close to the waist going as far as you can near the zipper tape, serge the allowance or zigzag and trim (you can leave it as is, but it'll be a bit bulky). 


Open up the side about 3 inches (when I know I'll be bagging, I sew part of one side with a longer stitch) and pull the dress out.


Voilà! Minimal hand stitching here...


...and a little bit on the sides there. Press.


I still have to figure a few things out about this method. In RTW, there is no hand stitching at the zipper tape at all, if you know how to do that, I would love to hear from you. Also, can you do this with the straps all sewn in? I had a doubt, so I attached them to the back after.


This is the shot where you see what I was saying about the fit. Just the right amount of ease, can be worn from morning to night. I love it.
Lovely princess seams were obtained with my new pressing tools! I love them too, get some. 



Stunt Dress



I am the kind of girl who has several stashes. Yes several!
I have one at my Mom's, stuff I bought when a teenager, one at home here and when I find good stuff I can't pass on the net and the seller doesn't ship to Europe, I have it shipped in the US at my brother's or in Canada at my sister's. When I visit, I fill my suitcases with it and come home.
Last summer, I got really inspired by this African wax we bought in Gabon something like 20 years ago. It's just screaming "Stunt Dress!", the kind my stunt dress mentor, Erin of A Dress A Day pulls off all the time. She sews Darth Vader, Crosswords dresses for special occasions and looks good in all of them!
I love her blog, it's funny, well written and full of really cool information. RSS it if you like sewing and dresses.
Once I have the dress, I'll have to find a place where journalists gather!

ps Erin once thought I was worthy of a post which I thought was really cool. Thank you!
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