Blog feature: Tracy & Winifred

Keeping the awesomeness going today on the blog i have for you another Winifred sew-along  blog  feature. Tracy from her blog uandmii  has kindly taken the time to chat about about her  A-MAH-ZING Winifred dress that she  made for the sew-along and lots of sewing goodies. 

Enjoy!

What type of fabric did you use? What inspired your choice of fabric?

I used a really gorgeous 100% cotton which I found at the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show in London earlier this year. Rather than being a traditional fabric stand, the stall holders were selling reproduction Japanese quilts and all of their quilt fabrics were sourced from vintage Japanese textile prints which they then had reprinted. In the far corner of the stand was a small box choc full of roll ends of fabric. From the moment I set eyes on this confection of turquoise and hot pink I knew I would buy it. Although quite a thin cotton it was very crisp so I had my reservations, but it washed down beautifully to a perfect summer weight dress fabric. I only wish I had bought more of it now!

Did your Winifred dress live up to the image you had in your mind?

Actually, when I first saw the dress pattern I really wasn't sure whether it would work well on a plus size figure, or indeed if I would be able to alter it to make it fit. I knew it would look amazing in the print though and that was what kept me on track with the project .... That little picture of me walking down the street in the dress and pink shoes. When A finished I was delighted with it and it was very flattering on.

How did you decide to reflect your personal style in the pattern?

I made the neck V significantly lower than on the original pattern as with a large bust I need to avoid the human cube look at all costs! As well as choosing a large bold and bright print I decided to use contrast hot pink bands at the bottom to really make the colours pop. For comfort I also opted for the option of shirring on the back rather than the elastic casing, this was the first time I've done this and I loved it!

Tell us a bit about your making process, any tweaks you made?

This was a two toile process. I cut out the largest size and did a two inch FBA as demonstrated on your blog in the sewalong. It looked pretty good on Miss Jones (my dress form) but when I tried it on it ripped! It was back to the drawing board and after marking up the first muslin all over with permanent marker it was time to tackle muslin 2. This time I added a 5 inch FBA, widened the arm opening which made the dart placement a little tricky, so I rotated the dart down into the bodice. I also changed the angle and height of the inverted v darts to get the perfect waist fit. Whew! Sounds hard core doesn't it? I followed all the instructions on the sew -along which helped immensely.

 What thoughts do you have about the project?

I love the finished dress and it gets a lot of compliments. It feels great on and the shirring makes it really easy to wear. It has a vintage line to it so looks great with a thin belt in a contrast colour. The shaping may mean you have to fiddle with the pattern if you need an FBA, but it really is worth doing a toile and adjustments as I can see this being a summer dress star. The kimono sleeve is also really flattering. One last thing, it's incredibly quick to sew once you have the fit right!

Are you planning any future  Winifred dress ?

I do have a lovely navy cotton print from Michael Miller in my stash with pink sail boats on it. It has a matching pink print with white anchors ... I think that may well end up as a Winifred!

Check out Tracy's blog for not only sewing awesomeness but amazing photography.