February 2020 | Mismatched Buttons (A Monthly Journal)
A Fine February
February happens to be my birthday month, which—of course!—means birthday outfit: a linen Kimmy Dress. And I lavished such an amount of care on this relatively simple dress that I ended up only just finishing it in the nick of time.
I then embarked on the second part of February with a very clear plan of what I wanted to make, but, as these things go, I ended up off-piste very quickly. The plan was to make some Free Range Slacks by Sew House Seven, another Kimmy Dress by Seamwork and starting Justin’s Foreman Jacket by Merchant and Mills. But let’s see how things actually panned out…
Ochre Kimmy
I was so thrilled with my Audrey Denim Jacket by Seamwork, I decided to keep the good times rolling by making the Kimmy Dress, which is featured in the product photographs for the Audrey. I kinda wanted to ‘get the look’, and decided it would be a great birthday dress.
Fabric I’ve long had stashed a length of Ochre mid-weight linen from The Fabric Store, and this seemed a great project to use it on. At the same time I cut out a pair of Free Range Slacks by Sew House Seven (but more on these later).
Pattern The Kimmy Dress by Seamwork
Size I measured at a size 10 through the waist and hips, but made an 8 based on my bust. Based on the finished garment measurements I felt this was a safe bet.
Key Modifications None, I made it as is. It is, however, drafted for someone taller than me, so next time I plan to shorten it through the bodice.
Details The pattern has you use bias binding on the neckline, which I love! I decided to use a contrast bias binding, and I love the combination of the Ochre with the Red Clay linen bias tape from The Fabric Store. There’s a sweet little peek of it on the outside of the dress, as I used this bias tape to make the drawstring to gather the shoulders (which you can see in the photo above).
But then things kinda went critical: I decided to bias bind all the seams (because I’m a massive sucker for punishment, I guess) but kept getting the required about of bias tape wrong. In the end I threw up my hands and—instead of making yet another trip to The Fabric Store—I started using random scraps of tape: a little Paprika on the waist and some Ochre on the hem. That aside, though, I love the neatness of a bias bound seam, and I’m actually quite into Kimmy’s scrappy innards.
Final Word I’m really thrilled with this dress. It was a really lovely weight for swanning through the warmth of Wellington’s summer, such as it was.
And here it is as ‘the look’, with Audrey and Kimmy joyfully united!
Scrappy Scout Tee
And here is where my plans started to devolve… I kept seeing, in my scrap pile, how beautiful the remnants of my Green Smoke linen and Ochre linen looked together. I couldn’t get it out of my head. I knew I had my plan, but all I wanted was to follow my idea…
Fabric A combination of the remnants of my Ochre linen and Green Smoke linen (I think, sadly now discontinued…) from The Fabric Store’s linen range.
Pattern Scout Tee by Grainline Studio
Size I made a size 10, which is the correct size for my measurements, although I wonder about doing a broad back adjustment on the pattern as I sometimes feel like I need a little more room through the shoulders.
Key Modifications I’ve heavily cropped my Scout Tee patterns, by 3”.
Details The details are all in the lovely guts: the seams are Frenched, the neckline is bias bound. To get the look I did, with the ochre running through one third of the top, I made a mark on the front pattern piece of where I wanted the line to hit, making sure it ran parallel to the grainline. I then lined up the front and back pieces and followed the line through the shoulder. I sewed the selvedge of each piece together, Frenching the seams as I went, so I had that straight line to work with. Then it was just a matter of making sure the line on my pattern pieces intersected with the seam between the two fabrics. I also decided, for a little whimsy, to make a feature of one of the sleeves, using the same technique of making sure the seam line of the two fabrics was parallel to the grainline.
A note on this: because of linen’s lovely tendency to be a bit wibbly-wobbly, I paid a great deal of attention to the relationship between the grainline and the seam line between the two linens so that it would be as sharp as possible when I made it, and would wear well in the future—and it is holding up rather well!
Final Word The Scout Tee is a pattern I’ve returned to again and again over the past couple of years. And as for this version, I’m positively delighted. I love the combination of these two colours, and this pattern works beautifully linen. After making this version, I’m really keen to make more scrappy Scouts.
And what of those plans?
Well, it’s late April as of writing. My poor second Kimmy sits in my sewing room in various places, as I move it out of the way every time I sew. I don’t usually have works in progress that hang over for this long (they get finished or properly abandoned), but I’m going to persist with finishing this dress for next summer. I’ve cut out the pattern for Justin’s Merchant and Mills Foreman Jacket, but haven’t done any more on it. And those Free Range Slacks? Just you wait and see… Till my next post!
