Upholstering the Body

I was given this length of upholstery fabric a few months ago, and immediately knew that I wanted to do something special with it.

Then Gertie released Butterick 6556 and I knew I had found the perfect match . . . if only I had enough yardage.  And by some miracle, I did!

The Royal Wedding Sew-Along that McCall is hosting was the motivation to get started!  I also thought I would step up the look with a couple of rhinestone pieces since this was a more fancy schmancy occasion.  The smaller of the two pieces is a buckle; the larger is actually a shoe clip, but I am missing the matching clip.  The idea was to add one to a belt and use the other for some kind of hair accessory.

With such a large scale print, I though it would be a good idea to match prints as much as possible.  And I had enough fabric to make my center back bodice line up nicely which was the spot I was most concerned about.

I am beginning to run out of solid colored cottons that I hoard from past projects to use for sew-in interfacing.  I have plenty of little pieces, but facings are often strangely shaped and take up more real estate than you might think.  This beige would not normally be my first choice of color for this print, but it means I am sewing with stash fabric, and that has become a bit of a mission around these parts.

Other than a bit of time and energy spent on pattern placement, this project went together very smoothly.  I gambled that the pattern would be a good fit with my standard adjustments, and everything turned out great.  In fact, this is a fabulous design, and if you think you might like the silhouette, grab yourself a copy because it's a keeper!

Then it was just a matter of finishing everything nicely with a little rayon seam binding.

I know a lot of people avoid quilting cottons and upholstery fabric for garment sewing, but I have really had amazing results with both.  For upholstery fabrics, I make sure to launder before sewing since some of them are treated with fire retardant chemicals that I would just as soon not have next to my skin.  And just look at the fabulous volume on the pleated skirt with no petticoat!

I also managed to eek out a bodice lining from some leftover bemberg rayon.  Hooray for stash busting!

I do wish that the lighter colored bemberg was not quite so sheer, but it is a lovely fabric to work with, so I continue to use it.

The neckline treatment on this dress is wonderful, and I wanted to get that center front notch just right, so I marked my stitching line with a fabric pen.

And while it may be a bit of a pain to match up every pleat with its corresponding dart or seamline, it is worth the effort.  I am beginning to think I need more pleated skirts in my life!  Gathers are fun, but pleats are so very chic!

I hand picked a lapped zipper for this dress.  The fabric is just a little too thick for me to be comfortable using an invisible zipper - those things can be super finicky with bulky seamlines, and I did not want to chance it.

And then, of course, the remaining raw edges get hidden behind a lining, or bound with seam binding.

I am quite pleased with how this one looks, inside and out.

And I will definitely be making another version at some point in the future.  There are quite a few finished dresses popping up on the internet, and I anticipate there will be many more of Butterick 6556 appearing in the near future.  This pattern is definitely a winner!