The Ava Sweetheart Neckline

What could be more romantic than a sweetheart neckline review on Valentines! I had a lot of trouble understanding the instructions for joining the two neckline pieces on the Ava by Victory patterns instructions. Its not that they are badly written, just as a new sewer it completely baffled me. I also know from when I tried to search the internet for help that it had stumped a few others as well. Since I have now done this 6 times I decided it might be helpful to visually describe how I did it. Please excuse the fabric choices and bad darts, I am using one of my toiles as my example.

Firstly, the picture on the pattern shows you attaching from the right first, I couldn't comprehend sewing this way so I started on the left.

Starting in the middle, first don't forget  to snip the middle of the neck, this helps A LOT. you need to be careful not to go too far, but you can snip a little and cut a but more away later. on the top bodice piece identify the middle of the point, 5/8 in from the point (luckily for me, this is about at that dot) then pin this exact point 5/8 from the center of the lower bodice under the snip. use the pin to mark out that spot (you could make a mark using tailors chalk or similar). Pin the top and bottom bodice pieces together at the edges working from the center to the left edge.

Now, from the left edge, sew towards the center 5/8 from the edge until you get to the pin/marker in the middle of the neckline. Make sure the needle is down and lift the presser foot.

You now need to pivot the whole lot, so the bottom bodice is lined up with the 5/8 marker on your machine ready to sew. This is where the snip comes in handy. If you find this difficult to pivot then try making the snip slightly longer, but not too close to the needle. Then, you need to pivot the top bodice piece so it lines up. You will notice it gathers a lot in the middle (see above) that's fine. At this point I found it easier to pin by lining up the right hand armhole edge and working in towards the needle in the center. Make sure that there is no fabric being pinched together under the needle (just give it a quick pull/stretch with your hand) pop the foot down and sew to the other edge. 

You can see that there is a lot of the top bodice fabric gathered in the middle underneath but this doesn't matter as it will all get tidied up when you trim the seam allowance and top stitch it down later on. 

And fingers crossed you end up with a nice, smooth, unpuckered sweetheart neckline. Now give yourself a pat on the back, breathe, make a cuppa, and get on with the rest of the pattern.

Another Victory for Ava!

When I bought the pattern for Ava the plan was always to make a LBD (little black dress) out of it. So once I had got the practice peplum version out the way I got straight on to this.

The main body fabric is some polyester/lycra blend which I purchased from my local fabric shop. I really wanted something that had some stretch, but also a really good drape. I knew jersey would be a bit too flimsy though. This fits the bill pretty well as it has quiet a lot of weight too it. It was also really easy to sew with.

Moving on from my last version of Ava I did make some alterations to the pattern:

• Added a 1inch full bust adjustment. This helped so much, and I am really pleased with how it went considering it was my first attempt at one. If you compare this to the other version of Ava I made you can really see the difference it made to the armholes, much less gapey, hooray!
• Took the bodice down by 5cm so that it sits closer to my waist rather than just under my chest
• Omitted the zip (got to love stretchy fabric for this reason!)
• I changed the way I sewed the bodice to the skirt. The pattern asks you to sew the side seams of the bodice and skirt together and then join them around the waistline. This is mostly because it makes zip insertion much easier. However I knew I didn't need the zip, and guessed I might need to take it in a bit at the waist due to the stretch. So instead I attached the front bodice to the front skirt, and the back bodice to the back skirt and then joined in the side seams. This did make taking it in at the waist really easy and I ended up taking it in by about an inch on each side. 
•  I also turned the binding edges under and top stitched them down. I couldn't see the pattern tell me to do this, but have seen other people do it on their versions. I do think the edges look a lot nicer this way.

I am really pleased with how this came out. I only finished it last weekend and have already worn it twice, and had some lovely compliments on it. I can definitely see me making this again in the future. Also, see that belt, its a bit floppy right? I got it on sale for £2, I have already hacked it and sewn it back together to make it fit.

So finally after 3 toiles, 1 peplum and this, I now think I have mastered that confusing neckline! I am planning a post just to go over this because I know a lot of other people have got confused with the instructions, and I searched like crazy trying to get tips on it. But look, the two pieces are sitting lovely and flat on this version.

I hope you like it. Any ideas for my next version?

Victory! for AVA

I am proud to present.... my Black and White Ava Peplum:

Thankfully we had a lovely sunny January Sunday over here and while Mr Fox was slaving away at his dissertation on the laptop downstairs I thought I would use the time to finish off my black and white Ava peplum. It also meant I got to take some piccies indoors. This is my very first make of 2014 and has taken a little while due to me working a lot of overtime to try and pay for Christmas. I think this is 'officially' the start to my sewing blog, and my attempt at making myself a wardrobe and so I wanted to make sure I took the time over it. Not to mention make sure it is 'sewn for my style' as I have previously been posting about.

The main fabric is a black and white striped poplin and the top a black spotted tulle. I really like the two together, and especially like the black and white look with my in your face hair! I am however most pleased with the binding. I was dreading this, and was convinced I would end up with a wonky neck line or something but it went really well (smug face!) I was going for 'chic office attire' when I thought about making the peplum version.

About the pattern: AVA by Victory Pattern

You get a tissue pattern, and a little booklet explaining the construction of this dress. It comes in three lengths: Peplum, Knee, and Tea dress. Although I had to re-read a few of the steps over until they made sense this was a very simple pattern to follow. This might be down to my in-experience, but i see that as a positive thing as if I can get it, as a relatively new pattern follower, then anyone can.The only really tricky bit about this pattern is sewing the upper and lower bodice pieces at the sweat heart neckline. I really don't have any good tips for this other than practice, mine if far from perfect.

(sorry about the boob shot, but I wanted to show you the neckline)

Alterations: As previously mentioned I lengthened the body by about 5cm to have it sit a bit nearer my natural waist. I also extended the darts on the back bodice piece by a couple of cm as I do have quiet a small back. I also took in the side seams by about a presser foots width. I think my previous comments about learning to do an FBA might also help this pattern as it gapes a little bit under the arms, which I think would be solved by some side bust darts. But its not so bad that I can't live with it.

I am really pleased with this top over all. I am not sure if the stripes are not too busy, and I think this would be much better in something that has a better drape than a poplin. But hopefully this will make it into my summer work wardrobe.

The plan all along has been to make the knee length version of this dress and so I have purchased some black fabric which hangs a lot better. And so I will get going on this shortly whilst I await the start of the Georgia sew-along. 

Ava Update: Tests, and pattern redrafting

This project is making me feel a little bit like goldilocks. I have made up two muslins for this top so far and neither have been quiet right. But on a positive note, I have picked out my fabric which is a lovely spotty black net for the top portion and some black and white striped cotton poplin for the bottom.

I made the first muslin following the pattern and it turned out, as others found with similar issues to mine, to sit a little but high in the waist and just made me look all boob, without accentuating my natural waist line.

So I did a bit of searching and found a version made by bubala where she describes extending the body by 10 cm to get over the problems I mention above. Her version is stunning wouldn't you agree? I also found that the back was a little bit loose at the top so following some advice from the version made my Shona I extended the length of the darts on the back bodice piece and this seemed to work very well. The problem with this version is that the body length was now a little bit too long.

So I have resided that I am just going to extend by half, 5cm and that should (fingers crossed) be juuuust right. (Can you tell I really like Shona's version as my fabric choice is very similar to hers!)

So I have just redrafted the bodice pieces ready for the final version. I am not sure how other people go about this, but I decided to hack the pattern piece in half on the 'line' for shortening/lengthening, and then taped it down on to my cutting board to make sure that I was getting the same extension across the piece. I then lay my tracing paper down on top (does anyone else just use greaseproof? I am so cheap I know!) secured it with some tape and traced round the pattern again. The good thing about this pattern is the edges are straight so you can easily use a ruler to line up the pieces between the gaps.

Something I found with this pattern was that I got really worried the back was going to be huge when I was testing it to fit. However once you have sewn the upper bodice pieces on the fit changes considerably and you loose all that horrible bagginess. I have also discovered that one thing I really need to learn is how to make an FBA (fuller bust adjustment). I think this is something I am going to come across a lot, so I really should learn how to do it properly.

By Hand London are doing a sewalong for their Georgia dress and as part of this will be looking at doing a FBA for it. I might give this a go to see how I get on. I wondered why I had not seen this dress before, but I think the likelyhood is that I probably dismissed it due to the cups on the bodice. 1 thing at a time though, lets get AVA done first!

Sewing for Your (My) Style

Tilly wrote a very informative post a while back which I came across recently called 'Sewing for your style'. This is something which I really want to keep at the forefront of my mind whilst trying to develop my sewing skills. It's all well and good being able to make stuff, but if I am never going to wear it what really is the point. For example, I know I am not a fan of floral prints. They look incredible on some people, but they are just not something I would pick to wear. But show me some leopard print and its straight in my wardrobe.

With that in mind I bought my first sewing pattern for the year from M is for Make which is Ava by Victory Patterns. I really like the idea of sewing dresses, because most of the clothing I buy tends to be jersey basics, they are so cheap there is not much point in making them a lot of the time. However I can never buy dresses that suit or fit my shape. The things that really draw me to this pattern, and that I feel fit my style, are the sheer neck, the sweetheart neckline and the fact it comes in at the waist.

This pattern is great as it comes in 3 different lengths, peplum, above the knee, and tea dress. I am going to have a go at the peplum version first just because it will require less fabric whilst I am practicing. I haven't yet decided on the final fabric choice as I am just making up a toile at the moment but I want to make sure it is something which I will wear.

With this philosophy in mind though I have been out and bought some fabrics which just caught my eye, and that I thought fitted my style. First is this stretch fabric in black with pink lips on it. I purchased it from ebay and expected it to be quiet a thin jersey type stretch with just lip print on, but when it turned up it actually has a bit of weight to it and the lips are a sort of raised brushed velvet or something of similar description. It would make a really good dress I think. Isn't it funny how you really need to feel a fabric to know what you are going to get.

Finally I picked up another few of meters of the brown leopard cotton from My Fabric Place in Beeston. I went in and just couldn't help myself from making sure I had some more of this stuff in my stash! I am not sure of its destiny either, I was thinking either a version of the prom dress, but who knows, now maybe the Ava peplum, or perhaps my next project. Only time will tell.

Do you have any patterns which you think particularly fit your style, or any staple fabric choices which you make over and over? Leopard is what I magpie over every time! are you the same but maybe with stripes, or floral prints?