Project 4, part 5 – A Dress is Born! (Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 here)

Welcome back to the Mary Quant minidress sewing project! I can’t believe we’re finally here – the sewing is complete! The first half or so took me about 3 hours of actual sewing (with about 6 more hours put into preparing the fabric and making the toile), and this half was approximately another 3 1/2 hours. I definitely was grateful for having the video tutorials that accompanied the instructions as there were some techniques (such as the “burrito roll” for finishing the armholes) that I hadn’t done before, and it was very helpful to see someone doing them live.

I had a little bit of trouble at the keyhole neckline – I didn’t line it up perfectly, and so the fabric didn’t “catch” when I was sewing it all together:

It was easy enough to fix, though – I was able to ease the fabric back into place by hand and then whipstitch it into place!

Of all the parts that really made me feel finished, hemming was probably the most substantial – even though after I hemmed I still had to attach the waist belt and collar button!

The hibiscus flower that adorns this fabric is the state flower of Hawai’i, symbolizing beauty and joy – perfect for this cheerful and fun summer dress. (Technically, the yellow hibiscus is the designated flower now, but from the 1920s until the current designation in 1988 all colors were recognized!) And in 2019 a rare hibiscus that was declared extinct three years before was found by a drone flying through the cliffs of Kaua’i which is pretty joyful in my book! It seems that the pink-flowered hibiscus is also from Kaua’i, so maybe I should rename this my Kaua’i dress. It’s been seven years since I was on that island, so I think it’s time to go back soon! 🙂

Is any project ever really done? There are still a couple of minor things I’d like to update such as tacking down the waist belt at the corners (and I’ll probably take care of that, at least, before the reveal post). However, as far as the instructions are concerned, the Mary Quant Kaua’i Dress is done!

I’m so happy with it! It’s easy to put on (although a little tricky to take off because of the lack of both fasteners and stretch in the fabric), and it looks super cute. It’s also a huge validation of where my skills are at – it’s been so long since I sewed a complete piece of clothing for myself that part of me was wondering if I was going to get critically frustrated. The techniques I’ve been practicing as I’ve sewn/restored other things have turned out to stand me in good stead; however, and I’m now tremendously motivated to keep creating! So join me next time for the big reveal of how it looks on me, as well as what fruity drink I decide to accessorize with!

Project 4, part 4 – Perfection is a Process (Part 1, part 2, part 3 here)

Welcome back to the Mary Quant minidress sewing project! After playing around with the fabric for a bit and deciding that the Hawaiian print by itself was just a teeny bit too sheer, I ended up deciding to flat-line the dress using the muslin from the toile. Flat-lining is super easy; it’s just cutting out a second piece of the pattern and stitching the two together. It’s not going to hide any seams like bag lining or other methods would, but it accomplishes my goal which is ensuring no one can see my underwear while I’m wearing this dress!

After flat-lining and sewing the bust darts, I took a break from my Featherweight and fused interfacing onto all the pieces that needed it.

Fusible interfacing is set with heat and steam. Typically instructions will recommend that you use a damp cloth and a dry iron, and hold the iron in place until the press-cloth dries out. I had a few problems with that – one being that continually dipping a cloth into a bowl of water seemed like a great way to get water everywhere, and the second being that a damp cloth dragged the interfacing off the fashion fabric constantly. So I switched to using a dry cloth, and the steam setting on my iron, and it worked great! (Other than having to constantly refill the water reservoir in my iron because, again…it’s a travel iron.)

With the interfacing complete, my next task was constructing the accessories. I have to say, even though I read the instructions and watched the videos several times, I didn’t realize that the pocket buttons are just for show, and that the pockets themselves don’t close. The pockets are real! Just not how I imagined, lol. I could have probably redesigned them to be more like what I imagined, but honestly I was more interested in getting work done on the dress than going back to the drawing table on construction.

Truth be told, this stage of the sewing was definitely an exercise in reminding myself that perfection is a process, not a static state of being. The abovementioned pockets weren’t quite what I imagined? No worries. They still look super cute, and now I know to check the design more carefully in future dresses.

I’m here to tell you that the sewing you’re doing is the perfect sewing because the sewing I’m doing is perfect too. (And if you’re not sewing – whatever creative endeavor you’re enjoying is perfect!) It’s perfect because I’m going through the process. I’m learning, I’m taking notes, I’m finding what works for me and what I need to work on more, I’m trying. I spent a solid twenty minutes attempting to invert the tube for my button loop like the girl did in the instruction video, then I got frustrated and simply stitched it by hand already right side out:

Perfect. It’s perfect because it works, and I didn’t let myself get disheartened. I just found a way to do the job that let me keep progressing. I am always improving, always moving forward – and always being ok with where I am right now, too. Perfection is a process.

According to the instructions, having pinned the collar to my dress I’m now officially halfway through! So join me next time when I finish up the sewing (and hopefully stab myself with pins a few less times!).

Project 4, part 3 – 1960s Tiki Culture and Lots of Pieces (Part 1, part 2 here)

Welcome back to the Mary Quant minidress sewing project! Having made my toile, it was time to get brave and actually cut into my fashion fabric. I love this fabric more every time I handle it; it’s just so summery and fun! Considering I originally bought this yardage for a different project, I was a little worried about having enough, but the problem actually lay in my fusible interfacing (also bought ages ago):

I only had a yard of it, so I Tetrised the pieces as best as I could. I figured, since it will be fused to the fashion fabric anyway, I could probably get away with cutting some small pieces up to fill in the gaps. In the end, I only had to do so for the rear facing piece!

Having all the pieces finally cut out is so satisfying! Of course, the actual dress assembly will be a decent amount of work, but there’s something about looking at all the fabric parts laying around that makes it feel real in a way that just the bolts of cotton didn’t. Plus, while I was working on this, a mini heat wave hit my town, and it definitely feels like summer even though it’s early June. I can already taste the mint (from my patio planter) muddled into all sorts of tasty fruit smoothies and cocktails – which are very appropriate for this 1960s dress, as well! Tiki culture was booming in the early ’60s, driven by hotels and restaurants cashing in on the craze that began over two decades earlier. My favorite musical of all time, South Pacific, was made into a movie in 1958 that further fueled the idea of tropical islands (or their mainland commercial counterparts) as hedonistic and relaxing getaways. (Seriously, I’ve seen the musical at least half a dozen times in person. One year I went to visit my grandparents in Los Angeles, and they couldn’t get me tickets so they bought me the movie on DVD so I wouldn’t miss out! That’s real love, right there!)

If you’re interested – as I was – I also wanted to share a couple of links regarding the legacy of colonialism that lies behind tiki bars and style, and the appropriation of Polynesian cultures that continue to be unpacked even today. Rather than feeling bad about my love of tiki, I’ve been researching it, and listening when people of those cultures speak up about how they would like to be represented. For example, Mariah Kunkel, of mixed Native Guam and African-American descent, was recently interviewed in the New York Times:

“A recent movement aims to shift from the word “tiki” to “tropical” and Kunkel is on board. “I just don’t think it’s necessary to use stereotypes or appropriate cultural elements to transport folks.” She says, however, that tiki can lead people to learn about the culture of Pacific Islanders.”

Although, as I mentioned, I have family born in Hawai’i, I am not myself Hawai’ian. I chose my fabric for this dress because of its beauty and historical elements that tie it perfectly to the era its design originates from. There are problematic aspects of history just like there are many problematic aspects of the modern world, and I think it’s super important to acknowledge them so we can work together on creating a better world. I also just bought the tropical cocktail book written by another woman mentioned in the New York Times article, Shannon Mustipher, so I look forward to reporting back!

So what’s next? Lots of sewing, of course! I’ve decided to use green thread for the project as the leaves in the print are echoed in the leaf buttons I’ll be using. I do have to make a decision in short order about whether or not to flatline this dress as well – it will make it a little less cool in hot weather, but I think I’d rather have a bit more opacity between my skin and the general public. If I do go that way, I’ll just use the pieces I already cut out for the toile, so it won’t take too much more effort. Either way, join me next time when I put it all together and sew the actual dress!

Project 4, part 2 – Second Wave Feminism and Testing Fit (Part 1 here)

Welcome back to the Mary Quant Minidress project! After slightly altering and cutting out the patterns, it was time to make my toile and find out if the alterations were enough or if I would need to make further changes for a good fit. My muslin was on the narrow side, so I cut out the front and back on the fold rather than mirroring the pieces side by side.

Even though it’s only cheap unbleached cotton, I was still kind of nervous cutting into it! I’m really glad I tested it out first rather than cutting into my Hawaiian fabric so that I could properly see where to cut on the patterns and how everything should lie. I didn’t feel like I needed to test out the facings or belt, so I only cut the front and back of the dress to determine fit.

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, since this is quite a simple pattern, but…it looks like a real dress! 😀 I did pin the bust darts as well as the top and sides since I wanted to see if I needed to adjust any fit there as well. So here is the initial fit from the front:

…and from the side:

Brilliant! I prefer my waist to be more defined, but that will be accomplished with the waist belt that’s part of the pattern. It’s better to use that in this case than to take the waist in further since this one-piece dress has to slip on over my shoulders which are broad compared to my hips and waist.

One of the reason I chose a 1960s pattern to use for this fabric is the way that fashion and feminism intersected in that era. Obviously, I love fashion and style, and I am acutely grateful to the women of that era for the improved sexual and social condition that women enjoy today. (I would like to note that I use “women” to include any person who identifies as such, regardless of assigned gender at birth or physical characteristics. And I know there are still many advancements to be made…but things are a lot better than they were 60 years ago!) Sexuality and women’s reproductive rights were at the center of this revolution, and became expressed in the daring and playful fashions of the time. Jenny Lister, who curated a Mary Quant retrospective at the Victoria & Albert Museum, says that Mary Quant “expressed the way in which women’s lives were parting from traditional stereotypes. Her clothes provided a language to express the empowerment of women at a time when words like sexism had barely been invented.” Quant was “…synonymous with some of the era-defining styles of the 60s – namely the miniskirt. Emerging alongside second-wave feminism, Quant revelled in rule-breaking fashion design and her higher-than-high hemlines are still very much associated with the sexual revolution and women’s liberation movement.” (Leah Harper, writing about the museum exhibition.)

With that history in mind – plus the fact that I don’t care for the way knee-length dresses look on me – I made the decision to raise the hemline by about 4″ on the pattern. I will likely raise it by another 2-3″ on the final dress, but I had to consider the fact that the seam allowances may end up shifting it slightly upward as I sew the dress. It’s quite easy to just make the hem wider to raise the hemline when I get to that point, so my plan is to get the dress close to the finish line and then pin the hem at a few different heights to find the one that looks best. I’ll also have to do some tests while sitting, bending over, and walking, since I’m not a London go-go dancer! 😀

Once I cut down the pattern pieces, I was ready to go! So join me next time I as I dive into cutting out all the final fabric pieces, and start sewing them together!