I bought a couple of StyleArc patterns in the member sale last month and this pattern came free with my order. It's the Tammy knit dress, a simple pattern with lots of options for different looks.
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| StyleArc Tammy knit dress combo |
I love a simple knit dress and was eager to try this out. Since this was going to be an easy pattern to make, I decided to set myself a challenge. This was not to be an ordinary challenge involving speed or tricky fabrics. This was to force me to overcome a hurdle I have been avoiding for years. This was (the excitement is palpable now) to finish the hem with a coverstitch (and the crowd goes wild).
I have a Bernina 2500DCET overlocker which converts to a coverstitch machine. An incredible concept that, despite filling me with excitement, I have largely ignored, aside from a couple of fumbled and disastrous hemming attempts when I first bought the machine around five years ago.
At a recent sewing blogger meet-up in Perth, Sue of Fadanista casually mentioned that she has an overlocker/coverstitch machine and happily flits between the two settings. Well, that was too much for me and mastering the coverstitch became my New Year's resolution.
Anyway, back to the dress. It is a very easy pattern with just the front, two back pieces with a centre seam, sleeves and neck binding to sew together. I used a basting stitch to make sure the stripes were matching before finishing the seams with the overlocker.
I used a nice quality, striped, knit remnant from Potters Textiles. The 1m piece only cost $6 and I managed to squeeze the whole dress out of it, although I had to make the sleeves a bit shorter than the pattern intended to fit them on the fabric.
I made a size 10 and changed only the sleeve length and the neckline. I lowered and slightly widened the front neckline using the Briar t-shirt pattern as a guide. I think the fit of this dress is perfect, not too tight or too loose and incredibly easy and comfy to wear. I know I'll be reaching for this all summer.
The back neckline is scooped, which I quite like, and the front is neatly finished with a narrow band. OK, I know, you want to hear about the coverstitching. Well, here it comes...
Oh be still my beating heart! But wait there's more...
While you reCOVER from that excitement, let me fill you in on the details. It turns out that it's not really that hard at all to convert my overlocker to do coverstitch. The secret is to read and follow the instructions. Who would have thought it? Actually I'm generally pretty good at reading instructions so I'm not sure why my previous efforts failed. Anyway, this time I was super thorough and it worked! Next time I might move on to the next chapter and try a two thread coverstitch. Whee hee!
The only problem, aside from the hem stitching being a bit wonky, was that there was some slight puckering. I'm guessing that this must have been because I had the differential feed set at 1.5 instead of zero. I should have checked that before I started.
I definitely recommend this pattern for a simple and perfect summer dress. I will certainly be making more and look forward to trying the overlay top too. As for coverstitching, well this is just the beginning. A whole new hemming world is opening up to me and I can't wait to explore it!
23 comments:
Enjoy your new skill! Your dress is perfect for summer. And I'm jealous of your photos as I sit here in the cold USA...
This is my sort of dress at the moment. Great for coffee dates and the walk to the beach as well! Oh and I always love a stripe! Well done on persevering with the cover stitch. The results are very professional looking.
Looks stylish and comfortable!
Perfect dress for lazy summer days.
I have this pattern and have been looking forward to seeing it made up. Yours is lovely Megan and now you've mastered the coverstitch there will be no stopping you :)
If you are not careful people will now bring you things to coverstitch!..... Nice dress.
Oh I love this dress. Great casual style perfect for stripes. The sleeve length looks perfect too. Congratulations on mastering your cover stitch. I will just have to continue using my twin needle technique for hems.
I pondered over that pattern last month and foolishly decided not to bother. Having seen it made up I may have to change my mind and buy it, now. It looks lovely in the stripes and the colour fits beautifully with the marina setting. Oh how I wish I had a coverstitch machine :)
Looks lovely! You might like to try loosening the tension on the lower looper to reduce the tunnelling a bit. I find this helps on my covers twitch.
Congrats on mastering the Coverstitch! I was wondering if you are on INstagram, there is a bit of chit chat about #1year1outfit going on over there.
I love coverstitching. Really looks lovely on your dress! Great job.
Thank you. Yes, the weather here is hard to beat all year round - sorry!
My thoughts exactly. I keep putting this on as soon as it comes out of the wash.
I agree. Thank you!
I know, watch out!!
Don't be getting any ideas now!
I'm so pleased with the coverstitch as my twin needle hems seem to unravel after a few wears. Thank you.
Oh no, it was the free one! Simple as it is, I do think it's worth having.
Great tip, thank you. The tunnelling and twitching covers most often occur when the kids come into bed, so any help is greatly appreciated. Sorry, couldn't help that one. I seriously do appreciate your comment.
That's a great idea. I think I got lucky with this nice stable fabric, but I can imagine others might not be so well behaved. I will certainly remember the hemming tape.
Oh yes, Instagram. I was holding off, but with preteens in the house it might be just as well to keep abreast of these things! If I do join I'll be sure to try and find you.
Now I've tried it I love it too. It's so much better than my usual hemming finishes.
Yay. Thank you.
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