I’ll have a slice…oh well..let’s make it two!

I imagine that by now you’ve probably seen a few versions of StephC‘s lovely new pattern, Red Velvet. Well you can count yourself lucky, here’s another! I was fortunate enough to be a tester for Red Velvet and absolutely enjoyed the experience. It was easy enough to put together in an evening yet the suggested techniques offered the right amount of challenge. The perfect project for this lady who has been on a bit of a sewing hiatus. So I warn you, this post is a bit picture heavy…take a seat…get a cuppa…stay a bit.

Keeping tabs on the sleeping baby

Over the summer I went on a knit fabric buying binge with the intent of sewing cardis for the spring. A pretty spotty one made its way into my Girl Charlee virtual basket. When it arrived I realized that it was pretty slinky. Luckily the spotty spandex nylon wasn’t forgotten in my stash. After putting together the PDF (the tiles all lined up and came together effortlessly) I stood looking at it for a bit and instantly thought, “Polka!”

I thought I was going to have a bear of a time getting the tension correct on my machine but I didn’t. A ballpoint needle and a few adjustments on the machine was all I needed to get things rolling. I followed the instructions except for applying the fusible tape to the neckline. Darn it! I forgot (twice! I forgot on my muslin as well). And unfortunately it shows. My neckline doesn’t lay flat.

But you know what does? My fabulous hem! I can count on my hand how few times I get a wrinkle-free, crisp hem. Using the fusible tape helped immensely when sewing up the hem. I’m a convert now and am looking to stock up on it. So yeah, buy it, you won’t regret it!

The 4-way stretch in the fabric offers a wonderful drape, adding a lot of swish to hip movements. Sexy. The modifications I made to the dress were pretty minimal since you’re able to customize the pattern. I added an inch to the sleeve width; shortened midriff pieces by 1.5 inches. And added 2 inches to bodice.

I did a no-no and used a completely different fabric for my muslin: a stable cotton mix jersey that I got at a charity shop in my old neighborhood. Nothing close to how the spandex nylon would behave. But you know what, I’m a rebel. But really I just wanted to get an idea of how construction would go more than fit. So after spending an hour or so trying to lay it flat I knew why its previous owner had abandoned it. But no worries, I showed it who was boss.

How do the hairs look? My husband trimmed them for me.

You might be thinking this slice of cake looks different. If so you are correct. I forgot to attach the midriff pieces. D’oh! Happy mistake, I say. Not only does the fabric make it feel like a different dress but now, so does the fit.

There you have it: two slices of cake from one pattern. I’m happy. Consider me a Sewing Cake fan. The other Sewing Cake patterns I own just went up my queue. If you’re curious about more of my stats on this dress check them out here.