I confess I was unsure about the Hawthorn when it first released, mostly because the collar seemed a little odd to me. Like most of us in the sewing community, I adore Colette Patterns and decided to give it a go anyway. I'm so glad that I did! The pattern came together really nicely with minimal changes, and it's a very comfortable and becoming dress. I even really like the collar now.
The Case of the Mismatched Plaid
The pattern gave me no trouble, but the plaid is an entirely different story. All of my seams lined up grandly, except for one dastardly side of the skirt. I cursed the heavens and simultaneously scratched my head in confusion when this happened. I couldn't understand what went wrong. A mystery!
Huzzah!
$#!@*#!...
I was determined to get to the bottom of it, so I started work on another plaid wool dress. What's that you say? I'm daft? There was a mystery to solve! As any good amateur sleuth knows, you must recreate the scene of the crime to get the juices flowing.
This Gum Shoe Cracks the Case!
I realized in working on the second dress that I had paid very careful attention to my fabric being on the straight grain and my center seams matching. I neglected to pay attention to the cross grain. I didn't keep it straight as I went, and I ended up with one side that was wonky. A good lesson that is easily correctable on future garments!
I'm also still working on plaid matching with sleeves. I went with vertical instead of horizontal for the dominant stripe to break things up a bit. I hit it dead on in some places, and not so much in others. I know from lots of investigative work on the internet that not everything will match at a sleeve, but I still haven't quite sorted out what can!
Shifting the Dart for Plaid Matching: Tutorial Coming Soon
The bust darts on the Hawthorn are slightly angled. This is jolly good, except for when you have a stripe or a plaid. It will make your line cattywampus at your bust.
I didn't want this, so I shifted the dart to be perpendicular, making sure it stayed pointed at my bust apex. Here's the difference.
Dart on the left is original to pattern, dart on right is with shifting.
See? The dart on the left causes the plaid lines to not match up, whereas the one on the right keeps things all lined up. I'll post up a tutorial on Thursday to show you how I did that.
For plaid things, I often like to cut the sleeves on the bias because a) it's pretty and b) it looks less odd when the plaid doesn't match up with the bodice.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I thought about that but I wondered if it would distort the shape being on the bias. That's good to hear it works! I'll have to give it a go in the future.
DeleteOh, bother. Plaid is tricky when it comes to pattern matching. So many things to think about! The dress is lovely, still. And, the your fabric is BEAUTIFUL! I'm eager to follow your continuing investigation to learn more ways to match!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I just finished plaid dress #2, so I should have some good stuff on sleeve matching next week. The journey continues!
DeleteThe dress is adorable! I always have a tough time matching plaids. Looking forward to the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shannon!
DeleteI love the dress! The colors are great on you :) I applaud you for taking on plaid, I am terrified of it (and stripes...and chiffon). Regardless of match or not, you tried your best and learned alot! I think it turned out lovely :)
ReplyDeleteYou can do it! I think as long as you focus on the things you mention - trying and learning, you can still end up with a dress that you enjoy even if it's not perfect!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous dress! I can guarantee nobody else will notice that seam, but I know it would annoy me too. I applaud you for working out what caused it, and I'll have to remember that next time I working with plaids.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynne! Oh yes, I think only seamstresses notice these sorts of things. It's a fun puzzle to sort out though!
DeleteThis is a great dress. Glad you worked out about the plaid matching, but it's so close on the Hawthorn skirt I wouldn't worry about it too much, chalk it up as a learning experience!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kaitlyn! I intend to! :0)
DeleteI love this so much. The colors are divine on you and of course the Hawthorn shape is feminine, flattering and fun. It's great!
ReplyDeleteThank you! The little pop of green makes me so happy!
DeleteThis is so pretty and flattering on you! I adore plaid but I'm really scared to sew with it, even with everything I've read on matching it. I can understand one seam at a time, but then when you go to the other side...I just can't wrap my mind around it! I probably wouldn't even have considered the bust darts, so I'm looking forward to your tutorial.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tasha! You could totally do it. My love of plaid is deep, too, and it gives me the oomph I need to keep trying.
Deletethis is absolutely lovely. My friend is wanting me to make her a frock and I hadn't even looked at the Hawthorn. I think would be just up her street.
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Thank you, Rehanon! That sounds like fun! Colette Patterns are so wonderful, I find there always a good make.
DeleteI am just awful at pattern matching! I've tried a little on my most recent dress and *almost* got it.. I guess practice makes perfect.
ReplyDeleteYou, however, are such an inspiration! Everything you make looks ah-mazing, even if the plaid is a little off ^_^
Aww, thank you so much Taygan! It really is just about practice. I'm sure yours turned out beautifully!
Deletei love it! the fabric is beautiful and you look adorable in it! As you know im not fussed weather i match my plaids or not, but i think youve done a great job, matching them and then figuring out why they didnt work! So clever!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Catherine! You know, I think you can get a beautiful garment without matching (your shift was divine!), but it's such a fun sewing challenge to try to master!
DeleteLovely! It looks divine on you and is just perfect for this chilly February we're having. You did a bang up job on matching the plaid, even with that side seam taken into account. No matter how often I sew with plaids, I never find matching them up any easier. It's such a headache! Yours turned out beautifully, though, and I adore the way you dealt with the sleeves. Gorgeous!
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