A couple of weeks ago I posted about project pictures and people left some really interesting comments – thanks so much for sharing! I meant to follow this up much sooner. One thing a few people mentioned was that they like to see detail shots. It made me realise that I really like those too but for some reason I never take any. I don’t really know why. They’re quite timeconsuming to get looking even half-decent, but I enjoy the process of fiddling around trying to catch the light.
Anyway it’s lovely and sunny this morning so I tried to get a few of the Death Star shirt dress.
Here’s the collar stand and buttonholes from the right side. I am showing you the best buttonhole. The rest are horrible. I followed Burda’s instructions and didn’t interface the dress placket which is why they’re such a mess. I can see why Burda didn’t interface; their dress is made out of chiffon so it would probably have looked odd. Although how you make buttonholes in chiffon without any stabliser is beyond me.
The instructions have you make a fairly narrow hem. This is the inside; it’s a little hard to tell on this fabric because the print bleeds right through to the wrong side. Again I suspect the width is on account of the original fabric being chiffon, but I like the shirt-like effect.
I overlocked the seams to finish the edges. No flat fell seams for me. They’d have been lost against the print anyway.
The cuffs are very simple. No button; just a strip that you sew onto the end of the very narrow sleeve. It does mean you can’t push the sleeves up which is about the only thing I don’t like about this style. And I seem to not have pressed this cuff very well because the short edge seam has rolled to the outside. Not that you can tell from a normal distance.
I’ve worn the dress to work a couple of times now and it’s standing up OK to wearing and washing despite the lack of interfacing. If I was making it again I’d definitely interface, and also make the sleeves a little less narrow. I have another shirt dress pattern cut out and waiting to be sewed up which will be an interesting comparison because it’s a vintage pattern – older than I am!
Catherine Daze's Blog 
Love these details! You’re right about all the detail pics and info making the best blog posts. I think silk organza would be a good interfacing for chiffon. I don’t know, either, never having made something with chiffon that had buttonholes. I just can’t get over how wonderful that print is in all the shots. Don’t you just love Liberty tana lawn? My experience is that it washes and wears forever, which is why it’s my favourite cotton.
I love these details. You manage to get a very neat finish
I find it so difficult to get in progress shots. Especially when You just want to get the job done! I had to really look hard to find that buttonhole so I’m sure the others dont notice at all… which is the point, isn’t it?! The beauty of such amazingly distracting fabric! 🙂
Some lovely detail shots there 🙂
I often forget details too. I was wondering if a wash-away interfacing would be be possible for chiffon? I’ve never used one though. Love this fabric, although I think I may have a headache quite quickly working with it!
Just a thought. Do you think you could have used wash-away interfacing on the inside of the button band and trim any excess away? That way you would have the stabilizing needed for the button holes but will be able to keep the softness of the chiffon. I have used it before but not on chiffon.
That’s a thought. I love the dress so if I do make it in chiffon I’ll bear that in mind, thanks!
I just came across your previous blog post about photos and found it so interesting. Since you have probably moved on at this point I thought I would comment here instead. 🙂 First off, you could try organza (silk or polyester) as interfacing in a lightweight fabric like this. I have used it in the past and it has worked well as a stabilizer but also keeps it lightweight.
I’ve been reading sewing blogs since the early 2000s and back then I think they just reinforced the notion of sewing clothes as being a frumpy and unstylish thing to do. One thing I like about the more stylized blogs is that they present sewing for oneself in a better light. Pairing your garment with cute shoes and accessories shows that you can make clothes that are totally wearable, not the home-ec stuff people remember from school. At the same time I don’t often go back to sewing blogs that are heavy on styling but light on details. I like to read how a project went and maybe learn something new about the construction process. I’ve only been blogging for a few months but the projects I have shown, I wear them the same way in real life. I do adjust for lighting because my house is dark! Your blog is great, I’ll visit again!
I made the mistake of following instructions and not stabilising buttonholes with a recent project and the same thing happened. I’m still so new to this that I follow the instructions slavishly at times but I need to remember to trust my instinct as well. You’ve done a bang up job and I really love this details post as a compliment to your other finished object post (I hope that makes sense!)