Notes on Bobby

I made myself a new dress! It's the Bobby pattern from Seamwork, and the first dress I've made with stretchy jersey knit fabric, a.k.a. my most daunting project to date.

This person just spent most of the day inside

And yes, it was a good challenge. So let's start with all the challenges I faced.

1. Jersey knit fabric, part 1: After pre-washing and drying, the edges curled under. I ironed the fabric but it didn't tame the curl. I researched this a little and learned this is just a characteristic of jersey knit fabrics, and one trick is to use a boatload of spray starch. I have a can of it from a wreath project,but I absolutely hate the smell of it and how it has turned portions of my ironing board brown. So I did my best to just work with the curl, sans starch.

2. Jersey knit fabric, part 2: When I attempted to fold the fabric to lay out the pattern pieces, not only did the curling make it difficult, but this fabric was clingy. I had to have a second person (named Joel) help me try to straighten it out, and even then, it was wonky. This was also combined with the challenge of...

3. Working with stripes. Why, oh why did I pick stripes?! I know why - I love stripes. But trying to match them, especially when they're thin, is no easy feat.

4. The pattern called for stay tape to prevent stretching along the neckline, but I didn't realize there are different kinds, and because I didn't want to make another trip to Joann, I found some scraps of lightweight fusible interfacing to cut into strips for this purpose. This caused me much stress as it was the first step, and I worried I was messing up this dress from the get-go.

5. Sewing with knits. I actually found this less daunting than I thought in terms of not trying to stretch as I sewed. I used a ballpoint needle, and I tested different stitch lengths, widths and tension on scrap fabric to find the combination that worked best. I also used a twin ballpoint for hemming, and that was fun. I ended up learning more about my machine and all the bells and whistles it came with which I had no idea about before. Much love to my mom for buying me my little powerhouse Kenmore 15 years ago!

6. Seam-ripping. Because of course no garment is made without a few re-dos. I found that zigzag stitches are a little easier and quicker to rip out than straight stitches.

7. Burrito lining. The bodice is lined, so I got to use this slick trick for sewing up the arm holes, which just made me crave burritos.

Burrito lining pre-stitching

In summary, I love this dress. It fits like a dream and is so comfy. These were all good opportunities to learn, and reasons why my sewing hobby has been rekindled. And yes, the stripes miraculously match! I think I’m going back to wovens for my next project but my fear of knits has lessened for the moment, as has my fear of lining.

I am also loving the Seamwork subscription and community. I posted these notes and photos there as well and received great encouragement from the designers and other sewists, and their video tutorials are extremely helpful. It is $9/month well spent.