Sew Easy #26, Lucille Rea and a Dress Revue

sewing makes a good hobby for its work with  your hands and it's creative and in addition you can make dresses for many occasions  from the most dressy to the most informal today we have guests and as you might know each  one has made the dress she's wearing these guests have all had the opportunity to learn the approach  to sewing and many of the methods that we've used on so easy series let me introduce each one  of them mrs adams mrs anderson and mrs meyers mrs wells and we'll take a close look  at her dress first and carol mcconnell mrs wells has selected a pattern as we  suggested to select for your so easy series has the collar set in sleeves the natural  waistline which calls for a side placket and then she's covered her belt and her buckle she's  made a very nice selection of pattern and fabric this dress will go to many occasions it's very  nice for church even after removing the choir robe the dress still looks fresh and crisp  because of its crease resistant finish along with these crease resistant finishes  have come many lovely colors and designs here's a particularly attractive print well  i found so many nice ones in the stores that i had a hard time deciding on  which one to use i like it very much and while we're on the subject mrs meyers is  also wearing an attractive and dressy print these dark cottons have the appearance of a nice  rayon or silk and the dark color makes them a nice year-round type of dress it'd be a nice  dress to wear shopping if you're selecting a hat it can be selected to go with the  background color or the accent a change of hats and accessories certainly  changes the appearance of the dress and the trim you have selected which repeats the  accent color of your print has helped make this a very attractive dress mrs myers mrs adams is  also wearing a very attractive dress however by contrast it needs no trim mrs adams i imagine  you take a great deal of pride in the dresses you make for yourself oh yes and i do enjoy  the compliments of my friends i'm sure you do and as you use the easier methods  of sewing i'm sure you'll find that you'll not only enjoy the compliments  on your finished dress but you'll also enjoy your sewing you'll find that it can become a  hobby instead of a chore mrs adams has a dress that's very good for entertaining  it's comfortable easy to take care of and it's washable so she's at ease in the  kitchen and yet well-dressed as she entertains when using a striped fabric plan to take more time  when you're cutting out your dress in order to match the stripes and work out an effective design  choose a simple pattern especially when you're using a bold stripe such as this mrs adams has  done a very good job selecting such a pattern and matching her stripe mrs anderson here has gone one  better she's done a fine job of matching plaids you've done a very nice job matching plaids not  only match very nicely on each side of your collar but the plaid in the collar is lined  up with the plaid in the blouse it's a fairly easy job to get  these plates crosswise matched but you've matched up the center front very well so  that the plaid is well spaced across the blouse then this detail that you worked out in  the back of the collar is quite well done the fabric and the design of this  dress makes it very comfortable for work it's attractive so that she need  not change it if she gets a sudden call from a neighbor or needs to  do some unexpected shopping and no change will be necessary  when a visitor drops in not only for visitors but i like to look nice for  my own family too you're so right and i suppose carol mcconnell our school girl here feels that  she should always look nicely dressed at all times young girls have a wider choice of patterns  and fabrics there are many patterns designed for the young figure carol you've done nice job  selecting the pattern for your blossom skirt and you've been able to match  this flower exactly in your skirt i know it's too that you've made bomb button holes  which always adds to the appearance of a blouse then a zipper like this is very difficult to  do putting a zipper in between a pleat but she's done a very neat job with hers even though  carol has made a blossom skirt instead of a dress she has still had many of the same  problems such as altering her pattern putting on a collar the front facing buttons  button holes many of the same problems that we have covered in the so easy series you'll  remember that during this series we've been using the measurements and making address for our model  mrs moore now here's mrs moore wearing that dress do you know the thing that impresses me the  most about this it's the way this ham hangs without my ever having tried it on i know you  said you could do it but i didn't believe it well anyone can make a dress that fits including  a hymn that's straight if you follow the methods suggested in the so easy series and that  starts by taking accurate body measurements then select a pattern of  your size in the correct type alter that pattern to fit your body measurements prepare your fabric for sewing and be sure to cut it on grain complete your dress by units do all you can on  one unit while it is flat pressing as you go along on the finished dress the waistline and  the belt were both made according to the waistline measurement so no side loops are  necessary and then the waistline seam was so stitched here at the placket edge to  help make this zipper lie smooth and flat we used a stiff interfacing up the front  because it needs to help support the collar then you'll notice that enough extra  material was allowed in this upper collar to permit it to roll over nicely and  not let any of the under collar peep out and then the cuff it was stitched on with the raw  seam which is hidden when the cuff is turned up i didn't know you were going to use a plain  color on the collaring cuff but i rather like it well as a matter of fact the contrasting  colors and cuffs were used as a teaching device so the audience would be able to see the  construction processes i was demonstrating however it certainly hasn't hurt the appearance all the dresses you've seen in this review were  made by methods similar to those i've shown you i hope by seeing these dresses that you will have  confidence to go ahead on your own and as you do go on sewing on your own you'll become aware  that there's usually more than one method of doing each construction process i have shown you  the ones that i have found to be simple and easy the ideal situation is for you to try these  methods and others and you yourself decide on the one that is best for you one that will be  easy for you and still give you good results but don't let your sewing get into a rut ideas and  equipment for sewing are continually changing be alert to these changes be ready to try them  if you like them adopt them this closes are so easy series on cotton construction you know i  have enjoyed sharing this information with you and now may i wish you the very  best of success with your sewing you