Animal print is all over the place now, and as you know, The Selfish Seamstress has a bit of a weakness for the stuff. Python is hot, leopard is a ubiquitous classic, snow leopard is waiting in the wings. Admittedly zebra and tiger have yet to pique my interest. But what I have really wanted for the longest time is a giraffe print wrap dress.
A suitable giraffe print stretch fabric is surprisingly hard to come by. Giraffe shows up frequently in decor fabric and quilting fabric, on velboa, and on minky. (ARGH do NOT get me started on minky and why it is that certain online fabric stores that previously sold Vera Wang and Ralph Lauren fashion fabrics at great prices appear to have switched to an all minky + cutesy cotton flannel format. WHO is keeping the minky business afloat? WHO is buying that much minky? Don’t say it’s the unselfish seamstresses who sew for kids (ARGH do NOT get me started on sewing for kids…) – even if you have kids and you ugh sew for them, can you really be putting that much minky in their wardrobes? Do they really need a whole lot of minky garments? Do your kids wear jammies all the time? Seriously? Minky?) Umm. So, as I was saying, it took me a long time to find the right giraffe print fabric. The thing about grown-up-appropriate giraffe stretch fabric is that when you do find it, often much of the giraffiness has been abstracted away, sort of like these:
Now, there’s nothing wrong with these fabrics. They’re perfectly lovely prints. But this was not the effect I was going for, not the wrap dress that had been simmering in my head for more than a year. No, I wanted something a little bit more naturalistic and detailed, something that looked as it if had been ripped right off the soft, warm neck of an innocent, adorable baby giraffe, like this one:
Or this one:
Or even this one:
You know, all the animal-y goodness with none of the cruelty. After much searching I found a suitably realistic (now sold out?) ITY jersey in shades of giraffey brown, tan, and beige at Spandex House:
I basically sat on this project for a while because I’m not fond of sewing knits. I graded the pattern down to 32, traced it, cut most of the fabric pieces and then put it aside out of a lack of desire to deal with it. And then this past weekend, a new love showed up at my door:
It was my new Babylock Evolution! And so I replaced Dan with the new serger. And then Dan had to go out of town for a 2-day offsite at which point the Evolution, the giraffe fabric, the 9/2006 issue of Burda and I found ourselves with a few hours alone together.
(Yes, I am standing by a window in our living room that houses a small collection of carnivorous plants. Did you expect that Selfish wouldn’t take joy in watching the helpless insects who venture into her home being viciously trapped or slowly drowned by hungry plants, leaving nothing but slowly decomposing exoskeletons?)
I have to confess that I had never used a serger before, nor watched anyone use one, so I was kind of winging it. But the Evolution is so easy to thread and you don’t have to worry about tension adjustments that within an hour of pulling the German language manual out of the box, I was four-thread overlocking in glee:
The machine only came with black and white serging thread, so I used the black for the seams, and then used a twin stretch needle with brown thread on my Husqvarna Platinum (I still love you, sweetheart) to finish all the hems and openings.
I made some small changes to the pattern, such as making the ties narrower, removing a lot of ease from the sleeves, and omitting the facings (who does facings in jersey?) Instead I turned under the edge and used twin stitching to finish. I also shortened at the hem by four inches for an above-the-knee length.
The back could have benefited from a pinch taken out for swayback, but with this kind of lightweight stretchy fabric, I really don’t mind having a little bit of extra creasing in the lower back.
The one think that’s bugging me about this dress is that the shoulder sticks up a bit if I don’t have my arms hanging down by my sides, as you can see above. The sleeves are serged into the armscyes, so it’s not a matter of trimming seam allowance. Anyone have suggestions? Did I need to shorten the neck-to-shoulder length a little bit? The seam doesn’t stick up if I have my arms down:
Oh, and one other thing- although I don’t *have* to pin the neck closed, I am doing it anyway, as otherwise the neck is very deep and threatens to do a little sliding door action. The neck doesn’t gape (thanks to a SBA that I did on the pattern, and which I am thinking about rebranding as a DBA – Dainty Bust Adjustment) but it is a risky cut when not pinned, and one that I definitely couldn’t get away with wearing to work if my bust were any less dainty than it is. I’ll probably stitch a snap on.
So there you go, my first serger project and long-desired giraffe wrap dress. I must say, using the serger feels almost like cheating. The whole thing (minus pattern grading and tracing) took maybe 2 hours. I didn’t even pin most of the seams before I stitched them, and now there’s no finishing on the inside on which I am procrastinating. Just instant gratification.
And that’s right up Selfish’s alley.
UPDATE: Since there have been a couple of comments about the shoes, I thought I’d mention that they’re “Barbara” in shade rust, from Plenty by Tracy Reese. I got them over the summer and they’re fantastic- definitely some of the coolest shoes I own, and I can feel the envious stares of other women as I walk along the train platform in them. They also come in an awesome “calcium” shade, which I ruled out on account of already having another pair of wedge sandals in that color. Anyway, I just checked and they’re on sale at Endless for less than $70, which is a pretty good deal.
66 comments
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November 4, 2011 at 9:23 am
Elizabeth
It totally looks like you ripped the skin right off that baby giraffe! Great dress. Love the print. And that dress is the perfect foil for the print.
November 4, 2011 at 9:26 am
Gabrielle
I’m very jealous of your new serger, but your dress is also lovely. The plants may be nervous of the giraffe print though? Sorry but I don’t know how to fix the shoulder thingy. Was sort of a DBA did you apply – was it just removing length in the bodice, or is there a smarter way? Thank you!
November 4, 2011 at 11:14 am
selfishseamstress
Hmmm… let’s see if I can describe in text how I did the DBA. Basically, I took out a diagonal wedge from the bodice. The idea is that you want to shorten the edge of the bodice that runs from the side of your neck diagonally across your body by taking some of it out around the bust. (The reason that wrap dresses gape on Dainty Busted people is because that edge is too long if you don’t have any hilly curves to go over.) But you don’t want to just shorten the bodice because that will shorten everything, including the side seam, which you don’t want to do unless you’re short-waisted too. So the way to avoid taking anything out of the side seam is to pleat out a wedge that is widest around the bust part of the front bodice edge, and that tapers to nothing at the corner where the waist edge and side edge meet. This will leave you with a bodice front opening edge that is no longer smooth, so you have to redraw it to be smooth.
Did that make sense? It’s kind of hard to describe without pictures.
November 4, 2011 at 9:30 am
Tamsin
Wow, your dress is fanstastic, amazing fabric!
November 4, 2011 at 9:38 am
Andrea
From no serger to a Rolls Royce! Don’t you love the Babylock? It really does revolutionize sewing. The dress looks awesome. I’m curious to hear advice on fixing the shoulder thing as well.
November 4, 2011 at 9:39 am
Clio
Baby Giraffes, carnivorous plants and a new toy to replace Dan?!?! You are a ruthless creature! What a great dress!
I am totally with you on the minky and that certain fabric store. Plus, I cannot condone the slaughter of innocent muppets so that children can have fleecy pj’s.
November 4, 2011 at 11:26 am
selfishseamstress
I’d be okay with slaughtering them if their precious hides were made of super soft wool bouclé or graphic print silk twill or delicately crisp cotton voile. But for bubblegum pink synthetic fluff, it’s just not worth it.
And I don’t buy the whole “by-product of the meat industry” argument either- I have yet to see Muppet steaks show up at my local grocery store or on restaurant menus.
November 4, 2011 at 9:41 am
Funnygrrl
Beautiful fabric. I’ve seen the abstract giraffe print too. Yours is perfect. Very nice.
November 4, 2011 at 9:52 am
LO66
This is exactly the fabric I’ve been looking for!! There is one on the Spandex House website. Is it the same? Does anyone have an alternate source if it’s sold out??
Oh, Selfish, you’ve done it again!!!
November 4, 2011 at 11:17 am
selfishseamstress
None of the giraffe prints I’m seeing on their website is the one I have, but if you see something else you like, go for it! :)
Unfortunately I haven’t seen this fabric elsewhere, but if I run into it again, I’ll post an update.
November 4, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Darsana
Just ran across some on the Denver Fabrics/Fashion Fabrics Club site: http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/p/3032-C1/4-1-2-YD-PC-Tan-Black-Jersey-Knit
One one 4.5yd piece left!
November 4, 2011 at 10:07 am
jessi
This dress is gorgeous! And it looks great on you.
No idea what to do about the shoulders, but they aren’t really that bad.
November 4, 2011 at 10:10 am
Kafka
Great dress!
About the shoulders: looks like you stretched out the fabric while attaching the sleeves.
By the way, december’s burda is going to be great!
November 4, 2011 at 10:13 am
LinB
I can’t fathom why the shoulders are acting that way. Best advice is: don’t lift your arms when you wear this dress. Second-best advice: don’t look at your shoulders when you lift your arms when you wear this dress. Third-best advice: pretend that you meant them to do that, all along.
November 4, 2011 at 11:19 am
selfishseamstress
:) I love the advice. Unfortunately if you’re me, you spend a lot of time shaking your fists at people and giving them the finger, which is so much less effective if your arms are at your sides!
But yeah, I meant the shoulders to look that way. Definitely!
November 4, 2011 at 10:20 am
Susan
I like LinB’s advice! I long for a serger but, due to lack of funds and my husband’s lack of appreciation for the priority and importance of such equipment, I must make do with a reasonably adequate stretch stitch on my machine. Beautiful fabric and lovely dress!
November 4, 2011 at 10:29 am
Gorgeous Things
Fabulous as always, and I LOVE the shoes!
November 4, 2011 at 10:38 am
anothersewingscientist
I’ve had Vogue 8238 in my posession for a year, and I’ve been on the hunt for a giraffe print linen. Can you imagine how difficult to find *that* is?! The closest I’ve been able to find was a poly-cotton giraffe print sheet. yick.
November 4, 2011 at 10:42 am
Jenny
Pretty dress! I love that you get ieas in your head for what you want and then find the fabric. My process goes more like this: buy up all the fabric I like that I can afford and then let it “speak” to me a year later. You seem much more organized. :-)
November 4, 2011 at 10:48 am
CGCouture
Congrats on your new serger! You’re going to love it, they are so darn handy. :-) Cute dress, looks like it’ll get a lot of wear.
November 4, 2011 at 10:55 am
Samina
The dress is lovely, the serger inspires envy, but what really kills me is that you can actually stand in those shoes. I couldn’t fit my feet into shoes like that if I was sitting down – I’m not coordinated enough.
November 4, 2011 at 10:58 am
Shana
Love it. Love everything about it. I think that the extra shoulder fabric looks like a little puff sleeve. Maybe it’s just the photos but I wouldn’t change a thing.
November 4, 2011 at 11:16 am
Shams
Cute dress, killer shoes! I agree, I HATE minky.
November 4, 2011 at 11:34 am
Reethi
Ahem. My (not cheap at all) serger has been sitting in its box for the last 16 months. That’s embarrassing. I think I’m pulling it out this weekend.
Love your dress!
November 4, 2011 at 1:04 pm
German Girl
Gorgous dress, and I’m such a sucker for babies of any kind, be they human, cat, or giraffe. But please enlighten me – what is “minky” in German? Is it that dreadful “Nicky-Stoff” I’m picturing?
November 4, 2011 at 1:14 pm
selfishseamstress
Hmmm. When I see Nicky-stoff in Germany, it always looks to me like velour. Minky is sort of like velour but with a longer pile, and maybe more drapey as well? Often it has little tufted dots on it too.
Here’s an example of minky- would you consider this to be Nicky-stoff?
http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=59a5a571-5a95-411c-9648-8a1d2196b3d0&CategoryID=8d4478dc-c675-42e7-ad3b-b6ecf27cef1d
November 4, 2011 at 1:17 pm
German Girl
I have no idea how I would call it (Kunstfell?), but I get goosebumps just thinking about it!
November 4, 2011 at 1:19 pm
selfishseamstress
Yeah– I haven’t seen Minky in Germany so maybe there’s no name for it :) Unlike normal kunstfell, minky is fuzzy on both sides. It doesn’t have a backing. But yeah- just be glad you don’t run into it :)
November 4, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Susan Davis
Congrats on your new serger. I have the Babylock Evolve and lurve it! Your giraffe print is too fabulous. I have been wanting a similar look myself.
November 4, 2011 at 4:10 pm
Hoosiermama
You can WALK in those shoes? You’re a better woman than I,,,but that goes without saying.
November 4, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Kerry
I have thus far only tackled one wrap dress for myself, and the bust gape was too much, even with a snap, so I will have to try this DBA. Also….don’t get me started on the sewing for children. When I first started sewing I used to peruse Burda Style and look longingly at all of the gorgeous finished projects everyone made and aspired to sew at that level. Now whenever I go to Burda Style it a bunch of onesies and shapeless sack tent dresses for toddlers…seriously, sewing for little kids is not fashion sewing. It’s about as complicated as the 9 patch pillow I made in 5th grade Home Economics class.
November 4, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Irene
Your dress is gorgeous! Now that you have the “Evolution”, you should be saying good-bye to those twin needles. You have the ability to do cover stitch, which is what those twin needles are mimicking. Keep reading that manual, and you’ll probably be able to shave off yet more time when sewing knits.
November 4, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Tanit-Isis
Congratulations on your first serger project! Me and my remedial serger will sit here and drool with envy—I’ve been doing all my knit projects lately on the machine as the seams are stronger than the ones my serger makes. :P
November 4, 2011 at 9:59 pm
Stacie
Regarding your sleeve cap poufing thingy. A combination of adjustment of the neck–>shoulder length and possibly the sleeve cap height would fix it. If you want to adjust it, pull the sleeve seam out from the sleeve markings (armscye to armscye). Reset the top of the sleeve into the shoulder seam 1/4 – 1/2″. Stitch the seam blending to the original seam line at the armscye. Email me offline if that doesn’t make sense… :) It’s beautiful. Congrats on a new machine – you have a whole new world in front of you. Knits are fun.
November 4, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Bethsews
Just wanted to put in my vote (yes) for the DBA rebranding…MUCH classier. Oh, and love the dress, sleeve cap notwithstanding.
November 4, 2011 at 11:47 pm
Patricia Clements
I agree with Stacie that the sleeve cap is drafted too high. You can see all the extra fabric when you raise your arms. If you plan to use the pattern again, take about 1/2″ off the top of the sleeve cap and smooth the seams. I love your dress and the ‘giraffieness” of the print.
November 5, 2011 at 12:38 am
stitchywitch
Love it! I searched forever for a giraffe print, but ended up finding (and altering) a RTW dress instead. As for the sleeve cap… did it have any ease? Some knit patterns are drafted with sleevecap ease, and they totally don’t need it. I remove it before cutting, but it might also work to take out the sleeve, shorten the cap, and sew it back in.
And I am with you on the minky thing! I own a minky bathrobe, and it is a hot and terrible garment to wear… I wouldn’t wish it on a child. Between that and the acres of fleece I really question who these people are… maybe they are all making no sew blankets for charity? That’s what the people at my local joann’s claim when I ask them what they are doing with a cart full of fleece!
November 5, 2011 at 1:32 am
Kelly
Me: “Spandex House, Where have you been all my life?”
Dear Selfish, you are now my husband’s enemy #1.
November 5, 2011 at 11:29 am
Rebeca
Aaaah Elaine, you had everyone in my house in stitches about those poor baby giraffes! Thanks for the laughing therapy!
The dress looks very nice. I think the upper part of your sleeves might be drawn for fuller arms. Maybe reducing their width and increasing the seam allowance at the cap by 0.5 cm might help. Good luck!
November 6, 2011 at 12:20 am
Vanessa
I’m thrilled to see your fabulous dress! I tried this pattern a few years ago and failed. Though admittedly purple velour is a poor choice for anything but a theater seat, which a coworker said my dress brought to mind.
November 6, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Diane Egelston
What a great dress! I totally agree with LinB’s advice.
For the next go-round, if the little puff bothers you, just redraw the sleeve cap — it’s too high, as Stacie and Patricia have already pointed out. Many of Burda’s blouse and knit top patterns have this funny little anomaly, and I always notice it after I’ve already sewn the darned thing. Then it’s a design element.
November 7, 2011 at 4:04 am
senaSews
The dress looks gorgeous on you. Great pattern and perfect fabric match.
November 7, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Leslie in Austin
I’ve sewn that dress pattern a bazillion times and can triply confirm that the sleep cap on it (and pretty much all Burda knit garments) is entirely to tall. Redraw it a little flatter and it will lie much better.
November 9, 2011 at 12:49 am
PepperToast
I REALLY want a baby giraffe.
November 9, 2011 at 2:15 pm
SJF
Hello! I know your recently! I like mor your work and is fantastic you idea!
I like more this fabric is interesant print!
Thanks
November 9, 2011 at 2:51 pm
Spitfire
Really cute, and I love how you adapt the pattern to your needs.
November 10, 2011 at 11:46 am
The Slapdash Sewist
Love it! I also love that you go right to the top when it comes to new acquisitions. No starter serger for you, only the very best please!
November 10, 2011 at 3:03 pm
LinB
But of course she only buys the very best! And beautifully selfishly, to boot. (She deserves it.) It is the rest of us, cursed with altruistic tendencies, who deny ourselves.
November 11, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Amy
Groovy dress and print and love the “DBA” rebranding. I wasn’t sure about zebra, either, until I saw this skirt…
http://www.shopgoldyn.com/skirts-heimstone-jupe-molly-in-zebra-print-pid-1708.cfm
the hunt for a suitable/similar print drove me mad and I gave up.
November 13, 2011 at 2:31 am
Gail
I dont know which I love more, the dress or the shoes. Both inspired.
November 22, 2011 at 3:41 pm
sewingwithaskein
You never let me down!
November 26, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Oh boy! New toy(s)! « The Overflowing Stash
[…] could have been worse of course. I could have gone for a Baby Lock Evolution like the Selfish Seamstress. But £1000+ present seems obscene to ask for. And I was paranoid that the miraculous Baby Lock air […]
November 27, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Sassy T
Looks absolutely fabulous.
November 30, 2011 at 4:38 pm
Mimi Jackson
Love the dress. Adorable.
December 7, 2011 at 9:01 pm
Susannah
OK Ms Selfish – a month without a new post??? You are being very selfish, to deprive us all of your updates. I hope you aren’t going AWOL again!
December 20, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Deanna
I agree. As an unselfish person, I end up worrying about my favorite bloggers when they don’t update for a long time. How very selfish of you to do this to me.
February 16, 2012 at 4:50 am
Jean
Shall I join in selfishly ( thus proving that I indeed, belong here in this site) to clamour for some response from our favourite selfish seamstress?
How are you doing? Here’s wishing you a blessed happy 2012! We miss you!
December 22, 2011 at 8:33 pm
beaded2bless
it is a definate confirmation on the sleeve cap being too high.
I have an old 60’s or 70’s dressmakers book that covers how to “read wrinkles” to adjust your patterns…priceless! Love the dress and it is a fabulous print.
January 5, 2012 at 2:59 am
Joan
Hi, about the shoulder thing in case no one has posted (I’m too lazy to read through them all).
I find that Burda shoulders are way to straight (as in almost a 90°angle from the neck) so I slant them down about 1 cm and shorten the sleeve cap accordingly. Finally I figured that out and no longer have the spiky sleeve cap problem.
January 9, 2012 at 6:05 pm
Anna Dorthea
Your problem with the shoulder(s?) can be fixed with your iron/alot of steam and a piece of cloth to put in between, so you don’t get melted spots of shiny-ness on your dress. Fold the dress inside out and steam the top of the shoulder towards/into the sleeve. Put on the dress, right side out and see if it’s helped. :-) I’ve done it, and it works for me :-)
February 7, 2012 at 1:49 am
Hussain
Look what they did.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Tutu-out-of-Bubble-Wrap
Go go go, sue them Selfish.
P.S. And such a shabby copy.
February 21, 2012 at 4:34 am
Rachel UK
Hi Selfish. Missing you! Hope all is well and that you will be back giving us selfish sewing inspiration sometime soon. Take care xx
April 12, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Sufiya
Yes, it’s been entirely too long since we heard from you; I keep going to my mailbox, looking for “Selfish”updates and utter a few profanities when I don’t see them… You do know, of course, that different species of giraffe have different markings? Notice how the material you bought has a paler “ring around the splotches”? Well that is entirely accurate: there IS a species of giraffe with “rings around the splotches” !
Notice that none of the giraffe pictures you posted have this feature; that is because they are the type of giraffe that DOESN’T have them! So, if you were worried that your fabric wasn’t giraffe-ly accurate, your mind can now be at rest upon that point!
Now if only fabric designers could realize that there ARE other snake species than “reticulated python” with fabulous skin patterns…F’r instance, I would like to see some fabric printed in “Eastern Diamondback Rattler ” or “Gaboon Viper”, (and I’m sure you would too, Selfish!)
February 15, 2013 at 6:04 pm
Linda
You might lower the sleeve cap but if you don’t feel like fooling with the finished dress, just be sure the shoulder seam allowance is pressed toward the dress and not into the sleeve. It will take some pouf away from the sleeve. Very pretty!
February 4, 2015 at 5:22 pm
Overlocker Virgin No More. Just. | The Overflowing Stash
[…] And actually it wasn’t that bad – serging my first practice swatch. But you won’t find me whipping up a wrap dress like the Selfish Seamstress on her first date with her Babylock. […]
February 9, 2015 at 6:04 pm
Oh boy! New toy(s)! | The Overflowing Stash
[…] could have been worse of course. I could have gone for a Baby Lock Evolution like the Selfish Seamstress. But £1000+ present seems obscene to ask for. And I was paranoid that the miraculous Baby Lock air […]