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Featured Seamstress: Eunny
Name: Eunny
Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Pattern: Macaron
Blog: Dispatches from Whitcomb Street
Her post about the dress: Colette Macaron
What fabric did you use? A wonderful cotton poplin with a woven black and white gingham check. The check is a little larger than your average gingham – about 3/8″ – which I think helps take it back from country twee.
How did you decide to reflect your personal style in the pattern? I loved the shape and lines of the sample dress, but I tend to to wear pretty quiet clothes. The sharply contrasting bodice and yoke were just a leeeetle bit too much for me as is, so I decided to play with fabric grain and pattern direction instead. I’m a pretty hardcore knitter, and I love texture, surface design, and pattern–working with the fabric and letting it lend its character to the garment is my favorite part of sewing, too. For this dress, I cut the yoke, sleeves, and waistband on the true bias, and the result has just enough subtle contrast to be interesting–it makes you want to look twice and notice the detail, which is exactly how I like my clothes to be.
What thoughts do you have about the project? This was a really fun project to sew that went together in a flash. The basic shape is adorable, and surprisingly versatile–I’ve been so inspired by the transparent-yoked versions I’ve seen, and am also dreaming of working this in stripes. How adorable would it be with the front and back panels cut in two pieces rather than on the fold, with bias stripes forming a chevron on the body and horizontal stripes across the yoke, sleeves and waist?
Thanks, Eunny!
Comments
Robin Kataja
August 29, 2011 #
I’ve always been a huge fan of gingham (especially black & white) and I think this dress is absolutely Adorable!!!
MB
August 29, 2011 #
Do not tell me this is Eunny Jang, editor of Interweave Knits! What a great dress for summer.
‘nora
August 29, 2011 #
I was about to say ‘hardcore knitter’? That’s got to be the understatement of the month.
Jessie
August 29, 2011 #
That dress is lovely! I really like how sweet and charming it is in the check but still classy in the black. Really well done and it looks so good on you. I’m just starting my Rooibos in plaid and am very nervous about the matching and all.
eunny
August 29, 2011 #
matching plaids never made sense to me until I came across this tutorial at The Selfish Seamstress—I use it all the time now and it always works like a charm! The only thing I do in addition is to make sure that any prominent seams fall at a flattering point on the plaid—like, if you have a center front seam, make sure it hits in the middle of a section, that kind of thing.
Gail Ann Thompson
August 29, 2011 #
Classy!!
Samina
August 29, 2011 #
I think that Eunny’s (yes, the IK Eunny) version of Macaron is my absolute favorite! So much so, that when I saw it on Pattern Review.com, I ran off to order the pattern & some gingham.
“Hardcore knitter” –
Maureen
August 29, 2011 #
Very pretty dress. I’m having trouble wrapping my mind around the word “beginner” being used to describe Eunny, though. ;-)
Catholic Bibliophagist
August 29, 2011 #
Did you have to do anything special to stabilize the pieces that were cut on the bias?
–C.B.
eunny
August 29, 2011 #
Nope, other than staystitching carefully around every edge (not just armscye and neck) as soon as they were cut to keep them in shape. I did cut the facings on the straight grain to let them do their stabilizing work properly…OH and I made really sure to lay out the front and back in opposing directions so they wouldn’t twist…and I drew match points for myself to help match the check.
eunny
August 29, 2011 #
This is awesome, you guys are the best!
Emma
August 29, 2011 #
I love Eunny’s version of the Macaron! I love gingham and it is done so well with her dress! Also, her blog is lovely!!
meredith
August 29, 2011 #
This is so lovely and inspiring! I was thinking of a plaid MC version, but seeing this makes me want to cut plaid on the bias for the yoke, too… or maybe just buy some black&white gingham :)
Deane
August 29, 2011 #
Oh, so cute. I’ve been wanting to make this dress, but, like you, the sharp contrasting yoke would be a little too much. But this? This is perfect and I WANT ONE RIGHT NOW!
Yellie
August 29, 2011 #
There’s only one Eunny…hmmm, a knit-sew-along perhaps?
Ashley at The Feisty Redhead
August 30, 2011 #
Oooh, I never thought about making this pattern using the same fabric for the bodice and yoke! It looks incredibly different to me that way!
Katie W.
August 31, 2011 #
Eunny! You did it again! I really don’t think you could be any cooler! Get it Mama!