Sewaholic Cambie

By Tiffany - Saturday, August 31, 2013

Yes, I made a Cambie! And I had some fun with it.



I really like the Sewaholic patterns. They fit me in the top without any adjustments. I made 'View B' with the full skirt.

The back and front bodice both have a nice shape. It's stylish but also allows for wearing a bra underneath (unlike most dresses).



Materials

I choose a nice cotton, eyelet fabric. And, although it's hard to tell from the pictures, the dress is a light orange with a darker orange border. The lining is also cotton. The only other materials are an invisible zipper and thread.




Pattern

Sewaholic Cambie

I was inspired from some vintage dresses I saw online to add the border detail to the waistband.


And I added a bit to the sleeves. 


I think that by doing this, the bottom border doesn't look out of place. Also, the dress becomes a more interesting, unified piece. I had to topstitch where the sleeve joined the bodice. After trying to zip it up a few times by myself, the strain I was putting on the sleeves was starting to make them rip. It should be much stronger now. Hopefully, it is not too noticeable.


Alterations

The only change I made was to move the pockets closer to the side seams. According to the pattern, the pockets are much closer to the front, which felt uncomfortable to me. I'm not sure if it is a typo on the pattern and the notches on the waistband were actually for the 'View A' dress, but it just did not seem right. The only other thing I had to do because of this alteration, was gather more fabric in the back.

As mentioned before, I did not have to alter to make it fit. I am a size 6 with a waist of 30" and bust of 35.5".

What I Learned

It is hard to undo sections that are gathered. I had to do this to move the pockets. Next time, I'll make sure the pockets are where I want them before I sew.

Also, I had a hard time stitching in the ditch along the waistband. At first I had the pins perpendicular to the waistband, but the lining just slipped out. The second time, I pinned parallel to the waistband and the lining stayed in place.

Overall, I really like the pattern and will make another Cambie in the future.

Update... I forgot to mention that I spent a lot of time trying to get the eyelet border to match up at the seams. It worked, it just took time. Also, I finished the side seams with a faux french seam so that the seams looked ok when viewed through the holes in the eyelet.

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8 comments

  1. This dress turned out great. Love your use of the border print.

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    1. Thanks! Took a bit of extra effort, but I'm glad it turned out.

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  2. I love the border print on the sleeves! Such a cool idea. :)

    What is a faux french seam?

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    1. Thanks Diane! A faux french seam is where you fold your raw edges into each other and then sew them together near the edge. As oppose to a real french seam, where you sew the garment ride side out first and the sew the raw edges in by sewing where you want the final seam to be.

      Wow, I just tried to find a link to send you, but none of the pictures out there are great. Maybe I should do a post...

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  3. Your dress is gorgeous. I love how you've used the eyelet through, I think it gives a fancy designer look.

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  4. This is such a cute dress! I love the Cambie and I've been thinking about buying it and making several dozen for myself, but it just hasn't happened yet. I love your version - especially with the detailing on the shoulders, waist, and hem. It brings it all together perfectly and you look amazing. Well done!

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    1. Thanks Kristin! I'd love to see your Cambies, once you make them. :)

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