The Miz Mozelle Dress!

I love this dress I made! It's sooooo slimming, honestly, with this dress I now have a waist I'm quite pleased with, it's amazing, and part of me has to wonder if I'm seeing things.

Here we have "The Miz Mozelle Dress", a sewing pattern from Jamie Christina.

You can buy the pattern from her site in the States on this page.

Or if you live in the UK, an online website called Backstitch sells the pattern here.

It's a relatively new pattern, I understand, so the flickr page for Jamie Christina patterns only has one person showing her Miz Mozelle Dress, (There are the photos of the model wearing the dress in the group, but I'm not counting those). I'll add my photos to the group too.

Florence of blog Flossie Teacakes is the only person who has put her Miz Mozelle dress in the flickr pool, when I last looked, and her dress is GORGEOUS, you can see Florence's post about it here.

Florence has also done a very interesting and informative post about the toile, (a practise piece in cheap fabric to check the garment is the right size), she made for her Miz Mozelle dress here. Florence and I are similar heights (small), so I followed her tips for making this dress, (which she talks about in her toile post), namely reducing the size of the keyhole. Infact, I was so confident about Florence's excellent advice, I didn't make a toile, I just dived straight in to making the dress.

I've not made a toile yet of any of my dresses yet, it's a new concept to me.

I'm beginning to suspect that making a toile is the equivalent of doing a guage swatch before knitting or crocheting a garment. An important thing to do if you want your garment to fit as well as it possibly can, plus, very important to make with cheap fabric, if you are planning to use expensive fabric and don't want an expensive pigs ear hanging off your body.

I thought that Florence's demonstration in her toile post spoke volumes. If she hadn't of made the toile, she would have had an expensive and a little unflattering creation. Having made the toile, and spotted the problem areas, she ended up with a beautiful dress that looks fantastic on her.

I showed you the fabric above, when I last mentioned sewing something, but ended up not using that fabric for the Miz Mozelle dress, as you may have noticed already. Even though the fabric was £5 a metre in the Liberty sale, in my mind it's still in the category of it's full price, which is more costly and therefor more luxurious. So to be treated with reverence, and not used to make something I hope will turn out alright.

So that's where the turquoise cotton at £2.50 a metre came in. Cutting that up didn't give me the palpitations using the more expensive fabric would. In a way, you could say I've made a very detailed toile, that I am going to wear.

That's the thing about doing a toile that bothers me, the idea of making a garment twice, even though the toile is meant to be very basic. Still, like making a guage swatch, I do understand it's probably for the best.

Anyway, I love this pattern. It's very clear and easy to follow, it's got the big thumbs up from me.

The only thing I would change about this pattern next time I make it is this.

On the Jamie Christina website, she says that if you're not using the specified stretchy fabric, but something like a cotton instead, that you should go up a size when making the top half of the dress. I did this because I used cotton rather than stretchy fabric, and I feel the top half of my dress is a little too big, I think it would have been perfect if I'd done the same size as the skirt, and not gone up a size for the top half.

Also, there is a little bit of a puffy effect around the waist, I think I'll reduce the amount of fabric on the sides slightly, and make the top half slightly shorter next time I make this dress. Hopefully that should reduce the puffiness a little. I do want some puffiness, because that helps to create the illusion of a waist, I just don't want so much puffiness.

But as I say, I love this pattern, I love it!

 

Hugo climbed a ladder to take these photos, hence the photo of Douglas and his waggy tail from above, in the mosaic. Wasn't that nice of Hugo to balance on a ladder and take these photos for me!

Hugo is very generous with putting himself in an uncomfortable position for the sake of others.

Here he is above, in his Dry Suit, doing his bit at the annual Lifeboat Gala, to raise funds for the RNLI, Hugo is a volunteer. (Hugo is the one in the foreground, not the young man with his head poking through the hole).

He was selected to do the "throw a wet sponge at a volunteer who has his head stuck through a hole" attraction.

He loved it.

You may well ask, did I pay to throw sponges at my husband?

I most certainly did!

£1 got me six throws.

I missed Hugo's head on all throws except the last, it was most embarrassing.

As I was throwing sponges, unfortunately I couldn't take photos, such a shame.

Unlike Douglas in the earlier mosaic, who was waiting anxiously for Hugo to get down from the ladder, (from which Hugo was photographing me wearing my dress), Ellie, (above), was sitting, oblivious to everything other than her own pleasure at catching the last rays of sun of the day.

Well, I'm writing this on Monday, to publish on Tuesday, rather than missing out on Tuesday's blog post.

I'll be on the train to London to see Walker Books on Tuesday, to go over the work I've done on the book I'm doing with them. It's the dreaded five hours there, and five hours back on the train. Unlike my last journey to see Walker Books, I shall make sure I don't forget my knitting pattern.

Hugo's making a Paella! I LOVE Paella. It's almost ready, so I need to dash.

I hope you've been inspired to make a Miz Mozelle dress, and end up joining Florence and I in the flickr group.

Cheerio! Vanessa xxxxxx

 

Comments

[frances]

Vanessa, your turquoise dress is a gem! As usual, you have found clever ways to style it with great stripes and color. Bravo also to Hugo for his wonderful photography.

I have never gone for that toile step in my sewing...as you said, it just seems like too much bother doing a "dress" rehearsal. And I am sure that foregoing the toile lead me to some imperfect garments, but not That imperfect.
Best wishes on your visit to Walker. xo

[Judi A.]

I had to smile when you started in on "doing this here, and that there" to make the fit more to your liking, because you sound more like a seasoned seamstress not a beginner! :-) I have sewn for umpteen million years, and marvel at your great results with all your efforts. (any progress on the red check dress?) When you said you had a 5-hour trip each way, I thought,"What a glorious uninterrupted time for knitting or reading a good book!" Something that rarely happens in my life! I know it is a tiring trip, but do know there is a bit of envy by others. :-) One more thing: I thought of you when I received an email re. this www.crafty.com/class/Sew-Retro-Perfect-Fit-Retro-Bombshell-Dress/29 May not be quite your style, but might be fun and a good learning experience. Hope your trip goes well.

[Liz W in Missouri, USA (With Lucy)]

Hi Vanessa! It's been busy at my house all weekend, but I hope that by now you are feeling much better and that your trip to the city will go well for you.
Another great dress that looks really good on you. Well Done!! Back in the day when I used to sew clothes we were told that if we had questions about fit, the best thing to do was to simply baste the pieces together and try it on. Removing the baste stitches was very simple if adjustments were needed - or easy enough to go back over with a tighter stitch if the fit was fine. Always seemed to work well, without the added expense of another piece of fabric.
Anyway - I think your sewing projects are looking great - and obviously Douglas thinks so too. I believe that Miss Ellie ALSO thinks so - she's just trying to play it cool and LOOK disinterested - when really, in her little heart, she's just bursting with pride.
Good on Hugo! He's such a good sport. Let him know how much we appreciate his photographic skills, and his dedication to the RNLI.

[Basicallylois]

I don't even sew but I'm tempted, that dress is gorgeous! and I know what you mean about the Liberty fabric, I'm the same with expensive sale wool. x

[Annie]

Lovely, lovely dress, but my favourite picture is the one of waggy Douglas :D

[Sarah]

This is soooo cute - looks lovely on you. I loved what you said about knitting and crochet and sewing in the last post - it's just where I am at the moment.

[Jan]

Well, Vanessa, you look positively girlish! What a sweet dress, and I love the keyhole. I agree, that the top could stand a tiny reduction in fabric, but the way you've styled the dress with tights and a long sleeve jersey, is really imaginative.

Another great dress to add to your wardrobe. Have fun on your trip.

[Bobo Bun]

How I love paella and miss it. Since having Millie Mike announced he was giving up fish too. I don't eat farm animals, but I do love eating fish so and it's a bit much to cook for one isn't it. Ho hum enough of that waffle.

Loved the dress and your chat through the process of it Vanessa. The edging of purple around the keyhole sets it off a treat. What a star to have a great photographer up a ladder too. You are lucky. Like you I've struggled to get my mind around the toile thing, but then I don't do tension squares either as I'm impatient to get on with playing with new yarn. Toile making does seem like doing it twice doesn't it, but I bet the people who do it are really glad they did. I basically learn from making something the wrong size and then trying to find ways to alter it as I go. It always seems to work.

Please don't forget your knitting. It sounds utter bliss to be on a train for that long and to be able to really get into it so hope you've packed it in your bag already. Have fun with the publishers too.

Should have just emailed you this as it's so long along with a catch up shouldn't I?

X

[nattie]

What a lovely dress, have been on the look out for some thing like this....the fact you think it is flattering too is such a relief!!!
x

[harmony and rosie]

So glad you didn't give up on the sewing because you've made yet another goodie. I can't stand making toiles and in fact when I have done I've never made any changes to the original pattern. But I'm still glad I did the toiles as it would be awful to ruin some gorgeously expensive fabric. You can still take in your dress if you want to though, it's taking out that's a no no once it's made!

Lucky you having a valid opportunity to throw wet sponges at your husband, I think I might dream up a reason or two to do the same. To mine, not yours, you'll be pleased to hear!

Hope the meeting went well for you today xxx

[Ruth A]

Wow what a pretty dress and at £2.50 a metre that's amazing. We don't have anything that cheap in Oxfordshire - I'm happy if I can get it for £5/m but most places have lovely fabric at around the £10 or more / metre. Boo!

I'm in the process of making a pair of trousers and I just know it's not going to fit around my hips! So, I've be experiementing with the pattern using lining fabric and hopefully I'll end up with beautifully lined trousers.

All the best...

[Catherine]

I love the original way you have photographed yourself wearing the dress reflected in a door

[Alice and Raymond!!!]

Vanessa the dress is gorgeous! I love it and you are right, it is very slimming... I always feel uncomfortable with things tight around my waist, but the effect is quite stunning I now see, love, love, love this dress on you!
Have a nice trip and yes, plack your knitting bag completely!
Love Alice XXXXX

[bellabeeandme]

Like you not sure I could bother with making a toile unless the original was made from very expensive fabric, I'm still a beginner, so it takes long enough to make just one, plus I'm still on basics and childrens clothing, so not much need for that sort of stuff yet

[Kate]

Toiles are best when tailoring and making your own pattern/adapting a pattern,otherwise (unless you are REALLY picky and precise and have loads of time to spare) baste and use your dressmaker's dummy and yourself to try it on and make changes as required.
As to the puffiness- bear in mind a different fabric will behave differently- softer fabrics will drape and fold more readily,I suspect the puffy effect is more to do with the type of fabric you have used, a fairly crisp cotton- I would err on thee side of caution: cutting smaller on the next one,especially if the fabric is a different quality,could be problematic-cut the same size, baste and check the effect on the dummy- you can always cut off before the final sewing if it is too puffy again,but you can't add on!
Hope Thursday goes well.

[Sandi Lee]

Aww, Vanessa, you look lovely in this color. For someone who 'couldn't' really sew you are doing a great job. Your puppies are sweet and your hubby too for 'not just' taking your photo, but going to the effort of climbing up a ladder to take great photo's.
x sandi

[Barbara]

Oh I adore that dress on you Vanessa, it is totally charming (and am already imagining making it in Liberty!)
How lucky we are to have you discovering such gorgeous patterns, would never have known it existed, I love that collar so very much and totally agree with you making the keyhole just that bit smaller
ps I always "mean" to make a toile, but then usually just dive in
pps you have the bravest husband, but you knew that already?!
ppps Snowy sends love to you all

[Jenni at Baa-me Kniits]

Your dress is so pretty, and what a lot of work! You have really mastered this sewing haven't you. I am still only game enough to do straight lines Hee Hee :-) I don't think I would be keen on doing a toile, it does seem like doing it twice. I like your idea of doing it in a cheaper fabric to start with. Knitting swatches are only a smidgen of the main pattern. Now you can dive right into that Lovely Liberty Fabric.....Yipee!

[Helen]

Gorgeous dress, Vanessa! I love the colour and the style really suits you, with the fitted waist. Making a toile first seems to be a real labour of love! I smiled at the sponge throwing bit - what a nice husband you have! I loved all the pictures he took, and the bird's eye view of Douglas is very cute!
Helen x

[Siobhan]

What a gorgeous dress - really beautiful colour! Suits you perfectly. Flossie teacakes is very good isn't she? The key hole is a lovely feature, so what a good thing you knew to make it smaller for yourself. I love the contrast binding you used for it. I think I agree with all your other comments here. I haven't made a toile but I would if I was making something that I was unsure about because of its difficulty (something very tailored perhaps because of the lack of room to manoeuvre if something went wrong), or due to past experience I knew a certain type style would be likely to need adjustments. I definitely would though if I was using very expensive fabric.

Otherwise I would do the same as Kate suggests and fit as you go. You could err on the side of caution and cut for the bigger size if you had any sizing worries, but take it down to the next size if that was more appropriate (or anything in between). The expense of doing a toile would concern me as any fabric is not that cheap. It is like the swatching thing in principle isn't it? On a bigger scale though and of course you can't unravel it. If I did a toile I think I would do it in wearable fabric and then if I got a dress at the end I could wear, it would be a bonus. The other thing I might do was try out anything tricky first - a collar for instance. Just using the appropriate pieces to practice on rather than doing the whole thing. I love the other fabric that you showed us; it's extremely pretty.

I bet it was fun throwing the wet sponges! It was all in a good cause wasn't it? What a good sport Hugo is. He takes a lovely picture of you too. I hope you had a good trip to Walkers and you got a ton of knitting done on the train.

[Florence]

Oh Vanessa - the dress is gorgeous and you look wonderful together! I love the way it's turned out (and also quite like the idea of a stripey t-shirt beneath).

I'm just like you with the fabric - it doesn't matter how much I actually paid for it, it's what its intrinsic value is that matters.

I love the sound of a long train journey, so hope you end up enjoying it and that your Walker meeting goes well.

Florence x

[tinajo]

That is a LOVELY dress in one of my favourite colors! :-) Hehe, love the other pics as well..! :-D

[Janic ePerkin]

you look great in that dress - clever you - how about a shirt for Hugo after all those wet sponges!

[Nina]

I simply love your dress and the colour is fabulous.

Love the sponge in the face too - it reminded me of many a childhood Summer fete.

Nina x