one-piece wardrobe

Sew Altered Style – Misty Cami Hack

sakijane - misty cami hack

Hello sewing friends! It’s been a long minute, hasn’t it? Between now and the last time I blogged a lot has happened! I got married in a totally different dress than the one I was originally working on; I studied for and took my B1 German test which puts me at an Intermediate level; and I chopped off most of my hair (1/4 lb!) and donated it to a wig making charity for cancer patients. But these are all topics for another blog post. Today, we’re talking about the newly released Misty Cami.

A couple weeks ago I was approached by Mac of Sew Altered Style about joining in a Hackathon to celebrate the release of their first pattern, the Misty cami and dress.

Now, to be totally honest, I don’t really have the time to be agreeing to do any sew-along/hackathon/pattern testing that comes my way. I’m realizing more and more that agreeing to do these things actually stands in the way of me crossing items off of my ever-changing most-coveted-garments-sewing-list (and writing blog posts).

sakijane - misty cami hack

But here’s the thing— lately, in the last month or so, I haven’t been sewing much. I’m overwhelmed by the mess in the sewing room (I hate to say it, but I think I have too much fabric), and when I don’t have an organized work space, I’m not nearly as productive as I can be. To be clear, I’m perfectly capable of ignoring a mess, but I find that a messy room makes me much more easily distracted and much more likely to make sloppy mistakes.

You know, all it would really take is a couple of hours of reorganizing my fabric, but I feel like there are more urgent things to be done. And that, my friends, is why I accepted this offer to join in the Misty Cami Hackathon.

Yeah, I know that sounds extremely counterintuitive. But I have to say, when I feel like I’m in a sewing rut or have lost my sewjo, nothing brings it back faster than conjuring up an obligation to someone else. And that’s also why I’m here today, blogging about this Cami Dress Hack. I decided that part of that obligation included a blog post, and now here I am, writing it up. I’m hoping that this will propel me back into the habit of blogging; I have such a backlog of makes to share and I loved using this space as a record of my creativity.

sakijane - misty cami hack

Pattern: Misty Cami and Dress by Sew Altered Style
Fabric: 75% wool/25% polyurethane purchased at Casa Dos Escoceses in Nazaré, Portugal
Size and View: 0, Bust AB, View B with View D straps, longest length
Alterations: hacked the front pattern piece into a wrap, extended the seam allowance to 5/8”, used matching bias tape in lieu of facing.
Worn with: Linen Knit Adrienne Blouse by Friday Pattern Company (To Be Blogged)

I bought this fabric a few months ago while traveling in Portugal. We stayed in a tiny fishing town on the coast, Nazaré, which is famed both for having some of the biggest waves in the world and for the older women casually wearing traditional folk dress on a daily basis, including a seven-layer skirt and petticoat combo. While wandering through the skinny alleys of town, we stumbled upon a small fabric store that specialized in traditional Nazaré cloth and clothing, manned by two elderly gentlemen who spoke a small but sufficient amount of English. It was here that I picked out this pretty, plaid wool with the intention of making some sort of ruffled, Batsheva-esque blouse.

Well, we all know how quickly intentions can get thrown out the window when reality kicks in. So instead of a blouse, we have here a wrap dress. By the way, this fabric is supposedly made in Portugal, in the North, but contains a considerable amount of synthetic material. The gentleman who spoke the most English tried to assure me that Polyurethane was a “plant-based” synthetic and therefore superior to true synthetics, and it was used only to keep the fabric from pilling. Insert eye roll emoji here; only time will tell how this fabric will age. And despite the synthetic makeup, I couldn’t resist taking some home as a souvenir of a wonderful trip.

sakijane - misty cami hack

This pattern is a true stash-buster — even as a hacked dress, I was able to cut it from 1.5m of standard width fabric. I intentionally cut both sides of the wrap contrastingly off-grain, hoping to get that aesthetic where the plaids are just a little bit askew. I cut one side so the grain to match with the neckline and the other to match with the side seam.

Ironically, I think that caused the front to look accidentally plaid-matched. I had originally cut the dress at the longest length the pattern provided but realized after trying it on that without a bit of edge it looked a bit frumpy. I chopped one side into mini length to give the plaid a bit more pop and contrast, and I think that hi-lo detail really makes this dress into a unique piece.

sakijane - misty cami hack
sakijane - misty cami hack

I also matched the side seam plaid patterns. I’m pretty proud of how the plaids line up here — it’s no easy feat to match plaids on a french seam with pockets.

Speaking of, the pattern comes with in-seam pockets that I replaced with my own personal pocket pattern piece. The pocket piece I used is stolen from a vintage 80’s Vogue dress pattern and is a lot larger and deeper than the pockets we see today. I find that, even when pattern companies very thoughtfully include pockets in their patterns, I’m still replacing them with something a little more utilitarian. I used some leftover silk taffeta from Wedding Dress #1 for the pocket lining and the method laid out by Emily of In the Folds for sewing french-seam-in-seam-pockets.

sakijane - misty cami hack
sakijane - misty cami hack

I dwelt on how to finish the closure for this wrap dress for a few days. The original pattern has either a waist tie or an elasticated waist with casing. I debated between buttons or a tied sash, but landed on hook and eye closures coupled with a self-made belt. To make it, I used heavy duty interfacing, a buckle harvested off of my husband’s retired and ratty traveling bag, and brass grommets from Amazon. To keep the belt in place, I created thread loops on the side seams at the waist.

sakijane - misty cami hack
sakijane - misty cami hack

Unfortunately, the bust darts sit quite low on me, though I’ve been told that the official release has raised the bust dart by 1/2” on the AB-cup size version. I’m skeptical that that would be enough of a difference for me, but all bodies are made differently so I’m sure that that’s just right for someone else. I considered shortening the straps a bit, but I’d rather keep that slightly-deep V look to the front.

sakijane - misty cami hack

Overall, I’m pretty stoked on this dress. As a wool cami dress, I can’t imagine I’d ever be wearing it on it’s own, but I have a goal to sew more fall and winter appropriate clothing. I’m hoping it’ll lend itself well to layering in the colder months.

I hope y’all are having a wonderful weekend! U

2 Comment

  1. Gorgeous outfit, and welcome back! I know you’re talking about the dress (it’s got a great schoolgirl/grunge vibe that I’m very much here for) but just as an aside, this is the first Adrienne blouse I’ve seen that I truly like! Linen knit <3 <3

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