Finished Projects Japanese Fabrics

My nani IRO Cotton Sateen dress

March 30, 2017


So I was being kind of ambitious when I said I could finish a dress in a week 🙂 More like one and a half. This happens when I only get 5 minutes at the machine before someone drags me away. So I had to quietly finish bits and pieces of it during his nap and when he’s off to bed at night.

Those of you following me on instagram must have seen my post asking for opinions about making this dress on the cover of this book. (Read the full review here)

I thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions. I think I must have some kind of stubborn streak in me, or I must have subconsciously decided I was going to do it but was hoping for a positive affirmation. 😛 But I think the majority said no to the combination. Many also object to the “cutting” up of the fabric print. But I had the image of the completed dress stuck in my head and I figured the only way not to cut up the pattern in the fabric for a dress is to make it caftan style :P. I was deliberately trying to steer away from the baggy, loose fitting, casual style to make a more formal looking dress. This is because, the default option for nani IRO fabrics is usually double gauze, which works beautifully for everyday wear, but can look rather casual. So I really wanted to try this beautiful cotton sateen on a more fitting dress, and this is the end result. I don’t know about you but I like it!


front2a1

The ribbed knit at the waist line both created slight gathers in the bodice and skirt, and allows the waist line to be defined, both by the contrast in color as well as the stretchability of the fabric. Some felt the black was too harsh, but as I could not find any other shades of blue that will go well with it, black actually looked better.

front1a

This dress has a slight relaxed fit over the bust area to accommodate the gathers at the waist. The sleeves are cap sleeves with gathers near the shoulder seam. You can’t see it but there is no topstitching in this dress. Not even hemlines for the sleeve and skirt hems! Lots of hand stitching within which is also why it took so long to complete.

back1a1

The only difference I made to the original pattern was the change of a fully exposed metal zip that was to be sewn from the right side to a concealed zip. I did contemplate a semi-exposed metal zip, but decided against it and opted for the safe option of a concealed zip.

side1

Some thoughts to share after working with nani IRO cotton sateen. It is to-die-for!!! I am not kidding… It is buttery and soft and not heavy like some of the other “cotton sateens” I have bought from spotlight in the past. It drapes really beautifully and I’m so in love with this material that I ordered more in the other two colors from Elizabeth Little!

I did mention in my last post that I will be doing a test on shrinkage of the fabrics and here are the results. As they say, always prewash your fabrics the way you intend to wash them, so it’s Machine wash cold + dryer (delicate cycle) for me. I did throw these 10cm fabric squares in a laundry net so that the fraying will be contained. I didn’t want to overlock the edges as I felt that might affect the final measurement of the shrinkage amount. After the pieces came out of the dryer, both were really crumpled, so I ironed them out.

The first piece you see here is the cotton sateen (the white arrows indicate the grainline). You can see that after the wash, there is about 2-3mm lost along the grain and a lesser shrinkage cross grain. So that’s about a 2-3% maximum of shrinkage. That’s quite acceptable considering that most cottons are expected to shrink about 4%. You can see in the after picture, that the washing creases are quite difficult to get rid of though.

cottonsateenshrinkage1

The next experiment was for nani IRO double gauze. I have always pre-washed my double gauze in the past since I have always assumed that it will shrink terribly. Part of that misconception also lies in the fact that when it comes out of the machine, it is always in a terrible scrunched up state. However, it is really easy to iron the creases out compared to the cotton sateen. But due to the loose weave, it did fray a bit more.doublegauzeshrinkage1

I was surprised to find that, after ironing it out, the shrinkage seemed to be quite minimal! I think the partial loss of fabric from the edges was more due to fraying then shrinkage. So could it be due to the ironing which helps to stretch out the weave?

In any good science experiment, you should always repeat the experiment 3 times. But hey, this is a sewing blog not a science blog, so don’t take my word (or experiment) results for it :P. You should always pre-wash your fabrics for best results.

That’s the end of my nani IRO cotton sateen report. If you are keen on getting any for yourself, do visit Elizabeth Little before they are all gone! If you are not fast enough, you may want to check out my blog again within the next few weeks as there might be a special giveaway for you all!

 

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12 Comments

  • Reply kate March 30, 2017 at 1:25 pm

    Bravo! Lovely dress on you! Perfect, glad you stuck to your guns! I ‘need’ some of this lovely fabric!

  • Reply Ines March 30, 2017 at 2:16 pm

    Wow! This turned out amazing just like I saw it too! Couldn’t Love the contrast rib more, happy you stuck with it because the dress is gorgeous and looks beautiful on you. <3

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books April 7, 2017 at 9:14 pm

      Thank you Ines! Yes I am happy I stuck with it. 🙂

  • Reply Marisa March 31, 2017 at 6:35 am

    I think you made all the right decisions -the waistband looks perfect and a dress in fabric this beautiful really doesn’t need an exposed zip. Absolutely stunning!

  • Reply Mariko March 31, 2017 at 10:39 pm

    It looks fabulous and fits you perfectly. I think you’ll get a lot of wear out of this!

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books April 7, 2017 at 9:13 pm

      Yes I think I will! Thanks for the compliments 🙂

  • Reply Yany smits April 6, 2017 at 9:19 am

    Love the fabric and dress is simply perfect!

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books April 7, 2017 at 9:14 pm

      Yes it is! You can buy some nani IRO fabric too since you are heading to Sapporo!

  • Reply silvia April 6, 2017 at 4:51 pm

    you look gorgeous!

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books April 7, 2017 at 9:14 pm

      Thanks Silvia!

    • Reply Yany smits April 13, 2017 at 10:53 pm

      OMG! I saw the exact fabric as I entered the first shop at the basement. It’s beautiful and so soft!! I chocked a little though when I saw the Price tag😉You see, I am new at sewing and have very little idea how much all the goodies. Cost. Anyway once I overcame the initial shock and guilt….. I went shopping!!😍
      First Kanariya-Sapporo, then Nomura Tailor Co. -Kyoto and Tomato-Tokyo. It was delightful 🎉Thanks for all the inspiration 😊

  • Reply Giveaway – nani IRO Cotton Sateen | Japanese Sewing, Pattern, Craft Books and Fabrics April 28, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    […] my raves about the new nani IRO cotton sateen last month? Well, we have a treat for […]

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