Heather: May Sewing Roundup

Roll up, roll up! It's another sewing extravaganza! Somehow, despite an exceptionally busy month month both at work and play, I've managed to make a whopping 14, yes FOURTEEN, new garments. Grab your candyfloss, folks... we're ready to start the show...

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We start the month with the Sew Over It Vintage Shirt Dress. If I'm being entirely truthful I actually made the majority of it in April but it wasn't quite ready in time for last month's blog. I chose the Liberty Cotton Lawn from (ever fruitful) Fabric Corner in Lincoln and knew exactly what I was going to make with it. I've made this dress once before, with limited success after making some dubious alterations to the pattern. This time round I decided to make the dress as a straight size 8 without any alterations, and I'm really pleased with it.  

After a couple of wears, I would definitely shorten the front bodice across the collarbone as it's a bit gapey; and I have subsequently added two extra buttons at the bottom of the skirt after a slightly unfortunate gust-of-wind-and-first-day-in-nude-tights incident last week. 

I'm going to make another one of these for the #sewtogetherforsummer challenge, though I need to get my skates on!

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I picked up this next fabric, a lovely stripe and floral cotton, from Fabric Corner last summer, fully intending to make it into a pretty summer dress. Then, I wanted to make it into a night shirt. Then a few weeks ago I found some fantastic orange sweat-shirting (once again at Fabric Corner) and the decision was made... summer PJs! Over the course of two evenings, armed with a well fitting pair of Jack Wills PJ bottoms and my trouser block, the Tilly and the Buttons Fifi Pyjamas cami top, and a Burda raglan sleeve jumper pattern, I made these gorgeous summer PJs. I love wearing these and the fit is absolutely perfect for lounging!

The next make of the month was a really unusual choice for me; Vogue 1395, a slouchy wrap dress. I spotted the pattern on a reselling group on facebook for the bargain price of £2 and I was sufficiently intrigued to give it a go. I had picked up some fab printed polyester for my Birthday back in March and it seemed ideal for this make. 

As is so often the case with Vogue patterns, this was definitely not what I would call easy! There is a sweet back gather detail, not pictured, which requires significant dexterity (not to be attempted after a couple of wines, it turns out) and an awful lot of precision top stitching. The pattern also has a full lining, I can only assume because it's intended for more sheer fabrics. I wanted this dress to be cool for those warmer days we had in the middle of the month so I omitted the lining pieces and instead cut a very creative facing piece out of the absolute scraps of fabric I had left over. I was really proud of myself for getting this whole garment (include made up facings) out of 1.5m, seeing as the pattern requires 2.5m!

I'm happy with the finished dress though I'll be honest and say I'm not sure how much I'll wear it. Next time I would shorten the back by at least an inch and probably lengthen the skirt by an inch too. 

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Next up is a bit of a failed project. The lovely Simona from Sewing Adventures in the Attick sent me this lovely abstract poly from her destash, and upon first glance I knew wanted to make it up into McCalls 7094, the free blouse pattern from last month's Love Sewing magazine.

As nice a pattern as this is (and once again kudos to Love Sewing for the multi-sized patterns) I just don't think I'm a baggy blouse kinda gal. The neckline detail was really complicated and definitely not a beginner make. And although I'm really pleased with that part of the blouse, and the fit across the shoulders in size XS is exceptional... everywhere else it's just vast. Huge. Enormous. You get the idea. In a drapier fabric I think it could have worked really well but, sadly, after just one wear this has been relegated to the remake pile.

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Throughout the month I've been taking part in MeMadeMay (#MMMAY17) and whilst I haven't kept up with the pics on Instagram, I have successfully worn at least one hand made item every day throughout May. The idea behind the challenge is to help identify some of the gaps in your wardrobe, but I found it had the exact opposite effect. Having worked in retail for nearly 7 years my wardrobe is absolutely full to bursting with gorgeous, hardly worn high street clothes... which I don't wear! I really love wearing my handmade wardrobe and will turn to one of my own items over a ready-to-wear garment any day. So I had a clear out! A proper, bin-bags-and-stuff-on-ebay clear out. And it feels great! I now have just a handful of RTW garments in my wardrobe and I'm looking forward to filling that space with more handmade items. 

One gap I did identify, however, was in my work wardrobe. Last summer I made quite a few lovely floral dresses, but I didn't feel I had many items that were smart enough for work. Resorting to my favourite Butterick 6166 I made this birdy print jersey dress in about 90 minutes on the overlocker...

... and then did some remnant busting by making these two simple t-shirts from a Burda pleated roll neck pattern which is another tried and tested favourite. 

I also made this elephant print blouse for my work wardrobe, mashing up the Simple Sew Pussy Bow Blouse with a front button channel and some self-drafted sleeves. A very quick win!

(We're more than half way folks, I promise!)

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You'll remember previous blogs that I've made a few items for my sister-in-law, who is always appreciative of a wardrobe top-up! She spotted the Sew Over It Ella Blouse pattern when it was released last month and I made it up for her in this floral viscose as a surprise gift for her holidays. 

Apparently it's a great fit and she really likes it- every sewists favourite sentence. 

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I've been coveting the Butterick range of vintage style dresses by Gretchen Hirsch for several months now and finally bought the pattern in a half price sale last month. It was with dismay that I realised the pattern required 4 metres of fabric and, despite having a pretty healthy stash, I didn't have enough of anything that I could use to make this! Luckily there's a fabric shop just around the corner...

This Palm Tree print viscose was the perfect pick for this dress, and the pattern itself is quite an easy make. Unfortunately everything that could go wrong with this make, did. Having secured my 4 metres of oh-so-perfect fabric, I discovered that there was a very slight, but unavoidable, hole right in the middle of the design. Each skirt panel takes about a metre and a half of fabric, and with the amount of gathering you really wouldn't know it was there, but there was no working round it sadly. Next, I snipped through my stitching when clipping the neckline and the whole thing unravelled quicker than a ball of wool at the paws of a kitten. And then, just as I had finished and pressed the dress, and snipped off the last few stitches ready to get dressed for a night out... the zipper broke. Straight down the middle and no saving it. (As I had made the dress fit really rather well, I can assure you it was a pretty stressful experience getting out of it with no one else in the house too!) Furious, and without time to resolve the issue, I resorted to one of last year's sundresses and popped a new zip in the next morning as well as a hook and eye at the waist to support the weight of the skirts. Lesson learned.

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In the same stack of viscose temptation as the previous make, I also picked up this lightweight black viscose with an abstract check pattern which I made up into another tried-and-tested pattern, Butterick 6016. Perfect for a warm but grey day in the office!

And last but not least, hot off the machine this evening is this totally adorable Sew Over It Tulip Skirt in some red floral border print.

 And I think it's probably the nicest and best fitting skirt I've ever made, not to mention a super quick sew at just an hour after all the pieces were cut out.

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Finally, next month's Dressmaking Blogger Challenge will be... "Garden Party"!

As always it's a just-for-fun challenge and you can share your makes using #dressmakingbloggerchallenge on Instagram or by joining the Dressmaking Bogging Network on Facebook. 

Thanks for reading. Happy Sewing everyone!!!

Heather: Colette Macaron Take Two: Red Linen

Don't you just love it when you find a pattern that you really love and you just want to make one in every colour? A few weeks ago I posted about my first make of the Colette Macaron pattern and I've been bouncing around ideas for other combinations ever since. 

A few weeks ago I picked up two metres of irresistible geranium-red linen/viscose mix fabric from Fabric Corner. My original plan was to make a smart skirt for work and maybe a pretty blouse to go with it for summer with some coordinating fabric. Then the next plan was to make a really smart shift dress and line it with some plain red cotton. Then the new plan was to make a shirt dress for lounging about in the summer. You get the idea- I was kinda struggling with this one. 

After returning to the shop on Wednesday afternoon (not shopping, honest) I had a flash of inspiration when I spotted some coordinating red leafy print fabric  (well I might have bought that...) which I thought would go perfectly with the red linen to make another Macaron Dress... but it didn't. 

And so finally, I resorted to my stash (which is probably where I should have started) and found the leftover chiffon from a dress I made for my Mum a couple of years ago. And it works perfectly.

In terms of construction, I used largely the same sizing from my previous post, just adding a little extra width across the seat for comfort, and adding 2 inches to the hem (following my own advice for a change!). The linen was lovely to work with thanks to the viscose mix and, remarkably, frayed very little during the stitching process which was a bonus. As you can see from the pictures, though, it does still have the creasing properties of linen!

The chiffon was quite hard to work with (if you are aware of a chiffon that isnt, do let me know!) and I don't feel it does the neckline justice as it's not holding the sweetheart shape from the bodice firmly like the cotton did in my previous attempt. I feel a bit like the garment is relying on fitting at the waist to stop the whole thing falling down. With hindsight I perhaps should have used two layers of the chiffon for strength or perhaps cut the yoke section a little shorter to allow for give (the chiffon grew about 1/2" over night once it had been cut). Either way I'm happy with the finished garment and just being picky!

I made the same adjustments to the back too, once again achieving a great fit.

My next version of this dress is going to be a navy check/denim combo for Autumn. Look out for that one later in the year!

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The linen-mix fabric used in this post was kindly provided by Fabric Corner Lincoln, based at The Craftea Sewing Bee Shop, 22-24 Melville Street Lincoln, and at Lincoln's Historic Central Market.

Heather: Abstract Date Night Dress

Summer is coming! Well at least it is in my sewing room, thanks to this fabulous abstract print date night dress, which promises to bring the sunshine with it*. For my latest White Tree Fabrics project I decided to choose an item that would fill some of the gaps in my casual wardrobe. Followers of my instagram will know that I love a smart, fitted dress for work, and a well-tailored shift dress is my ultimate wardrobe staple, so I wanted to step out of my comfort zone a little. Plus, the Abstract Print Cotton Poplin fabric particularly appealed to my more ditsy side! (come one, we've all got one.)

*This fabric claims no meteorological influence... more's the pity!

Date Night Dress & Slip by April Rhodes in Abstract Pink Cotton Poplin both from White Tree Fabrics

Now I'll confess, I hadn't heard of April Rhodes patterns before I browsed the White Tree site. In fact, White Tree carries a whole host of indie patterns and it's great to find such a comprehensive UK stockist. I was particularly drawn to the floppy sleeves on this dress, but in fact I was pleasantly surprised with this pattern overall. The pattern pieces are printed on a fairly heavy paper, designed so that you trace your own pattern from it, and sizing is from XS to XL. As you will have read (hopefully!) in my previous blog posts I usually have to grade a pattern to fit my slightly-smaller-than-average bust and more-than-slightly-larger-than-average bum. For this pattern I went for XS at the bust through to M at the hips, but then tapered back in to an XS at the hem to avoid looking like a (glamorous) lampshade. 

The instructions have photo illustrations, in colour, in a little booklet, and really well thought out instructions meaning that this already super-easy make went together like a dream!

This dress is actually constructed of two garments; the outer dress layer and a coordinating slip underneath. The slip is constructed of two identical pieces, whilst the outer garment has front, back and sleeve pieces, all of which are constructed using french seams. Now, I'm not a french seam fan. I know, I know, it's proper sewing and they make clothes look really nice on the inside and they stop the seams from fraying... but I've owned an overlocker for over 10 years, and who's got the time to stitch everything twice...?! Anyhow, in the interests of a true pattern review I overcame my general disdain for the technique and (following the instructions) did probably the best french seams of my life... "Hello, my name is Heather and I'm a french seam convert".

The majority of the outer garment constructed, and hems finished during the process rather than left to the end, I had the task of making some bias binding to use both as a facing and on the slip. I've made my own continuous bias several times thanks to this really handy free bias binding calculator from So Sew Easy. Who knew you could get almost two metres of binding from a 12" square remnant?! Cotton poplin makes particularly good binding as it has just enough 'give' to bend around the curves, but enough weight to be easily controlled during the stitching process. 

Bias binding detail on the slip.

The slip can just be seen under the arms. it is an integral part of the garment- don't skip it!

This pattern is really intended for a drapy fabric, but I really think the 100% cotton works!. The dress is called the 'Date Night Dress' but the cheerful fabric creates a totally different look. It makes me want to grab a stripy towel and head off to find the nearest candy floss stand at the beach! It's going to be ideal for that really hot summer that's just around the corner...

Happy sewing everyone!

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 The pattern and fabrics in this post were kindly provided by White Tree Fabrics. 

If you fancy your own sewing challenge, here's a little something for you. Just enter the code SIY challenge for 20% off and free P&P when you order from www.whitetreefabrics.com

Heather: Mum's Simplicity Garden Party Dress

Back in May Bridie and I headed up to Manchester for The Big Simplicity Blog Meet. At the event Simplicity launched their sewing challenge for 2016, which consists of 4 patterns and 5 sewing categories. You can read about them here. I selected the dress pattern and headed over to Fabric Corner to select my fabrics.

Simplicity 1458. Image courtesy of Simplicity

I opted for version B and I was looking for a fabric that was eye catching but relatively easy to work with. The pattern suggests light to medium weight woven fabrics but when I spotted this green paisley-printed, embroidered stretch mesh I knew it was the right thing. (I know, I know, that fabric is neither easy to work with, nor a light to medium-weight woven... but this is supposed to be a challenge, right?!) I found a remnant of green cotton hiding at the back of a shelf and also picked up a fantastic bright green concealed zip.

I headed home, excited by my upcoming make. And then my Mum turned up. Now, I should say that my Mum is an extremely capable sewer and was the first person to pop me in front of a sewing machine and encourage me to have a go (not to mention indulging my incessant stealing of pop socks to make jersey-dresses for Barbie... more on that another day maybe), which means that I couldn't say no when she spotted the fabric and this happened...

via GIPHY

So, that's how my green mesh dress became Mum's Garden Party Dress.

Next step was choosing the pattern pieces. This pattern is part of the 'Amazing Fit' range which includes separate front pattern pieces for cup sizes B-DD, and individual back pattern pieces for slim, regular and curvy fit. Even though I've sewn for Mum before I took a new set of measurements and made just a couple one alteration to the pattern, shortening the back length by 1/2". At this point I also altered the sleeve by adding 3 inches at the shoulder seam at the sleeve hem to create a more fluted sleeve.

I made up my toile using the green cotton that would ultimately for the inner layer of the garment. The pattern gives facing pieces fro the neck and armhole which were omitted. If you're reasonably confident on the fit, using a lining is a great way of fitting a garment without needing to make a full toile in muslin. The cotton is also pretty forgiving if it requires unpicking. As expected, at the first fitting I only needed to make slight alterations to the fit, adding a small amount of extra wearing ease at the waist and widening the neckline slightly, as I had decided to move the zipper channel under the arm.

Now for the stretch mesh. I am lucky to be in possession of a rather lovely Janome 8002DX overlocker which was an absolute essential for this fabric. Having transferred all of the alterations from the toile I quickly whipped up the outer layer using the overlocker only, trimming the seam allowances on the machine. The small embroidered flowers on the fabric did present a challenge but a slow speed and perseverance paid off.

I assembled the remainder of the garment treating the cotton layer as the lining, resulting in the exposed seams being enclosed between the mesh and the lawn. I was concerned this would show through to the outer garment but this wasn't the case. I inserted the sleeves and added an invisible zip, finally finishing the hem and sleeve hem with a rolled hem stitch on the overlocker. 

The finished garment went down a storm! Mum and I spent a rather amusing afternoon in her garden trying to get some pictures of the dress 'in use'. Mum's not a fan of being in front of the camera so I told her she could have one garden prop to make her feel more comfortable. I was thinking a watering can, but she went for a branch!

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The fabric used in this post was kindly provided by Fabric Corner Lincoln, based at The Craftea Sewing Bee Shop, 22-24 Melville Street Lincoln, and at Lincoln's Historic Central Market.

Bridie: My Sewaholic Gabriola Skirt

So a while ago I went a bit crazy buying PDF download patterns I think I bought 3 in one day, my excuse was it was Black Friday so got some good deals, but still a little excessive especially as I didn't have a project line up for them yet. I had a feeling I would get round to using them and I was right. Last months Sew It Yourself Meet Up Mini Challenge was to create a skirt and when I remembered I had the Sewaholic Gabriola Skirt I knew it would be perfect.

This skirt requires a lot of fabric about 3.5m for 60 inch width and about 5m for 45 inch width fabric. I wanted to make a wearable toile as that's quiet a lot of fabric to for a first attempt at a pattern. So I raided my stash and found this amazing fabric that was my Grandmas. I believe its a crepe de chine but I could be wrong. The important thing was it draped beautifully and there was meters and meters of it (I still have a good meter let)  

So after a lot of sticking, the only downside to PDF patterns is how long it takes to put them together, I was ready to go. The fabric I used required a lot of pinning while cutting as its very slippery on one side. Got there in the end though, well I thought I had turned out I'd missed out a full side panel. Luckily I had enough fabric left to go back and cut it out. Highly annoying though! 

It was defiantly one of the fiddlier garments I've made what with lining up all the panels in a fabric that didn't want to cooperate. I'm just glad I wasn't pattern matching that would of been a nightmare! Overall very pleased with it. I think the fabric was well worth the extra effort and the panels give the skirt a beautiful shape!

I do think next time I'm going make it a size smaller. I took it in a little at the waist which I think it needed and also requires a lot chopping off the hem for me and I'm about average height. They're easy issues to fix !

To get a real idea of how lovely this pattern is you have to see it in motion!

I hope you've enjoyed this post!

Happy Sewing x

Heather: Reversible Floral Skirt

At a recent visit to the Sewing and Craft shows at the NEC I spotted this beautiful viscose mix floral fabric from Montreux Fabrics.

I've never seen the stall there before, but it was piled high with gorgeous rolls, and even better, they had boxes and boxes of remnants and roll ends to root through. Now, I'm a sucker for a remnant. The challenge presented of having just too little fabric and having to cut creatively, or add panels, really makes me think about what I'm making. This piece was just 80x150cm so just enough for a very simple shift dress or a nice skirt. 

I pulled the fabric out of my stash the other day and, whilst laying it out on the table, realised that the fabric was fully reversible! I hadn't even noticed in the excitement of buying. 

I really wanted to make the most of both sides of the beautiful fabric, so I decided to attempt a fully reversible skirt. I googled for a simple pattern and found this really easy tutorial with a free printable pattern. Unfortunately I didn't have enough fabric to make the skirt as two layers so I was going to need to be creative!

The pattern calls for the skirt to be cut on the straight grain, but there was not enough fabric for this so I removed the centre back seam and cut both front and back pieces on the bias.

It wanted to ensure the skirt was fully reversible so I stitched the panels together with French seams and then top-stitched them flat to ensure the skirt could be worn both ways. 

I cut the front wrap panels into a curve at the edges, and turned up the hem 1cm all the way round, turning the hem under again to create a 0.5cm hem. On the "blue" side of the garment I pinned some black rikrak over the turned hem and top stitched through all the layers close to the edge to finish the hem. 

I used black satin bias binding for the waist and attached two pretty buttons from my stash to finish off. The result is a lovely flippy hem skirt that I can wear right through to summer!

Bridie: I Think I Have A Problem!

In preparation for the challenge I decided to overhaul my sewing room. My partner and I have recently moved houses and it desperately needed doing so this was a good excuse! I was sat for hours folding all my fabrics and piling them into colour coordinated piles. Laura you would be proud of how neat and tidy it looks. I really enjoyed it and realised just how much fabric I own. Which is a lot! I inherited most of it from my grandma and defiantly get my love of fabric from her. It's probably a good thing we started this challenge I need to make a dent on my fabric supply before my house is filled to the rafters with fabric!

Can't wait to start sewing some cute summer dresses. I'm thinking lots of 1950s style day dresses and some wiggle dresses.

I also want to make some high waisted shorts out of the beautiful vintage corduroy fabric I have. Sadly I can't wear them quiet as short as I did when I was at university!