Heather: Colette Macaron Summer Spots

Back in May Bridie and I bumped into the lovely Lucy from Sew Essential at The Big Simplicity Blog Meet in Manchester. Sew Essential is a comprehensive and easy to browse fabric and haberdashery site with a huge range of both dressmaking and crafting patterns, from indie brands as well as the big boys; high quality dressmaking fabrics (at prices that don't trigger a call from the bank) and even sewing machines and accessories (basically they have all the things and I want one of everything...).

If you're not a follower of the independent pattern circuit, Colette Patterns produce "Sewing patterns that teach" and have been on my wish list for a while. They have some unusual shapes and styles, and even better they seem to be designed to fit real people- with bums and everything! The pattern packets themselves are rather lovely too. Each package contains a detailed instruction booklet and a multi-sized pattern which is printed onto tissue- much preferred to the heavier paper that is becoming very popular. The pattern is stored in a special pouch in the back of the packet, which is stitched up along the edge to form a booklet to keep everything together. I can just imagine a selection of these sitting on my shelf like tiny books!

Already in love with the pattern, a quick look on Pinterest reassured me that the pattern would lend itself to almost any combination of fabrics, so I was rather excited to find this 100% cotton poplin fun printed spot fabric I could team up with some plain white cotton from my stash. I washed the fabric before using and there was no shrinkage or colour run, though obviously being 100% cotton it did need a good steamy press once it was dry!

Pale Blue multi-spot print cotton poplin fabric from Sew Essential.  

Checking my measurements, I decided to cut the pattern graded from a size 0 at the bust, size 4 at the waist through to a size 8 at the hip. Now before you start worrying for my health, I should point out that the size 0 on these patterns is not in any way indicative of high street dress sizes. The 0 measures B33 W25 H35 which is much more like a size 8-10 from one of the major pattern companies.

Following the instructions (who is this girl?) I created the front and back bodice sections first. The pattern calls for the bodice sections to be turned under 1.5cm along the top edge, positioned over the front and back yoke pieces and then top stitched together. For both the front and back sections I tacked the bodice sections in place and checked for fit before committing my final stitches. The front bodice fitted really nicely, but the back ended up being almost 2 inches too long in the back. Luckily this pattern rather lends itself to alterations- you can just see the stitching line in the picture below showing the final position of the bodice back section. 

The skirt front has two pockets concealed into a slashed dart behind the outer pleats (sounds technical, right?). I used the spot fabric for the pocket back (most likely to be seen) and a polyester lining for the inner half to reduce bulk over the tummy. Whilst I've constructed plenty of pockets before I found the particular instructions for these pockets to be the most clear and easy to follow of any of I've tried previously. The pockets went in perfectly first time with no hassle. 

Once the pockets were constructed, a concealed zip was inserted into the side seam. The sleeves are constructed from two pieces sewn right sides together and pressed to create a smooth sleeve hem. And there we have it; Hey Macaron-a...!

Pleased to have taken the extra time to get the back fitting really nicely!

Here are some tips for you, if you're thinking of having a go at the Macaron dress:

• Don't be frightened to grade the pattern across several sizes to get a better fit
• Personally I found the shoulders to be very narrow on the size 0 despite the fit being excellent elsewhere. Check the measurements before you cut!
• This pattern would totally work without sleeves, or you could lengthen the sleeve to just above the elbow for a more formal look. 
• I'm only 5'3" and this dress sits well above the knee. You may want a longer version!

Personally, I wouldn't change a thing about my dress! I'm already planning a winter version with some checked wool and denim. In fact, I think I'll have one in every colour!

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The fabric and patterns used in this blog were kindly provided by Sew Essential. Browse the site at www.sewessential.co.uk

Heather: The Big Vintage Sew Along

The Big Vintage Sew Along is an annual blogging event organised by McCall Pattern company. Each year they choose a selection of reproduction vintage patterns from their range and invite the sewing community to have a go at reproducing these vintage styles. You can find out more about the project here.

If you've read some of my older blogs over at Dresstoration you'll know I'm a vintage fan, so when I received details of the challenge I knew I wanted to get involved. I picked out this lovely 1930s coat-dress which I thought would suit my style. 

From the moment I started cutting the pattern out I knew this garment was going to be tricky. If you look closely at the pattern diagram you'll see there are curved darts of the hips and shoulders. This is not a feature I've ever attempted before, so I decided to make a toile of the bodice in some leftover muslin, to check I could get the curves right.

I started with my usual method of checking the garment fit against my pattern block. I shortened the bodice back by 2cm at the seam, and the front by 2cm at the shoulder. Having cut out the pieces from muslin and battled for about 30 minutes to get the curves to fit together nicely, I thought it might be a fun idea to read the instructions... (I have inherited this bad habit from one of my parents. Clue: It's not my Mum.) 

This dress has an unusual feature, in that almost all of the seams are joined together with a line of top stitching/edge stitching rather than the classic right-sides-together method. This means that those lovely curved darts are actually created by pressing under the curves and then lining them up with their corresponding partner before edge stitching in place. Not easy. (Big thanks to Amy from Almond Rock who set me on the right track here! See her version of this dress here.) 

Having figured out what I was supposed to be doing I stitched up my toile, with promising results.

Happy with the fit, I rooted through my stash and found some tan cheesecloth in a perfect 1940s brown, which I thought would make a lovely summer version of the outfit. I also opted to shorten the sleeves at this point for the same reason.

I started by making up the back of the garment. The curved edges were tricky but not impossible, and aided significantly by the purchase of an adjustable zipper foot which allowed me to align the edge of the foot which the edge of the fabric perfectly. The instructions suggested using a contrast thread for the visible stitching so I went for a soft coral pink, as I knew it would match a pair of vintage-looking shoe boots I picked up from Office a few years ago. 

The majority of the garment assembly was straightforward and before long I had 90% of a completed garment, just awaiting the attachment of the collar and front panels. This is where things started to get a little tricky. On the front of the garment there are two tiny pockets. See them? No, I didn't either. They are actually hidden behind the top two curves of the bodice and creating them involves a lot of pins and pressing and tacking (and swearing). Finally I got to this point: the front top stitching.

There are some learning points here: 

1. I should have tacked these beastly darts in place rather than sewing straight from pins.

2. I should have overlocked the edges of every piece before I even started this exercise.

3. You can't press cheesecloth enough times- it will always looked like you just screwed it into a ball.

4. Cheesecloth was not the right fabric for this dress.

The fabric moved around a lot whilst stitching. It pulled out of shape in some places, and there are some definite hidden holes under those seams from my stitch unpicker.

But I finished it. It was really tricky, and there was definitely a point that I was ready to consign this to the pile of never-to-be-finished UFOs. 

But I persevered, and I'm so pleased I did...

Check out those shoes!

You can just make out the contrast edge stitching here.

Hand stitched arrow heads on each dart.

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Why not have a go at your own vintage challenge?

http://www.vintagesewalong.co.uk/

Heather: Pretty in Paisley

Now I know what you're thinking... "does this woman ever stop sewing?" Well no, not really! Lucky for me I've got a couple of days off this week so I'm making the most of some time with my machine and sewing in the daylight.

I called in to Fabric Corner on my day off last week and spotted this lovely paisley print viscose. As well as being addicted to remnants (more on that later) I also can't resist new fabric, and this roll still had the tape on it! Immediately I thought it would make a lovely day dress, using McCalls M7015 which has been kicking about at the back of my stash, unused, for quite a while.

With such bright colours and a really soft texture I decided to pre-wash my fabric (I have a bad habit of not doing this and have learned the hard way) but there was no colour run or shrinkage. The fabric is quite fine and floaty and really lends itself to the shape of the pattern, though it's actually really nice to work with and doesn't slip about under the machine too much. I decided to go for a mid length sleeve and the shorter length in the dress- this won't be a dress work work so I can afford to show off my knees!

I used my trusty pattern block to make some amendments to the fit across the bodice and also to check the width on the arms- if I had made size 6/8 sleeves according to the pattern size it would have been very small indeed.

And here is the finished product. Total sewing time was only 3-4 hours. A really fun make, and perfect for sitting and drinking coffee in the Craftea Cafe which is where I'm heading now...!

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This 100% Viscose Paisley Print is available from Fabric Corner Lincoln, based in Lincoln's historic Central Market. McCalls patterns are available to order from the stall and also the Melville Street shop.