Laura: My White Tree Fabric Project

For my first project with White Tree Fabrics I chose a lovely pattern by vogue and an absolutely gorgeous damson chiffon.

It may surprise some of you but I have never sewn from a bought pattern before.. I have always just made my own that way I know it will fit me perfectly, so this was a new venture for me.

I read the instructions through word for word and got to cutting out the right pieces for the dress.

I stitched a simple toile for this dress to ensure that it would fit me right. I'm glad I did because I had to make a few adjustments to the skirt and round my bust to give me more space to breathe but other than that it fitted well.

The damson chiffon fabric is fairly see through so for the lining I used a light blue cotton I had spare. Underneath the chiffon you can barely tell its there

Chiffon can be a tricky fabric to cut and sew with. I had to buy a new pair of scissors for this fabric as my others just weren't sharp enough no matter how much I tried to sharpen them.

Lots of pins and weighing the chiffon down and it was pinned and ready to cut. With my new scissors it was a dream to cut.

.

The bodice without the lining

The Bodice with the lining. This lining complements to chiffon nicely as it brings out the rich damson colour.

The dress was fairly quick to sew together, the biggest issue I had was deciding how to finish the seams inside. When I first started this project I was set on doing French seams but the chiffon fabric did not want to press into place so I took the brave decision to over lock the seams. It took some time to get the lining and the chiffon to line up perfectly.

 Lots of stay stitching and it was finally done.

Close up of the square neckline.

Close up of the tab sleeves

& the finished dress.

Another beautiful dress to add to my collection of possible dresses to my Brother-in-laws wedding in August Think this is a good contender.. I may need to have some wardrobe changes throughout the day so I can wear them all.

And as a bonus all of our readers can enjoy a lovely 20% off and free p&p just use the discount code "SIY challenge"

www.whitetreefabrics.com

Thanks for reading

Laura 

X

Laura: Butterfly Dress

I'm just going to start this post by saying I LOVE this fabric and pattern so much. It fits so well and the fabric is just so summery perfect for this weather we have been having!

I mean seriously how lovely is this.

The pattern I drew up my self, I don't even know where to start to explain how to do this.. I just get out my pattern paper and pattern master and do it. I suppose starting off with your basic bodice and dress blocks is a good place to start then I start to trace them and alter them to my working drawing which is in my head most of the time. 

The pattern pinned onto the lovely fabric and ready to cut!  I actually made the skirt too wide at my hips looked a bit like a umpa lumpa to start with. I must think my bum is bigger than what it is. 

I have a thing for capped sleeves, there so easy to put in plus they hide mistakes really well.

The back I made into a shallow V along with a slit neck at the front.

& the finished dress...

Apologies for my :/ face.. I really don't like my photo being taken.. but having taken some tips from Tilly and the buttons recent post about how to make your photos look better. I though I would give it a go instead of lots of mirror selfies.

Thanks for reading 

Laura

 x

Jo: The Burda Birthday Dress

As of next week I will be a quarter of a century old (as I keep being reminded by my lovely fiancé). I will be celebrating the same way I do most years, which is going to my local, drinking too much wine and probably ending up in either a swanky cocktail bar or a dodgy rock club. Unfortunately my lovely Sew It Yourself ladies won't be able to join me.

Now along with many other fashion lovers, my worst nightmare is being seen in the same outfit as someone else. Perfect excuse for a new challenge dress!

I had recently purchased Burda Style UK magazine and decided on a mini-dress. I already had my fabric from a previous shopping trip to my favourite Birmingham fabric shop Barry’s Fabric Superstore.

  

I traced out the pattern I needed, following the instructions. This seemed to be the longest process, but once you get used to looking for the same colour and playing spot the number, it kind of becomes like a grown up version of dot-to-dot.           

Instead of using my normal pattern paper, which is a bit thicker, I decided to use tracing paper (a roll of grease proof/baking paper), as it was easier to see through to trace. The Burda pattern has pockets and is supposed to have lining, however, I have chosen not to have pockets or lining. This is because I am going to leave my dress shear and wear a basic slip dress underneath (that I borrowed from another dress). This way I can change the image of the dress dependant on my mood with which bass colour I put underneath it.

Chiffon involves a lot of pining!!!Don’t try and cut corners and not pin, as it will not work and you will end up wanting to scream, so just use pins!!!! All is cut and ready to sew

Now the construction begins, and I was very good and started off following Burda's instructions word for word, until I got bored at step 2 and decided to wing it as I do with most projects.

First step is the bust darts. Tack with bright thread so you know where to sew to. Pin and sew.

Then followed by the side seams. I pressed and over locked the seams and then added top stitching to give the dress a much neater finish and less chance of it fraying and coming apart with wear. 

The back centre seam was then sewn up until the point where the zip will begin. Seams were then over locked and pressed apart.

Next the zip. Now I hate putting in zips, with a passion. I’m not very good at them no matter how hard I try. I’m looking down at this very fragile chiffon, seeing the edges fray away and thinking that I only have one shot at this. I can’t risk un­picking and ruining the fabric. My next fear was that I didn’t have a white zip, but I did have a reddish/orange zip that matched perfectly with the flecks of orange in the fabric.

I had an idea (which is often dangerous) to not have an invisible zip, but to add a pop of colour. So I did it and to my amazement it worked first time! 

My next pet peeve are sleeves.

The sleeves where based on a two­piece sleeve block so they were lined up, pinned, and sewn together. The seams where then over locked and pressed.

When inserting them into the armholes, as per usual I find myself not being able to fit them properly, so I improvised. I added 4 small pleats to each shoulder. The results where very pleasing and I also like the fact it added a bit of shoulder, as I have none. 

And then finally the finishing touches, hemming a good press! I am very happy with the results to this dress and I can not wait to wear it out. I think it's flattering yet comfortable and sexy yet modest.

The fabric is light and perfect for summer. The only thing that I may alter in the future is the neckline as it fits fine but may be a tad snug. I have also made the back slightly longer than the front, to prevent any flashing occurring.

I love this dress and now it's time to go out and celebrate! 

Bridie: My Vintage Shirt Dress



So for my second dress of the challenge I decided to buy a pattern instead of make one myself. This was purely a time factor if I'm honest, little man is sleeping well these days but I still only have at the most four hours a night, before exhaustion sets to work on any projects I have. I called this time my stitching hour (a play on witching hour because its magical).

The pattern I chose was this lovely vintage style shirt dress by Burda from Minerva Crafts. I fell in love with it, vintage is always a win with me plus it looked casual enough to wear to the shops and would be nice to wear in this heat we're having. I went through my fabrics looking for the perfect match and found this pretty plaid vintage fabric another of the many pieces I inherited from my grandma. The colours in it are those of strawberry bonbons, sherbet lemons and parma violets yum. I should really call it my sweet shop dress.    



When I got my pattern I decided to read through it a couple of times because its been quiet awhile since I last made anything with a collar. All I had was a vague memory of it being fiddly and required a lot of unpicking. I thought I'd play it safe and make a toile. Which would help me remember how to do it and then my finished collar would be perfect. My plan well and truly back fired. Instead of my toile helping me gain more confidence for my final piece, it actually made me want to pull my hair out!     

This is my sorry attempt at my toile, shocking I know! In the end I just thought sod this I'm making dress. I'm so glad I did and didn't give up because it was so much easier using the fabric I'd chosen. I think my toile fabric was too thick.

Needless to say I took my time with the real thing, reading and re reading each step. omparing it to the diagrams to make sure I was getting it right.



So far so good!

This bit was tricky if I didn't get it right there would be a hole where the back collar and front met. It took a couple of attempts but I eventually got it. Could of done with a glass of wine at that point to celebrate but had none in. Sad times. 

The rest of the dress went well. I didn't have any trouble with the pleats and the sleeves were simple enough. I thought I was on the home stretch at this point, once again I was wrong! You wouldn't think button holes would be that tricky but this was the first time I'd made button holes using Fred (my machine). I had no idea that stitch to use what length or anything. It wasn't until I remembered there was a is a secret panel above the foot compartment that I started to get some where. When I found the switch and revealed the panel it felt like there should of been a beam of light and a choir singing. Not that I like to be dramatic or anything! 



It had all the information I needed in a handy little chart. My Fred is good to me!



Things got scary at this point I set Fred to the right stitch, length and needle position and started to practice my button holes. Oh my I have never heard such painful clunking noises coming from her. All I could do was pray to the sewing machine gods that this was meant to happen. Thankfully no machines were harmed in the making of this dress!

After many attempts I finally got the hang of it!



Eventually I took the plunge and made my finished button holes which thankfully went well.



I went through my button stash for something suitable and found some nice purple buttons which I had more then enough of. I would of preferred it if they were lighter. 

Although after adding them I quiet like the finished look!

This is the finished dress I'm really happy with it and think I did really well with my pattern matching.  It's a little off at the back but didn't realise until it was too late. It's not too noticeable so shhh our secret! 

This is me wearing it. I styled it with a lovely blue belt and teal shoes which surprisingly works! I love the way it looks and it feels great on I will definitely be making it again!