Fake dotty day dress

Do you remember in October 2012, I first started my sewing class and chose the Simplicity 2215 skirt as my first make? Well, guess what? I actually, finally finished it eight, yes eight, months later!!

 

My class is only once a fortnight (with breaks over Christmas, Easter etc) and with five or six other members and a very particular teacher, the going was ssssllllloooowwww....

But, I am learning loads of techniques and it's such a laugh.Gill, the teacher, who used to be wardrobe mistress for one of the Birmingham theatres back in the day, likes us to do things her way and so I haven't really worked on the skirt outside of the classes.  Instead, I've just got on and sewn whatever I've wanted to get my fixes!

The reason I call this the fake dotty day dress is that the first time I wore it, I paired it with my Sorbetto made of the same fabric and with a belt on, it does look like a dress. I wish I'd done something else with my hair that day, it looks awful in the photos above. But it was a work day after all so it was a case of shoving it up into a messy bun and just getting on...

It does look just as good with a different top

Oh, it is definitely polka dotty, the
previous photos are blurry! 

Um, I'm going to let you into a tiny secret. Even though I was really careful and thought I had paid attention in class, the waistband is about 3 inches too big! Don't think I'll be getting an A star for that, right? Whoops!!

Oh and one other little thing - my design came third in the sewcialist logo competition! The winner was Joost, with an ingenious design that can be personalised with different colours - I've already got mine up on my sidebar. Go and get yours!

A blouse for Popeye's girl

Towards the end of last year, I bought some organic cotton dyed naturally to an olive colour. Unfortunately it faded to a sand colour after washing (something I was warned about by the company at the time of purchase - they say it's "only  for the creative and adventurous soul"). I used most of the fabric for another (yet to be blogged about) project but still had over a metre left. What to do, what to do? I didn't want a sand anything really. So I dyed it olive with some Dylon...

I've been wanting to try my hand at a button back blouse for a while. I think they're cute. Plus, cotton will be great for my upcoming holiday in Kenya. Oh, did I mention I'm going on safari?!

I was planning to use the Sorbetto pattern but after looking at it again, I decided it was a bit too boxy so I turned to NL6808, partly inspired by Amy of Almond Rock who made a fabulous one with some bird fabric. I do admit to stalking her blog post for a while as I was so jealous...!

My Mini helper...

I made a couple of changes to the pattern. No collar for one and I extended the shoulders out to give an impression of cap sleeves rather than putting actual sleeve pieces in. Although they seem to have turned into short sleeves rather than cap ones!

To make the button placket, I extended the centre fold of the back pattern piece by about 3 or 4 inches and cut the entire back piece into two along this line. I then folded the edges over three times making sure the the width of the placket would be big enough for my buttons. I found a link to a great tutorial via Adrienne of stitchingontheedge who recently made a button back Scout tshirt.

Look how neat I got the placket!

Can someone tell me why one edge of the buttonhole has way fewer stitches by the way? I tried every single setting on my machine and I could not for the life of me get it to look any different!

Anyway, very pleased with the final result - it looks great with trousers or a skirt and will come in handy for my holiday... and I'm finally getting the hang of modifying patterns to make different garments!

Crazy for Cambie (and the Great British Sewing Bee)

I finally made my first Cambie!

I've been ogling this pattern for bloody ages it seems, stalking photos of it all over t'interweb and mainly swooning over it. Then I got it as an Xmas present, along with some bottle green cotton. It might even qualify as emerald green, Pantone's colour of the year, no? Get me, all cool and on trend!

Looking Pantonely smug...

I went for the A line skirt version as my first go, mainly because I thought I'd get more wear out of it (eg at work) although I'm in love with the full skirt version that Tasia made when the pattern was first launched. I'll be looking for a similar sort of fabric to make that up, methinks!

It was reasonably easy to sew. I made both the dress and lining at the same time rather than one after the other, it might have got very boring otherwise. The instructions are minimal, and do presume some pre-existing knowledge but the diagrams are good and Tasia's tutorials are fab. It took me a while to get my head round joining the dress and lining at the zip but now that I have, I think I'll be using this method forever. I cut a size 2 based on the finished garment measurements on the back of the envelope and although I'm very happy with the look of the finished dress, I do wish I'd cut the next size up for the bodice and waistband as it doesn't leave me much room to breathe!! I'll remember for the next version!

This is my first ever lined garment - and I'm so proud of the finish! I used some slippery poly lining which was fine to sew but doing normal zig zag finishing of the seams looked awful (I don't have an overlocker). So after one look at my first set of seams, I decided to French seam the rest, which looks bloody brilliant!

Inside and out

I love the gathered sleeves and the way they transform a normal dress into something more fancy. I wore it to my friends' wedding - and got the colour spot on - green for IRISH!

The left hand side of the top of the zip is a little bit wonky but other than that (and the fact that the bodice is a bit tight) I absolutely love it. Next time, I'll make the full skirted Cambie in a slightly larger size and maybe raise neckline just a wee bit. But I know one thing for certain - I will definitely be making more versions of this dress!

On a slightly different note, how exciting was the Great British Sewing Bee?! The only thing I don't like about this program is the name - it should have been called the Great British Sew Off! I already have my faves - Lauren, who lives near me and is about to open a haberdashery and fabric store, Sandra who works in the same hospital as me (eek!), celebrity blogstar Tilly and Ann, who is also from Birmingham and is just the most brilliantly unflappable person on the show! Oh, do you notice a theme? All my faves (bar Tilly, but I'll forgive her) are from in and around Brum - we are obviously the best crafting city.....

And oh. my. god. Patrick.

Hello, tailor!

Snow - you can do one!

If it's been a bit quiet around here, it's because I've been away for a week. Skiing in Alpe d'Huez to be exact. It was my first time skiing, although I have been snowboarding before (not too enamoured with that, didn't really get the hang of it). Learning to ski was a lot of fun though.

We stayed in a friendly little village called Villard Reculas. Unfortunately we only had one day of sun in the entire week but it didn't spoil the fun. Most of the time it was either snowing or very misty.

My friend Liz and I had private lessons all week and then on the last day, we went off to the other side of the resort to play with the big kids on the big(ger) slopes. Oh and eat things like this Tartine Fraicheur. And tarte tatin. And lots of cheese...

So now I'm back home. I would really like it if the snow went away. I went on holiday when it was snowy, I had a week of playing in the snow and I came home to find snow on the ground still. GO AWAY! I'm fed up of you. The weather forecast says more flurries to come. Rubbish.

Today there was some sunshine at last. I'm relaxing (and recovering from all my aches and pains!) at home with my little Moomins and some sewing. Here are some WIP photos - can you guess what it is yet? There will hopefully be more photos at the end of the week as I'm hoping to have it ready to wear for my friend's wedding on Friday.

And to top off my addiction, I bought another two vintage patterns from eBay...

...and a few others that I took a fancy to, mainly as they were half price at Jaycotts... I will be a busy girl this year! I've put a ban on patterns until 2014. And I will stick to it. I will, ok? Don't look at me like that, with your raised eyebrow and smirky smile!

Clockwise from top left: NL6799, NL6000, McCall's 6460, NL 6968

Hope everyone is having a relaxed Easter weekend!

I think lack of sun has given me delusions of grandeur

Oh my word, it seems like it's been ages since I've posted... It's not because I'm not doing anything, I've been busying around like a bumbler (honest!) but it's just too cold and dark to take photos to prove that I'm sewing!

It's effin' freezing!

I'm working on a dress at the moment which is in need of some tweaks (it's the "top secret" project I talked about in the last post so no more info I'm afraid...) which means photos will be a while yet. I've just finished another New Look 6843 skirt, this time in corduroy (yes, I'm in love with this fabric!). Photos to come soon, maybe even tomorrow if I can get my arse in gear. Oh, and I bought the best sewing invention ever - an invisible zip foot - it's AMAZEBALLS! The zip for the corduroy skirt went in like a dream and you can't even see it. It's like it's invisible or something...

Life saver

I'm just about to start on a top for work - New Look 6808. The fabric is soaking as I type. Wonder if I can get the whole thing sewed up tomorrow and then wear it to work with the cord skirt on Monday? Hmm, ambitious.

There's been a whole lot of discussion on ye olde sewing blogs (notably didyoumakethat and kraftykat) about lack of sewjo recently due to the horrid winter weather we've been having. Yep, it definitely has an effect hasn't it? I'm sewing less during the weekdays and more at weekends when it's lighter. Mr Sabs and I have started running in the evenings after work to perk ourselves up a bit and get rid of the winter blues - we've done 20k this week. It's working a treat, except for the fact that I'm falling asleep by 9pm on the sofa every night!

And last but not least, I've done something crazy. I've gone and bought a vintage 1950s dress pattern. It was 99p on ebay so I had to, right? I mean, it would be rude not to.

Except, and this is the crazy part, it's unprinted. UNPRINTED.

Oh. My. God.

What have I got myself into? I can barely follow modern, printed, let's-spoonfeed-sabs-cos-she's-a-bit-slow patterns so how on earth am I going to cope with this? Well, I just read a helpful post over at Lucky Lucille about non printed patterns so that will be my starting point. I may just have to make it up as I go along! Please wish me luck. And sanity.

So I jumped on the mustard bandwagon too!

For months, I've wanted a mustard garment...but what? I remember I used to have an old, oversized mustard jumper in the early 90s that I wore almost everyday - you can just about see it in the photo below.

{WARNING: I used to look like Ugly Betty. You may want to avert your eyes} 

I loved that jumper, it was completely stretched out and baggy and perfect to wear over leggings (yes, they were fashionable back then too, but mine had massive flower power flowers all over them!)

oh my god, what was i thinking with those glasses?!

I thought about buying a mustard coloured cardi or jumper again but then came across some organic cotton at The Organic Textile Company from a link through Roobeedoo's blog (thanks Roo!). It was billed as being grown organically and dyed naturally with pomegranate and turmeric - and was on special offer. Actually, it still is, I've just checked! So, not one to forgo a bargain, I snapped it up as I reckoned it would be perfect for a skirt.

Excuse all the creases - my iron died and I didn't have my new one when the photo was taken.

I wanted a straight skirt for work, preferably with pockets. We have this semi-official uniform policy of polo shirt and trousers that we're trying out at the moment. Although it's great for not having to think about what I'm going to wear each morning, I was getting a bit sick of wearing the same thing all the time and even more fed up of not being very smart. So I've decided to mix it up a bit and wear uniform some days of the week and normal clothes the rest.

I already had the New Look 6843 pattern in which one of the variations is a knee length pencil/straight skirt but none of the variations had pockets. Pockets are essential! But wait a minute -  haven't I just finished the Kelly skirt? That has pockets! Can I apply the same principles? WHY YES!

So that's just what I did! I drafted my own pocket bags to make them a slightly different shape and size but otherwise just followed Megan Nielsen's brilliant instructions and it worked a treat. The only thing with the addition of pockets was that it made the front panel a bit too big and as I couldn't increase the seam allowances at the sides (due to the pockets being in the way) I had to add in an extra pleat on each side of the front panel. I don't think it's a problem though. I've read on patternreview since that the pattern does have quite a bit of ease at the hips and other people have had to take theirs in too.

With my Sorbetto top

The NL6843 pattern is fairly easy to follow and overall this skirt took very little time to sew up. There were a few instructions that implied prior sewing knowledge though, with little direction, despite this being billed as "1 hour easy". It definitely took me a few hours, not just one! I just didn't like some of the instructions being a bit vague, but I suppose this isn't a huge problem for anyone who isn't a complete beginner and seeing as I managed to work it out, given time and more experience, I probably could do it in a couple of hours...

I skipped the slit in the side of the skirt because I didn't like it and I'm glad I did as the skirt doesn't need one - it's roomy enough to manoeuvre in without a slit. I also made my first successful buttonhole! I had major problems with this when sewing my Kelly skirt (I think it must have been due to the thinner, slippier fabric) and Amanda from Bimble and Pimble gave me some great tips on putting small bits of extra interfacing under the buttonhole area before sewing. I'm so glad I tried this as it worked out fine. Well, almost fine: I made it a little bit too close to the edge and it's not the neatest buttonhole ever but it works and that's all that matters!

 

Anyway, the skirt is comfy to wear and pockets really do make all the difference. I'm sure I'll make it again, but next time I want to try a heavier material (or even, dare I hope, wool) for a winter skirt. I might also try making a narrower, more pencil shaped skirt by cutting a smaller size. All in all, this is a great pattern for beginners like me and I would definitely recommend it.

In other sewing news, I'm currently sewing covers for the window seat cushions - the irregular corner bits are making it a hard job! Photos will be here when I finish, but I suspect it may be some time yet! I'm also going to make another Kelly skirt in denim. Watch this space...

Oh, and sorry if the Ugly Betty photo gives anyone nightmares ;)

My Sewist Secret Santa gift and other cool pressies

Yay, my gift arrived today!

With a cute card (how did my Santa know I love cats I wonder?!) with a little note explaining how he/she had missed the last post before Xmas, oops! Oh well, I certainly don't mind as it's lovely to receive a present at any time!

And this is what was inside:

How cute! I'm excited just thinking about what I can do with it... Thank you SO much, Secret Santa, I'm well chuffed! I'm not even going to try and guess who my Santa actually is btw, it will hurt my brain too much...(I've been ill all week and only just starting to get better)...

It was my first "married" Christmas this year, spent with my in-laws. I was thoroughly spoilt with lots of gifts, including:

Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing

Cambie dress pattern

I also got knitting needles, crochet hooks and wool - no excuse not to learn now! With them came a book called The Knitter's Bible and in fact, I've already started knitting my very first woolly scarf! I received fabric and other sewing supplies, a really fluffy and warm dressing gown and my favourite gift:

So all in all, a very good haul, eh? I hope none of the family got my horrible cold as a present from me... Best get on and do some crafting now!

A skirt called Kelly

I've wanted Megan Nielsen's Kelly skirt ever since it came out cos it looks so damn cute! And what a nice surprise to get it as a birthday present from my sister a few weeks ago (I say surprise -  it was on my present list! Altho I did think at one point I certainly wouldn't receive it)

I'd already got some fabric in mind for it (a lightweight denim from Birmingham Rag Market) but I only had 1m so I thought I'd better make a practice run. I picked up this navy fabric on my last trip to Barry's - I have no idea what it is, it's drapey, has a lovely sheen and a very, very slight one-directional stretch. It was only £1/m on their odds and ends table - bargain!

The fabric looked perfect for a work skirt too so I decided I'd make it a touch longer than the pattern states - I need to be "appropriately attired" as a professional and mid thigh skirts are definitely more weekend than weekday!

I know everyone has already said it but I'm going to say it as well -  working with the pattern was a dream! The pattern pieces are printed on sturdy, "proper" paper, not tissue paper which was fab. I traced a pattern for the first time ever. Mainly because I listened to (should that read "read"?) all the advice out there on other sewing blogs about saving original patterns for future use (I hadn't thought of that before, but in hindsight, such common sense advice!). The instructions came in a lovely booklet instead of that horrible newspaper-type material that the Big4 use and were crystal clear. Everything was explained really well and Megan (am I allowed to use her first name?) used great diagrams to help.

The bestest thing about the whole thing is the amaze-balls pockets - they are roomy and oh so simple to create. I think I'm in LOVE.

I did have one or two disasters along the way though, although neither were the pattern's fault. The first one occurred when I had put all the skirt pieces together and was about to move on to attaching the waistband. I needed to press seams and flatten the pleats. My iron is old. Really old, inherited from my mum when I moved out 5 years ago. You can see what's coming next, right?...

Disaster! I had to take apart one of the front panels and redo that whole section. Luckily, I was able to save the pocket bag.

The second disaster was the buttonholes saga. Now, I've never made buttonholes before. So I carefully followed the instructions in my sewing machine manual. And I have no idea what happened.

Both the fabric and the thread seemed to keep jamming. I tried a different thread, I tried it out on a different fabric, I even tried taking the foot out and reloading it all according to the instructions, just in case I'd done something wrong the first time round. But to no avail. If someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong, I'd be very grateful!

In the end I got so frustrated that I just have up. I really wanted to wear the skirt to work on the following day  so I decided to use poppers instead. I used 4 in total and for the remaining 3 buttons, I just sewed through all the layers so it's more a pull-on skirt rather than a complete button-up.  I was planning to do this anyway so not that huge a change.

Anyway, despite these two setbacks, I really love the skirt. The pattern is simple but put together really well and the finished article is great. I was a little bit worried the the box pleat at the back would make my botty look huge but I think it looks ok...what do you think?

I'm definitely planning to make more of these beauties, one in my originally planned denim with wooden buttons and I'm already in the midst of using the pocket method for another skirt. I just need to sort out making buttonholes!!

Anyway, merry Christmas to all, and hope you all get whatever sewing goodies you were dreaming of! See you all in a few days.

Wearing my Kelly for lunch at Akamba!