Orange floral maxi dress

I cut this dress out in August last year and then it got put to one side for the best part of a year... Rachel's recent instagram photo hop gave me the impetus to get it finished.  The pattern I've used is Simplicity 1801 view C and it would have been a quick and easy make if I'd made it as per the pattern!

However... this fabric is quite thin and I decided that rather than make the dress with just a neckline facing I would fully line it.  Which meant not following the instructions for the bodice construction - there was a fair bit of unpicking involved to get it sewn together just enough for turning it right sides out, and then adding the midriff pieces.  Getting the pockets to go through the lining (rather than between the dress and lining) was also a bit of a faff, but it was worth it once it was done.

Pocket inserted between outer fabric and lining

I wasn't sure which size to cut, so I quickly sewed up the bodice lining and tried it on and it looked OK, but now the dress is finished it has more ease than I prefer and if I make it again I'll cut it a size smaller.  I also think the neckline is a bit low, so I'll cut out another bodice front and cut the neckline higher (not sure whether I have enough leftover fabric to do this, if not then I'll fiddle about with neckline to make it more sweetheart shaped I think).  I did wonder about just hitching the bodice up at the front yoke seam, but then the midriff section won't sit in the right place, so that idea's out.  This won't be happening any time soon though because realistically I doubt I'll wear it again until next Spring / Summer and I'd rather be knitting and sewing things that I can wear now.

The finished dress

I probably will make another of these because I really like the style, but it will be made with the modifications above and also with thicker fabric so that it won't need a lining.  Should be a quick make then, in fact I'm almost talking myself into cutting one out now, but no, it can wait until next year.

Like London buses, three came along at once

During the summer I made three Cambie dresses one after the other.  One I've already blogged about here, and then I made two more in quick succession.

The first of these I made from some lawn which I got as a 3m coupon from Classic Textiles on the Goldhawk Road earlier this year.  My sister tells me that it's "very Antoine et Lili", and since she pointed that out, I kind of agree.  (Antoine et Lili have several shops in Paris and elsewhere in France - I love their aesthetic).

This didn't take long to make - I decided since the skirt was gathered and had quite a lot of fabric in it I wouldn't bother to line it - and I'd made it before so it came together pretty quickly.  However, once it was finished and I tried it on in front of a mirror on a sunny day I decided that actually, the skirt definitely needed lining because it was practically see through.  So I cut an A-line skirt lining and sewed it in.  I really like this fabric / pattern combo and am very pleased with how it's turned out.

Antoine et Lili vibe Cambie

The third Cambie from this summer I made with some fabric which I bought in Decorative Cloth in Leamington Spa last summer.  I love this fabric, it's so summery.  Not much more to say about making up this pattern, except that I didn't line this skirt either - and this one has stayed unlined because the fabric is thick enough not to need it.

Beachhuts Cambie

I really like all three of this summer's Cambies, and having unpicked the yellow one I made last year I had intended to recut and resew it straight away, but actually... it's joined my growing alterations pile because after making three in quick succession I fancied sewing something else instead.

And now autumn is approaching and my thoughts are turning to knitting so it probably won't get put back together until next spring now.  I still have five dresses which are cut out and waiting to be sewn up (although in fact one is nearly done and just needs hemming), so perhaps I should get those done first, especially since one of them I cut out last year, and another one in January.  But the siren call of wool, and knitting, is getting louder...

Spots before my eyes

Still in catch-up mode, there are three polka dot dresses in this post, one of which I actually made last year and realise I haven't got around to blogging about it.  The other two I made this summer.

So, I'll start with the one that's been unblogged for the longest.  The pattern I used is Butterick 5603, one of their retro reprints.  It started life with a contrast bodice - white polka dots on green - which took me ages to cut out because the fabric had so many flaws in it.  I'm not sure that they would have been immediately obvious to anyone else, but I could see them and therefore had to cut around them.  Once I'd made up the skirt and attached it to the bodice I decided I didn't like the overall look and so cut out another bodice in the same fabric as the skirt.  Now, about the fabric... it was cheap; a polycotton which I bought on Goldhawk Road because I liked the idea of a dress with green polka dots on it.  However, after sewing it up I realised that polycotton polka dots were not for me.  The fabric frayed quite badly and is very thin, so not only is the bodice lined, the skirt is too.  This meant that there were several layers of fabric at the side seams - albeit thin layers.  And that, together with having to remake the bodice because I didn't like the first version, meant that by the time I'd finished sewing it, I was glad to see the back of it.

Butterick 5603 Green polka dot dress

I've only worn this a couple of times since I made it, which is a shame because it is a pretty dress.  I will make up this pattern again because I really like the skirt, but I'll use the bateau neckline V-back version of the bodice next time - I didn't really enjoy sewing this cross-over version.

The next two dresses were much happier sewing experiences.  The first one is made from some cotton I got in Fabricland because I absolutely loved the colour and which was a pleasure to sew with.  I can't remember where I came across this pattern (Simplicity 3774) because it is out of print - probably on someone's blog, although I can't remember whose.  But it is one of several patterns I've bought in my quest to find the perfect pattern to make something similar to the Vanity Project tea dress that I blogged about here.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out and will be making more from this pattern, it was a good buy and an easy sew.

Teal polka dot Simplicity 3774

And the third dress for this post is a Butterick 5748, another retro reprint.  I absolutely love this pattern, this is the third one I've made, although only the second with the full circle skirt that comes with the pattern.  I cut this a size smaller than the first two I made which I had to fiddle about with to improve the fit.  The fabric is a lovely cotton which I bought from Minerva last summer.  The only downer about making this dress was that there was a lot of fabric in the skirt, and the skirt was fully lined, and I made this in July when it was really rather hot by English standards.  Having a lot of fabric piled on my lap while I was sewing wasn't the most comfortable of experiences, but clearly it wasn't bad enough to put me off  because I made another two dresses this summer with fully lined skirts... which will be for another blog post.

Butterick 5748 Blue polka dot dress

Me Made May - week 3 round up

A bit behind schedule on posting here, life, in the form of redecorating, has intervened.  There has been topsy-turvyness in these parts for the last couple of weeks, but things are pretty much back to normal now and all the boxing up, packing up and moving around of STUFF was so worth the end result.

It has meant no sewing though, and not much knitting either, but I have been able to do a bit here and there.  Now to catch up on Me Made May.  Week 3 is the only week this month that I actually went to work every day - June will be a bit of a shock to the system, since I only did one full week in April as well, a girl could very easily get used to part-time hours...

So, Monday's outfit was my Up, Up and Away dress with a fuchsia pink cardigan from H&M, dark brown tights and chocolate brown El Naturalista shoes.

12th May outfit

On Tuesday I wore my Dotty Anna with a navy cardigan from Woolovers, navy tights and Orla Kiely by Clarks shoes - I love these shoes ;-) I hope she does another collection.

13th May outfit

Wednesday was a very. good. day. because the sun was out so I could ditch the tights YAY!  I had thought about having a week of wearing bird print dresses every day, but decided that was probably a bit too much of a good thing, so the first one of the week made its appearance today - my Bluebird dress, worn with a bright blue Woolovers cardi and navy Birkenstocks - the season of painted toenails is here at last!

14th May outfit

On Thursday I wore my Measuring Up dress - the ideal dress for Me Made May don't you think ;-) - with a pink Woolovers cardigan and pink Birks.

15th May outfit

For the last day of the working week it was back to birds again.  My Cath Kidston Garden Birds furnishing fabric mash-up dress (Elisalex and NL 6824), with a blue cardi from H&M and navy Birks.  I think I may have to bias-bind the skirt seams of this dress, because having washed it a couple of times they have frayed a bit.  I usually pink seams to finish them, but these I zigzagged because I thought if I pinked them and they frayed there wouldn't be much seam allowance left to do something different.  The bodice should be fine because the seams are all encased.  Something to bear in mind on future furnishing fabric garments.

16th May outfit

Well, that's a week's worth of outfits caught up.  Last week's and next week's combos I will put in one post at the end of next week - I only worked three days last week and next week will be four days with the bank holiday tomorrow, so they can all go in one post.

The decorating work meant that I had to miss the NYLON2014 bloggers' meet up last Saturday which I had been really looking forward to.  I did think I might be able to make the afternoon shopping part of the day, but as it turned out, it was not to be.  So I shall be living vicariously through the posts of the bloggers who did go and hope that I'll be able to go to another meet up in London at some point.  And I don't really need to buy any more fabric at the moment... although my sister has bought some fab fabrics from Goldhawk Road recently which have set me thinking that one or two more purchases wouldn't hurt...  I wonder whether the fact that the Tories have been kicked out of Ham & Fulham council in the elections last week might mean a reprieve for the Goldhawk Road shops.  I really hope so.

Well, that's it for this post, I have a sleeve to finish knitting (oh what joy).

Sew Dolly Clackett dress no. 1

Having sewn nothing at all during the first three months of this year (I was knitting though), April has seen me cut out and sew five dresses so far and I have another laid out on the floor waiting for me to finish typing and get the scissors out.

The first to make it to this blog is an Anna maxi made from floral fabric which I bought on Goldhawk Road last year (or maybe it was early this year?).  As soon as I saw Roisin's Georgia dress I knew that I wanted an Anna maxi from that same fabric and spotted an end-of-a-roll of it in Toni's, so after a bit of friendly haggling over the price - there was more on the roll than I needed - it came home with me and I've finally got around to making it up.  Having a week off work over the long Easter weekend has given me the time to get quite a bit of sewing done and I've realised that the dresses I've made have all had some Dolly Clackett influence.  Dolly's was the first sewing blog I discovered last year, just by clicking a link in someone else's blog actually, and as a fellow dress lover I have been inspired by lots of her makes.

To celebrate Roisin's upcoming wedding, a competition has been launched, and there is now a fabulous selection of dresses appearing in the flickr group.  I'm not really one for joining in sew-alongs or knit-alongs, mainly because I have enough deadlines to work to in the day job, knitting and sewing are for relaxation; but occasionally serendipity intervenes, as it has here, when I noticed that all this month's makes had a Dolly Clackett element to them.  And since I've had so much inspiration from her sewing I've succumbed and entered.  Also, I love seeing what other bloggers make and it's only fair to return the favour I think.

I realise that this blog needs some serious work on it, but that will have to wait until I replace my PC, which has decided it doesn't want to talk to blogger anymore, and typing posts on an old and very slow laptop is time-consuming, but at least it works!   I'm digressing here aren't I?

Back to the dress.  Here she is.


Tropicanna dress

Back view

I love the Anna pattern - this is my fourth take on this dress - and I decided I wanted it to have a V-back which I think has worked out pretty well.  I now feel the need to make more maxi dresses for the summer and fortunately already have some patterns which have maxi versions, so there will be more appearing here over the next few months.  The fabric on my floor is calling me now, so I'm going to cut out my second Emery.  The first one will be for my next blog post. :-)

Update May 2017
Much as I loved this with both a v-neck back and v-neck front, I found that it slipped off my shoulders rather too easily unless I was vertical (when gravity would keep it in place), so last year I unpicked the fron bodice and cut a replacement with the bateau neckline option and this has solved the falling-off-shoulders problem!

Measuring up

Well, having blogged last month that I would probably make up this pattern in this fabric, I decided not to wait for spring and cut it out earlier this month. It’s a very quick make and I can see me getting a lot of wear out of this when the weather warms up. I love this fabric, which I bought on the Goldhawk Road back in the summer, it makes me smile whenever I look at it and I have some more in one of the other colourways – I haven’t decided what to use that for yet though.

I cut this as a straight size 12 and followed the pattern exactly except, as before, I just cut two widths of fabric for the skirt. Even with this narrower width fabric (45”) it’s plenty full enough and I got the whole thing from less than 2.5 metres which is a lot less than the envelope suggests is needed. I added fusible interfacing to the fold-back facings because I thought that the print might show through, which would bug me, it’s done the trick!

Looking at the photo of this I think I should probably adjust Myrtle (my dressform) in some way, because although she has the same vital stats as me she definitely looks thinner!

Pink tape measures

Now I have an Anna maxi dress to hem.  Toodle pip.

Check these out

Well, so much for getting a couple more posts in before Christmas.  Time just ran away from me but there is now a lull in the festivities between now and New Year, so time to catch up with the blogging.

I really like gingham but the fabric that I have sewn with so far hasn’t been great, so I’ve realised that actually I really like cotton gingham, and there doesn’t seem to be nearly as much of that around as the polyester & cotton gingham that the next three dresses are made from.

The first one is Vogue 8727 made with ⅛” gingham from Fabricland.  I bought this pattern mainly because I thought it would be a good starting point for recreating the shape of the Limb teadress which I blogged about last month.  I think with the NL6824 narrow skirt option and some self-drafted (should that be self-draughted? Hmm… not sure) cap sleeves it’ll work rather nicely.  This is a pattern which would have completely passed me by if I’d only considered the initial photograph, however, the line drawings showed that it had potential and so I bought it.  For its first outing I cut it according to the pattern and did view D in a size 14.  Which as I now know, turned out to be too big and so I had to do some fiddling around with the side seams to get it to fit.  Next time I’ll cut a size 12.



Vogue 8727



I love the shape of this dress and it can be dressed up (with a smart plain navy jacket) or down (on its own with some wacky jewellery) but is now put away for the winter since I don’t have enough wardrobe space to not have to pack away summer clothes in the winter and winter clothes in the summer.  As an aside, there was a thread on Ravelry which I came across whilst noodling about, asking how many dresses ravellers had.  So I did a quick count this evening – there are currently 26 rtw and 4 handmade dresses hanging in my wardrobe, so I reckon the total count (including summer dresses) is probably quite a bit higher.  I do love me a dress.  In fact I really like the one I’m wearing right now which I got in H&M a couple of weeks ago.  Let me see if I can get a link to it.  No, sorry, not on their website.  It’s black, sleeveless, just above the knee (probably half way up the thighs of a 5’ 10” model), fitted through the waist and bodice and with a flared skirt.  I may take a photo of it at some point, it’s a perfect go-anywhere LBD – I wore it out for lunch today and could just as easily wear it to work or for an evening out.

On to dresses two and three, both made in purple gingham fabric which I bought because 1. gingham and 2. purple.  However, these fabrics are truly unpleasant imo, they’re shiny, full of static and fray like be-atches.  So they have both become trial versions of patterns which I will be making up in better fabric later.  The 1” gingham is Simplicity 2444 (and yes, there is a seam down the bodice front, don’t ask me why I cut down the fold because I truly have no idea), and the ¼” is New Look 6567.


Simplicity 2444

New Look 6567

For both these dresses the sleeves feel a bit skimpily cut, so I might try them with the sleeves from Butterick 5813  which fit fine.  I don’t think I have weightlifters’ arms by any means, but they’re not stick thin either.  I’ll see how I get on, if it’s too much hassle I’ll probably stick to making sleeveless dresses, but as it’s winter I wanted some sleeves.  Or it could just be that the fabric has no give in it at all and cotton, with a bit of widthways stretch, will be fine.  The New Look dress is also surprisingly short.  So far, I’ve either hemmed dresses per the pattern instructions or chopped off between 5” and 7” of the length, but this pattern could do with being a bit longer – not much – just enough for the finished length to be at the cutting line, but it was a bit of a surprise when I tried it on.  It sewed up very quickly but once I put the sleeves in I found that they pulled the shoulders down, so when I make this up with ‘proper’ fabric I’ll probably cut either the square or the sweetheart neckline, because they have more fabric at the shoulders, and I might cut the back neckline a bit higher.

I have another gingham dress cut out waiting for me to sew it up which will also be a test version because it has several small flaws in it.  Not sure that anyone else would notice them, but I know they are there so it is a trial run for Simplicity 3673.  I’ve got some 1” gingham for the final version – I thought this pattern would be good for a version of the Peggy Olson check dress which has popped up on various blogs as part of Julia Bobbin’s Mad Men challenge – but that won’t get made up until next year.

Well that’s all for now, I hope to be back tomorrow.

Everything's coming up roses

Or more accurately roses, pansies and a mixed bouquet (aka I'm not sure what they are, other than flowers).

So, three floral dresses in today’s post.  The first one is Butterick 5748, a vintage reprint from c1960.  I really like the cut of this dress and will definitely be making more.  I started out cutting a size 14, but once I’d sewed it up, attached the skirt and put the zip in I tried it on and it was too big, so I unpicked it all and recut the bodice to a size 12.  I sewed the side seams up at ½” rather than ⅝” and took in more fabric on the waist darts.  I think I might have also taken the shoulder seams up as well.  I bought the fabric from A One on Goldhawk Road and could have just got this dress out of 3 metres except for the fact that I was picky about the pattern placement on the front bodice – but for a plain fabric, or one with a small all-over pattern 3m would be enough.



B5748 red roses

Dress number two is a New Look pattern 6723.  Again I cut a size 14 and had to cut it down to a 12.  I’ve done this a few times now, Partly because I’d rather cut too big and then take in, than cut too small and end up with a dress that I can’t wear.  Also, I think I had in my mind that because the Elisalex in size 14 was such a good fit, that is the size I should cut for everything.  But now that I’ve made a few dresses I feel more confident that, as long as there is enough wearing ease, a 12 will be fine, at least with the patterns from the big pattern companies.  The small independents don’t seem to follow the same sizing schemes so I’ll cut whichever size I think will be the best fit for those patterns.

Pink pansies

I didn’t bother to interface the neckline on this dress and I also fully lined it and made the sleeves a bit longer.  The fabric was a 3 metre coupon (not sure what the English word for this is – a 3m cut length) from Classic Textiles on Goldhawk Road.

Dress number three is another vintage reprint pattern, this time from 1946 – Vogue 8728.  And made with another 3m coupon from Classic Textiles.  I made the skirt 5” shorter than the pattern and actually cut this as a size 12.  It’s a reasonably good fit although the neckline is quite wide, so I need to either wear a bandeau bra under it, or go out and buy one that has transparent shoulder straps.  I’ll probably make this again because I like the design, but I might try it with a size 8 neckband next time to avoid the bra strap issue.  I also might line the midriff section another time.

V 8728 yellow floral

Hello again dear blog

Well, I don’t know where this month has gone so far, but I would like to get all the dresses I’ve made this year blogged about before 2014 so I guess I need to get a wiggle on and post more frequently  :-).  I’ll start with Elisalex from By Hand London.

I made two of these one after the other back in August.  I love this pattern, it is such a flattering style.  I’ve since made another one and got the fabric ready to cut out for a fourth but they will be for another blogpost.

Both are a straight size 14 and fit really rather nicely thank you.  Sewing the princess seams was a bit of a faff if I’m honest, but once they’re done it’s downhill all the way with the rest of the sewing.  I also cut them 7” shorter than the pattern which meant that I needed less than 2 metres of fabric.

The first one is made from fabric which I bought in Fabricland.  Their website is really not a joy to behold, but they do have a good selection, it’s reasonably priced and the shops are well worth a visit if you happen to be in the vicinity.

Alohalex

The fabric for the second one I spotted in Fabricland months ago, before I had started sewing again.  I’d gone into the shop to get some buttons, or something, and it was on a stand at the front of the shop and caught my eye.  I did fleetingly think, hmm, I could make a skirt out of that, but having had to wean myself from buying yarn because it’s just. so. lovely. and then once I’ve got it home and stopped petting it wondering what I’d actually make with it, I didn’t want to fall into the same trap with fabric, so it stayed on the roll.  Of course, once I’d made my first Elisalex, and also by this time seen a dress made up in this fabric in Brighton for over a £100, I decided I should really go and buy a couple of metres.  Well obviously because I hadn’t bought it when I first saw it, when I went back to buy some they had sold out so that was the end of that idea.  Until… I spotted the end of a roll in Toni’s on the Goldhawk Road in London.  More expensive (actually it would be fairer to say less cheap) than Fabricland, but still nowhere near £100 for a dress, and in fact enough for two dresses.  Cue big smile and a purchase.  So, here is Elisalex number two.  I haven't decided what to make with the remaining fabric yet though, but that's a lack of decision that I can live with.

Flamingolex

That’s it for this evening folks - if there are any folks reading this of course ;-).  Will aim to back again tomorrow.