Sew Brum meet up

Goodness, this was nearly a month ago - how time flies!  I had a great day out - I'd booked my train ticket months ago so got a very good deal on the price and knitting time on the train to boot.  I did get a bit confused by the very posh refurb of New Street station in Birmingham, but fortunately managed to find my way to the meet-up cafe - there were already lots of people there and it was lovely to meet other sewing peeps in person - some who I follow on instagram and some who I'd never come across before but now do.

We started off in the city, with some folk going to the rag market and others (including me) going to Barry's and then the Fancy Silk Store.  By the time I was done there it was time to head off to Moseley on the bus so I didn't go to the rag market at all - another time!

Fabric shopping in Barry's

My purchases from Barry's - pink/red tartan wool, graphic stretchy print and two florals

Several of us sat at the back of the bus and there was chatting and general admiring of each others clothing and purchases which was fun.  The two fabrics above on the left will become skirts, and the two floral prints are for dresses.

Once in Moseley we stopped off at the Farmers' Market and bought food to eat for lunch and then headed to Guthrie & Ghani.  This is a lovely shop and Lauren (the owner and finalist in the first series of GBSB) was delightful and remained calm and serene despite so many of us.

All the other things

I'm dipping my toe into the sewing with knits pool - one of the ladies in the shop was wearing a top which she'd made from some mustard coloured sweatshirt material and it looked fab.  So I bought some in the same colour, and also in turquoise and finally succumbed and bought the Coco pattern (all in picture above).  I've seen so many of these popping up on the internet and I think it will be a good introduction - I like its simple lines.  I've already pre-washed and dried the fabric and am very pleased that it didn't shrink much at all.  I also bought some buttons and got a gorgeous goody bag in the softest baby needlecord.

Some of the raffle prizes

Along with yummy refreshments, there was a pattern and fabric swap in the upstairs room of the shop - I took several pieces of fabric and came away with four patterns - two vintage and two current ones.

I also won some fabric in the raffle - 2m of denim which I think is going to end up being a skirt, or maybe two.  I don't have a denim skirt and I've half-heartedly looked for one on rare excursions to clothes shops over the past couple of years and haven't found one that I liked, so I think perhaps a Kelly or maybe a New Look 4-gore a-line one (in the separates section of my pattern stash page).  Or maybe both because it's 60" wide so there might be enough for two skirts.

All in all it was a great day, I really enjoyed it - thank you so much to Charlotte of English Girl at Home for organising it.

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

Emery the First, Sew Dolly Clackett No 2

So, here is my first Emery (there will be several more, I'm working on the second one this weekend) and the second dress for the Sew Dolly Clackett sewalong.  I've seen several cropping up in blogland - check out Sarah's blog, she's made lots of lovely versions, I particularly like the one she's posted today, and her la de freaking da dress.  All the reviews have been good so finally I caved and bought the pattern and I'm so pleased that I did.

I decided that I would do a sleeveless version first, for quickness, to see how it fits.  I didn't self-line the bodice (I used white cotton lawn instead), and I didn't follow the bodice construction notes that came with the pattern either.  I'm really pleased with the fit, I did a size 6 bodice and a size 10 skirt - to give it a bit more fullness - and I didn't have to shorten the skirt, which is a big plus :-).  Like By Hand London's Elisalex and Anna dresses, this is going to be another go-to pattern for me.

I have no idea how Roisin is going to choose winners for this competition so many gorgeous dresses have been entered and I love lots of them.  I also now have a whole lot more blogs to follow and a much longer fabric wishlist!

Daisy Emery

Well, that's it for now, I'm off to finish Emery number two.