Four more dresses on repeat

Here are four dresses which I've made last month and this - they are all repeats of patterns I've made before.

In order of me making them the first is an Anna Allen Demeter, made with some viscose / linen mix fabric which I bought from Fabric Godmother at the Stitch Festival in London earlier this year.  Nothing much to say about it really, it's quick and easy to sew and wear, although I've put it away for the autumn because it doesn't scream summer to me.  (Unless we were having a serious heatwave in which case I think the terracotta / ochre colours in it would work fine.)

The next finish was another linen Mattea which I've also put away for autumn wear.

Then came a third version of Willow made from two metres of Tana Lawn from stash.  I recut the front and back necklines and front armholes, but it still isn't an ideal fit.  It's better than the first two I made, but I think I need to compare the bodice pieces with other patterns that fit better and recut again.  Not a job for now, I'd rather be sewing other things, but maybe next year.

And finally a Tessuti Felicia - I first made this pattern four years ago.  This is made from seersucker gingham which I bought recently from Abakhan intending to make an ME2016 with it.  However, I then bought a cardigan which is a perfect colour match and would definitely not go over the ME2016's sleeves, so I decided to make it up in this pattern instead (and now have nearly a metre of left over fabric).

I'd already cut out the bodice pieces before I decided to try on the yellow one I'd made back in 2020 when I weighed more than I do now (lockdown baking 😉) and made the decision to cut the bodice a size smaller.  However, the neckline and shoulders had to stay a size M because the size S cutting lines weren't inside the size M ones.  Changing the armholes, side seams and bust darts was straightforward though. 

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out and will be making some more Felicias, although I think I'll probably bind the neckline and armholes rather than face them.

Rose pink linen Montana

This is a Style Arc Montana dress, made in rose linen from Fabric Godmother which I started sewing in August and finished in September.

I tried the bodice on before I attached the skirt and it looked OK, but once I'd finished the dress the armholes didn't have much leeway in them, so I cut triangular gussets on the bias, unpicked the side seam and inserted them by hand.  It was a bit of a faff, because I'd completely finished the dress (all seams overlocked), but definitely worth it because it's improved the fit significantly.  I do like this pattern, so I'll modify the armholes before I make it again.

And finally!...Now I'm all caught up with this year's knitting and sewing. 

Powder pink linen Wiksten Shift dress

This is a Wiksten Shift dress which I finished at the end of June.  The length is midway between the short and long dress versions (short dress + 12cm).

I didn't cut a waist tie, but I did add inseam pockets rather than use the patch pockets that came with the pattern (I used Bardon pockets because they were to hand).  I've actually placed them a bit low, but they're useable, so I'm not going to move them!  Made with Powder Pink linen from LinenOholic - I love this colour.

This took 2.3m and is very easy to wear, either on its own, or with a long sleeved t-shirt and leggings underneath in cooler weather.

Peppermint / Elbe Bardon dresses

Here is another pattern which had caught my eye on Instagram and so far I've made four of them.  The first I made in May with some quilting cotton that I bought years ago and never made up because I kept changing my mind about which pattern to use.  So I finally made a decision and it became this.  The lower tier is a bit narrower than the pattern piece, because of the width of the fabric.

The next one, which I started in late May and finished in early June, was made with Coco linen from Merchant & Mills.

Bardon number three, which I made in July, was from some red cotton gingham which I bought years ago in John Lewis with no clear plan - I think it was an end of roll and reduced, I only had 1.7m, which is not a length I would have bought by choice.  Because of that I used different pockets (from a purple Simplicity gingham dress which I made in July - I'll link to it once I've written about it) - the ones which come with the pattern are quite generous.  As it was, one of the pocket pieces is made from two pieces of fabric sewn together!  The front skirt piece is also slightly narrower than the back, because of the not-really-enough length of the fabric.  For this one I modified the armholes to the next size down (although I can't now remember whether this was just for the front or the back bodice as well...), which gives a better fit.

And the last one so far is this one, which I made in August, in a lovely salmon double gauze which I bought from Fabric Godmother this summer.

The skirt pieces (tier 1) are per the pattern, but the next one down and the bottom frill I cut to use up all the fabric length.  Again, I used smaller pockets (the same ones as for the red gingham version).

And here's the pattern, which unfortunately is only available as a pdf, so I pieced the bodice together and traced it, but helpfully the dimensions are given for the skirt sections so I just used the measurements and cut them out of dot and cross paper.  (I hate piecing together A4 pdfs.)

Love it!

Coral linen Lisa

This is another pattern I'd been meaning to make for a while and the me-made May challenge spurred me on to get it done!

This is a made from coral linen which I bought from Fabrics Galore.  I did cheat a bit - I sewed the two bodice fronts together (I did check whether it would go over my head first) because I wasn't sure whether I'd have enough thread for the buttonholes - all the top stitching used a lot of thread - which was by Coats.  I went to the local shop where I'd originally bought it and discovered they'd closed down in January, and the only other shop local to me which has a haberdashery only sells Gutermann thread. 

The buttons I bought a few years ago in Jenners in Edinburgh and were originally intended for a cardigan, but I ended up using different ones.  They are an exact colour match for this fabric.

It was a challenge to do all the top-stitching and keep it straight and parallel, but I do like the finished look.

Sangria McCalls 7969

This was the third dress I made this year, the first of my me-made May challenge and the second McCalls 7969 I've made - the first being this gingham one which I made last year.  I made the same mods for this dress as for the first one, it's essentially view D with a shorter skirt and longer sleeves with a cuff.

There are many, many versions of this dress on Instagram, I think I read that this pattern was McCalls biggest seller last year, or possibly in 2019 (but don't quote me!), but it doesn't have pockets!!  So I added Demeter ones, because I happened to have those pattern pieces to hand.

Lovely linen from LinenOholic in Sangria colourway.

Sleeveless Demeter dresses

I've decided to just write one post for all the sleeveless linen Demeters I've made so far this year, rather than give them each a post with about two lines of text!  They are all view B (which has a higher neckline and longer and slightly narrower skirt than view A) with the skirt lengthened by about 3" and the plain ones all took 1.8m of fabric.

In order of me making them they are this one, which I made in April

with Forest Green linen from LinenOholic who have an Etsy shop and their own website.

Then I made a few other dresses before version two came along in an absolutely beautiful pale pink colour.  Started in late May and finished in early June.

After that in mid-June (again, with a couple of other dresses in between) came this in Lollipop linen from Merchant & Mills - I absolutely love, love, love this fabric - orange is such a happy, summery colour.  this took 2m and I also had to cut the front skirt piece slightly narrower - this isn't quite as wide as the plain linens.

This was the next Demeter off the blocks in a gorgeous yellow linen called Faded Sun which again came from LinenOholic and which I finished in early July.

Five other dresses later, in August, came this one in Penzance linen from Merchant & Mills,  I cut the skirt slightly shorter and wider and it took 1.65m

Closely followed by this one which has the skirt width of view A and took 1.7m.  

And that's as far as I've got until now, although there will definitely be more.  Great in summer just as they are, and in winter with a warm cardigan and boots.

Pink Greta cardigan

I had hoped to get this finished by the end of April, but it was not to be and I did the final sewing in of ends this morning before I went to work.

I bought this yarn last year with the intention of knitting this cardigan (I rarely have such specific plans in mind when I buy wool).  I love the colour and thought it would work just as well on its own as with this top as part of a twin set - the stitch pattern is the same.

It's Eden Cottage Yarns Titus 4 - ply and is rather lovely.  I bought this from a destash, not ECY, but they have lots of lovely colours (this one is called Stonecrop and is not on their website at the moment).

The construction is my standard for knitting a cardigan without a written pattern - body in one piece up to the armholes then fronts and back are knitted separately and seamed at the shoulders.  Buttonband and neckband are picked up and knitted on, sleeves are picked up round the armholes and knitted down to the cuffs.

The buttons are vintage, I've had them for a while though so I can't remember where I bought them.

I'm really pleased with how this has turned out - here it is on its own,

and here it is photographed with the top linked to at the beginning of this post.

I hope to get lots of wear out of this one.

1935 crossover yoke jumper

I've had this pattern on my 'I want to knit this' list for some time, and when a vintage knitting Ravelry group I belong to announced the theme for their latest KAL as 'underloved vintage patterns' I was spurred on to knit this now, rather than at some indeterminate point in the future.

The pattern is a freebie (available here) and is from December 1935.  It's a straightforward knit and the pattern is easy to follow, although I made two changes - the first was to knit all of it (except the ribbing on the cuffs and waist) with smaller needles than suggested in the pattern, because I thought it might end up too big for me otherwise (it's a stretchy rib stitch on 4mm needles with 4-ply wool).  And the second was to knit an additional six rows on the body and back yoke to compensate for the slightly different row tension I got from using a smaller needle (3.5mm).

I bought the wool at Unravel last year - Dabbler from Hill View Farm and I was totally smitten by the colour.

I love the style and shape of this jumper.  I find a lot of 1930s styles too fancy for my taste - I just don't wear things with bows and ruffles or fluttery sleeves, although they look lovely on other people,  they don't feel right for me.

This didn't take long to knit, however the sewing up was quite time consuming because the knitted fabric is so stretchy, and also there were seven pieces!

Although the pattern said to press the whole jumper, I only pressed the front and back yoke neckline - the rest of it stretches in wear and I didn't want to press the front yoke too flat otherwise I suspect it might go baggy - it might not of course, but I'm not willing to risk it!  I also sewed the overlapping part of the front yoke to the piece underneath it.

The armholes and sleeves are snug - not tight or uncomfortable though.

The two buttons are from my button stash - I have no idea where they came from or what vintage they are, however they were in the 'family' button box  so would have come from either my mother or grandmother, and I think they look just fine regardless of their era.

Overall I'm pleased with this and will definitely be wearing it before the weather warms up too much for jumpers to be impractical.

Chocolate Rose Petals top

This is knitted from a vintage pattern which I bought from Lucy's Etsy pattern shop.  There are a few which she has knitted on her Instagram account, and she's written about it on her blog here.

Pattern is called 'Greta'

I used two skeins of Skein Queen Lustrous BFL Heavy Lace for this in colourways Chocolate Roses and Rose Petals (hence the name of the top) and 3mm needles.

This was lovely yarn to knit with and a bit of a leap of faith that the top would fit (it did) since it's quite skinny yarn.  I modified the neckline as I'm not a fan of high 1940s necklines with buttons, I'd rather just knit the neckband in the round and have it large enough to be able to pull over my head than have to faff about with buttons.

The top is very light (and stretchy) and yet still warm, and I have some 4-ply pale pink wool which I bought from a destash that I intend to knit up as a cardigan to go with this - hopefully next Spring.

 

#OAL2018 Pink Cardigan

Now for some knitting.  I'd had this cardigan pattern for a while and decided that now (well, back in June) was the time to knit it.  I don't think I'm often influenced by the colours used by pattern companies to illustrate their designs when I decide which wool to use, except perhaps for the Penelope cardigan, but I'm pretty sure I'd had this wool in my stash since before I bought the pattern, so maybe the pattern just gave me an idea of how it might look when knitted up.

Hayfield 960

I didn't actually follow the pattern directions really, just the stitch pattern.  And now I come to think of it, I don't think the pattern directions provided for the fronts to be mirrored, so I offset one side so that they would be.  My tension didn't match, I knitted the body in one piece up to the armholes, did fake side seams, lowered the front neckline, did short row shoulders, a plain back, and plain, top down sleeves.  The buttonband and neckband are picked up and knitted on. 

Shown with an rtw dress which I bought in Paris in May

The buttons I think I bought locally.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, it's a very happy colour.

Pink polka dot Ruby dress

This dress has the bodice from the Ruby dress pattern by Simple Sew, which was a freebie from Love Sewing magazine.  However, the circle skirt in this pattern is too short for my taste, so I used a skirt from New Look 6886, which is cut on the cross.  It's made from a 2m furnishing fabric remnant, so the skirt holds its shape quite well.


I traced the bodice pattern and increased the seam allowance to 5/8" (it only had a 3/8" allowance) because I thought it would make for easier matching up with the skirt if both parts of the dress had the same seam allowance.

Why don't all patterns have 5/8" seam allowances?  It would make mixing and matching patterns much less time consuming!  Also, I'm sure that one of these days I'll make up a pattern which only has 3/8" allowances and forget that fact and sew it up with 5/8" seams...

Smiling pink diamonds cardigan

I had originally intended to knit a short-sleeved top from this yarn, but when I saw this pattern pop up on Ravelry I decided that no, it would become a cardigan instead.  The name comes from the stitch pattern - Smiling Diamonds - which I found online here.

And so here it is, my second cardigan for me-made May.  This yarn (Fyberspates Scrumptious 4-ply) is just so soft and has a wonderful sheen.

I've had the buttons in my stash for a while - they are from Textile Garden.

I decided to continue the pattern onto the back of this cardigan.

Most of the cardigans I knit have stocking stitch backs, but I thought this was such a pretty stitch pattern that I would continue it on to the back too.  Fortuitously the pattern repeat worked out just right.  Usual construction - knitted in one piece up to the armholes, separated for front and back, top down sleeves, two-stitch one-row buttonholes and an i-cord neckline.  So predictable ;-)

This colour is perfect for summer, so I'm expecting to wear it quite a bit over the next few months!

Hi Ho Silver cardigan

This cardigan is my first knitting finish of Me Made May and gets its name from the theme song for Boon, which I have been watching recently.

I knitted this in one piece up to the armholes then separated for the fronts and back and made fake side seams.  There is waist shaping, top-down sleeves, one-row two-stitch buttonholes and an i-cord neckline.  This is pretty much my usual construction method for cardigans that I make without following a commercial pattern.

I love knitting with this wool (MadelineTosh Sock) and I think this colourway - Espadrilles - is gorgeous, although it's now discontinued and also difficult to photograph.  Despite editing these pictures I don't think I've got the colour quite right - it's a lovely deep pinky coral and goes very nicely with my new flamingo skirt!

The lace pattern is from Drops 160-17, but I substituted the column lace from the Honeybee pattern for the cables.  Having just knitted both a cabled cardigan and jumper I wanted a break from cables!

The buttons are from Textile Garden - I actually bought them with a different yarn in mind, but decided to use them for this cardigan instead.

Goes very nicely with Carmen Miranda, Flamingolex, Watermelons! and Tropicanna dresses

I can see I'm going to get plenty of wear from this - it also goes with quite a few of my me-made dresses.

Me Made May 2017 week 3 summary

Well, we've had another week of dreary weather.  Although there has been some sunshine there hasn't really been much warmth and several days were really rather grey and either damp or downright wet.  Urgh!

So, I started the week off with an Anna dress and rtw cardigan.

Then I had a few days away with work, so Tuesday to Thursday's outfits were chosen with suitability for travelling and survival in a suitcase in mind.  On Tuesday I wore an rtw skirt and t-shirt with my Primroses for Spring cardigan.  I'm not sure how much longer this skirt is going to last, I've had it a few years now, love the colour and have worn it a lot, so once it finally does get to go for recycling I'll be looking out for some corduroy in this colour to make another one, although the style may be different.

On Wednesday it was another rtw skirt and t-shirt and my blue Palm Leaf cardigan.  This is another skirt which I've had for years and really like.

On Thursday I wore an rtw dress which has so many colours in it that I'm spoilt for choice when it comes to pairing it with a cardigan - but I chose this orange Emelie cardigan which I made in pre-blogging days and which is a bit big really now - I'm not sure though whether I can be bothered to unravel it all and reknit it, maybe... because I do love the colour.  Just not yet.

On Friday I wore an rtw t-shirt, a skirt which I've just bought from Lindy Bop, having seen Kate Davies wearing it in a pattern photo - I absolutely love it, and the yellow of my Bette cardigan is a perfect match.  I love the jumper in the Kate Davies photo as well, I hope to make it this winter...

On Saturday I had a day at home catching up on the washing, ironing and general housework and wore an rtw t-shirt, skirt and my Cherry Blossom cardigan.

And today, yay, the sun is shining and the forecast is saying that we are in for a sunny, dry and warmer week.  At last!  So I've ditched the tights and as a small celebratory gesture, I'm wearing a dress covered in sunflowers.

I haven't sewn a stitch yet this month (apart from the curtains mentioned in last week's round up post), but I have done some knitting and have finished a cardigan, which I'll write about during the week.  The second cardigan I have on the needles is also coming along nicely, I'll get the body finished today which will just leave the sleeves to get done before the end of the month.  So at least I'll fulfil the knitting part of my pledge if not the sewing one!