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.

Still here... a quick catch-up on the last two years

 Well... long time no see.  Two and a bit years since I've written anything here.  Both the knitting and the sewing have slowed down a lot partly because, despite regular wardrobe culls, I've really got enough clothes, and partly because I've been doing other things with my time (and money).

However, last weekend I went to the Stitch Festival at the Business Design Centre in London hoping to kickstart my sewing mojo (it has, I have plans...).  It was a very enjoyable visit, not crowded which was a blessing, even pre-Covid I was not a fan of crowded enclosed spaces.  I bought three lengths of fabric for dresses (left to right Dolores cotton lawn from Fabric Godmother, Saffron Flower Sienna viscose/linen also from Fabric Godmother and Cebolla Garden Liberty Tana lawn, an Althea McNish design, from Sewbox).

a dress pattern from Tessuti

I've made their Felicia and Lisa dresses so am hoping this will be as straightforward.  I also bought some bias binding to go with the Sienna fabric - I'm pretty certain this will become another Anna Allen Demeter dress - and a circular knitting needle which I think I'll probably need for my current knitting project when it gets to the stage of joining the sleeves to the body of the cardigan.

Looking back, since I last wrote I have knitted a couple of things - a cardigan which I started in February 2021 and didn't finish until January 2023

based on this pattern.

I knitted the body in one piece up to the armholes and after using one skein of the yarn, despite having the right tension, it looked much too big so I unravelled it and started again - one of the reasons for the delay in finishing, I was fed up with it.  I also did plain top down sleeves, by the time it got to them I just wanted it finished and couldn't be bothered to knit patterned sleeves, seam them and sew them in.

I've also knitted a jumper which didn't take so long!  I started in August last year and finished in November.  I wanted an easy knit from stash and this was it.  I've knitted four versions of this design (here, here, here and here) over the years and they wash and wear very well.  I've worn this a few times recently - it's definitely a jumper for spring because of the colours - and it's been really miserable weatherwise.

I'm currently knitting a cardigan on 2.5mm needles, so I don't imagine that will be ready until next spring.

On the sewing front I made four dresses in 2022 - two Bardons (the teal one is linen from Merchant & Mills, the yellow check one is cotton from Minerva),

one Demeter (linen from Merchant & Mills)

and a mash up of Simplicity 2886 and 1801 with Liberty Tana lawn.

I also altered two which I love but wasn't wearing because I now prefer a longer length (original versions here and here).  Fortunately I had some leftover fabric for both of them.

There was no sewing at all last year and I find I'm missing it, so with a couple of bank holidays coming up in May, I should be able to make some time to sew.  Probably not this weekend though as the garden is in desperate need of a tidy up!

Anna Allen Demeter - irises top & cobalt linen dress

I'd seen several Demeter dresses popping up on my Instagram feed and really liked the look of them.  I'd been meaning to make some looser fitting dresses for ages - initially because I didn't enjoy wearing very fitted dresses in hot weather, but more recently to accommodate the lockdown baking increase in my waistline.  So in April I made these.

I started off making a short-sleeved top (view C) to see whether I would need to make any fit adjustments.  I've had this fabric for years, it came from Classic Textiles in Goldhawk Road I think, and had already cut out and marked up a Vogue 8666 dress but never got around to sewing it up.  I had a metre and a bit left, which was enough for this top.  It's a pretty good fit, but the bust darts needed moving - it doesn't really notice on this busy print, but definitely would on a plain fabric, so I'm glad I made this toile before cutting out a dress.

And this is the first of several linen dresses I've made from this pattern this year (and no doubt there will be more).  A lovely cobalt blue linen - this colour is available from several fabric shops.  I cut pattern view A, with the skirt length of view B.  I didn't give it a 3" hem though - I liked the unhemmed length, so just overlocked it and turned it up by 3/4".  I also adjusted the bodice front with the bust darts moved.

I'm very pleased with how it's turned out.  Linen is great in summer (cool) and winter (doesn't stick to your tights, so no need for a slip).  Love it!

Blue and yellow striped McCalls 7948

This started out in June as a New Look 6352, however when I tacked the sides and shoulders together for a quick try-on it was obvious that I'm not the right shape for this pattern.  The armhole shape needed changing and darting, and so did the back of the dress, there was a lot of spare fabric just being there looking surplus.  I couldn't be bothered with all this, the pattern envelope does say the dress can be made in an hour, so I already had expectations!  Fortunately I had more of this fabric and in July I came back to it and changed it.

I cut two rectangular skirt pieces from the dress I'd already cut out, a McCalls 7948 bodice (using modifications I'd previously made to this pattern), Demeter pockets and additional pieces of fabric to piece into the side of the skirt.  With the remaining fabric I cut a frill, so all in all I used the full 3.2m of this quilting cotton, which I'd had in my fabric stash for a good few years.

I do like the end result, I just wish it had only taken an hour! 

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.

Two more Demeters

This is the second of the three unpublished posts and, as the title suggests is for two Anna Allen Demeter dresses - the first is in Butternut linen from my trip to Merchant & Mills 

and the second is some striped linen I bought in a sale a few years ago.

Nothing more to say about these really, this is a great pattern for hot summer days as is, and in the autumn/winter with a long sleeved top, cardigan and tights.  Like the Felicia pattern, it's a quick sew because it doesn't have any fastenings.

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.

Review of 2021 knitting and sewing and thoughts for 2022

For reference, I wrote about my knitting and sewing plans for 2021 here - a few of them actually happened!  

I'll start off with last year's knitting - won't take long as I didn't knit much at all - the mojo left me and despite being in the middle of winter it hasn't really returned (although as I write, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the temperature feels more like March than what I would expect in January).  I'm currently knitting a cardigan which I started in February last year and abandoned probably in March / April, but I'm more than half way through the body and I think I'll wear it when it's finished so I'm going to persevere!

The two things I did finish were a cardigan and a tea cosy.

I was more productive on the sewing front, making a McCalls 7948 in January, but then nothing more  until the Easter weekend.

I sorted out some fabric / pattern matches at the time, and of the nine patterns I've made up six of them, although not all with the initially paired fabrics.  I also cut out and tacked together a seventh (New Look 6352) but abandoned it and turned the fabric into a McCalls 7948 instead because the style turned out to be completely wrong for my body shape.  I could have faffed about and put some long darts in the back to take out all the excess fabric at the waist, but given that it was billed as an 'easy one hour' pattern that was my expectation, and I couldn't be bothered.

So then I made an Anna Allen Demeter top, which I made as a fitting toile before embarking on the dress.  Over the course of the year I then made six sleeveless versions, all in linen. 

I've been on a bit of a linen trip actually, because I also made another five patterns up in it.

Me Made May pushed me to make another McCalls 7969, alter a dress I'd made seven years ago which no longer fitted, and make a Tessuti patterns Lisa and the first of four Peppermint Bardon dresses.

I also made a ByHandLondon Hannah, a Wiksten Shift dress, two more McCalls 7948, a vintage Simplicity 5921 and a Style Arc Montana midi.

For 2022

I've decided to just go with the flow this year - no plans, just knit and sew what I feel like at the time.  I don't intend to buy any yarn or fabric, but make use of what I've already got.  It remains to be seen whether that happens...