Child's Simplicity pattern 1146 x 2

Hello stitchers,  This post is just a quickie.  A few weeks ago I was on a "reduce, reuse and recycle" mission. I had an old maternity dress that I had bought second hand, which had seen me through three pregnancies, and had definitely seen better days.

However, there was some usable fabric in the skirt section.  Enter: child's Simplicity pattern 1146. An easy (only two pattern pieces) knit dress, this one cut out in an age 4 with age 5 length.  As I made this a while ago it has been in and out the wash, and has been worn lots; no ironing as it's a knit. Happily, Little Miss loves wearing dresses, they are her favourite.

This version closes with ribbon ties; a second version I made at the same time has sweet little buttons.

This second dress uses up two tiny remnants from t-shirt making.  I haphazardly sewed them together before cutting out the pattern pieces. I did this to avoid spending too long faffing around over an everyday nursery kind of dress. One tiny bit of lace trim from my goody box (this had almost certainly been cut off another garment as it had treads over it) really lifts this little dress.

So, two almost free dresses. I did pay £2.04 for the pattern in a half price sale. The rest of the maternity dress, though beyond use in clothing, has been cut up for my rag rug course! Call me Mrs. Thrifty! See you soon stitchers.

My longest ever work-in-progress

Hi there stitchers, It's been hard to get enthusiastic about sewing post Brexit- referendum. I even bought some fabric on the day of the result in an attempt to cheer myself up - it's still languishing in the bag, not even photographed for IG. Very unlike me!  I do have a finished make, though, so felt I would share.

As the title indicates, this dress has been my longest ever WIP. I almost finished the dress last Autumn, but abandoned it to the naughty corner upon realising the fit was rubbish!  Then, recently I took in a centimetre off either side of the front panel, and reduced the length of the shoulder straps by 1.5 cm.

I still think the fit is pretty awful, which is sad as I haven't had a make I have been unhappy with for a while now. I have got used to my makes working, therefore everything that is wrong with this dress jumps out at me each time I put it on.

My husband assures me it still looks pretty, and I will wear it as the print is beautiful.  The fabric by the way is from the Fabric Godmother and was bought at Josie's first open day last year. It is so light and swishy, so I do feel rather glam in it.  I am sure I will learn to love it over the summer.

The pattern is a vintage one, lent to me by the lovely Kerry from Kestral Makes. I can finally return it Kerry, thank you. I love the style lines and aesthetically this is just what I love and want from a dress. I have bought a similar pattern recently, so I haven't finished with this style of pinafore yet.

So, all in all, not a 100% positive post, sorry about that.  But onwards and upwards. I have recently started a course in rag rug making and I will post my progress soon.  Until then, adieu.

McCalls M6958 (or the dress it's now too cold to wear!)

Hi everyone. It's been a while since my last blog-post, and I have to be honest and say I have no idea where the time went.  A blur of day trips and camping, and the Summer has been and gone.

Today I am sharing my only summer make! The pattern (McCalls M6958) was purchased with a magazine I picked up in Sainsbury's. I don't often buy magazines with free patterns because, well, they aren't free, are they?! But this mag had three patterns with it, all of which I actually liked, so it seemed like a good idea.

I did a few standard-for-me alterations, changing where the bust dart fell, and lopping off inches in height so that the waist actually hit my waist! The dress itself was an easy make, but took me simply ages - just a lack of free time, I guess. It sat patiently waiting to be hemmed for over two weeks!  Then, after finishing it, the weather has been too cold and wet to take blog photos.

I have finally braved the weather to show the dress off. I am really pleased with it, and think that the shape suits me. It has a much more fitted shape than I normally wear, but it still has lots of ease, so it is comfy.

The camera has decided not to capture the colours at all well. The fabric is a lovely burgundy colour with grey and black geese flying in all directions. It is also the first piece of fabric I ever bought. I promptly decided I'd likely ruin it, so had better practise on old sheets and curtains first! But, two years on, I was determined it should sit in the stash no longer.

The colours are clearer here in this mid-make shot. It also documents my first invisible zip, which I am pretty proud of: it wasn't as bad as I had expected, but actually (and I know I am in the minority) I really like the look of a good lapped zip. I am pleased to have tried it, though, and have even bought a few more for future projects.

 

It does look rather blousey here; this is because the shaping is achieved with dart tucks, so it poufs out slightly. But not too much - I do like the overall shape.

 

I am hoping to be able to wear it with a cardie and tights to a party, but - other than that - this won't get worn till next year. A shame that, as I adore it.

I suppose it's all Fall/Autumn sewing for me from now on...

Where's Wanda?

Hi there, sewing peeps. Summer is here in the UK and it is hot in the South of England. I am so lucky to only live 5 minutes from the sea. Sometimes I can take the seaside for granted, so I am trying to cherish every time I get down to see the beautiful sparkling water.

When I was a teenager, I preferred the sea in the winter when it was strong, rough and climatic.   Nowadays, I can appreciate the calm sparkling summer sea: perfect for paddling in and forgetting one's troubles.

This is our local beach. It is lovely, sandy at low tide and not very busy. It's accessible via a lock at the nearby port, so it is kind of hidden and secret. Though when school is out it will heave, as everyone round here spends all summer at the beach.

Anyway, enough waffle: this dress is the pinafore pattern "G" from Stylish Dress Book Vol 2.  Easy- peasy to make up, and perfect for the heat. The pattern is five simple pieces, and the construction is simple; no zips or closures, this just pulls on overhead. The only alteration I made was to shorten the length so that it finishes just at the top of my knee. The other difference is that I haven't done the pocket yet; this isn't a design decision, more desperation to wear the dress rather than wait! It will be sewn on as soon as the dress is back out of the wash!

I had this pattern on my to-do list since I got my hands on the book.  But I was dithering between this and a similar pattern in Sew Chic. Then Blogless Anna and Marilla Walker made up my mind for me with their stunning versions. 

Anna uses a dark denim, and I think I might try that too come Autumn; for now, I wanted something lighter and brighter. The fabric is a linen-look cotton, and under £5 per metre - bargain!

 

The colour is beautifully bright and vivid. I have since been back and bought some more, as I think it will make great trousers.  The cotton was great to sew with, and presses really well.

 

  

I decided to use an orange topstitching thread, as it goes well with the blue, but it does show up my wonky stitching!  Accuracy is something I really need to work on.  It was a lot easier to top stitch the straps as they were interfaced; the dress isn't, but I may interface the facing next time to help with the top stitching.

 

I started this dress before my sewing break, and I kept fantasizing about ripping out the topstitching and starting again.  But, in the end, laziness won out!

 

As to the title of this post, a very dear friend of mine said "Where's Wanda?" when she first saw me in this!  Note to self: don't wear striped top with it again. The top, by the way, I found in Sainsbury's for £2.50, I couldn't even buy the fabric for it at that price. 

Hope you are enjoying the sun, or - if it's winter where you are - that the sunny pics make you feel just a little bit warmer!

Refashioned jeans to Simplicity 1787

Hi fellow stitchers! I have wanted a colour blocked denim tunic for ages, and now I have one. And I love it!

I started out with a pinterest board, pinning lots of gorgeous denim tunics; you can view my board here if you are so inclined.

Then, I started to see other bloggers creating beautiful denim shifts (I love Su's newlook tunic from "Butterflies and Lemondrops", and "Justsewtheraputic's" denim Laurel). Suitably inspired, I began.

 

My first decision was to recycle some old jeans for colour blocking; I then decided upon a pattern. I went for a dress pattern I had made before and love wearing: Simplicity 1787.

 

 

The shape of the pattern pieces immediately lends itself to colour blocking. The dark blue is from my old (non-fitting since having baby No. 3) jeans, and the light blue was gifted to me by a friend. The level of stretch was very similar, so they worked well together.

 



 



The pockets are the best feature of this pattern. Useful, but stylish too. I lined them with scraps of floral fabric so they are pretty on the inside too.

I love the Sixties vibe this dress gives off, it almost feels like it should be on Star Trek! But it is still modern enough to get compliments. I need to get brave enough to say "I made it" in reply, I usually just say thank you! 

 

For the back, I was determined to have an exposed zip, as I felt that aesthetic would suit the denim. I lost count of how many overly complicated youtube tutorials I watched on how to do it!  In the end, it was relatively easy to attach the zip. Though having said that, I did break THREE needles putting this in! My machine just did not like going through the double thickness denim, facings and zip tape! But it was worth it.

 

 

 



I did originally play around with the idea of sleeves, which do look nice. But in the end sleeveless won out.

 

 

 

It is just what I wanted and planned; this is why I love sewing - it is truly a very addictive hobby.