Dress IS

Photos not great sorry,  but it is pouring down outside and I can't seem to coordinate time and sunshine at the moment. Anyway, the dress pattern is an old favourite which is a combination of two dresses from the Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori- dresses I and S.
My previous ones are here and here if you want to take a peek, both linen.



This time I made the pattern up slightly looser initially because the last one pulled a bit sometimes across the back. I then got the usually direct but often helpful feedback from child number one, who said it was a bit "sack-like"!! She was right I think, and I decided the best option, (not to mention the easiest one due to not having to take out the zip) was to try a couple of rows of shearing elastic across the back..



This is a technique I learnt while make a Washi Dress- seen here - which is another favourite. The Washi Dress has 6 rows of shearing and the stretchiness of it makes it super comfortable.

The fabric, mentioned in my last post, is Indigo Pond Life bought from Merchant and Mills. It is such a soft cotton and drapes well. I used a double thickness to line the bodice and a plain muslin to line the skirt.



All in all it has worked out ok which is a good job because the black one has finally worn out.
xx

Disaster Dress that ended up as another skirt!

I have been busy having some sewing disasters.

A dress that was just hideous- so bad in fact that it was immediately cut up and refashioned into another skirt..
 

 

I love the fabric and this will get a lot of wear

along with the sixty million other ones of the same pattern!

 

Also I have to admit that the idea of unlined skirts and petticoats has already been reversed. They just slipped around all over the place and were generally a bit of a faff so this one is lined with navy cotton and has a concealed zip in the side seam.

 

 

I am really enjoying the posts by Karyn at makesomething which are all about homemade clothes that she is wearing every day for Me Made May.

It is so good to be able to get some inspiration and see what can be achieved.

Wrap skirt

 

I bought this surface art wrap skirt pattern a few months ago now but have only just got around to making it. The pattern came from The Drapery which is a gorgeous fabric shop in Australia whose blog I have followed since it was set up by Jane and Fiona. Their blog is on my list of regulars to visit and is full of inspiration and really useful trials of patterns which they share.
It is another place on my dream world sewing tour!!


I tried to get some outdoor pictures to share but as you can see above, it is a very blustery day again here in Cornwall so I had to move back indoors..

 

The skirt fabric is a navy linen but with some visible binding around the hem using an Amy Butler fabric called Hapi Glow Navy.  

 

The pattern is very simple and easy to follow using a small tie  and a single button at the waist.

No zip or fiddly bits.

 

 

The waist edge has a facing which I matched to the binding, even  though no one else can see it!

 

Happy sewing.

x

Tally and some Tutorial links

 

 

We have had a busy couple of weeks Tally and I,
 so this is a well earned rest in the sunshine in her favourite spot.

Despite the busyness there have been some small bursts of sewing and I thought that I would share  links to some favourite tutorials, so here goes.

Firstly it's 'new peg bag' time of year again. Every year when the weather starts improving and I risk putting the washing on the line, the state of last year's peg bag usually means that it is time to make a new one. I am sure that if it got looked after better it would last for more than one season but I am afraid that it regularly gets left out in all weathers and ends up like this...

 

This year the coat hanger also gave way, and so as you can see it is strung up with an old dog's lead looking particularly pathetic!

 

The new one is already in use and was made using the same old method
 which I have tried to share in this tutorial.

 

 

 I would love to hear if you make one,
 or if you have any problems with the instructions I will do my best to explain.

Next up, was a Harmony Drawstring Skirt. This is a present for a little girl who will be 7 and the pattern and tutorial are found at Sew Mama Sew here.

 

Just to show you the pocket which is sort of wrapped around the sides of the skirt.
 

 

 

 It's the simplest of patterns but lots of fun to make. I added a few tabs of ribbon, some ric rac, and a little crocheted flower from the Mollie Makes tutorial here.

And finally, The Girl requested an oven glove for a friend.
 Not the most usual of presents for a 17 year old
 but something to do with chicken nuggets!!!- don't ask.
 

I turned to an old favourite, Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing,
which has an oven glove pattern in it, but unfortunately I seem to have lost the pattern piece and so ended up making it up a bit. I followed her method though and I think it turned out ok.

 

I like the spiral quilting she suggests for both sides.

 

 

I'm off to sit in the sun with Tally and have a coffee.

Happy sewing.

Vicky x

 



A bit of this and that..

Finally a sunny day when I am not working and a chance to take some photos!

This was a mini quilt made to sit on top of a table to protect it from mug marks and scratches.

I appliqued some felt circles which is a style used by Wendy Williams in her lovely book

"Wild Blooms and Colorful Creatures".

The Bees are two lavender bags made from this years crop of lavender. 

One is now in my car and the other has been purloined by child two.

Then there was a tunic dress which I made using the basic pattern for Dress A

 from the Stylish Dress Book mentioned before here and here.

 

I made some alterations in that I took out some of the width and added a capped sleeve and pockets. 

 

Sorry about the poor photo but you get the impression!
The dress is made from denim and the pockets from some more of the Lazy Daisy fabric
by Brandon Mably  that is a favourite of mine.

I have really been enjoying the Frocktober Posts over at The Drapery.
I just wish I lived close enough to visit the shop.

And finally an African Flower Mandala Pot Holder.. 

 

  

This was made using a great tutorial here on a blog called Crochet with Raymond.

 

Unfortunately the blog is no longer in use but there are some lovely tutorials and ideas.

 

 

 

I like the back too and the whole thing was done in a day or two.

I can see a few of these being made for presents, I have already started a second.

 

And the chrysanthemums are a flowering their little hearts out and look like they are enjoying the sunshine as much as me!

 

 

 

ta daa.. the blue dress

 

This was my first attempt at getting a picture with the self timer!

 

 

 

That's better.

The dress pattern is from the Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

 It's a Japanese pattern book with 26 patterns in it for tops and dresses. I expect most of you know about it as it has been around for a while now, but for those who don't, the patterns are all on paper sheets and need tracing off. This bit is quite confusing, but you definitely get used to it the more you do. The other thing I didn't realise at first is that there is no seam allowance and this needs to be added on to the pattern pieces.

 

That said, the patterns that I have used so far have been really good.

 I suspect it is one of those books that gets better the more you use it.

 

This pattern was very simple.
I cut a size 12 and it is probably a bit on the big side if anything.
 It said you need 2.2m of fabric but I managed with 1.5m of fairly wide linen, and I had plenty.
 

 

It is super comfortable to wear.

I'm not sure it needs all the gathers in the back as the linen is quite thick so I might take a bit out but we'll see how it goes.

 

Definitely a pattern that I will be using again.

A little black dress

 

I have been busy making clothes this weekend.
 

This one is a dress based on the Burda Pattern 7602.

I amended the neck slightly as I wanted it a bit more scooped out, and if the truth be told I scooped out a bit much and then decided to edge the neck with some black cotton trim t fill it back in!

 

 

 

I also altered the pockets and just made two simple rectangles.

 

Oh, and I also made the front a single piece rather than the two panels on the pattern.

Other than that, it's the same!!!

 

 

Moving swiftly on..this is the next plan.

 

Dress E from the Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

In some gorgeous blue linen I found in Truro Fabrics last weekend.

 

More soon.

I hate alterations!

Sometimes they can't be avoided though.
 I made a red linen dress some time ago now
and used the same combined pattern that I used for this dress.
 

The two patterns are from the Japanese pattern book "Stylish Dress Book" by Yoshiko Tsukiori.
 I combined the pattern pieces for dress I and dress S, because I wanted the V neck and sleeveless top with and ungathered skirt.

 

Unfortunately, whatever I did the second time was slightly different
and the dress never felt quite right.
 It was just too tight across the top and it sat in the cupboard.

 

The black one has been worn a lot this summer and I love it, so I decided that it was time to grasp the nettle and UNPICK the red bodice.

 

I managed to get another half meter of the linen and set to work.

 

I think it took twice as long as making the dress in the first place but it worked.
Hooray.

 

So now I can enjoy the last of this lovely warm weather in a red dress as well as the black one.

And also I can move on to the dark grey needle cord and royal blue linen that I bought yesterday without feeling guilty!

 

And this is what you get when you ask a thirteen year old boy to please include your feet on the photo of the dress!!!!
 

Skirts and Flowers

 

Two new skirts for the summer, made using my well loved and used pattern by New Look 6053.

I have shaved half an inch off the waist edge and added an inch to the bottom of view E.

 

It is straight forward and very quick.

 

The fabric was bought online from The Village Habberdashery and they were great.

The blue one is Desert Flower in Navy by Hatbox. It's a lovely thickish cotton

and I haven't bothered lining it.

Don't look at the lack of matching down the side seam, I didn't have enough fabric to do that!

And if I'm totally honest there is a corner patch on the back aswell, but shhhhhh!!
What would Patrick and May say!!!!
 

 The brown is Ume on Russian Caravan.

This is a fabric designed by Umbrella Prints, an Australian Company.

Their fabrics are just gorgeous but not easy to get hold of here in the UK until more recently.

Again this skirt is unlined.
 

A couple of headless shots so you can see them on.



And in the garden at the moment...
 

Calendula
 

 

Feverfew

 

Hydrangea pots 

 

Sweet peas growing up the shed.

 

And finally a WIP -

a holiday bag made from some scraps of the Umbrella Prints fabric.

It's nearly that time of year again.

A Long Weekend

We've had a long bank holiday weekend at home with lots of time for sewing and gardening.

 

The Jolly Molly is finished and the wadding will hopefully not shrink in the wash quite as much as the wool blanket did.
 

 

The appliqued flowers worked fine and provide enough quilting to hold it all together.

 

 

I added some buttons to finish the flowers,

 but avoided these being on the ends which will be used to pick up the hot dishes.
 

 

The reverse was some more of the grey with white dots,

 a cotton poplin that I used to back my recent  quilt, Flag it up.

 

Next up was the door stop.
 

 

This is a pattern that I have used before by Lotta Jansdotter in her book simple sewing.

 

I used some herringbone wool fabric which was lovely to work with, and a scrap of cotton dinosaurs to brighten up the top.



 

I filled it with scraps of fabric

and a packet of old dried black eyed beans that had gone well out of date!

The beans weight it down and the fabric  stuffing help it to keep it's shape.

 

And finally I snuck in a shirt that was luckily already cut out a few weeks ago.

New Look pattern 6104, again one I have done before here, but this time I made view c but with slightly shorter sleeves and no tucks in the sleeves or front panels.
 

 

The fabric was from Truro fabrics around Easter time.

It's another cotton poplin with a very slight sheen

 and I had second thoughts about it after cutting it out.

You wouldn't know but the pattern is lots of rows of tiny snails!  

 

 

Now that it's made up I quite like it.

 

I'm hoping the fabric will soften and wear a bit when washed.

The pattern is definitely a favourite and is lovely and quick, with no fiddly collar.

The shaping works well and I even managed to find some recycled buttons for the front.

Night Dress

I have had this pattern for a while

but never got round to making it mainly because I haven't found the right material.

 

 

I wanted to try it out and so decided to make a nightie from this lovely cotton that was bought for pyjamas but wasn't big enough (great planning!?)
 

 

The pattern was fairly simple and straight forward

and came together quickly (always a bonus in my book!) living up to the "easy 2 hour" quote.
 

 

My pattern on the centre front doesn't match because I didn't have enough fabric to try
 and wasn't too bothered as it's only a nightie.
(I notice that the dress on the pattern cover doesn't match at all, May and Patrick would not be impressed!!) 

 

And I think I will try the short sleeves next time.
That said, I think it will get worn as long as the weather warms up a bit,
but I will spare you any photos of me in it... much better on the Magnolia!!
 

The four tops..

 

Ok so here goes....my top making journey so far. 

 

 

Spurred on by The Sewing Bee like lots of us it seems,

 and having mastered the basic A line skirts that I make for work,

I decided that I would have a go at a shirt.

Many weeks and four shirts later I have one that I think I might wear!

 

I will try and take you through my shirt journey and would also be very interested to hear if anyone has a favourite shirt pattern they use too.

 

Attempt number one...
 

This was a trial at copying a tunic styled top that I have had for years and using some old fabric that I had in the cupboard.
I basically cut around the original top but I didn't get the shoulders and arm holes right at all, so decided to head back to a pattern..

Attempt number two...

 



 

This was made using a Burda pattern 7198 and the fabric was some linen/cotton mix that was left over from a Washi dress.

 

Unfortunately the material was a bit thick for this pattern.

So then I tried removing the godet pieces

(the little extra side venty bits at the bottom of each side seam!)

but then the shirt was too tight around the hips and at this point ended up in the bin!!

 

Attempt number three..

 

This was a man's shirt revamp.

I used New Look pattern 6104 but kept the front fastening from the original shirt.

 

 

 

It was looking fairly promising until I tried it on,

and realised that I hadn't made an allowance for the different width of the front band.

This meant that it was about an inch too tight

and made breathing difficult without popping the buttons off!



 

To give you some idea.. but breathing in - a lot.

 

And finally, attempt number four..

 

I used the same pattern, New Look 6104, view A but without the ruffle.

 

It was fairly straight forward and the instructions were good.

 

I'm a size 12 and made the pattern size 12 and it fits well with room to breath this time.

 

Happy sewing.

Ta Dah.. my purple Washi!

Ok so it didn't take long.

That's just part of what I love about this pattern.

 

 

Blogged previously here when I made my first one in blue.

This time I used the same linen-cotton mix but in a lovely purple.

 

This picture doesn't do the colour justice so...
 

 

 

That's better.

The pattern is by Rae from made-by-rae.com and I bought mine as a PDF.

That meant it came through really quickly and the printing and taping together wasn't too bad at all.

 

 

 

 

The shirring on the back makes it ultra comfortable as well as giving the front a good shape.

I have no doubts there will be more in my wardrobe by the end of the year!

 

And if you want to see a whole load for ideas just go to the flickr pool here.

 

 

 

I used a little strip of handmade bias binding to edge the neck facing

and I know no one else can see it but it makes me happy.

An unplanned break..

I have just realized that it is 3 weeks since I posted which was a bit of an unplanned break.

A heavy cold and then a stack of painting and suddenly the time has flown by.

I have managed to fit in a bit of crafting despite this and the blanket mentioned here and here is growing gradually. 

I am hoping for some better weather to get some pictures outside but we'll see, and for now this will have to do..

I have also made an autumn skirt from my trusty New Look pattern 6053..

Again you will have to excuse the gloomy picture!

The skirt is made from a burgundy needle cord and as with other winter versions I added a lining because it makes the skirt hang better when worn with tights.

One bit I particularly like is the facing for the waist which you can't see but it's an Amy Butler fabric called Disco Flower..

And finally I have to admit to a bit of unpicking.

You may remember these made a few weeks ago now..

two pencil rolls destined for a charity sale.

I even took a picture in the sunshine..

..before realising that they may look pretty but the pencils kept dropping out.

I could have tied them tight and let them be, but it was bugging me.

 A lot.

So I decided to unpick them and make the pockets smaller.

It was a bit of a job to say the least but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Will let you know,

 and give you some measurements so you don't do the same thing. 

My First Washi Dress

 

It's finished and I love it!

It must be the most comfortable dress I have ever made with the stretchy panel of shirring at the back..
 

 

And the empire line style..
 

 

It took less than a day to make from start to finish and that was with shopping, cleaning and taxiing included.

 

The pattern was designed by Rae from made-by-rae , and was a PDF pattern that arrived almost immediately.

I printed out the 36 pages and pieced at all together.

This wasn't as complicated as I thought it might be, and was way outweighed by the fact that it was so instant.

I made it from a linen-cotton mix found at Truro Fabrics.

I am a size 12 and made a 'large' from the pattern, cutting the pocket linings from some batik cotton that was in my stash.

 The pattern said to get 3 yards and I bought 2.5m but there was plenty to spare.

 

All in all I think it is a great pattern

 (no surprises there as there is a huge flickr pool of dresses made from the pattern to see for yourself)

and certainly one that I will be using again....soon.

 

 

Good with tights too as the weather here is starting to get autumnal.

A Busy Week

June is a busy month in this house with lots of birthdays as well as exams and courses.

I have been working on a dress which is based on an amalgamation of two patterns (I and S) from The Stylish Dress Book by Yoshiko Tsukiori.

I wanted the basic shape of dress S with the gathering on the bodice, but I like the v-neck and sleevelessness of dress I.

So, after a bit of fiddling about, and a bit of shaping of the side seams I ended ip with this..

Sorry about the photo but it's quite hard to get a photo of something you are wearing I find.

 If I had a mannequin I would use that to hang it on, but I haven't so you will have to do with me!

 

The bodice worked quite well I think and it is really comfortable to wear.

I also added a lining to the skirt.

The linen creases fairly quickly (you were right Mum!) but I'm not too bothered about creases.

Cakes for a birthday tea...

 

 and leftover sweeties..
 

 

on a crocheted doily.

 

And finally a beauty from the garden this week..

 

 

 a foxglove.

Bunting and Embarrassing Shorts

I have been enjoying the sunshine and having fun doing some outside hooky.

If you haven't already heard, Lucy over at attic24 is looking for bunting producers and I can thoroughly recommend having a go. It's a great way to use up some leftover yarn.

Her tutorial is very straight forward to follow.
My favourite bit is the blocking as I have never done this before and it's a bit magic.

Here is the curly flag before..



after blocking...



She gives you all the information on how to do it.

I have also done a couple of quick projects.

The first made my children laugh.... alot!

I often cut off a pair of worn out jeans to make shorts for gardening in the summer and this year started with these..



 and after a bit of binding ended up with these.



I thought they were rather nice but oh no, I have been soundly corrected on that one!

I don't care though because no one else will see them anyway and what the heck.
Or maybe I should wear them up to school when they need picking up?!!

The second project was more acceptable (apparently) and is a pencil/phone/general tat case for my rucsac for work.

 

Have a good weekend.

Swirly Blue Skirt

This wasn't supposed to be a skirt.

 

I bought this lovely fabric from The Village Habberdashery.
 

It arrived the next day (so speedy, how do they do that!) and I really like it but it wasn't what I expected.

I looked at the fabric on the website and in my mind the pattern was alot smaller and I had intended to make a shirt.

Going back to the website now I realise that hovering over the fabric brings up a much better view of the actual print size, duh!! What a pillock.
 

 

Anyway I love the skirt so no worries.

I have finally perfected the pattern to fit me (New Look 6053) by making a size too big and trimming off the top a bit.
 

The fabric comes in other colours too and I really want to have a go at a dress....

Bluebells, Blue sky and a Blue top

The apple blossom is beautiful at the moment especially when the backdrop is blue sky.

I have been refashioning a top given to me.

The shirt was about a size 16 and too big but the fabric is so pretty I wanted to try and reuse it.
I took it appart completely (using scissors not a seam ripper) but left the buttoned front.

I used pattern 7b from the book Simple Modern Sewing, and managed to amend the neck and keep the original buttoned front as part of the new shirt (if that makes sense!). 

This is the result.

Sorry about the picture quality but the mirror was obviously a bit dusty
(dusting is not my strong point!!)
but I think you get the gist.
 

 

And here is a clearer picture with no me.

 

 

And a close up of the lovely fabric. A really fine soft cotton. 

 

And finally the prettiest blue of all at this time of year..

bluebells

carpeting the floor of the wood.

 

Skirts for work.

 

I have made this pattern before here, so it was nice and easy to cut out two more skirts and they came together in no time.

 

The pattern is New Look 6053 and I made view E.

 The only alteration is that I lined them with some lining material because I tend to wear them with tights and otherwise they stick!
 

This first one is made from a patterned needlecord that I bought in Truro Fabrics a few weeks ago.

It was lovely to sew with and there is a strip left that I was wondering if it would make one of these.

The second skirt is made from a cotton batik fabric and I will try and get the details of the online shop although I picked it up at a local quilt exhibition.