The Drapey Dress

I wasn’t sure whether to blog about this or not. Usually I like the things I make but this one – not so much.

The pattern is the Drapey Dress from the British Sewing Bee book and the fabric is some navy ponte roma I’ve had hanging around for sometime now.

So what is the problem – well it’s a just a weird shape.  Don’t get me wrong I love wearing rather shapeless dresses but this one is just a bit strange and not at all flattering. I think the problem is that there are some strange angles in the pattern which would be better if they were curved out. 

Oddly enough shortly after I finished it an email from StyleArc came in advertising an almost identical dress. I think theirs has a slightly softer line which might be better.

Have you every finished a project and then found you hated it?

The Ultimate Shift Dress Goes Casual

Did I tell you how much I like my ultimate shift dress?  Well I made another.

This one is made out of a dark grey cotton flannel I bought in Raystitch sometime ago.  They have a lovely selection of Brannock and Patek flannels  – all ripe for making Toast like pyjamas.  To add cosiness I lined the dress in a cherry red muslin from Cloth House.

I avoided the problems I had with the last dress by using a waxed cotton cord (also from Raystitich) to make a little loop for a button.  Also I felt the facing on the last dress needed some interfacing, so I used the muslin on this dress to give it a bit of body.

Are there any patterns you enjoy remaking?

 

 

The Maker’s Atelier – Summer Coat

Have you come across The Makers Atelier? I first came across them at the Selvedge Winter fair last year and was attracted by the simple, stylish shapes made up in neutral colours and fabulous fabrics.  The proprietor is Frances Tobin who runs sewing workshops as well as making up all the patterns.

After seeing them at the fair I must admit I copied Frances’s idea for a silver PU pencil skirt.  As I have also bought some of her patterns I don’t feel too guilty!

The pattern I bought at the winter fair was the Unlined Raw-Edged Coat which can be made up in neoprene or boiled wool (i.e. something with a bit of body which can be left with raw edges).

I had some embossed scuba bought on one of those late night internet shopping expeditions and sitting in the back of my cupboard without a purpose.  Not that I didn’t think the fabric was fabulous just that I didn’t know what to do with it.  Fabric Godmother still has the same fabric for sale but no longer in the Navy.  I’ve also seen it in the fabric shop in Brixton if you are in the area.

If I am being completely honest the fabric is a little too light for the coat, but as it’s a summer coat I’m not sure it really matters that much.

Cutting out the coat took several hours, as usual I was a bit short on fabric (2m rather than 2.3m) plus the pattern pieces are so huge it was difficult to lay it all out on our table.  Eventually I managed it though I think my coat is about 2-3cm shorter than it should be (no problem, I’m a few cm shorter than I should be too!)

In contrast sewing it up took me about an hour – yes it really is that quick even for a slow coach like me. You will notice that my coat doesn’t have any buttons. This is partly laziness and partly intentional.  I haven’t actually found any buttons or press studs that I like, I’m also worried that the fabric is quite light and might pull, so for now it’s buttonless.

I’d like to make this again but want to use a heavy-weight boiled wool to give the coat more structure.  So far I haven’t found what I am looking for (and boiled wool is quite expensive so I need to be sure it is exactly right).

So my verdict.  I love the shape of the coat and am looking forward to making it up again. Makers Atelier have a good range of stylish patterns now and they are all very simple to make up.  Great for instant gratification but probably a bit too simple for anyone wanting to stretch their sewing skills.

Ultimate Shift Dress

I do like a quick project and I do like a shift dress.

Did you make that recently made a couple of fabulous dresses using the Ultimate Shift Dress pattern from Sew Over It.  I had a free Saturday so one very wet day I sloshed my way over there.  The shop is in North Clapham and for those of us who live in SE London it is also only ten minutes walk from Brixton station.  Whilst I was there I could hear a class going on in the basement but I was in for fabric and a pattern!  For a small shop they have a good range, beautifully displayed.  I chose some teal triple crepe which is a very intense colour with a nice swing to the drape.  I’m not usually a polyester sort of person but I suspect that’s a prejudice born out of my age, artificial fabrics have improved a lot over the years and it’s about time I started to use them.

I measured the pattern against my block and added in about 1.5cm for my broad back and shoulders and about 1cm for my fat arms.  I am a very slow sewer and often it’s because I spend too much time faffing around with tracing pattern pieces and making toiles, however this time I decided to be brave and just dive into making the dress.  Sometimes it’s important to take your time but this is a simple dress and shifts don’t take much fitting.  I found my adjustments meant I needed a bit more fabric than the back of the packet called for – but fortunately I had bought a few extra centimetres so this didn’t matter.

So what did I think of the pattern? Well it’s very simple and quickly comes together. Sew Over It don’t recommend it for beginners but I think most people could handle it.

The dress has a nice shape, more feminine than most shift dresses.  If you go to the Sew Over It vlog there is a post Lisa has done showing her shift dress collection which proves how versatile the pattern is.  I like the idea of using a lighter material and adding a belt. I might also use it to make some blouses.
The dress is closed with a hook and eye which I have found comes open.  I had to add a safety pin the first time I wore the dress but I think I will make a little tab for a button hole when I have a chance.  It would be very easy to substitute a zip but I quite like not having one.
This will be a dress I wear a lot and you should expect to see others on this blog!

Woven leggings

 

Woven jacquard leggings and Cos wool dress

This is a story about some trousers I made, using a pattern I traced, from some trousers I bought, after reading a blog post. I then decided they were too wintery for spring weather and didn’t wear them.  This weekend we are in Stockholm for a pre-Christmas break and so their time has come!

About a year ago That’s Not My Age wrote a blog post about leggings and mentioned Winser London.  When I looked at their Website I found that in addition to the ordinary leggings they did something called a Woven legging. Clearly I had to have a pair!  Actually they were so fabulous I had to have two! They are made out of a fabric that looks like twill but has a lot of stretch (strangely all lengthwise none widthwise). They are high waisted and very flattering, also just as comfortable as leggings should be. Somewhere between a trouser and and a legging but definitely not a jegging!

At about the same time I noticed Dragonfly Fabrics were offering this Stretch jacquard fabric which I thought would look great in a pair of trousers.  The odd thing about this fabric is that the stretch is all  along the selvedge not across the grain, perfect for a pair of rubbed off woven leggings.

I’m not sure I got the pattern exactly right, the originals have darts at the back set at an unusual angle and this coupled with the elasticated waistband made it a bit difficult to see exactly how much fabric I needed at the waist.   After a bit of guess work and playing around with the darts I don’t think I have made too bad a fist of it.

These are every bit as comfortable as the originals. I love the subtle pattern of the jacquard (and are you impressed with the pattern matching?) which gives them just the right amount of glamour.

Do you wear leggings? Have you ever rubbed off a garment from something you love?