A Busy Week...

Last week was a busy week, so much so that we completely forgot about taking photos for Me Made Maternity Week 24 - oops!

We went to a friends wedding on Saturday and I was still able to fit into one of my new dress pattern samples. It was really nice to be able to wear the dress somewhere before it got to the point that it was just too tight. The image above is a little sneaky peek of it...

I'm still working away on the final tweaks for the dress pattern, but I've had a few other projects that I've left sorely hanging that desperately need to be finished, then I can work out the last few details, and have the pattern ready for release on Wednesday next week. Woot!!

We also had to decommission our kitchen for the first half of last week due to getting new flooring in. There was dust everywhere and we had to cover everything with plastic drop cloths to try to keep the dust off our kitchen things. But my goodness, what a transformation! It really does look amazing. We also sanded and varnished the little built in wooden shelf and the window frames in there and after nearly a year, the kitchen is finally coming together. A new housey-post is due soon I think - I feel like we're finally moving in, after, oh, you know, only a year...

And paper pattern-wise? Well, I've just started the tentative first steps towards this wee goal last week too. It involves new a logo and blog branding - watch this space (er, blog...).

xx
J

Introducing Pattern No.3 - The Dalloway Dress & Skirt

Here it is folks - The Dalloway Dress & Skirt pattern, 

available for purchase and instant download right here!

With the Dalloway Dress & Skirt in your wardrobe, you’ll be ready to host your own party at a moment’s notice. But which view will you choose to make first? At least in this story, you can have your cake and eat it too.

Five horizontal pleats run the length of the skirt creating the illusion of a tiered peplum while adding body and detail. Small soft pleats then gently shape the skirt around the waist and hips, giving the impression of a fitted pencil skirt with all the comfort of being able to eat your way around the buffet table. 

The Dalloway Dress is constructed with a fully lined and enclosed bodice to hide away raw edges. The skirt underlining can also act as a lining, leaving you free to wear it without a slip when the cold weather strikes and both versions are finished with a lapped zip. For extra shaping, the bodice is designed with 2 waist darts on either side.

Dalloway is aimed at intermediate to advanced sewers, but if you are a beginner, taking your time may be all you need. What makes Dalloway a tad challenging are the horizontal pleats that run around the entire circumference of the skirt. They are attached invisibly to a skirt underlining and can be a bit fiddly to sew in.

Another thing that makes Dalloway a bit harder is the fact that the skirt is one length of fabric - there are no side seams. This can make grading the hips a teensy bit harder than your traditional skirt, and while I have allowed for plenty of ease in that area, you can still grade up or down if you need too and I will be posting a tutorial on just how to do that right here.

While I do instruct you to use a lapped zip for the pattern, you are more than welcome to substitute it for an invisible zip if that is your preferred technique. You can also easily opt to leave the horizontal skirt pleats out completely by using the underlining pattern for your skirt.

I'm not going to be running a sew-a-long persey for Dalloway, but I will be posting a series of tutorials on specific aspects of the construction of Dalloway. These will include -

• Grading the hips on Dalloway
• Easy Tailor's Tacks for Dalloway
• Pressing in your horizontal skirt pleats
• Stitching in your horizontal skirt pleats

So, whaddya think?

Dalloway is a multi-sized pattern that ranges from an NZ size 6 to 20 and you can purchase the digital PDF pattern files from my Etsy Shop - click here!

xx

Jen

Autumn Dresses and Giveaways...

In an attempt to break up all the Afternoon Blouse spam on my blog lately, I thought I should show off a newly finished sewing project and perhaps do a little sneaky giveaway while I was at it.

It has officially started getting cold here - the days are shorter, the leaves are turning, I've pulled out my knitting again and I can feel myself leaning towards darker colours and snuggly, comfortable outfits that work well with tights and a cardigan. Cue, Winifred (and my smurf legs!).

Winifred is Abby's newest pattern - a cute variation on a shirt waist dress, except that this one is probably way faster to make up than any shirtwaist dress I've ever seen. I do love the classic button-up version, but they can take a while, what with all them buttons. Winifred however, has no fastenings what so ever, you just pop her on over your head, throw on your favourite coloured tights and you're ready to go play in the autumn leaves.

So, what's the trick? She has a comfortable elasticated waist at the back. Perfect for expanding tummies around lunch and dinner time (and Easter time, let's be honest here. I've probably already eaten my fair share of chocolate eggs over the last few weeks).

I made my Winnie (as Caitlan and I have affectionately called her) from a chocolate brown suiting cotton I picked up from my favourite charity haunt a few weeks ago (I got a huge roll of it for about $5). The fabric drapes beautifully but has a lovely weight which makes it the perfect fabric for my autumn version of Winnie.

There are two things I'd watch out for with this pattern though, both of which tripped me up when I was making it. The first are the sizings on the back. I really had no idea what size waist I should be cutting out because the sizings listed are big. I ended up cutting out a straight size 8 because that was my bust size (and I figured that my waist is really nowhere near 34 inches which is the size that corresponds to the 35inch bust, even after all those easter eggs).

Erm, wrong! The dress fit, but only because of the bigger back piece (due to the elastic). Instead of having side seams though, the front was so small around my waist and hips that I had front/hip seams! I gather the 34 inch waist is actually the finished garment waist size (?), sans elastic, but not taking into account that the front is fitted and doesn't have any elastic... So, I ended up cutting a second front and graded out one size at the waist and two at the hips to accomodate my big ol' lower half.

Even now, the skirt side seams are sitting forward a bit but not nearly as much as they were in my previous attempt. With the drape of the skirt, I kinda think they look like extra pleats, so I'm going with it. And I actually quite like it.

So, the lesson here? Measure your pattern pieces, and email Abby if you're not sure (as I didn't!!).

The second thing I'd point out is the collar instructions. I found them a tiny bit confusing at the end when it comes time to finishing the inside raw edges of the collar. Basically it's up to you how you finish it, but if you've never attached a collar before, it could leave you feeling a little puzzled. I would consider myself reasonably okay at sewing, but even then, I muddled through a bit (I've never actually inserted a collar before though). I still don't know if it's quite right quite, I inspected one of David's shirts to see how it was done and I've given mine a grade of 'passable'. I ended up folding the bottom raw edges of the back of the collar under and hand stitched them in place for a clean inside finish.

But even with these things, I'll definitely still be wearing my Winnie a tonne over winter.

Other small changes I made were to use a smaller width elastic and binding on the back (13mm binding and 7mm elastic), lower the placement of the back elastic by an inch and leave off the faux belt, lower the bottom of the darts by 1/4inch and lengthen the darts by about 1/2inch all up. I top stitched around the entire collar and neckline and opted to sew in my sleeve hems flat before sewing up the side seams. I also took my hem up by about 2 inches to a length I prefer to wear and for my next Winnie, I'll lower the neckline opening as well, as it's a tiny bit hard to get my head through as it currently is (it's no biggie though, I just can't do my hair before I get dressed!).

*Thank you all so much for entering, the competition is now closed*

Win your own Winnie!

I'll definitely be making another Winnie soon, and you can too! To celebrate the release of Winifred, Indie Stitches and I are giving away a copy of the pattern to one of you lucky folk! All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment below and you're entered.

The competition is open world wide and will be drawn at random in two weeks time (Monday 28th April NZ time). The winner will be contacted by email.

Stay tuned this week for more Afternoon Blouse fun :)

xx
Jen

A Victorious Miette in Navy...

I know we're only one month into 2014 (already?!), but I feel like it's going to be safe to say that my newest make will probably be the one I'll be most proud of in 2014. This Navy Miette is my first, finished knitted garment ever!

It's also wearable, comfortable, warm, soft and, if you don't mind me saying so, it's DARN (yarn?) CUTE!

Navy Miette worn with my Christmas Anna Dress

I posted the beginnings of my Miette adventure in September last year and since then, my knitting sessions have come in fits and starts. You see, I've realised that I can't really pay much attention to anything else when I'm knitting. I can't watch anything I need to follow a plot line for, David ends up having a conversation with himself, and I'm there, on the couch, counting stitches, holding my breath and watching my needles. I just can't seem to focus on anything else.

I originally cast this cardigan on about 5 times all up. For some reason, I just couldn't seem to get past the first three to five rows without either adding a stitch or somehow dropping a stitch, no matter how careful I was or how slowly I went.  Eventually, on my 6th try, with an extra stitch somehow making an appearance yet again, I ended up knitting 2 stitches together to get the correct number and moved on. Sometimes, you've just gotta to admit defeat and come up with a creative solution, otherwise you'll never get anything done.

In November, Tasha announced the Knit for Victory challenge and I knew that having a deadline like that would be the boost I needed to get my Miette finished. And guess what? I finished with a whole two days to spare. Who would'da thunk it?

My Miette is in no way perfect. There are places where I lost count, couldn't remember what row I got up to or dropped stitches. There was even that time I knit my first sleeve on the wrong sized needle and I didn't have the heart to frog it so knit my second sleeve on the wrong size as well so that they would at least match...um, yeah. I also probably should have knit up a size larger in the bust - it's not a major issue fit wise, but the shaping around the bust stretches a little too much for my liking. I guess figuring out negative-ease comes with time.

The only major thing I changed was to add 30 extra rows to the sleeves to make them longer and therefore more winter appropriate. I found that if I stopped where the instructions told me too then the sleeves would have been a weird length on me - too short for bracelet length, but too long for short sleeves - and I probably wouldn't have ended up wearing it.

I also opted to leave out the buttonholes in the pattern instructions. Instead, I hand-sewed on navy grosgrain ribbon to the back of each button band before doing them by machine. In hindsight, I'm not sure I'd do it this way again, but it works for this cardigan and I'm happy with how they turned out.

These cute wee buttons were bought especially for this cardigan. They were rather expensive buttons that David found in London last year at the V&A. They are ceramic with 2 little blue birds fluttering around on a white background. I'm not sure I'd ever buy buttons that expensive again, but they are gorgeous and go with the cardigan perfectly. As much as I loved the buttons, I wasn't sure I wanted to spend so much on them. But David, as he always is, was rather encouraging and told me that they could be part of a wedding anniversary gift so I wouldn't feel as bad about being so extravagant. 

Only a seamstress could be excited about getting buttons for a wedding anniversary, right?

All in all, I'd have to say that I rather like this knitting lark and have already bought a ruby-red wool for my next project - the Aiken Jumper.  

I knew that the hardest thing for me about being on a clothes buying ban this year would be that I couldn't buy any more vintage cardigans. I live in cardigans and love a having a big selection to choose from. Now I know that I'm perfectly capable of knitting my own, and I'm so proud to have mastered another creative skill.

So, have you ever thought about giving knitting a go?

xx

Jen

A Merry Stepford Christmas...

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

This is my newest make, the Stepford Wife does Christmas Dress. This dress is actually the result of one of those rare 'happy' sewing mistakes that apparently do pop up on occasion (who knew!).

This dress started out originally as a plain red Anna dress, number one on my Summer Sewing List.
The sizing chart on the back showed that the dress fit me absolutely perfectly made up in a size 8/12. I was so excited and if I'm honest, totally flattered that the BHL girls designed a dress that fit my measurements exactly (because I'm sure they design all their patterns around my measurements right?!). I generally tend to have to grade my patterns between three different sizes with modern patterns, but apparently not with the Anna dress.

I carefully traced and laid out my pattern pieces on the fabric, cut them out, assembled the bodice with french seams and then tried it on.

At this point, I may have squealed.

You guys, this bodice is so darn flattering!! I may never make another bodice ever again in my life! It is so easy to put together, so pretty with it's 40s styled kimono sleeves and so comfortable.

Then I moved on to the skirt...

At this point, I knew I should make a muslin, but being a bit stubborn and wanting to finish the dress in time for Christmas, I ploughed on ahead (I know, I know!! Tsk tsk, moving on...). I carefully assembled the skirt, french seaming everything along the way, attached it to my bodice, pinned in a zip, tried it on and...fail! The skirt looked absolutely awful on me.

Being a gal with hips, I need lots of ease in that department to make this style look good. I really should have graded up a size (or even 2) in the skirt to make this work, and to make matters worse, being charity shop fabric, I couldn't go back and get more as I had used every last scrap I had.

My lightbulb moment came a few hours later, after I had banished the dress to the other room and closed the door on my sewing machine. I remembered I had picked up a length of red and white embroidered fabric that I had found at the same charity shop a few days before we had left for our trip to Italy and the UK. Um, YES!

Why I hadn't thought of that earlier we will never know, but my love for the Anna dress returned and I got gathering.  I lined the skirt fabric with a heavy white cotton which has made it seriously lush. It's heavy and full and perfect for twirling. I inserted the zip in my favourite way (a lapped zip) and I'm so happy with how it all turned out. Very much a happy sewing accident if I do say so myself.

Have you been lucky with sewing accidents lately?

Just before I pop off, I wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I'll be back before the New Year with a little round up of my sewing makes from 2013. It was definitely the year of the return to my sewing machine (and there are several things I've not actually even managed to blog yet. That never happens!!).

xx
Jen

The Summer Sewing List...

Going into each new sewing season, I normally have quite a clear list of what I'm going to endeavour to make. Having a list makes it so much easier for me to stay on track and actually finish projects rather than abandoning them at the last stitch (I really dislike hemming, I don't know why...).

This year though, I'm really struggling to A) narrow down the list of patterns I could sew and B) decide on what fabric to actually make up said patterns.

I think I'm suffering from a bout of too many patterns, too much fabric (TMPTMF) syndrome. It might have something to do with moving countries, going on an extended travel adventure and then coming back to a summer that is not like the long hot summers I got used to in Sydney. Unfortunately the summers here can be a bit iffy, you're never really sure whether you are going to wake up to tights & cardigan weather or summer dress weather.

Having said that, I have managed to compile a small list to gently ease me back into sewing (and making decisions!):

1) BHL Anna Dress in Cherry Red

I really love the 1940's lines in the Anna dress, and after seeing so many amazing versions of this dress on the internet, I'm quite sure this is the first thing I'll be making.

I found the fabric for this on a recent trip to my favourite charity shop haunt and I'm planning to make the knee length version with a slash neckline. Although, I haven't decided whether to keep the sleek skirt or 50's it up with a full gathered skirt and pockets. Suggestions most welcome!


2) Sweet 1950's day dress in textured sky blue

I've had this lovely little 1950s pattern for a while now but could never decide on what fabric to use.  I found this length of textured sky blue mystery fabric on the same trip I found the cherry red fabric for my Anna dress and thought the two would make a simple but classic summer combo. I'll need to wear a slip under the dress as it is a little sheer with the textured lines in the fabric, but I am looking forward to finally making this pattern.


3) 1940's inspired tie front blouse in white with red polkadots

I may not use this 60s pattern for the blouse as I have another actual 40's pattern that I'm tossing up using instead. Both will require some pattern drafting to get the shape I want as well as the right amount of fabric at the bottom for the ties, but I am loving the little peter pan collar on this 60's version.

I am yet to find the fabric for this, but I'm thinking a little red polka dot cotton lawn will look quite lovely.


4) 1940's inspired peasant dress (View 3) in navy blue cotton

This is actually a 70s pattern that I found about a week ago hiding under the table of a little shop I had no idea existed (even after having lived in the area for some time just before we left for Sydney). I think it has a definite 40s vibe about it and looks like the perfect dress to throw on on a warm summers day.

On top of some mending I have to do on 2 vintage skirts I bought in Edinburgh, I am also hoping to make a 1940s slip or two (with a tutorial), a 1930s inspired silk camisole (also with a tutorial) and a few other bits and pieces that I haven't yet decided on.

I'm also about to begin the process of making my first experimental pattern, a simple and wearable 1940s inspired jersey top that is certainly going to test my pattern making skills (or lack there of if I'm completely honest!).

So, what do you guys currently have on your sewing lists? Have you ever suffered from TMPTMF Syndrome?

xx
Jen

The 40's Travel Dress - Part Deux

Way back in May I made Vogue 8728, a 40's reproduction knit dress, and it was pretty safe to say that I luuurved this dress. Comfy, cute and easy to wash and wear. So, I made 2 more (this version and a beautiful green wool knit version, post to come) and bought fabric for a fourth. While I still love this dress, I'm starting to wonder if I should branch out of my 40's knit dresses and possibly try something else? Well, maybe, we'll see... Any suggestions?

I won't go into the construction details because I did all that in my original post and did pretty much the exact same things with this version.

The knit I used is a lovely medium weight 98% cotton with a tiny bit of spandex for stretch and up close, is actually a navy and maroon marle. I still have quite a bit of this fabric left and am hopeful I might be able to squeeze a Lady Skater dress out of it (I'm pretty sure this will probably be my next knit dress after seeing this cute version).

These photos are the last set we took in our favourite photo location in Sydney... sigh.

Anyway, thanks so much for all the comments on my Miette cardigan. I've now nearly finished the bodice and will then be starting on the sleeves. So, I guess it's nearly done (well, not really...) and I can start thinking about my next knitted project!

Which brings me to this Pike Place pattern. As I am obviously not cool enough to live in the States, they won't let me buy it. How come you 'Mericans only get access to cool patterns? I really only want a download of the cardigan and not the actual pattern booklet, but it doesn't seem to be available as a digital download (I mean really?!? In this day and age?). Does any body know where I might be able to source a copy all the way down here on the bottom of the planet?

Oh well, at least while I plot how to get my hands on this pattern, there are plenty of other cardigans to be knit.

xx
Jen

PS) As some of you saw on Instagram the other day, I've gone cut all ma hur off. It was time...