Category Archives: Dixie DIY

Operation stashbust part 2

I’m still going with my stashbusting mission: here are a few other recent makes using leftovers and stashed fabrics.

Sewing
Sewing

A raglan tee using up the final tiny piece of jersey left from my feather tunic. I wanted to use every last scrap of this fabric as it’s sooo delicious. The print runs the opposite way to my dress, which I think is actually the correct way as the knit ridges run vertically this way. I didn’t have enough left for the whole top so made up the back with part of a dipped-hem knit skirt that I didn’t like any more (I could even re-use the hem, score), so it was a very thrifty project.

Sewing
Sewing

A super basic ballet dress. I started this ages ago and was dithering on finishing it because I thought it would be a pain to hem. In the end it was fine and I’m glad to have it done. The fabric is a semi-sheer crepe knit from myfabrics which I underlined with white jersey so it’s nice and snuggly. In retrospect I think it would have made a nicer top, but it’s still a cute dress.

Sewing
Sewing

Another crossover-front Scout like my silk one (still probably my most worn make) made in a gauzy voile type woven from Goldhawk Road.

Sewing

A Deer & Doe Plantain tee using some stripy jersey from Goldhawk Road. I can see why this free pattern has been such a hit: it’s so quick to put together and the fit is super great. Plus I fitted this 3/4 sleeve version onto just 1m of fabric. (Have you seen the finalists in the Deer & Doe Plantain contest by the way? So much amazing.)

Sewing

I lacked any contrasting fabric so did the elbow patches on the stripes’ cross-grain, sewn on with a zigzag stitch and walking foot after sticking in place with a glue pen.

Sewing

I tried a new technique for finishing the cuffs and bottom hem: a flatlock seam done completely on the overlocker. Props to Meg for the idea to try this, and this video for a walkthrough of the general technique. Basically you reduce the top needle tension to zero and increase both lower loopers to 8, then sew as you would a blind hem – pressed up once then folded back on itself. Then when you gently tug the seam it falls flat and open with the wide, loose stitch visible from the outside and neat overlocking on the inside. My first attempt is a bit wobbly: in retrospect it would have been much easier to do the hems in the flat before seaming and it was tricky to do the slightly curved hem of the Plantain. But it feels like a really hardwearing and fully stretch-proof hemming method so I’ll definitely give it another go sometime. Anything to avoid the hassle of changing machines all the time tbh.

Sewing

Finally, I had enough jersey scraps left to make matching undies! The perfect scrap-busting project since such a tiny amount of fabric is needed. I used Indigo Orchid’s brilliant free pattern/tutorial and some stretch lace trim bought on eBay. The trim is too wide and these actually turned out too small for me, but they were fun to make so I’ll definitely try again. I just need to take another tip from Meg and make some bras and I might have a truly 100% me-made outfit, eh?

I joke, but the brilliant upshot of all these rather boring stashbust/wardrobe-filler projects is it’s a pretty rare day now that I don’t wear something handmade, which is a great feeling. I am craving some meatier projects next, though: I’ve just had a fresh delivery of delicious new fabrics as a reward for my stashbusting efforts, and I think February will be all about jeans and trousers.

Knit ballet dress for my sis

Knit ballet dress

It’s funny that now that I’m getting more confident in my sewing skills I’m making more for other people. I suppose I needed to be sure that my workmanship was up to it before inflicting my handmade garments onto others. So here’s a sweet little dress I made for my sweet little sister. Since she’s very petite it can be hard for her to find stuff that fits sometimes, and she requested a copy of a princess-seamed ballet dress from H&M that fits her well. I used my Aztec print knit from Rolls & Rems to make her this fairly faithful copycat.

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I used Dixie DIY’s Ballet Dress pattern in size XS as a base. The pattern has been tweaked by Dixie since I last used it so the fit around the arms and bodice is noticeably better now. I also tweaked it a little myself by adding princess seams to the bodice per the RTW dress I was copying. To do that I cut a curved piece from the side of the front bodice piece and re-traced it, adding seam allowance and bulging the curve out by about half an inch in the middle, to make a new side piece. The fit was perfect first try, yay!

Knit ballet dress
Knit ballet dress

This fabric was very easy to work with: it’s a thick, stable knit so nice and cosy for winter, and doesn’t fray or pucker at all. I had a decent stab at pattern matching, and especially like how the lines turn to chevrons at the skirt side seams. It’s got my usual finishes: twin needles neckline, blind hem.

Knit ballet dress

I’m especially pleased with the super tidy insides. This was such a quick sew: barely an afternoon from printing the pattern to finishing up. This pattern is just a great canvas for pretty jerseys to make quick everyday dresses.

Knit ballet dress
Knit ballet dress

She barely stays still for three seconds so excuse the photos, but here’s evidence that she’s worn it twice so far, including to work and to hug my tubby little cat, so I’m pleased it’s a hit.

Feather tunic dress

Feather dress

Zzzz, it’s another elastic-waist knit dress. This is what happens when I resolve to sew things that I’ll wear a lot, ha ha. I stitched this pretty thing up last week and wore it on Saturday for a cultural day of museum visits: first to see the Cheapside Hoard at the Museum of London with Kathryn and Julia, then to the TFL Museum Depot in Acton, where these pics are from. Antique bling and transit nerdery in a new dress = a big Saturday win in my book (Scuse the asymmetrical sleeves here, not part of the look.)

Feather dress

The fabric is part of my haul from Mood in New York. It’s the most beautiful knit: I think it’s rayon jersey because it’s super slinky: thin yet heavy and extremely drapey. There are so many patterns it’d be beautiful for – wish I’d bought more yardage – but I went for quite a casual tunic dress so I could get more day to day wear out of it. It was a bit tricky to cut and sew, but worth it as it feels sooo good to wear. Like I’m wearing nothin’ at all!

Feather dress
Feather dress

It’s a bit of a Frankenpattern. The bodice is Dixie’s Ballet Dress, shortened to empire line. This is basically my knit bodice sloper now because it fits really well and is so adaptable. The skirt is based on Simplicity 1800 with its cool yoke pockets, but I gathered the waist with elastic all around rather than do darts and pleats.

Feather dress
Feather dress
Feather dress

I was nervous to finish and hem this super-stretchy fabric, but a few ninja techniques made pretty light work of it. The hem is a machine blind using a walking foot which turned out satisfyingly invisible, although the dress wound up a little shorter than I was planning. It’s fine with leggings as a tunic type thing, though. The sleeve cuffs are pressed back twice and twin-needled – I can also wear them rolled up since the wrong side of the fabric is a lovely mottled grey colour. The neckline is Megan Nielsen’s technique again.

Feather dress

I love this dress, so I’m sure it will see many more London adventures. And I’m off to google for more rayon jersey to buy now as I want many more copycats.

Reversible(ish) Raglan

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Feel like I haven’t shared a finished item in a while, so here’s one that’s kind of two in one. Plenty of excuses for my absence: busy with work, three concurrent colds, the house is all dark because we have scaffolding up so picture-taking is tricky… hence apologies that these look a bit rubbish. Anyway this is just a quick overlocker project in between the precision stitching of Josh’s shirt (I do enjoy oscillating between the two): a light raglan sweater using the beautiful double-faced knit I bought in Mood.

PA210893

Dixie DIY’s Hot Cocoa pattern is the basis, with some modifications that I already made on the pattern from last time: longer body, scooped neck, more ease in the sleeves. I also sliced across the top of the arm pieces and switched to the reverse side of the fabric for a contrast shoulder panel look. Really dig how this detail turned out.

PA210904

I really wanted this top to be completely reversible to show off both sides of the lovely fabric and give me two different looks in one. And it does kinda work inside-out if you don’t mind the exposed overlocked seams look? I tried to be a little too clever at first and do some weird French/flat fell hybrid seams that I thought might be truly reversible. In theory it did kind of work, but I didn’t add the inch extra seam allowance required so the raglan lines got too tight. Might revisit the idea in the future when I have more foresight to forward plan.

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The finishes are semi-reversible too. The neckline uses Megan Nielsen’s fold-over and twin-needle topstitch binding which I think gives a pretty nice RTW-inspired effect. For the sleeve hems I overlocked the outside edges then turned over the raw edge to the inside and topstitched so the rough edges are concealed inside. The bottom hem is simply rolled, although it went a bit wavy so I think I might forgo the reversability and do a twin-needled hem. A pretty basic make with some nice details = the kind of top I’ll wear all the time.