Category Archives: Pattern – paid

Party time! By Hand Georgia & giveaway

By Hand Georgia dress

It’s a By Hand dress fest over here right now: my Anna is waiting in the wings for her finishing touches, but first here’s my spangly party Georgia. And to celebrate the upcoming festivities and reaching 300 blog followers (yay!), I have a kit to make your very own to give away. More on that a bit later, here’s mine first.

By Hand Georgia dress

Do you like my festive’d up fireplace backdrop? Unfortunately I don’t have anyone to whisk me to the Savoy like Sally and her beautiful version of this pattern (made from a curtain!) so this will have to do. Like Sally I went for view 3 of the pattern, the mini length skirt with wide shoulder straps. It was these straps that most attracted me to this pattern: they make the dress a bit edgy and nautical instead of overtly bombshell. I love how they make the bust area feel more covered but frame the shoulders and collarbones beautifully.

By Hand Georgia dress

I did not make a toile: I didn’t have any appropriately similar fabric to hand (does anyone else balk at buying yet more fabric just to toile with?) and because I was using a stretch and my body has fairly standard proportions I felt that I could sew it as patterned and do minor adjustments to make it fit perfectly. Luckily it was so: I just had to shave a bit out of the princess seams and side seams to get it bang on. Actually looking at the photos I think it could do with a bit more taking in, but I was erring on the side of caution.

By Hand Georgia dress

I used a sparkly stretch lurex, bought on Goldhawk Road, which matches Georgia like a dream. I used the reverse side to do a bit of colour blocking on the side panels. This is basically my favourite kind of fabric to work with: stretchy, stable, no fraying or puckering, can whiz it happily up on an overlocker in no time. Seriously, this frock took like three hours start to finish. I could even omit the side zip since it easily slides on and off over my head.

By Hand Georgia dress

I picked out the black again by finishing the top of the bodice in stretchy bias tape instead of lining it. Just a couple of other minor modifications: I slip-stitched down the straps at the bodice tops (through the back layer of the strap only) to keep them in place, and did a blind hem instead of turned.

By Hand Georgia dress

So is Georgia the dream Christmas party dress? I think so. The By Hand girls have an amazing knack for designing clothes that women feel amazing in, and their latest is no exception. I loved sewing this pattern and adore my finished frock. It’s more daring than anything I would usually choose but I feel pretty great in it. I hope I get invited to some glamorous festive parties so I can give it a spin!

giveaway

Now! Do you fancy making one yourself? I’m giving away a kit to make your own Georgia: this includes the pattern and 2 metres (enough to make any variation you fancy) of lovely gunmetal grey/silver stretch lycra satin that I picked out for you to make a bangin’ party Georgia. By Hand kindly supplied me with the pattern and I’m throwing in the fabric to celebrate reaching 300 followers on Bloglovin’ and to say thank you everyone who reads my sewing blog: your comments make my day and inspire me to keep on making.

The competition closes in a week on Friday December 13th so you should have time to make your dress before New Year if not Christmas. I’ll ship anywhere internationally, too. To enter just leave me a comment telling me what sewing-related goodies you’d love to find in your Christmas stocking. You’ll get an extra entry by tweeting about the giveaway too using the button below.

Best of luck!

The competition is now closed, congrats to the winner Kat.

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.

PB140874

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.

Papercut pleated pants

Papercut pleated pants

Another new sewing challenge surmounted: tailored trousers, with a proper zip fly-front and everything: Papercut Patterns’ pleated pants to be precise. I made them in a slightly tweedy charcoal wool from my shopathon at Mood.

Papercut pleated pants

The pattern is great, although it’s definitely one to toile first to check fit and techniques. Lots of bloggers say the sizes come up very big but I didn’t find that was the case. I graded between the S and M which fitted about right. The construction went pretty smoothly and was a good level of challenge. The pieces all slotted together very nicely and the instructions – in a little fold-it-yourself booklet – are good. I messed up the fly front a couple of times and managed to set the pleats the wrong way, but no major disasters. I’m quite proud that these are labelled for ‘skilled’ sewists and I didn’t struggle much, actually!

Papercut pleated pants
Papercut pleated pants
Papercut pleated pants

The front didn’t quite want to stay flat so I used two hook and bars instead of the suggested one, and also slipstitched the bottom two inches of the zip opening closed. I decided to add belt loops right at the end, mostly inspired by Jolies Bobines’ fabulous pants using a similar new République du Chiffon pattern. They’re quite functional at keeping them in place, as well as adding a bit of detail to the wide waistband.

Papercut pleated pants

Nice and tidy inside. I slipstitched down the waistband before topstitching for accuracy, and all the raw edges are overlocked.

Papercut pleated pants
Papercut pleated pants
Papercut pleated pants

The fit overall is good: I like the mid-rise and slim legs, and the cleverly shaped waistband has no gaping at all. For some reason though, I’m feeling a bit ‘meh’ about the finished garment. I’m just not sure the mannish silhouette with hip pleats is the best shape on me, and I’ve been struggling to think of ways to wear them in an outfit. I usually tend to like a slouchy top half but then the look just gets baggy all over, so I think more fitted tops are the way to go.

trousers

I had a little trawl for styling ideas – I like the patterned knit and asymmetric blouse ideas. Any other thoughts on styling them? We’ll see if I pick them up to wear very often. I poured a lot of love into them so I hope so!

Papercut pleated pants

I’m pretty sure I’ll make these again, but next time I’d pick a solid coloured twill or denim for a more casual look. I have another Burda trouser pattern that I want to try first. The mission to sew perfect pants starts here…

Paint by numbers Belladone

Belladone dress

Ah. Yes. It’s another summery print dress. So much for autumn-minded resolutions. But this fabric was calling to me and I was loath to resist!

Belladone dress

Aha, the giveaway back… yes, it’s a Belladone! I thought of this pattern immediately when I clapped eyes on this amazing Moda fabric – both are are a little kitsch and unexpected so I thought they’d be a fun match. Plus using stag print for a Deer & Doe pattern is a delightful coincidence, non? I bought the pattern, fabric and notions at lovely Ray Stitch – thank you Michelle for your help in the all-important fabric, zip, and bias tape selections.

Belladone dress

I suspected I’d be doing a bit of adjustment to make this pattern work for my body, and that was indeed the case. I ditched the waistband, shortened the bodice and skirt by about an inch, and gathered rather than pleated the front skirt. It just felt a bit more ‘me’ this way, and it was the right call as the result is super comfortable to wear.

Belladone dress

The back needed a bit of work too to reduce gaping around the cut-out: I elongated the darts almost to the top and tapered in the centre seam at the top. I could almost wriggle into the dress without the zip (the fabric has more give than other craft cottons), but added it anyway so I didn’t put stress on the seams. I did a machine blind hem instead of facing the bottom hem – first time trying that and it worked well, thanks in part to this tutorial.

Belladone dress
Belladone dress

I took a little more care over my technique than usual. I bought extra fabric and tried to place the pattern thoughtfully, although it was tricky with such a large repeat so there is the odd disembodied stag head floating around. I haven’t done bias bindings since my very first dress so it was good to revisit that skill. I bound the pocket edgings too to bring them out a little more, although they ended up pretty small due to my fit-fiddling. Next time I will probably bind the back openings too for a really polished finish.

Belladone dress
Belladone dress

I found the sewing process really fun. It was nice to sew a woven again after doing a lot with knits recently, and though I was nervous about using a craft cotton for a garment it worked out great in this instance. The Deer & Doe instructions are brilliant with just the right level of detail. My sister has already requested her own Belladone now, so I’m sure I’ll be giving this lovely pattern another whirl soon.

Saltspring dress

I really liked the look of Sewaholic’s new Saltspring dress after seeing Lauren’s take on it. The idea of making a bloused effect bodice by cutting a shorter lining seemed smart, and I thought I’d better get on and make it before the British summer goes for good.

Saltspring dress

I used a £3 remnant that I got from Chapel Market at the same time as my pussybow dress fabric. Luckily this one is slightly nicer quality, but it was only just big enough and I had to omit the pockets due to running out of yardage. Its gauzy lawn-type weight was a good match for the pattern and it was pretty easy to work with. The ditsy floral isn’t really my usual taste but the muted colours make it less girly-girly.

Saltspring dress

I was impressed by the Sewaholic pattern, the first I’ve made from Tasia’s line: the instructions were very clear and the pieces all slotted together effortlessly. I love the neat self-lined bodice with the strap ends enclosed. Like some other testers I can slip the dress on and off quite easily without using the zip so could have omitted it.

Saltspring dress

The only amend I made was to change the tie-top straps because I didn’t want the overall look to be too fussy given the busy print. Instead I made four spaghetti straps for a double-strap effect at each shoulder. Unfortunately I didn’t eyeball the length very well and when I tried on the dress I realised they needed to be shortened considerably to avoid the bodice drooping unflatteringly.

Saltspring dress

Since the ends were already neatly enclosed I popped a couple of bra-strap rings into the back instead. It almost looks purposeful?! Also thanks to the snug lining I can go braless, avoiding another strap on show.

Saltspring dress

I’m not sure how flattering this dress is on me, though. It looks ok from the front, especially belted, but I really don’t like the view from the back – my slightly curved spine does weird things to the blousing with the split and it looks pretty unfortunate. I might tack down the edges over the zip since I don’t need it anyway. Or cut the whole zip out and seam the back? Next time I’d make a non-bloused no-zip version, which would make for a very quick little sundress sew.

Edit to add: I took out the zip and stitched up the back this evening, and it looks a lot neater from the rear now. I really like the split detail in the pattern, but it’s just not for my weird old back.

Oh and look, I bought a little me-shaped mannequin :D

Two pussy bow dresses

Subtitled: a lesson in fabric choices.

Pussybow dress

These dresses are both the pussy bow dress by Salme patterns. I really like the aesthetic of lots of Elisa’s designs: unfussy and wearable but with interesting details, and I just love a blousy, elastic-waist fit as most of them are. Easy to sew, easy to fit, easy to wear. In theory anyway…

Salme pussybow dress
Salme pussybow dress

My first one is made from a lightweight mystery (polycotton I think) from Chapel Market – £3 in the remnants bin. Perhaps predictably, it was a nightmare to sew with because it frayed like a beeyatch. Sewing on the bias binding and creating the collar/tie piece without it unravelling before my eyes was painful. I wore it yesterday and the overlocked side seams started disintegrating! I really should have invested in a finer needle and/or French seamed the whole thing, but eh, I am an impatient sewist.

Salme pussybow dress

That aside, the construction is a bit tricksy anyway. The neckline involves tedious pressing and topstitching to get the collar and ties on with no seams peeking out. Given that I was working with a poly that really didn’t want to retain its ironed-in fold lines, this was a pretty big ask. I ended up cutting a few versions of the ties and trying different techniques until I found one that just about worked and looked fairly neat. I went for longer skinnier ties to make the neckline lie a bit flatter and let me adjust the way it can be tied in the front – a waist-level knot or neckline bow.

Pussybow dress

The second one is made of equally cheapo fabric – a border print ‘slinky jersey’ from Minerva – but, back in my beloved stretch fabric comfort zone, it went much more smoothly. I honestly don’t get why people are so scared of sewing stretch fabrics – sooo much easier to fit, finish and seam!

Pussybow dress

No need for any bias fiddling: I overlocked the armhole and neckline edging (cut on the cross-grain), turning inside-out when I hit the end of the neckline to form the ties. The join isn’t quite as neat as on the first dress, but if I tie the bow high you can’t see anything. I entirely forgot to sew the bust darts into this one, hence the slightly odd pulling around the waistline.

Pussybow dress

I took the effort to centre the pattern on the front and attempted to match it at the side seams. On this version I actually cut the entire front and back as continuous pieces (bodice and skirt connected) and added the elastic waist afterwards.

On both dresses I shortened the bodice by about 4 inches to sit on my natural waist and took in the bottom of the armholes a little to avoid bra-peekage. I really love the basic shape of this dress, so it’s a great little pattern to have in my collection.