Yay Yay Yay Jersey Dress Finished

**DISCLAIMER** The following pictures were taken with the aid of my 4yr old daughter so please excuse the poor focus in some and I also HATE having my picture taken :o)

 

This dress has been in my to do pile since I brought the fabric back in February and I am so please its finished.

The fabric itself is a very very stretchy jersey fabric. I had to use a pattern specifically for knits/jerseys as I have never sewn with it before and was unsure. I did run into a few problems but needless to say it turned out ok in the end.

I used Project Runway 2883 and after reading the reviews and doing a bit of research I decided to modify the pattern by adding 2.5 inches to the bodice and shortening the skirt so the gathering was on my waist not under my bust (it really would have looked like a maternity dress on me).

   I paid less than £1.60 for this little beauty on eBay!

My biggest problem was gathering the fabric. I don't have a gathering foot yet so I done it using two lines of long stitching. This part was fine but trying to stitch the gathers in place was near on impossible for me and bloody well frustrating. I ended up going round the skirt/bodice join and tried to manually gather as i stitched which got most of the gathering secured. Then I tried the dress on and realised that the stitching would not hold with the stretch of the fabric…I wanted to cry by this point!

so I decided to use elastic….

I dont know what made me think of it but I thought it would be more secure, give the waist line more definition and help with the gathering issue. It did thankfully (I would not have want to unpick all that zigzag stitching lol)

  This is the view from the front so I was relatively pleased with the outcome.

The seams were nice and easy. I just used a basic fold over hem on the neck, arms  and hem  being careful not to stretch the material and the great thing is you can hardly see the stitching.

Below is the front and back as the dress is un-accessorised.

 

And me being silly because my four yr old was getting the hump with pressing the shutter button lol!

Presenting my first Burda (SS 2012–425)

Well I never! This was a first for me despite I having brought all issues of Burda Style since January I have yet to use the patterns. This is top 425 from the Burda Plus magazine, Spring/Summer 2012.

            

I love the fact its asymmetric with different length sleeves and the collar is unusual. The only thing I am upset with is that the fabric I used (a fantastic silky feel bi-stretch from Ashley Brook Fabrics) did not drape as well as I expected. Next time I will use a much thinner and a better draping fabric. My bad.

The biggest thing that scares me about the Burda patterns that come with the magazines is purely this:

            

It is the reason I am yet to use any of their patterns. It was hard but I managed to fins all the lines and pieces, I will admit there were a few minor errors but hey-ho. I did make a quick muslin just to check the sizing and to see if it suited me.

What I am most please with is the fact I was so very good on this project and made sure I finished off all the seams. I don’t have a over-locker and I really did want to try French seams (but thought I should leave that to a pattern I am more confident with) so I finished all the seams as I went with fake French seams:

    

I have to admit I am pleased with how my techniques are coming along and how much more professional this garment looks compared to my last. I cant wait to get started on my next project.

This is also the first time I have used Live Writer to compose my blog and am finding it very good and easy to use especially with the layout of pictures.

She loves it. Now she cant wait for the others!

You will have to excuse my daughter. Although she was a willing model she would not stretch to having her hair brushed!

She is very impressed with the muslin and is now getting impatient to wait for her others to be done in the fabric she picked!

Even Louise said "Mum its too long" I will have to do some serious length adjustment on the pattern :)

It seems louise has a smaller back like me, I am not sure if I will use buttons as this slips on and off her fairly easily. I may be lazy and sew a center back seam instead (fear of button holes......I know!!)????

It passed the jump and twist test too! She is one happy (but slightly impatient) bunny :)

Mini Me: Summer Dress

I got this great New Look pattern from Ashley Brook Fabrics during their pattern sale thinking it look nice and quick!! :)

I must stop reading the pattens before I cut the material as I nearly had a heart attack and didn't have a clue what some of the instructions were saying and started to panic! Time for a muslin!!!!

I cut the pattern in a 4 as Louise is quiet small for her age but I know it will still be way too long for her! The style I went for had 5 pieces so was nice and easy to cut.

Once I got sewing the guide made sense and the process moved along quite quickly. I was very impressed. Gathering took a long time...Note to self to invest in a gathering foot.

Here is the finished muslin, I basically used an old sheet. I used contrasting cotton to see where I made mistakes and it worked a treat as there are a few things I need to make sure I don't do on the final dress.

The gathering turned out well which I was pleased with. I must remember to snip the inside of the seams on the bodice, I did remember to grade them though!

The back was a bit tricky as I have never done this type before, but in all fairness I let the thinking confuse me and should have just followed the guide without trying to work it out before hand! All I need to do is the button holes (I am so dreading that).

I must say I am looking forward to Louise trying it on in the morning :)

From the Ashes: Sorbetto Finished

Well this is the final finished top and boy did I have some issues fitting it! I must have either the weirdest body shape or I am still thinking that all patterns should fit first time!!!! I am still not 100% happy but refuse to sew a dart of 4-6mm to reduce the tiny gaping at the armhole which I am sure is made worse why the bias tape (shop brought and quite stiff).

I ended up cutting a 10 shoulder, 12 bust and 14 hips but there was a tiny bit too much strain across the bust. Being lazy and not wanting to do a FBA as I have never done one before, I unstitched the pleat and repined to fit my bust with minimal gapage.

I altered the pattern and cut my fabric (from Ashley Brook Fabrics). It turned out well. Or so I thought. I decided to wear this for my birthday and as the day wore on so did the obvious flaws. The shoulder did not sit right on me. There was way to much gaping and too much room in the bodice which lead to twisting.

I altered the shoulder and pressed it. Without realising I had let the pressing cloth slip and it melted my new shoulder seam completely. Well ladies I nearly cried.

But I had to do a repair job which entailed redoing the bias tape on the front (and as you can see I had to do it wider to cover the old tape as the fabric ripped when I tried to unpick it). I then had to chop about an inch off the shoulders to remove the burnt material. The overall fit is not close to perfect.

Complete disaster has been averted and I have a lovely top in a print I just love that fits really well. So well in fact both my Nan and my friend want me to make them one....fitting for me was bad enough, not sure if I could fit for anyone else!

I will be making another at some stage but I want to really expand my wardrobe before the warm weather gets here :)

Great Print from Ashley Brook Fabrics priced at £2.95 per metre

Its been so long!

It really has. I had a bit of a slump whilst trying to do my Truffle dress as it needs so many alterations (guess you cant slim into a "commercial" body shape) but I have now moved that to my to do pile for the time being.

So I decided seen as though the summer seems to be on the way here and I desperately short of tops I will make some starting with the highly acclaimed Sorbetto Top by Colette which can be downloaded here.

Now this has been out for nearly a year and there are some really wonderful versions and great variations on the Colette flickr group. I thought it would be a dream to sew and a great addition to my wardrobe.

Learning from the truffle dress I thought I would make up a quick muslin just to be sure of the sizing.

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Loose neck, roomy shoulders and very gaping armholes was the results of the first muslin, so I done some research, found this and thought aha job done.

 This is after the gaping armhole fix and I moved the dart as it was too high (and is now too low). It still gapes and I am at a loss.

My bust measure 41 at the widest so as per the pattern sizing I cut a 14. I have read somewhere to cut the upper bust/chest measurement which is 39 (and typically its halfway between a 10 and 12). So I am thinking I may do that and try a split and spread FBA (if I can understand how to do it).

Ladies any help or tips would be greatly appreciated on this one. I am going to recut and have another go at a smaller size. Fingers crossed :)

Truffle Muslin pt I

So I have finally made some headway on the next project in the Sew Colette challenge which is the lovely Truffle Dress.

I have traced the pattern doing the same as I did for the Pastille and cut a 14 top tapering to an 18 skirt (hope I have done the grading right).

I am really hoping that I wont have to do a short torso adjustment and a sway back adjustment but at least I know what I am doing this time (she says *& does a big big eye roll).

All cut out and marked up,double checked all the markings before I put the pattern away this time (these patterns can be a sod to fold up again)!!!!!

I have cut this muslin from an old bed sheet (god only knows why I had a bed sheet that colour)!!!!













So tomorrow I am ready to sew it all together and then work out what alterations I need to make for a great fit. Hope everyone is getting on OK and cant wait to see everyones finished garments :) x