True Blue

Sky-blue summer dress

Another day, another dress!

As the Olympics draw nearer, I think we have a winner!

This dress uses the basic shape of the pattern used for the Simply Red dress, but I have eliminated all the panels and cut on the bias to take full advantage of the stripes.

The fabric is a fine cotton sent to me as part of an estate sale haul by a friend who has abandoned me moved to the States.  (Her busband blogs here – an online diary of his aclimatisation) I had to line the dress, this fabric was a trifle too transparent in the light – ok for a shirt, not so good for anything with a skirt!

Plain cotton lining with a blue broiderie anglaise trim

To give it a little more interest I added some blue broiderie anglaise to the hem of the cotton lining, just enough to peek out at the bottom.

A happy Daughter No2 showing off her handywork – a totebag embroidered, beaded and sequined by her own fair hand as a birthday present for a friend

I will be making another panelled dress, I dug out another piece of fabric sent by the same friend, this time a black and blue print that will look just stunning!!

Just like a Stole – Tea for Two

Just Like a Stole

So, another Pattern Magic pattern done, and I like this one!  The name comes from the fabric print, ladies who shop, and ladies who do tea!  I like the neckline, might just need to get used to it, it feels like the shoulders drop back a bit.  It might need a couple of hand stitches just in the front a little to hold it together, but we’ll see.

View from the back

I used French Seams throughout with this lightweight cotton.  The buttons were rescued from one of husband’s worn out Red Herring tops, and I used a coral-red thread for sewing them on.  The pattern in the book has the dart into the front seam, not practical for me.  I changed the pattern to have the centre front button opening and moved the darts to their normal position in the front.  But I wanted something interesting there.  I converted the one BIG waist dart into 3 smaller cluster darts.

Front pattern showing dart clusters

Ok, so it’s really messy, but this is the working pattern.  Initially I had the darts narrower, but on the toile I didn’t like it, so made them wider, and then wider again.  When I am finally happy with a pattern, I trace it out so there are no scrappy bits of paper, there’s no magic tape, and only one set of pencil lines!  This is the rest of the front working pattern:

Like a Stole adaptation - front

I don’t wear high rounded necklines, unless I really want to give the impression of having a mono-boob, so I made a v-neckline, but it is rounded a bit to make it softer.  I also cut a facing to support the front, buttonholes and the neckline.  As the pattern is so opened up the top part of the bodice sits on the bias, which will stretch in a second if you look at it sideways.  I stitched about 5cm along the valley fold line from the end of the neck dart to stop the stretch there.

Admiring my dart clusters..

“So what’s next?” you ask…  weeeeellllll.  I still want to do the flip-turn, the twisted tops, the drape with twist…  You get the picture!  But.  I have been making husband some pattern blocks so I guess the next thing just might be a shirt for him.  Maybe. 

Happy with my new Pattern Magic top!

 

 

 

 

Liberty Dress

Another project done!    I have finished putting together the Liberty Dress, at long last!  Many things conspired against me this week, but there you go, that’s life!

Inspiration picture - dress from Anthropologie

Reception Dress

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the exact same pattern as the Reception Dress, see how the different weight fabrics affect the hang of the skirt – as well as not having the copious amounts of tulle underneath! All three fabrics are Liberty Tana Lawn, the dress is lined with a white cotton lawn.  I interfaced the upper sections with Gill Arnold‘s polyester fine sheer fusible for strength, but again like the Reception Dress, I didn’t bone the bodice.

So here are the shots of the finished garment, I’d love to hear what you think…

Liberty Dress

Liberty Dress

Liberty Dress

Sweet Disposition

Liberty Knot Dress

Here we go, the Knot Dress has a new image!  Imagine the difference there would be if this were made in a plain linen…  Perhaps that’s the next job.  So, here it is – made up in the Liberty Tana Lawn I bought yesterday at Fred Winter in Stratford.  What do we think??

Happy Customer

I used French seams throughout, there is an invisible zip in the centre back seam and I bound the neck and armhole edges with self-bias.   I turned in 5mm on the hem before turning up 3cm, and machine stitched.  It was actually easier making this version than the toile, simply because the fabric was so much less bulky. I like the little tucks in the back. There are two 5cm long tucks to catch in the bulk of the fabric and stop it from being too tent-like.  I am glad I removed the extra fullness in the centre front, it definitely wasn’t needed.

Bow and Knot Detail

I encourage you to give it a go if you are so inclined, the pattern wasn’t hard to draft.  There are lots of little things to do on it, so just keep focus otherwise you will lose your place!  Overall, I am really pleased, as is daughter no 2!

Knot Dress

Hello, my name is Anne, and I am a fabric addict

So there I was, waiting for the sewing repair man to open, and I thought I’d check out a little fabric shop in Kenilworth.  Linda Harper’s is on the High St (opposite Sainsbury’s), nothing to shout about from the outside.  I hadn’t been there in years, and wasn’t even sure if it was still there.  Once inside I realised I had made a terrible mistake!  There was no way I was getting out without buying something!!  They have their cotton fabrics all grouped in colour order, then the linens, then the silks, you get where I am going…  Wool and fleeces are in a different room.  The temptation was ENORMOUS!!

So this is what I absolutely had to have before leaving.  I was still looking for something for the Knot Dress, wouldn’t you know it, but nothing in my stash was right.  I am not going to use any of these for the dress either, but I know they will come in handy one day!  I figure they will make perfect vintage garments, they have that vibe.

Vintage feel cotton fabrics

Fixed sewing machine and overlocker in the boot, I head home, via Stratford.  I have run out of calico, so headed to Fred Winter.  Once again, a very dangerous maneuver!  I added to the calico some vibrant red batik, which will be perfect for a 60′s dress pattern I got from Etsy last month, and a rather interesting Liberty print – which I think is the fabric for the Knot Dress.

Liberty Tana Lawn and Red Cotton Batik

What do you think??