The Seaside Dress: Collette 1020

One of my favourite sites is citychic.com.au to go virtual window shopping which is where I saw this dress and fell in love with it!

Source

 

 I couldn't find any fabric close to it online but managed to stumble across this cotton voile in Spotlight. Its a lot darker and the pattern isn't quite as random but its close enough!

 

Pattern modifications - I started with the bodice from Colette 1020 Lily dress and shaped the centre front to give a sweetheart neckline. I added to the side back piece (about 2") and then shirred the centre back pieces. I had to shape the bodice band to match the new sweetheart neckline. The straps are adjustable one, which I really like and are surprisingly easy to make. The bodice is lined with a stretch cotton poplin.

 

Skirt wise, its a straight dirndl gathered skirt, I cut 2 rectangles the width of the material (which was roughly  double and a bit the size of my waist), cutting the back one up the centre so I could add the zip. The pockets are drafted on, though I should have made them a lot deeper, they are a bit shallow!

 

I wasn't sure if it was flat piping or binding around the pockets and bodice bands but went with white bias binding (because that's what I had!)
 

I wasn't sure what the gathered skirt would look like but I think because the voile is so thin and I ironed down the gathers, it sits really nicely. I have a couple of pull marks at the bodice band but I think that's just because I fitted it wearing a different bra. Bring on summer!

McCalls 6844: Peplum cardigan

After having such a frustrating run of wadders I finally made something wearable! I'm still not completely over peplums yet so even though I like the basic cardigan version of this pattern I had a go at View C first.

I found the sizing quite generous, according to the finished measurements I should have been in between XL and XXL but this is a L with some adjustments. I narrowed the shoulders by about 1/2", widened the upper sleeve by 2", shortened the bodice by 1.5" and lengthened the peplum by about 2" and took in the back  waist seam by a couple of inches (more about that further down). I got a few metres of this plaid ponte from Spotlight awhile ago on clearance so I made a quick muslin to check sizes and I'm glad I did with how much I had to take the original one in and shorten/lengthen it.

I changed the front band, originally it was about double the width of this one and is meant to create a bit of a folded over collar effect but I didn't like how it sat so I replaced it with a straight band (no curve at the neckline like the original) and made it half as narrow, very much like the band that's on McCalls 6408.

Lastly, I added some elastic to the back waist seam.  When I'd finished it, it was still a bit big around the waist and I found it wasn't very flattering when it was meeting in the middle (could have been because I used plaid instead of a plain fabric). I'd already hemmed it and didn't want to add a centre back seam so I sewed elastic about 3" shorter than the seam and stretched it to fit, zigzagging it to the seam (I pinned it all first to get the right length for the look I wanted). No sure if I'd bother taking in the back if I made it again or just use elastic again, it makes that back waist seam nice and stable and I don't mind the extra gathering it does.

 

I sewed it all on the serger and twin needled the hems. First time I've sewn something just on the serger without sewing it first on my sewing machine first, makes it so much faster!

All in all I'm really happy with it, I wasn't sure if I'd like the peplum look on me especially in the plaid. I think its quite flattering and doesn't need a belt or anything to stop it looking shapeless.

I wore it today and its very comfortable to wear, the pin on the lapel is a red poppy for Remembrance Day (which is today in Australia) , Lest we forget.

Christmas sewing: Circle pouches

I made a start on my Christmas sewing this week - namely these great little earbud pouches. I followed the tutorial here and used a lot of scrap material up!

I should mention they aren't just for earbud headphones, my daughter uses one in her schoolbag to hold panadol and lipbalms, plus they can be used to hold anything like Nintendo DS games or guitar picks.

Ninja's and Gnomes

Cat's in converse

 

Lots of chevrons

Hedgehogs and Dots

Great for a stocking stuffer and as little gifts for friends!

McCalls 6828 : Raccoon Jacket

I love these little animal themed jackets and tried (rather disastrously) to draft one my self last year so when I saw this pattern out I downloaded it. My little birthday baby turns one next week so this is getting sent off to him for his birthday.

 

This is a sz 2 and its quite generous, I think it would fit easily a 3 or maybe even a 4 year old over a light shirt or work really well as a winter jacket over heavier clothing.

Its all out of polar fleece, lining as well as the outer fabric. I found the fabric amounts on the envelope pretty accurate, I had some left over but not much.

 



Buttons are from my stash

I had a few issues with the instructions

• The hood is appliqued. I haven't done any applique before and I found the instructions pretty lacking to be honest. This is the second hood I made, the first rippled badly. So my tips if you haven't done applique before on polar fleece is to interface under where you'll be doing it (it made a huge difference), reduce your foot pressure slightly (I went to 2 from 3) and to not do too tight of a satin stitch. I first did it with a .5 width and it was too tight so I backed it off to a .7 (this is on a Janome 6030 if that helps). Practice on a scrap first to get some idea of what your machine needs.
• Also because the polar fleece is so fluffy I found after I cut out the appliques if you pull off any loose fluff and trim the fluff at the edges it doesn't stick out from the satin stitch and look all messy.
• Applique so the stitch wraps over the edge of the fabric, if you go too far into the fabric there is a lip of fleece that sticks out and looks all messy.
• Before fusing the webbing on the appliques it helps to mark on the webbing paper what colour they are for (just makes it faster when you are at the ironing board)
• The inner black dot is a button. I didn't realise that until after I had tried to sew a black circle in satin stitch......a good thing about the polar fleece is you can unpick a lot and not see stitch marks, lol. Its written into the instructions after you have appliqued the hood and sewn it onto the main body.
• I would recommend you interface the back of the ears too, I didn't and found them a bit floppy now.
• The ear instruction just tells you to 'sew them onto the hood'. I decided to hand sew them on so they would sit up nice and straight and found it best to slip stitch around the back and the front of both ears.
• Because of the thickness of the polar fleece I had to cut the hood lining down to get it to sit smooth. I actually sewed it all up but it looked too baggy and terrible so I unpicked it and pinned in inside and trimmed what hung out and then when I resewed it, it fit in beautifully.
• I found the button markings to be off centre and not high enough (the pattern actually recommend to sew snaps inside the button band at the top and bottom but I didn't want to do that on a kids jacket) so I respaced the buttons and made them in the centre of the band.
• The instructions have you hand sew a lot (all the hems and at the front where the button band goes) so instead I bagged out the lining, leaving at gap at the bottom back hem to turn it out with and the top stitched that shut. So if you do that it helps to know that the hem on the jacket is 2" (for the life of me I couldn't find it marked anywhere on the pattern).

After all that whinging notes I will say I am very happy with it, its just so damn cute! I keep looking at it and smiling!
The eyes are a little wonky, I went over the green inner eye twice to try and even them up but I don't think its too noticeable?
I'll be making these as a standard birthday present for little kids from now on (the jacket only uses 1m fleece for the lining and 1 for the outer so if you pick it up on sale its quite a reasonable/cheap sewn gift). I have visions of purple or pink owl jackets for girls and maybe a blue version of this raccoon one.

Collete 1020: Lily dress

Everytime I sew a Colette dress I wonder why on earth I use any other brand of pattern! This is a straight sz 18 with only taking it in at the sides on the bodice and shortening the bodice by 1". I didn't even muslin it, I feel so naughty saying that!

Fabric is a sateen from Spotlight same with the contrast fabric. I found the skirt a bit short so added the band to the hem.

The skirt has a kick pleat but I don't think its needed and wouldn't bother sewing it on other versions. The bodice is finished with facings but I used bias tape instead. I really don't like facings, they seem bulky and never seem to sit as smoothly as bias binding.



 

Lolita Patterns 3013: Sugar Plum

I was lucky enough to pattern test this dress and I gotta say, I love it! I've always admired this type of dress that looks like a skirt/blouse combo but could never find a RTW one that fit and always imagined that fitting one would be a nightmare. This came together really easily though and I had to make minimal fit adjustments. Lolita Patterns have a different sloper for the larger sizes rather than just grading up a small size and it really does make a difference.

I made a Sz18 with the waist graded into a sz16. I still had to do a 1"FBA and I added 1" to the back width but the shoulders fit perfectly and I think if you were a D cup (I'm an F), the bust would have been perfect. I rotated most of the fba into a side dart and the rest into the under bust pleat. The underbust pleat was giving me grief when I first did it, I had it pressed towards the side and as soon as I pressed it the other way towards the front it sat beautifully!

I found the sleeves nice and generous without being too puffy or sticking out and for once I didn't need to do a bicep width adjustment!

 I used a nice Japanese cotton Lawn from Spotlight for the blouse and a Ponte knit from my stash for the skirt. I never wear woven tops so I was pleasantly surprised at how comfy they can be, not as much movement as a knit but not too bad all in all.

 

  

I did do a couple of design changes, I just can't seem to help myself! There's meant to be a zip in the back but I found when I muslined it up that I could just pull it on and off so I left the zip out. The skirt has in seam pockets too but they gaped a bit so I decided to leave them off too.

The original neckline is a high one so I changed it to more of a V-neck which I find more comfortable. Finally, the blouse is meant to be lined but my cotton lawn was thick enough it didn't need to be lined so I made some self fabric bias binding and finished it around the neckline and sleeves with that and just serged the rest of the seams.

It's such a pretty dress with the neck ruffles, I finished them with a rolled hem on my serger. First time I've done that and I am so impressed with how it looks! The buttons have been sitting in my stash for a couple of years and it was so nice to finally use them!

I'm really impressed with the dress, the fit and the construction/instructions was very nice, what I'd class as a higher-end rtw finish which is what I always strive to achieve. I can't wait to see what Lolita patterns comes out with next!

Vogue 8940: Mens Peacoat

I've never sewn for my husband, he's very much a jeans and t-shirts man. However he doesn't have any coats and when I saw the new Vogue patterns I scooped this one up. It's a nice simple peacoat with some cool details.

The fabric is a navy coating I picked up from Spotlight on clearance. It's very soft and sewed up beautifully, the colour is true in the top 4 photos (the detail pics are a bit washed out looking). Lining is Sunsilky from Lincraft and the buttons were from there too.

I followed the instructions all the way through (for once!), they are very similar to the RTW sewalong with interfacing on the front, side, back yoke, collars and facings. The lining is semi-bagged with the hems being hand sewn. I actually enjoyed the control this gave me over how well it all fit together. It has inseam pockets at the front and a welt pocket inside.

I'm still disappointed in the inside welt pocket. I managed to sew the welts on the wrong way around and had already cut the slit in the facing before I realised.......plus I didn't have enough fabric to recut the front facing and of course Spotlight had sold out of it. So it was carefully unpicked and resewn but you can see some pulling in the lining and its a bit uneven so I'm still not showing any close ups, lets look at the nice notched collar instead!

Fit wise I cut a sz42 which matched his measurements. I muslined it up and had to add width in the arms and the upper back. I remuslined all the changes and then cut the main fabric. Once it was sewn up I got him to try it on and it was massive so it was all unpicked and recut smaller. The final product is a sz 42 with a 2" broad back adjustment and a 2" bicep width adjustment. The chest and length are all straight from the pattern and fit him fine (he's 5'11"). If/when I make it again I'll be adding a little to the forearms and to the pocket opening width (I always tell him he has bear paws not hands so the pocket openings are a bit too small)

Each time I do a decent size broad back measurement I usually gather the back shoulder seam and ease it into the front, this tends to make the upper back creep forward at the back of the arms. Because this jacket also has a dropped front shoulder seam it seemed to exaggerate this so I put in a topstitched pleat instead of the gathers which made it sit a lot nicer (pleated is on the left, gathered is on the right)

I did flat piping around the facings. I'd been given a big bag of my hubbies late Grandfathers ties so I used one of them to make bias strips out of for the piping. This worked really well and there was enough fabric in the tie to make the piping and the welts for the inside pocket.

Speaking of the facing, the pattern doesn't include a back facing so I drafted one. It also doesn't include a jump pleat in the back lining. Not sure if this is normal in men's jackets?? I added a 1" jump pleat anyway.

I did notice the pattern asks you to cut 2 inside pocket lining pieces but you only need one (only mistake I found in the pattern).

All in all, I'm really happy with it. I wanted it to look casual but neat and I think it does, best of all it fits him and he likes it!