Comfy Coco

I think I have to admit that in the case of this dress, I probably made a bad choice.

I loved what everyone was saying about the Coco, that it was crazy comfortable and felt pulled together, so I'll admit to being convinced into it by all the gorgeous versions that were appearing.

However, I never wear jersey because it always feels too clingy, so I was undecided about making it. I do have a jumper though which is a similar shape that I love, so I thought that maybe with a bit of drafting I might love it. Plus I hadn't worked with stretch before so thought that it would go well with my new challenge myself plan! I had some denim look stretch that I used as a muslin, and recreated the jumper. To do this I first traced the coco in the packet measurements, then laid the jumper over the top, tracing the areas where it differed from the pattern. The main difference was the accentuated A line of the bottom of the top.

I really liked this top, and decided for my proper make I would try and adapt it to a dress. Having never owned a jersey dress, and knowing I liked the top, what could go wrong right? Something that I learned though once this was made. I don't just not wear jersey because it clings, I also don't feel 'done up' enough. I've gotten so used to wearing cotton/ woven fabrics that this feels way too casual.

Cat - bombed

So I thought id show you how I do wear this... with my pyjamas (leggings now it's colder) usually a hairband cos I haven't bothered washing my hair. This is officially now my day pyjamas. It serves its purpose well, and I did learn a lot about jersey sewing in the making. So a definite 50-50 make. 

I have since made a jumper from the top pattern, and love it! Just, the dress is not for me... until I need another pyjama dress anyway. Ya live and ya learn

Spotty Anna

The last time I made an Anna dress, I had to make a lot of adjustments to the fit to get it right. This time round I learnt my lesson, I used the finished garment measurements instead. To do this I used my Upper bust, bust and waist measurements.

There is usually only about 1-1/2 inch difference between my upper bust and bust, so I've never done a full bust adjustment, choosing to make any adjustments once the dress is made. Maybe if I find a dress that I find has a lot of issues I might do this in future.

However, I have found that it is useful for me to grade from the smaller size at my upper bust for the shoulders/ neckline to the full bust measurement. I did this on the Anna as below:

This means that I get a closer fit above the full bust line. This dress therefore now fits so much better than my previous version (before all the adjustments). It's so comfortable to wear, and I added my favourite skirt on as well New Look 6723 , this is basically just a trapeze shape which I add pleats to once the bodice is made. In order to do this I stitch the skirt sides together, and pin to the bodice (with pleats sewn in) at the side seams.

I then find the centre of the bodice and mark, and the centre of the skirt and mark. Pinning these two centre points together and then up to the point of the pleat like so:

I then create a pleat from this point by folding over the excess fabric to the inside. I then do exactly the same at the back, but instead of folding the fabric under itself, I create a box pleat by bringing the excess fabric from either side of the pleat into the middle.

Using this method, I can ensure that the pleats on the skirt and bodice match up perfectly. Using this skirt instead of the drafted Anna skirt means I can have a big lunch and not worry about the consequences ha ha. Once I got the bodice right on this dress, I managed to make it up in 2 1/2 hours! I've now made two for friends and two for myself, I'm becoming a bit of an Anna obsessive.

I got the inspiration for this dress from a Cath Kidston one I saw that was navy polka dot with ric rac on the bottom, I really liked the style, though it's probably more twee than I would normally go for. I bought the fabric from ebay though and it has already started to fade quite a bit, so I may need to replace it soon. I've found it so easy to wear to work, I think another couple in some 'sensible' fabrics may be on the cards.

It looks like the back is quite gappy in these pictures, and there is a little bit of ease here, but the dress is so comfortable I wouldn't want to make this any smaller. My other version is in a slightly thicker material, so may have needed to be brought in. But I'll tell ya all about that when I post it!

Do you like the shoes? Definitely not sensible, I decided this year was the year of the shoe. They are the perfect way to feel dressed up, and Ive only fallen in them a couple of times! (I always fall over... even in flat shoes, no real reason just that the ground likes me) I think I want to get some more fancy shoes. I figure I dont buy ready to wear very often these days, so I can splurge occasionally.

Mad Men Dress

Ah only fools post about challenges they've nearly finished... or some such sewing based idiom. I did finish my dress in time (promise) but a series of unfortunate technological events contrived against me and the pics weren't ready in time for the challenge showcase! Boo! Ah well ya win some ya lose some. What I won was an awesome By Hand London Anna, proud of how it came out in comparison to my inspiration... and although I missed the challenge here are some Peggy inspired pics.

Hard at work on my latest advertising piece

You can see there's a little bit of bagginess at the back still. I did struggle with the sizing on this dress, it came out far too big on the first go so I kept having to adjust. Ill have to go down a size or two for the next one I think. I also wanted to shorten the skirt pieces, but didn't do it in the pattern stage so made myself some little pleats. I love how they came out as I like a little extra material round the midriff. Anyway, back to work...

Hmm.. what rhymes with Coca-Cola..?

Here are some pics on Betty so you can see some of the details. 

Can you see my picture on the wall? It's the legend that is Captain Picard "Make It Sew", Data and Geordie have sewing machines... it's the best

And if you're interested, oooh look at the pretty insides. I used pre-made bias binding to bind the seams, and hair canvas around the edge to give it a nice standing out skirt. 

Stars in their eyes interview dress

One of my goals for this year is to develop a 'work wardrobe', staple dresses and skirt/ shirt combinations that I can throw on in the morning and feel smart. I want to able to show my unique style, whilst feeling like a boss (not for sensitive eyes).

This dress is the first step on that road! I love this dress, I feel smart and stylish, I can wear dramatic tights of all colours and shapes, and I got to stretch my embroidery skills on something other than home projects which was cool. I might try and do some more of this, maybe some flowers like the one from this cushion on the bottom edge of a similar dress? I feel the need for a bit of a spring make.

The dress is a combination of the pastille bodice, and New Look 6128 (shocker of a skirt choice). I made a christmas party dress last year (yet to blog about) and I love the neckline for a night out, but for work it's a bit on the low side. I altered the neckline of the bodice by lying out the pattern piece on some medical paper, drawing out my adjusted pastille bodice and free-handing a scooped look with my french curve.

I then cut out my lining in black linen-look cotton from Minerva, which I bought to make another New Look 6128 (never blogged... hmm sensing a theme), which I made last year for something light to wear in the summer months. I've got loads left and have been using it to muslin dress bodices, and then using this muslin as a lining for the actual bodice.

I am very proud of the finish of this dress, it is fully lined, with black bias edging on sleeves and the bottom of the skirt. It really picks out the black of the embroidery.

I went for a non-static generic lining for this project. I like the way it swishes when I walk, and I know my tights aren't going to get stuck on it. Probably should have ironed the lining for this pic but you get the idea.















In order to do the embroidery, I completed the bodice, attaching the lining to the neckline, and under-stitching. I then tacked on some silk organza to stabilise the fabric, and to give a white surface to draw on. I then free-hand drew on the design I was after with a water soluble pen, and stitched with black polyester thread the outline of the stars so that it would show through on the right side of the dress.

I then filled in these stars with a combination of backstitch, french knots and brick stitch.

In order to create the design, I pinned some images of stars on my pinterest board, to give me an idea of what I was looking for. Originally I was planning on creating a pdf which I could use as a template, but once I reached that point, I found it easier to draw the stars on by eye. It was easy once I knew what I was looking for. I thought about doing free-hand machine embroidery for the stars but after some practice realised I liked the control of the hand-stitching.

I even got to match my pockets to the star-theme, with some stitched together very last scraps of my planet fabric.

And now, for making it through all the techie bits... me and an umbrella!... and yes, I chopped off all my hair! :-D