What have I been sewing? : May 2016

Let me just say one thing before I start. I really, really do not like this hot weather. Being a natural ginger, I feel the heat quite easily and if I'm being honest, I struggle! Although it is nice to actually have a summer this year, it would also be nice if I could go a day without feeling like I'm melting. 

Okay, now I've had my little whinge, I'm finally getting round to reporting my makes for May 2016 - this month was relatively quiet in the sewing front as I just couldn't find the time to do it, however what I had made, I actually really like. I'm a bit miffed that I didn't join in with Me Made May but I just simply didn't have the time to get everything made so I could wear "me made" items throughout the whole month, but there's always next year, right!

First item was my McCalls 7200 Kimono jacket (view C), and yes, I made it in the bunny fabric. I've actually come to the end of this fabric now, but I'm super happy with how this turned out. 

I first laid eyes on this pattern when I was browsing through katemakesadress on instagram and thought, Philly, you need this in your life if it's that simple to make. This was a relatively simple item so put together, once I had figured out the instructions. For the life of me, I could not read these instructions and understand them. My Mum had also read them and looked at me like "what are you even on about..." but something just wasn't letting them sink in to my head!

The only alteration I had to make was that I had to readjust where the tie-belt straps were sewn in. Due to me being quite short, the location of the straps meant that they were sitting right on my bum and it really didn't look right, so I moved them up a few inches and now they're sitting perfectly on my waist. 

Would I make this again? Yes, I think I would. I'd probably make it a little shorter though, as this is quite long on me but I suppose it's quite good as it does cover my bum, so if I do end up having leggings on which are slightly...see through...at least my dignity is covered on my derrier! I'd also make it in a plain(er) fabric so that I could wear it with more of my clothes. I love how versatile this pattern is and how I actually like what it looks like both tied up at the front and also at the back. 

My second make for May was a Sew Over It Ultimate Shift dress top. Now, I don't have any decent photos of this top as of yet so bare with me - the photo I do have does not do this fabric any justice though! 

Apologies for this being horrendously creased in this photo, I'd taken this top to Cardiff with me and didn't realise how easily it'd crease! As much as I love viscose, this one really does crease easily. 

This top only took me around 2 hours to make, as I've really managed to master this pattern. I think this is probably the 5th time I've used this pattern now (3 dresses and 2 tops) however the first time I'd tried to make a top out of the pattern, I really didn't like how it looked. I don't know if it was because of the sleeves or whatever but it just really didn't look right. 

A few alterations were made to make this top fit me better. I increased the size of this by about an inch and a half each side, as I wanted the fit to be slightly baggier. I also missed off the facings and used a single turned over hem to finish off the arm holes, neckline and bottom hem and I actually like how it turned out. It's extremely comfy to wear and I've already got another 2 pre-cut and ready to start sewing this morning. 

The one thing I love about this pattern is that it just suits every body type. I'm not the smallest of girls by any means, but this dress pattern, and top pattern for that matter, really make me feel a little slimmer. 

 So those are my two makes for May 2016! As I said above, a relatively quiet month on the sewing front, however June is already under way and I've managed to make something already, so hopefully I'll have my other items finished and I'll actually get that post up on time by the end of June...

'til next time! 

♥

What have I been sewing? : April 2016

Now the trees are turning a little bit greener and the flowers are in full bloom, I'm finally feeling a little bit better and more optimistic about everything. I had a week or so where I felt like I was at a dead end, but truth be told, I've had a bit of time to myself to think about everything and I feel much better for doing so! 

Jumping right in to what I've been sewing, I didn't make a lot last month with moving back home, settling back in etc. I only made two dresses from patterns I already have but made them sleeveless so that I can wear them in both the summer and winter! 

The first dress I made was a Merchant and Mills dress shirt in a navy and pink arrow print shirting cotton from Fabworks, which was £5.00 per meter.

This is a gorgeous fabric and it's really surprised me at just how durable it is. I've never used a "proper" shirting cotton before but you can definitely tell the difference! I opted to make this dress sleeveless as I'd already tried setting in the sleeves, but it just didn't look right! I've found that I've worn this more since taking the sleeves out and I suppose I could wear this with a long sleeved top underneath when it becomes winter again. This didn't take too long to make and set the sleeves in initially, but I had set it aside for quite a while whilst I moved house and settled in, but in total I'd say it probably took me around 3 hours. 

The second item I'd made was another Sew Over It ultimate shift dress in a rabbit print viscose from thetextilecentre on eBay. I've purchased fabric from this online shop a couple of times and I've been so impressed with the quality of the fabric so far. 

Not the best photos but I absolutely love this dress. I made it slightly bigger than I normally would have done and also sleeveless, I think I actually prefer this dress without the sleeves! Again, I've left the sleeves off so I can wear a long sleeved top underneath. 

Now, I've got a couple of new posts lined up and also a review of my new Singer sewing machine, which will hopefully be posted within the next week or so.

'til next time! 

♥

Pattern haul; March 2016

I love this time of year, as everything seems to get so much more colourful. Although I love the dark colours and patterns of winter fabrics, I can't help but fall in love with the bright and bold colours of spring/summer fabrics! 

I didn't really get chance to sew anything in March 2016, I did make another Merchant & Mills Dress Shirt, however I need to adapt the sleeves slightly before I'm 100% happy with it. 

I did, however, purchase a couple of patterns and I'm super excited to go shopping for fabric! 

First of all, I purchased another Sew Over It pattern. A couple of months ago I purchased the Ultimate Shift Dress pattern and absolutely loved it. I noticed this pattern on their website shortly after but held off on purchasing it until we had passed Winter and moved onto the warmer Spring months. 

I purchased the Pussy Bow Blouse pattern in a PDF format. Now before the Shift Dress pattern, I'd never downloaded a PDF pattern and printed it out, but I actually really like it! 

I love the style of the Pussy Bow Blouse and feel like I could make it in quite a few different fabrics to make this a casual top but also one that I could shove in my work wardrobe. The pattern looks relatively easy to sew together, I'll definitely be reviewing this one! 

The next pattern I purchased this month was a kimono style jacket from McCall's, which was the Easy Sewing 7200 Kimono Jacket. I purchased mine from the Minerva Crafts store via Ebay, as it worked out cheaper to purchase it from there than on their actual website. The delivery on this was so quick, it turned up the next day! 

Kimono style jackets have been in and out of my wardrobe for the last couple of years and I'm actually quite glad that this pattern has a few different variations. I first saw this on Instagram by katiemakesadress in a really quirky cactus print fabric and shortly after a geometric print and fell in love, I knew I had to have this pattern! Again, this will be one to review when I eventually get round to sewing it. 

I'll surely update this post when I manage to go fabric shopping for these patterns and will make a separate post for the finished products. 

'til next time! 

♥

Pattern review: the Ultimate Shift Dress by Sew Over It

On my travels to London over New Year, me and my Sister ended up going to Liberty and spent probably about an hour walking around, lusting over everything in there. For me, the haberdashery floor was absolute HEAVEN. I think I wanted to buy around 80% of the things in there, especially the dressmaking patterns! I found the little corner where the Sew Over It patterns are kept there was something that caught my eye about the quirky, vintage style of Sew Over It. The patterns range from £10+, but to me, I generally don't mind spending a little more on the pattern if I know I'm going to make a lot of items from it. I didn't pick one up whilst I was there but knew that there was more to this company than I initially saw.

I came across Sew Over It on Youtube a couple of weeks after my trip to London, after watching various sewing tutorials. After binge watching all the videos on the channel and also browsing the website, I fell in love with the Ultimate Shift Dress pattern. Lisa, the founder of Sew Over It, had uploaded a video showing her Ultimate Shift Dress collection and from that moment, I knew I had to have it! I chose to download a PDF pattern as it was slightly cheaper (£8.50) and of course, I had instant access! 

PDF downloaded and printed out, I then had the task of putting this all together. This was my first time printing out a dressmaking pattern so I didn't really know what to expect, but to my surprise, it was really simple! Everything is numbered which allows you to match it together quite easily and the best thing is, if you make a mistake, you can just reprint the page you've messed up. 

The fabric I had chosen was a polyester viscose (I think?) which probably wasn't the best idea as I'd never ever sewn with a stretchy fabric before. However, I just could not resist the print on it. It cost me £8.00 per meter (this pattern requires 2 however I bought 2.5), which may seem a bit steep to some people, but I bought enough to also make a top one I had used it for my dress. Although, I seem to have used a lot less than 2 meters and I made the biggest size!

Okay about the sizing - I made a size 20 as I realised the sizing on this pattern comes up slightly small. I'm generally a size 14-16 with store bought clothes, but my body measurements fit exactly those of the size 20, so hey, who cares! It does have a little disclaimer in the instructions that the pattern has a little less ease than normal, so to me, making the biggest size wasn't a huge issue and in fact, I'm really happy I had done. As I have a slightly larger chest than "most" people (I'm an F cup but I have a small waist and a big tummy!) I wanted to have a little more room around the waist area, I think that if I made a size 18, it would have been a little less comfortable to wear. 

So, back to the pattern! As you can see from the image above, it's a relatively straight forward pattern to cut out and construct. I think the most difficult part for me was working out exactly where the bust darts needed to be, as I'd never sewn darts before. Or, set in sleeves for that matter! I was a little worried about doing sleeves and darts but really, once I had positioned the darts and pressed them, they looked perfect. The ease stitching on the sleeves really helped me to get a smooth seam on the shoulders, which I was actually really really proud of! 

 If I remember, this probably took me around 3-4 hours to make however I really think this was down to the fabric. If the fabric hadn't rolled around a lot, stretched, puckered or been anything less then 100% irritating, I think I could've made this in 2 hours. I had to unpick a lot on this, especially the arm seams and the back seam on the dress, as it just kept on puckering no matter what I tried. I just want to point out though, this is nothing to do with the pattern, it was in fact my fabric! 

What does the finished product look like, you may ask? 

I think if I was going to remake this dress, I would make it about an inch longer just to feel a little more...comfortable. It's not too short, it sits around 5cm above my knee but I think to feel really comfortable, I'd make it slightly longer. The other thing I would change is possibly the length of the sleeve, I can't decide if the full length sleeve makes me look slightly dumpy. I would also try and change the hem on the sleeve as it feels quite shoddy but again, I couldn't get it to stitch nicely at all! The fit on the body, however, was absolutely perfect, there's no pulling on any seams and it doesn't feel tight across any part of my chest or stomach. 

Here's an ever so slightly awkward photo of me showing off my creation! 

It's safe to say I absolutely love this dress and this pattern, I've already bought my next lot of fabric to make another dress! I think they're really versatile, I plan on wearing this to work as I can make it slightly more formal by wearing tights and a belt, however in this photo I've styled it with leggings which basically gives me a bit more security, should I lift my arms up a little too high! 

Have you made anything by the Sew Over It patterns? Or have you came cross this company before? If you have, please share your creations! 

♥