Simplicity 1366

Simplicity 1366, a drop-shouldered, cropped top has been doing the rounds of late. I thought it looked good, but wasn't going to buy it. Then three bloggers whose style I adore made it up, and I decided to take the plunge. Check out Mixed Emotions version,  Groovy Baby and Mama's version,  and Lily Sage & Co's version.

To start, I decided to make it in leftovers of a viscose I bought from Tessuti last Christmas - I made a pair of Suzy pants and had about 1m leftover. So I made a 1366!

Warning: these photos are fairly terrible, sorry. It was rainy and yucky and I was en route to work and had about 2 minutes to get photographed. My motto these days is to get things photographed. Otherwise they never will.

I made a size 12 and after some advice from fellow Instagrammers of similar height to me, lengthened it at the hem and at the sleeves by 2.5cm.

In future versions, I will pinch about 1cm out of the back neckline. It is a tad too wide across there.

I wore it with my black Libby A-Line skirt. Perhaps a teeny bit short for work, but I am used to government attire. Would never wear this to a government job, but I was sitting in my office all day that day. Although I did go out for lunch with my boss. I think next week I will wear it with my black Papercut Patterns Pleated pants and brogues.

I think this looks like one of those professional school photos were you turn slightly side on and smile, usually with a white sheet behind you.

Have you made one of these? I'm going to make a Liberty one soon (maybe at Sewjourn), and like the idea of lengthening it into a dress - perhaps in a nice rayon or viscose. How about you?

Yves Saint Laurent Set-Acular Goes to the Nurse's Ball

My lovely sister Ruth asked me a while back if I would like to go as her date to her annual nurse's ball. Matt, her fiancé, has decided it is not his thing. It is most definitely my thing. Getting dressed up, swanning around sipping champagne, being generally a little bit fancy. Being the mother of a 3 yo, I do not get fancy. I get dirty, rumpled and generally tired. In short, I jumped at the chance to have a fancy night on the town with my dear sister.

I had planned another dress, out of silk I got for Christmas. I stuffed the bodice. I could fix it, but could not fix it in time for the ball. I don't really have a fancy fabrics stash, with lovely silks waiting my attention, so with just under two weeks until the ball, I paid Tessuti a rather panicked visit, and bought 2.2m of Musk Graffiato, a divine silk crepe de chine that Trish told me was a Yves Saint Laurent fabric. Let me tell you, it is amazing.

As I didn't have much time, I decided to go super simple. I also really wanted to make something I would wear again. I have done a wardrobe purge recently and need flattering clothing I feel good in. I have also been lusting after a very simple maxi skirt that Debbie made a while back, and so decided I would do a maxi skirt and shell top.

The top is Simplicity 2599 a very simple shell top with a few variations. I made the most simple of tops, no frill, in a size 12. The only things I did differently were binding the neck and arms and I used french seams. No way an overlocker was coming anywhere near my beautiful silk!

The skirt is a basic gathered skirt. I used a straight waistband with the zip going all the way to the top - I really don't like button overlaps on these types of skirts.

I didn't line either - I wanted them to be summer garments, light and swishy. The fabric was an absolute dream. Just wonderful to sew with.

I wore it with an Elk necklace and earrings, Elk shoes and a Saba belt.

Here I am with Ruthy. Little M said she looked like a ballerina queen. High praise. 

I had a great time - it was nice to be out and about, nattering away and eating nice food and drinking champagne. And of course, being all dressed up!

I see myself getting a lot of wear from these two pieces as separates. I think it was a good idea to sew something like this. I'm doing some serious planning for my Summer wardrobe. I want it to be a thoughtful plan, with coordinated pieces that will last. Do you plan your sewing? Or are you like me usually - sew the newest pattern in whatever fabric takes your fancy? 

Let's Par-tay: Simplicity 1873

I mentioned in my second-last post that a little while ago I asked my Instagram friends to weigh in on whether I should sew Simplicity 1688 or Simplicity 1873 for my sister's first engagement party (a dinner at Seamstress Restaurant - how befitting!):

Overwhelmingly (apart from two people!) the answer was 1873. Well, you already know that I mashed up the two patterns to make a sheath, but I also did as I was told, and made 1873 for the engagement dinner!

This one is made from an amazing mid-weight Italian cotton with some stretch from Tessuti. I lined the bodice only in blue anti-static lining, also from Tessuti. 

Here are the changes I made :

• I took 10cm out of the neckline - a standard adjustment for me, but I do wonder what is going on drafting wise. 
• For the under arm seams only, I used a 2.5cm seam allowance tapering to the standard 1.5cm at the waist.
• I took a 2cm horizontal dart out of the skirt the entire way around as I had some very odd pouching just above my hips. 
• I extended the back darts by about 1.5cm as I had excess fabric there. 
• I lengthened the skirt by 10cm so that I could keep it short with a 10cm hem. I like a really deep hem (5cm turned up twice) in a full skirt. 

This is actually really comfortable. The bodice has some ease in it so it is excellent for eating a huge meal in. Ruth's 30th Birthday dinner was last night - we went to Meat & Wine Co. in Hawthorn. I've been to the one at Southbank a couple of times for business lunches, but the one in Hawthorn is a bit nicer in my opinion. The decor is a bit fancier. I had a very good steak. And a creme brûlée. Then we went back to Ruth's house and played cards for a while. Little M was at a sleepover at her mate's house - although she's had a few sleepovers before, I still feel weird coming back to the house without her there. And my stupid body clock woke me at 7am. Grrr. 

So this is my par-tay dress! I haven't really been sewing for myself of late. I have had lots of birthday presents for kids, and Little M's birthday dress and leggings. I have toiled the Sigma Dress by Papercut Patterns and am really hoping to start that this weekend. Wish me luck!

Cynthia Rowley Mix-Up Dress: A Sateen Sheath

It has been a month since I last posted! And just over a month since I returned to work. Hmmm… I'm doing 4 days a week for this semester only. I'm lecturing again - a first year course with a lot of students (about 200). Dipping my toe back in the lecturing pond has been both exciting and exhausting. It's been almost 5 years since I last lectured in Queensland - I'm on a bit of a (re) learning curve. Plus I really have extremely limited time to sew. Little M is with Michael on the fourth day, and I don't think has completely adjusted yet. Despite him being her father and being an excellent, hands-on, caring, wonderful father. The mother-kid relationship is certainly an intense one!

Anyway, I'm sure you'd much prefer to hear about my dress! A while back I asked my Instagram friends which of these patterns I should make for Ruthy's (my sister's) first engagement dinner:

Interestingly, everyone bar two said 1873, with the full skirt. I did make 1873 for the engagement dinner (post on that to come!) but I got obsessed with having a dress with the slim skirt. I really liked the skirt portion of 1688 but felt the bodice was not what I was looking for at that point in time. So I spliced them together:

Okay, be honest please. Is the placement of that bottom white flower a bit interesting…….?! Michael assures me it is not, but I have paranoia. I do wish I'd spent more time cutting and thinking about the placement of the print.

The fabric is a cotton sateen from Tessuti - one my mum gave me for Christmas. Ruthy tells me it is a Ted Baker print. It is gorgeous anyway!

I had to make a lot of alterations to get this to fit nicely. Here we go:

• I took 10cm out of the neckline - a standard adjustment for me, but I do wonder what is going on drafting wise. 
• For the under arm seams only, I used a 2.5cm seam allowance tapering to the standard 1.5cm at the waist.
• I took a 2cm horizontal dart out of the skirt the entire way around as I had some very odd pouching just above my hips. 
• I extended the back darts by about 1.5cm as I had excess fabric there. 

That's only four adjustments - but it felt like a lot. The only thing I am left wondering is whether I should alter the bodice so it is not so cut away at the sleeve-armhole area. The straps do not seem to come in so far on the model in the pic - what do you think? 

I also lined the entire dress, and because I forgot to lengthen the skirt, I bound the hem and sewed it by hand (I would have done it by hand anyway, but usually I turn up the hem twice). 

Like the colour of my lining? Only colour I had in my stash - but I love it!

I really do like this dress and have another one half made (has been half made for some time….). I wore it to work today to attend orientation for my students and felt pretty swish. Professional but young(ish) and not too conservative. I do need to get used to not wearing a sack though. I wear them so often that when I wear anything fitted I feel exposed. Does anyone else have this issue? Which do you prefer a sack or a more fitted garment?

Simplicity 1803: The King Kong Dress!

Disclaimer: This dress has nothing to do with King Kong, apart from the fact I wore it to see the musical this afternoon!

For my birthday earlier this month, Ruthy (my sister) bought me a ticket to go and see King Kong today the musical at the Regent Theatre on Collins St. It was so much fun! The huge-scale puppetry is amazing. Such a great birthday present!

Here we are before we went in. Look at the interior of the theatre! It is amazing.

I had originally planned to wear my Frocktails outfit - I wanted to get dressed up - but the weather in Melbourne presently is what can only be described as awful. Cold, windy, wet. Yuck. I needed something I could wear with tights, a cardigan and a coat.

Luckily a while back I started on Simplicity 1803:

I made it in a linen-rayon I bought on my recent Brisbane trip. This fabric is so lush. It drapes beautifully and feels very nice. Wish I'd gotten more. I underlined the bodice only as the bodice is faced rather than lined. I used cotton voile to underline. 

I didn't muslin this dress - so daring and uncharacteristic of me! I did have to make two adjustments to the size 12:

1. Increase the CF seam allowance to 2.5cm instead of 1.5cm. Lots of gaping happening and too much room in the waist.
2. Shorten the straps and angle them in more so there was no gaping. 

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the fit now. 

Love that scoop neckline. I also love the way the straps look - you can't really see it with this print. I'm planning a solid red version in linen. I had actually planned this to be a summer dress, and I was going to photograph it with some yellow shoes I got for my birthday (from Elk!). But it is just too cold here to go bare-legged. I'm really yearning for summer this year - it is my favourite season, both weather wise and sewing wise - how about you? What is your favourite season?

Pattern: Simplicity 1803
Fabric: 2m linen-rayon blend, 1m cotton voile
Notions: 16" invisible zip
Alterations: increased CF seam to 2.5cm, shortened and angled in front straps.

Simplicity 2444

Two posts in one week! Today I have the day at home by myself! Amazing. This is because next week I am going to a conference on tuesday, a day I don't usually work. So I got today off in lieu of tuesday. Yay! A whole day of uninterrupted sewing and catching up on episodes of my favourite TV series. I'm also going for a long run this arvo before picking up Little M - I've got Run For The Kids on sunday and need to fit a long one in before doing the 15km circuit on sunday.

Anyway, onto to the sewing! I made Simplicity 2444 a couple of weeks ago.

It is made in a cotton sateen from Spotlight that Leith picked up for me when my local Spotlight didn't have it. Thanks Leith!

See that sneaky little baby getting in on the fun!

This dress is not a difficult make, but as per usual, I had to adjust the pattern to get it to fit. I made a size 12, but it was gaping very badly at the neckline. So I followed Leith's suggestion and slashed up the centre of all the darts (4 in the front bodice and 2 in the back bodice) and folded out the excess at the neckline. I folded out approximately 10cm in total! Weird pattern drafting I have to say. I'm pretty broad shouldered so I'm not sure who they're drafting for.

That is the only alteration I made, apart from lining the dress (the pattern doesn't call for lining - again something I find odd). I also changed to a handpicked zip at the CB instead of an invisible zip as I've had two invisible zips break on me lately. I'm just not in the mood for the trouble they cause so I used a regular zip. I think I prefer the way the invisible zips look though - what are your preferences?

This cotton sateen is very stiff, so it makes me think this dress probably needs a fabric with a fair amount of structure to make it sit nicely.

Cheeky little baby. She was dancing all over the place.

I made this as a work dress and have had so many nice compliments. A few of the women at work have bought sewing machines as they like my handmade garments! It is great when people get interested in sewing... then there are more people for me to talk endlessly to!  

Lovely Liberty Christmas Ladies!

Merry belated Christmas and New Year!

We have been in Brisbane visiting my family and arrived back on the 30th of December. It was a whirlwind week, filled with eating, playing, drinking, nursing my new little niece and swimming.

And getting dressed up in new Liberty frocks! Well, for me and Little M anyway. I sewed us both a party frock made from Liberty Tana Lawn. Such lovely fabric. First, my frock:

I made the Sewaholic Lonsdale dress in blue 'Mitsi' Liberty Lawn. I made a muslin of the bodice only - and I'm glad I did as I had to make the following alterations:

• I started with a size 8 for the bodice but ended up using a size 6, grading to an 8 for the waistband (damn you stomach after childbirth!).
• I pinched out about 2.5cm of fabric vertically from the front bodice. To do this I created a vertical dart, starting with the 2.5cm at the side, tapering to nothing at the CF. 
• I used a size 8 skirt - and didn't have to lengthen it! 
• I also used the largest size for the tie lengths. I'm tall and wanted plenty of tie to get a bow out of. 

I have to wear a strapless bra with this dress, which I'm not crazy about, but apart from that, I am in love with my Lonsdale. It is so comfy to wear and I feel very feminine in it. And it goes perfectly with my new green Funkis clogs:

Now for Little M's frock. I used the 'Poppy' Liberty lawn. Isn't it gorgeous? I sewed a size 2 of Simplicity 1890, a Project Runway pattern. I decided to go with sleeves as we were in sunny hot Queensland and I didn't want those beautiful arms to get burnt. The size 2 is a smidgeon big, but at least that means she'll get more wear out of it! This dress was simple to make - princess seams and very easy to set-in sleeves. Also quick as the pieces are so tiny! I'd recommend.

She's wearing little Saltwater sandals with it - isn't she gorgeous?

She has recently taken to wearing a bangle (bracelet) or two everywhere she goes .... so stylish!!

I had a good break from sewing, but am now champing to get started again on a few things, especially as Leith and I have now booked our flights for our Sydney sewing trip! We'll be there on the weekend of February 8th. Who will be around to join us for a spot of shopping and champers?

The Liberty Maxi Dress: Simplicity 2638

I love maxi dresses. So feminine, don't have to worry about how you sit, floaty, swishy... what's not to like?

I bought 3.5m of this season's Thomasine Liberty lawn from Shaukat in the UK when I bought the Fans Liberty fabric for my Gabby dress. I knew I wanted a maxi dress made from it.

I chose Simplicity 2638 - a 'sew easy' pattern (that I don't think should be rated as such):

The reason I don't think this should rated as 'sew easy' is that you need to sew two opposing curves together when sewing the bust piece and the waistband. While this is not particularly difficult when you've had a bit of practice, I'm not sure it should be classified as 'sew easy'. The Colette Patterns' Beignet skirt has two opposing curves to sew and is rated intermediate. I think that is more fair - do you?

The back has a nice slit and does up with a button and zip:

I made a size 12, taking in the waistband by 2.5cm total. Everywhere else fit like a dream. How awesome! I love not having to make millions of alterations (especially as I didn't make a test version of this - I just cut into the Liberty - don't judge!!).

I absolutely love this dress. I feel great in it. I wore it last weekend to our meet-up, and wore it yesterday to Leith's little boy's 2nd birthday party. Leith, myself and Siobhan were wearing Liberty:

I blatantly stole this image from Leith's Blog

So - what do you think? A good maxi? I'm thinking of making a knee-length version too - do you think it would work with a shorter skirt? 

Lurvely Linen: Simplicity 2360

As you might be aware, I've been hankering to get my frock on, but have held off because I know my bust will change size in the coming months. It came to my attention however, that I could sew a more 'blousey', less-fitted dress, that will accommodate my current and future bust sizes.

So I turned to Simplicity 2360. You might remember seeing it as one of my 30th Birthday Party Dresses from 2010.

It is made from a dark-orangey red with a gold metallic stripe linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I love this fabric - the only issue I have with it is that is wrinkles so much! These photos were taken directly after I had my haircut - so I was wrinkly from being under the cape thingmy-bob you have to wear.

The dress is easy to make, but for some reason I had major issues with the neckline. It seriously gaped on me and came out to the outer edges of my shoulders. Weird. To fix the problem I took in the shoulder seams by 5cm. I'm sure this isn't the correct way, but because I didn't muslin the pattern (given I had made it before) I didn't really think I need to make adjustments. The only other adjustment I made was to make a non-elasticised belt. I used horsehair braid in mine and a vintage belt buckle from my stash.

I'm looking at Little M who was clapping her hands at me posing

I had a very fun afternoon - Michael and Little M went for a stroll on Sydney Rd while I got my hair cut(I get my haircut at Corrin's Hair Salon on Sydney Rd at Brunswick), and then we all had tea together and took some photos. Michael has joined a photography club, and is trying new things - what do you think of these photos?