In Season Silk Competition - or the dress of swishy swishyness

When Tessuti announced the In Season Silk Competition, I got really excited. You see, I love the pinky-purple coloured silk. The other colour-way is not for me, but the other one was definitely my cup of tea.

Happily, I had the Brisbane Spoolettes High Tea to prepare for, meaning I had the perfect occasion to sew a silk frock for.

I am also going through a stage of wanting to wear things that have more waist definition. So, I sewed a vintage Style pattern - 2667.

I sewed Version 1, with the shoulder ties. 

I love it. I can't say how much I adore this dress! I wore it to my Mum's 60th Birthday lunch too and had many compliments. 

So swishy. 

I lined the whole dress in silk-cotton. The dress actually calls for a bodice facing, but there is no way that silk crepe de chine would hold up to a fitted dress well without lining. 

I hung the skirt for 72 hours. It dropped badly - but with some muttering under my breath, I evened that baby out and hand stitched the hem. It drapes beautifully now, particularly with the full lining underneath.  

I love the v-neck and v-back. I'm slightly obsessed with them at the moment (stay tuned for another v-neck dress). I stay-stitched the living daylights out of that neckline and the ties. Previous experience has taught me that they can stretch badly. 

To the Spoolettes High Tea, I wore it with these amazing Red Phoenix Emporium earrings. They are so light and so cool. 

So that's my entry to the competition. I am so chuffed with it - it is a dress I will wear to death and I feel really good in it! 

It was also good to challenge myself by sewing with a trickier fabric and sewing something fitted - I'm having a break from my beloved sacks. 

Are you entering the competition? 

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pattern: Vintage Simplicity 7454

On Instagram there is a wonderful hashtag set up by Lisa from Tessuti Fabrics. It is #vintagepatternsearch. Basically you post a picture of the pattern you're trying to source, in the hope that someone out there in Internet-land will have the pattern and lend it/sell it/give it to you.

I desperately wanted to make this beauty, Simplicity 7454.

I could find the medium on Etsy, but I needed the size small. So I hashtagged away. Luckily, Colette from Tessuti had a copy she was willing to lend me. Even more luckily, Colette traced the pattern for me and sent it to me. Thank you Colette! I was so stoked to receive it.

This pattern has a bit more of a story since I received it. Since I got my mitts on Colette's pattern, I managed to get hold of another copy for Christy, who is now sending it to Jillian. Who knows where this pattern will go next!

For now though, my copy is staying with meeeeeee. Hehehe.

For this version, I made the midi-length, in a heavy-ish black linen from my stash.

Well, I love it!

Changes I made:

• Took it in at the sides by 1cm on each side. 
• Tucked the facing to the inside - the pattern calls for it to be on the outside.
• Omitted the buttons/ties. I can get it on over my head without any closure. 

Those ties were nearly the death of me though. I could not get them to sit flat. It took three goes of unpicking and repositioning. Lucky I like the dress so much.

Can you tell I'm pleased with it? I wore it for the first time in Melbourne two weekends ago, and it was a dream to wear. Very comfy and cool. I am definitely making more!

Our Move Back to Queensland -- and a Ruby Hack

Hi everyone! We are now Queensland residents again - Brisbane to be more precise.

I could no longer hack the 9-month long Melbourne winter, and wanted M to grow up in a climate where she can play outside all the time. So we decided to move back.

We've rented a very sweet little Queenslander while we sell our house in Melbourne. Then we'll buy something in the same area here.

We arrived about a week and a half ago, and it has been hectic. M started school (prep!) yesterday, after breaking her arm on Sunday night. Poor little bub. I have never felt so distraught in my life, and the time she was under a general anaesthetic was pure hell. She's now handling it like a pro, though is already sick of lugging the cast around. She's a very active kid, and it hinders her running around.

 I bought a new sewing machine just before we moved, and picked it up two days after our move. I got a Bernina 330 and love it. I've got lots of sewing plans, primarily because the weather here is so different, and none of my Melbourne clothes are really that compatible with the sticky heat here. Melbourne is so dry.

To test out my new machine, and sew something to wear on super humid days, I hacked Tessuti Patterns' Ruby Dress. I wanted a drop waist dress with a ruffle on the bottom, made out of this amazing Japanese seersucker from Tessuti, called Black Ripple Square.

I hadn't intended on blogging this (I put it on Instagram and had a few requests for details), so my pictures are a bit limited.

Here are the hack details:

1. I started with the top length of the pattern and shortened it by 5cm. 
2. I added 1cm around the armholes, so I could turn the binding under (the Ruby usually has visible binding, turned to the front). I didn't need to add to the neckline. 
3. I cut a ruffle piece for both front and back that was the width of my fabric. I didn't make it a rectangle though, I mimicked the side seam edge of the top pattern pieces on the side seams of the ruffle pieces. 

That's it! Pretty easy, and I love it. I made a size 8, but took it in an additional 3cm on each side (6cm total). I had to do that recently with the Ruby I made for the Melbourne Frocktails, which I went to the night before I moved to Queensland:

This one is also made from a seersucker from Tessuti, called Navy Ripple Spot (couldn't find it on their website, though I noticed there is a black and white spot version).

I predict there will be more of these dresses in my future. I am really struggling with dressing in the humidity.

What do you wear on super hot/humid days?

Kate Top Sewing Competition

After a little hiatus from sewing for me, I decided to enter the Kate Sewing Competition run by Tessuti. Kate is their new top pattern and is a shell top with a cropped length and side splits. I chose to make it in an awesome printed stretch cotton also from Tessuti (now sold out).

My Kate came together beautifully. I cut the size small and ended up taking it in. I'm currently making another and am making the extra-small.

I love these cut-away sleeves on my broad shoulders. It shows them off beautifully.

The pattern on this fabric was not printed straight, but I think I made it work. I used the option for concealed binding on the neck edge and armholes. I used some linen in my stash for the binding.

The instructions for the split are great and easy to follow. You end up with a beautifully finished garment.

So now I have a new top that I totally love! I initially wasn't sure about the colours on me as they are quite different from my usual choices, but I really like how they look on me.

How about you? Are you entering the Kate Competition?

Two-Piece Setacular

Hi! Happy new year. It's been so long since I blogged. After Sewjourn in December last year I sprained my neck. That has seriously curtailed my sewing, blogging, fun etc. But I'm slowly on the road to recovery and have something I sewed at Sewjourn to show you.

I really love Gorman clothing. Their most current collection had a bunch of 'sets' of clothing - predominantly full skirts and culottes teamed with a cropped woven tank. I really wanted my own version. I was also hugely inspired by the round of Setaculars, the brain child of Sophie from Ada Spragg, that were everywhere in blogland last year.

First, I found the perfect fabric - an Italian cotton called Ink Floreale from Tessuti, which is now no longer available. I then decided to make a circle skirt and a matching cropped top. I used vintage Style 3863 for the skirt - a full circle skirt pattern from the 1980's.

I borrowed this picture from the Tessuti blog - Lisa also made this recently.

I then used my staple woven tank pattern, OOP Simplicity 2599, to create a cropped tank.

So, here she is! My Gorman-inspired two-piece setacular.

 

I tried to get it so that tank finished just over my waistband, and would only flash teeny bits of skin when I stretched. One of the women at Sewjourn helped me mark the length - I can't remember who it was, but they were spot on! Thanks!

Can you see my invisible zip at the CB? Me either!!

This all came together really well. I have made the tank a million times so no thought was really needed. The skirt hung from the first night at Sewjourn until last weekend.... so over a month. This wasn't intentional, I just couldn't really sew for a while after spraining my neck. I had to machine stitch it (I wouldn't usually) as I'm still not up to long periods of hand stitching (or sewing full stop).

I feel amazingly feminine in this outfit. There is something about wearing a waisted skirt with the cropped tank, and the swishy-ness of the skirt that makes me feel all w-o-m-a-n.

I'm glad to be back blogging. I have a backlog from Sewjourn and one item from since I've been back. I'm also really looking forward to sewing a bit more now my neck is on the mend.

Ruby in Manning

Tomorrow Michael and I have been married for 7 years (we've been together for 12 years). Happy anniversary babe!

To celebrate, I booked in my sister to babysit lunch time next Sunday (she's pretty busy at the moment so no night-time hot dates for us). Then my lovely friend Therese (chooktopia on Instagram), who is also mum to Little M's BFF, asked if Little M could come for a playdate today at her place, and told me and Mike to go out for lunch. As if we would refuse!

In anticipation of next Sunday, I had made myself the new Tessuti pattern, the Ruby Top/Dress to wear on our date. Any excuse for a new frock, I say. I made it in a Liberty Lawn called 'Manning' that I have had in my stash for some time.

 

Tessuti list suitable fabrics as "light to medium weight linens or linen blends, rayons, viscose and silks". I think I am just scraping in using a lawn. I tried on the sample in Tessuti, made of silk crepe de chine and it flowed over my body better. It also sat at the neckline a tad more nicely.

Don't get me wrong - this lawn version is super comfy and I really like the way it looks, but that crepe de chine sample was all sorts of divine.

See how the lawn billows a little? The silk didn't do that.

I made the size 8, grading to a size 10 at the arm-holes (I know there is a more correct term than that, but I'm too tired to google it and find out) only. I do have quite broad shoulders. I also lengthened the dress length by 8cm and used the teeniest baby hem. I have cut out a viscose crepe version to sew at Sewjourn soon and lengthened by 10cm.

I really like the cut-away arms and the key hole back. I do wish there had been information in the instructions on how to make a thread loop though. I had to search around for a tutorial - the one I found was on the Oliver and S website. 

I didn't stitch-in-the-ditch for the binding on the neck and arms. I don't possess that level of finesse in ditch-stitching and love hand-stitching anyway, so I hand-stitched that binding down. Worked a treat and it meant I could control the tension on the binding to. Take note if you make this - you really do need to stretch the binding a little to get it to sit nicely. 

So, there you have it! A Ruby in Manning. I think I'll wear this a lot. It was very cool to wear on this 37 degree day here today. I have cut out a linen version and the viscose crepe I mentioned before - both to sew at Sewjourn. I also think I'll buy some silk crepe de chine in the fabric sales post-Christmas and make another Ruby dress to wear to my sister's hen's night in February. Are you going to make this? I think it is a great basic with an edge. I see many of the tops in my future too.

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?

Alice - the Dress AND the Top.

So... I made myself a 'set' of sorts. I made the new Tessuti Alice Pattern in both the dress and top options, in the same fabric (also from Tessuti).

Am I weird? I have feeling I am. 

When this pattern came out, I knew I would make it in this lovely linen from Tessuti (all sold out, unfortunately). I bought 3.2m of it a while back, thinking I'd make a maxi dress. I changed my mind - a sewist's prerogative, I say!

Let's start with some pictures of the dress:

I made the top and dress simultaneously, so will discuss them together. The length of the skirt portion in both the top and the dress is very long  - I used a 10cm hem for both (5cm doubled over) - so perhaps think of shortening if you are shorter! I am 173cm for reference.  

I cut a size small, however, it was enormous. I do measure closer to an extra small in the Tessuti Patterns these days, but chose to cut the small because I have swimmer's broad shoulders (I don't swim except for leisure, but was told constantly as a young person that I have a swimmer's physique). 

Unfortunately, I found out the size small was too big when the dress AND the top were completed, bar the hems. Gosh I was cranky at myself for not trying on during sewing. I unpicked the arm band/cap sleeves (overlocking, under stitching, all stitching!) and took them in under the arms by 5cm on each side. That meant I also had to take in the arm bands by 5cm on each side. 

The linen I used is quite lightweight and ever so slightly sheer, so I used a white linen to line the yoke and cap sleeves/arm band thingies. Colette from Tessuti also mentioned on Instagram that the linen size small she has made 'grew' by an additional size - mine however was much larger than one size difference. I can't honestly say if it is a sizing issue or a fabric issue. I do plan on making more of these, and will cut a size small, but try it on before I sew on the arm bands. It is easy enough to take in - if you don't sew on the arm bands first!!

Maybe a tiny pregnancy vibe? No, I'm not :-)

I really love both the dress and the top. The fabric is divine - it, and the Alice pattern remind me of Gorman's current collection. I love everything in the current Gorman season. I think I will wear both of these a lot this summer - will you be making one?