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!

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?

Bellatrix Blazer (and some not-so-quiet pants).

Oh hi! It's been a while. I've been really sick this winter. Laryngitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, Influenza A and a sinus infection. It's been horrible, including a visit to emergency at hospital when I couldn't breathe properly. Blogging has simply been beyond my head space, but today, on this gorgeous Fathers' Day, I decided it was time. Michael and Little M are doing some sticking and gluing in the back sunroom and I'm taking some time to update you on one of my favourite projects of the year.

This year has all been about jackets and coats. After I finished my French Jacket I decided I wanted to sew a classic blazer. I bought the Bellatrix Blazer by Papercut Patterns as I thought it fitted the aesethetic I was after. Classic, with a bit of funk.

I made it in a very heavy linen from Rathdowne Fabrics, with a remnant of green silk-satin lining from Tessuti.

I made the size small, with two adjustments. One, I did a 'full bicep' adjustment (yay for my gym work paying off, I love a good toned arm). I followed the method in 'Fit for Real People' by Patti Palmer and Marta Alto. An excellent, clearly written book that I would recommend in a heartbeat. My second adjustment was to take in the upper centre back by approximately 2cm. I had some minor gaping.

The pattern calls for pretty much each piece to be interfaced. For this version, I only interfaced the collar and under collar. This linen is really heavy and I wanted it to be able to get all creased and soft like a linen does after some wear.

I added shoulder pads and reinforced the sleeve head (the pattern doesn't call for this). I used very slim shoulder pads from Tessuti - these are the only shoulder pads I will ever use. They are very soft and easy to shape to a coat or jacket.

The button is from my stash.

Check out that green lining! I do love a silk lining. So soft against the skin. I had this dry cleaned before wearing it to bully that collar into submission - I really think it needs it so you don't get a sharp edge on the collar.

I highly recommend this pattern. It is a surprisingly easy make. All the pattern pieces just come together so well. I've actually made two more - one in this style and one with the shorter peplum.

I wore this yesterday to my birthday lunch. We went to Cafe Vue at the Heide Modern Museum. It was excellent. I had a lobster roll. Yum!! I wore it with my new Clover pants. I am still somewhat unsure about these pants. I posted a picture on Instagram asking people whether it would look good as cigarette pants. I got a resounding yes! They are extremely loud pants, but I guess that is the trend at the moment. I've got enough leftover of this fabric to make a simple skirt.

Look at that young girl's pose there. She is in full 'threenager' mode at the moment. Never a dull moment for me - so much negotiation and attitude.

What's next on your sewing list? I need to get sewing the dress I'm wearing to the nurse's ball I'm going to as my sister's date in October - her fiancé has opted out - hehehe.

Pia in Linen

It will be no surprise to you that I've sewn up Tessuti's latest pattern, the Pia Dress. I have well-documented my love for their designs, in particular the dresses. I'm planning a Tokyo jacket soon, and a Zoe top. When I saw the Pia Dress released, I knew I'd sew it quickly. And I did!

I sewed it in a lovely medium weight enzyme washed black linen from Tessuti. The weight of this linen is amazing, and it is soft and drapes beautifully. I had an issue washing it though - weird slightly raised lines have appeared on the fabric - has anyone had this issue? I pre washed without detergent and the lines appeared then washed with detergent and they remain. Weird.

This is the size small, sewn with larger seam allowances than the pattern provides. I sewed a size small in some linen Anna gifted me, and it was huge and quite unflattering. So I made this black one with approximately 1.7cm seam allowances instead of the 1.25cm the pattern directs you to use. I now have a much more flattering fit.

When they released the pattern, Tessuti showed Lisa wearing hers belted. I decided to give that look a go last night to go out for dinner with my mothers' group. I can't decide which look I prefer. What do you think?

I don't have much to say, review wise. Apart from using larger seam allowances, I shortened the dress by 3cm. Yes, I shortened it!! Amazing.

It was a comfy dress to wear to dinner. We went to Pizza Farro and I had an extremely delicious Margherita with buffalo mozzarella. Yum. I ate the whole pizza - that is pretty unusual for me! Then I had a scoop of homemade chocolate gelato for dessert. It was intensely rich but so good.

I'll leave you with this last picture. I was so tired when I went out. I can't remember if I've told you but my sister Ruth is getting married! Woohoo! We have been wedding dress shopping, and yesterday was an all-day affair. I'm finding my energy levels after working 4 days are fairly abysmal, so after a full day of wedding dress shopping I was bordering on too tired to go out for dinner. I had a small cat nap while posing for pictures….

I'm hoping I get used to this 4th day soon - I need some energy to sew!!

Vogue 8805 Revisited

I like to get good value out of sewing patterns, and have no issue sewing the same thing more than once. How do you feel about that? My reasoning follows that:

• If I like the style, or if the style looks good on me, I could probably do with more than one in my wardrobe;
• Patterns are expensive and I want to get my money worth; and
• If I take the time to fit and tweak a pattern so it fits me nicely I  will probably want to revisit it. 

The Vogue 8805 dress I have to show you today didn't really require that much tweaking - I just lowered the neckline by 2cm, but I did love my last version, and I've decided that this summer is the Summer of the Shift Dress.

I was also spurned on as I had a small remnant of the grey crinkle linen from Tessuti (sorry, I couldn't find it on their website) that was too small for really anything. I thought about making something for Little M out of it, but didn't think grey was her colour. 

Grey isn't really my colour either, but teamed up with this coral linen bought at Joy's Fabric Store in Geelong, I think I can do it. That coral is divine and this linen is a truly beautiful quality. It is heavy-ish but still really soft.

I wore it to work last week on one of the really hot days with my Elk wedges, Elk necklace and Elk matching earrings. Can you tell I love Elk?

This is the size 12 - the same size I sewed last year. It is looser on me now - Michael thinks I should have graded down a size through the body (the shoulders are perfect at a 12). What do you think? I'm pretty happy with it as it is, but I'm coming to realise I like quite a lot of ease in my clothes.

Back view. I really like the colour combo! I especially like that I have only used two colours on this one. So… there is my V8805.

In other news, me, Leith, Anna, and Lara are going to Sewjourn this weekend! To say I am excited is an understatement. A whole weekend of sewing, sewing-related talking, good food, and excellent friends. I need a bit of a weekend away. Life has been very hectic of late and my health is pretty poor.

Finally, my Mum and Dad visited this past weekend. On Saturday we headed into town to see the Myer Christmas windows and so that Mum could take me fabric shopping as my Christmas gift. We went to Tessuti - pictures to follow soon. We went to lunch in Federation Square where they had a maze of Christmas trees - my little babe was in heaven. The sun was shining and we all chased her round and round the maze. I took a breather on a mat while she kept going - her energy levels amaze me!!!!!!!!

The Camber Dress Goes to Geelong

Well, my alone time has come to an end. I'm actually quite relieved - I missed Little M pretty badly. And Michael. But Little M more.

As I mentioned in my last post, I went to Geelong for some fabric shopping and a mini-sewist catch up. I actually sewed a frock for it, but when I got to Anna's house on Saturday we both decided we liked my Merchant and Mills' Camber Dress more.

This is one of the first Merchant and Mills multi-sized patterns, and I have to say I am glad it was multi-sized. I sewed a size 14 at the shoulders, grading to a size 10 everywhere else. Thank goodness for the other size lines - it made it so much easier to meld the sizes together nicely. I also shortened (!) the pattern by 4cm. Yes readers, that is correct. I actually had to shorten a pattern.

The fabric is from Tessuti and is a linen that I couldn't find on their online store webpage. It is pretty lush - very soft but still a nice weight which meant I didn't need to underline or line it. Perfect summer dress.

I sort of see this as Gabby 2.0 for me. It is not as 'sack like' as Gabby but still remains faithful to the the essence of Gabby - light, breezy, perfect. And allows a fabric to shine through.

You may be able to see from the above photo that the Camber dress has a back yoke. I love this detail - it gives a bit of shaping and interest.

I hate my new haircut. Have no idea what my hairdresser was thinking.

I had such a wonderful day. All my photos are taken at Joy's Fabric Warehouse where Renay works. I bought linen - quite a bit of linen. And one piece of jersey. And a length of chambray. It sounds like I bought tonnes, but I actually came in at budget - Michael was quite pleased with me!

After fabric shopping we went to lunch/dinner/a meal at Customs House in Geelong. I had an asian-inspired squid salad that was divine. Another Rachel joined us - she doesn't blog yet, but I'm hoping she will soon! As the sun was starting to go down, Anna and I drove home. I said good night to her cute little girls then went home and collapsed into bed! It was a big day!

What do you think of the Camber dress? I've actually sewn another one in spotty linen this weekend and have cut out the shirt version in white linen (purchased at Joy's). Are you tempted to buy it? And if you're up for a drive to Geelong, I seriously recommend Joy's Fabric Warehouse. Be sure to go on a day Renay is working - she's lurverly!!

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.

Vintage Vogue 7164: Dress #2 for the Sydney Sewing Social

Way back in December 2010 Lisa posted her Christmas Party Dress, Vintage Vogue 7164.

Well, I've been trying to source that pattern since then. I almost had it once but got out-bought on Etsy. So annoying. Finally I just buckled and emailed Lisa to borrow her copy. I should have done that in the first place. Colette also had a copy, so when she sent my pattern testing stuff, she sent me the pattern! Yay!

I mentioned earlier that I bought some beautiful Italian printed linen in Brisbane. I decided it would be perfect for this shift dress. So I made it specifically for the Sydney Sewing Social, knowing I'd want to be comfy, and that it would most likely be hot and humid.

What do you think? It is a bit different from my usual style I think. Or maybe not? Linen seems to make up the majority of my wardrobe.....

I originally had my on black wedges, new black dinosaur designs earrings and bangle, and a black bag, but I couldn't hack walking in those wedges anymore. Luckily I came prepared.

Leith took these photos en route from our hotel to the meet-up at Tessuti. I have to say at this stage we'd been on the go since 6.10am (I blame our early-rising children for this), and I was feeling a little bit peakish. But I came good after a salad for lunch and some Gin and Tonics a bit later that afternoon.

I really have to learn not to (a) slouch and (b) not stick my gut out when posing for side-on photos. 

I made two changes:

1. I lowered the armholes by 3cm and
2. I lowered the neckline by 3cm. 

I underlined this dress in a very light lawn from Spotlight. The pattern calls for this, and I was very undecided but Lisa told me she hadn't but thought it needed it as linen can be sheer. I'm really glad I did. 

This dress stood up to a breakfast out, a lot of walking, a lot of fabric and other shopping, drinks at the Clock Hotel and dinner at Bill Granger's restaurant. I think it performed well. It was really comfortable and I felt quite chic - I think because the shift dress shape is a chic one (and I was channelling those very cool line drawings on the pattern envelope) - what do you think?