Make It Yourself : Old Navy Eyelet Dress

OK OK, I know so far I have only been using Kendi as my muse in Make It Yourself, but what can I say – she wears clothes that I can find matches for! I’m keeping my eyes out for other sources though.

Inspiration:
Old Navy cotton eyelet dress as seen on Kendi Everyday

Make It Yourself:
Fabric: Embroidered Circles Cotton Eyelet & Larger Cotton Eyelet both from Sew Over It (both £15/m)
Pattern: Vogue 8766 view D

Here is a view of the full dress:

It’s a little hard to see the details, but the skirt and middle bodice panel of the dress are made up in the small circle eyelet, with the two side panels of the bodice made up in the larger eyelet. I couldn’t find an exact pattern match, but it would be a pretty simple pattern hack to just slice a panel out of the middle of the bodice pattern piece (well, side of the pattern piece, because it will ask you to cut on a fold) – just don’t forget to add seam allowances!

Such a cute summery dress – I am so tempted to make this!

Under The Needle

So even though things are a little quite on the blog at the moment, things are pretty busy in the sewing room! I thought I’d share some sneaks peaks…

On Instagram the other week I revealed that I have FINALLY jumped on the Anna (By Hand London) bandwagon:

I’ve been working on this dress for the Sew Dolly Clackett competition and I am sooo in love with it – now I can appreciate the hype that this dress was receiving when it first came out! Here’s a sneak at the fabric I’ve used:

I cannot WAIT to get some photos done so that I can share it with you. I just have the hem and a LOT of hand sewing to do first (doh – my two biggest nemeses!)…

As well as the Anna dress, I recently decided to give ‘production line’ sewing a go. So I currently have 2 Plantain tops and 4 pencil skirts cut out and waiting for me to stitch up! Expect to see Plantains in these fabulous knits appearing soon:

And these are 3 of my planned pencil skirt:

  

I’m hoping that sewing the skirts at the same time will mean I get things done faster and procrastinate less! Hmm…watch this space…

What are you working on at the moment?
Anyone else joining in with the Sew Dolly Clackett competition fun?
Have you ever sewn up a pattern in multiple fabrics at the same time and how did you find it?

Make It Yourself : Zara Floral Skirt

Guys – I found the EXACT same fabric for this Make It Yourself…and two suppliers for it too!

Inspiration:
Zara Floral Skirt (sorry it’s not available anymore so no link) as see on Kendi Everyday

Make It Yourself:
Fabric: Floral Cotton Sateen from either Truro Fabric (£9/m) or Fabric Land (£3.99/m!!!)
Pattern: New Look 6872 view E

I have some of this exact fabric, which will hopefully be making it’s debut on the blog shortly (yep, it still needs hemming!), but I bought it from Truro…for the more expensive price – doh! Saying that, it was part of a massivo order that I placed…do check out their website, they have some amazing fabrics! The other week I stumbled across the exact same fabric on the Fabric Land website. This is a difficult website to navigate, and I can’t link to the exact fabric, so you will have to search for it yourself under the ‘printed cotton’ section. I’ve never ordered fabric from here so I can’t give you a review. Oh, and you need to phone them to place your order as they don’t have an online payment method. But still – less than half the price for the same fabric!

As for the pattern – If you want to recreate the Zara skirt perfectly then piece the bottom panel onto the main skirt piece to make one larger pattern piece. Oh, and buy some black fabric for the waistband.
OR – wing it yourself and just gather a long rectangle of the floral fabric onto wide black elastic and Bob’s your uncle! Probably not as neat and professional looking as using a pattern, but it would certainly be an easy, instant gratification project (and who doesn’t like those every now and again?!).

Make It Yourself : J.Crew Floral Skirt

Before I get into this post, I just want to say a massive thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. It’s nice to know that everyone goes through dips in their sewing now and again and I really appreciated all your lovely, kind words of encouragement!

So, even though my sewing skills seem to be taking a bit of a dive at the moment, my joy of planning is, as always, flying high! I just love spotting pieces which I think can be recreated at home (when not in a funk! lol), quite often for a fraction of the price. So I thought I’d try and share some of these with you from time to time.

Today is all about the gorgeous floral skirt that Kendi was wearing recently. All details below:

Inspiration:
J.Crew floral skirt (£198!), as seen on Kendi Everyday

Make it Yourself:
Fabric: Floral fabric from Croft Mill (it’s not exact, but it’s pretty close!) £6.50/m
Pattern: New Look 6003, View E (any pencil skirt pattern would do!) £2.99 (currently on sale – woohoo!)

 

Edit: Argh! How typical – unfortunately it appears that Croft Mill have sold out of that lovely fabric…from last week! If you really love it, do keep checking back on their website as I know they sometimes get fabric back in stock. Or – if any of you have spotted the fabric elsewhere give me a shout and I’ll update the post! Apologies, and thanks!

Trend Spotting : The Dropped Waist

I think we would all agree that at some point along the journey of sewing your own clothes you start to experience a sense of freedom and power against the RTW world – you realise that you don’t have to be tied down by current trends and fashion. You can choose whatever style, fabric and colour you like (if you can find it in the fabric shop that is, that’s another story!)! Although that is true, I still see current trends and fashions creeping into the sewing world. To be honest it would be hard for it not to, fashion tends to recycle itself. I can remember countless outfits when I was growing up that my Mum would pass comment on to say she wore it when it was first in fashion!

Anyway, all this is to say that over the last few years I have seen the twinkle of a trend and thought to myself, “oh I recon that’s going to be big” (either in the RTW world or the sewing blog world) – but I’ve never bothered to blog about it. Some examples of this are scalloped edges, peplums, coloured lace dresses, peter-pan collars…the list goes on. So  instead of just letting them pass by, I thought I would share my thoughts on the blog.

Todays trend may not necessarily be my favourite trend ever, but I’ve been seeing it pop up a lot and I have a feeling we may be seeing a fair bit more of it next year, both in the shops and perhaps on sewing blogs: The Dropped Waist. My guess is this trend is probably being inspired by the recent Downton Abbey Flapper style (it certainly wouldn’t be the first time Downton has influenced fashion), or maybe it’s a development from the peplum, which evolved into the hem flounce and is now a dropped waist? Perhaps a little bit of both.

It can be a hard look to carry off but can be done beautifully. Simple and chic it can be dressed up or dressed down:

Or horrendously:

Sorry VB, that’s just wrong.

But asides from the Fashion World, I’ve spotted the dropped waist on a number of commercial sewing patterns as well:

And more excitingly (because we all know we love and want to support them), the independent designers have been giving their own spin on this trend too:

So what to you think? Do you like this style? Are you tempted to whip up a drop waisted dress?

Personally, although I think it would actually fit in quite well with my search for forgiving patterns, I don’t know if I’m ready to jump on this wagon just yet…

 

*Click images for links

DIY I Do : Hen Party Dress : Inspiration & Planning

My first DIY I Do post was way back in September of last year…and then I disappeared! Obviously DIY-ing your wedding is more time consuming than I thought!

5 months down the line and I am back and hopefully able to get back to blogging about the process. To be honest, I don’t have much to show for the last 5 months, physically speaking – but I have, at least, finalised all my plans, gathered all my resources and am ready to get going…with only 4 months until D-day (or should that be W-day?!!)…eep!

One of the things I am hoping to sew is a dress for my Hen Party. Now I know this is not strictly ‘wedding’ sewing, but come on…you can’t get married without having a Hen Party can you?!!!

I have had the most beautiful 100% pure silk red dupion in my stash for the last two or so years, which I bought on a business trip to Zagreb. I bought it purely because it was the most beautiful fabric I had laid eyes on, but because I loved it so much, I haven’t been able to settle on a style or pattern to use that I feel would do it justice. I even started a Pinterest board dedicated to inspiration and planning for the ‘red dress’, but I couldn’t find a pattern to match my inspiration photos, plus I didn’t have an event ‘worthy’ of such a special dress (although, do you really need an excuse to make a special dress?!!!) However, when I started thinking about the possibility of sewing a dress for my Hen I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to finally use my red silk!

Here are a few images that I have accumulated as inspiration (click images for sources):

     

Now these are all very nice, but they weren’t just perfect enough for my silk (I know, I’m picky!). However, I was browsing through Weddingtonway.com one day, looking for inspiration for bridesmaid dresses, when I came across this beauty:

*sigh* just look at it – sophisticated but with a hint of sexy and dash of fun – perfection I tell ya! So that was it, I had decided on the style I wanted for my dress. Now to figure out how I was going to make it…hmmm…harder than I thought. The skirt part should be simple enough to draft without a pattern (two big inverted box pleats), but it was the cross-over bodice with the raglan sleeves that was proving difficult to source – definitely not in my drafting capabilities! I scoured all the big 4 websites for possible patterns, but you know what – raglan sleeve patterns are hard to come by. I thought about mashing a couple of patterns together, but it all seemed a bit complicated to be honest. And then Gertie came to the rescue and released this gorgeous dress pattern through Butterick:

  

Oh.My.God. – how perfect is this pattern (B5184)?!!! OK, there are a few differences, such as the waistband and the length of the sleeves, but essentially it is exactly what I am looking for!

So there you have it – my plans for the Hen Party dress. I may try and lengthen the sleeves a little (although not quite sure how you do that). I am also thinking about adding a fun element of pink to the dress, since I discovered that a newly acquired necklace of mine looked so fab with my red silk (this was the sneak peek that I shared last week):

The pink fabric on the left is some lovely Irish Linen that my mum gifted to me from her stash about three years ago (again, too gorgeous to cut!). I’m contemplating making a pleated obi belt/cummerbund out of the pink linen to tie in with the necklace, but would mean I could also wear the dress with other colours by removing the belt, therefore giving me more flexibility (I’m thinking it would make a fab Christmas dress too you see). I’ve also bought some matching bright pink grosgrain ribbon for the waist stay, and I’d like to add pink lace to the hem of my lining – but I can’t source any! I have checked Ebay out, and some online fabric shops, but can’t find anything suitable. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I might be able to source this online (pref in the UK)?

Anyway, so far I have made a muslin for the bodice, but unfortunately there are a few fitting issues which I’m unsure how to fix. I’ll take some photos and share with you and hopefully some of you lovely readers might be able to give me some suggestions.

My Giveaway Winnings!

I was lucky enough to win a giveaway recently from the lovely Liz of Zilredloh and since the package was so nice I thought I’d share it with you all:

Everything neatly wrapped in tissue and a very sweet note from Liz

Let’s see what was inside….

I was lucky enough to win:

• Vintage buttons and matching buckle in a gorgeous butter yellow
• A length of grosgrain ribbon in baby pink
• A packet of vintage seam binding (which I’ve always been curious about as I haven’t seen it in the shops over here) in cornflower blue
• A beautiful vintage Simplicity pattern (4782). It’s a bust size 32, which might be a little snug on me but hopefully I’ll be able to adapt it because I really love the dress, and the cute bolero jacket that goes with it!

And I got a little surprise with my package as well – Liz had slipped in a gorgeous vintage hankie too!

I’m not sure what I shall use this for…but to be honest, It’s so cute I’m tempted to frame it and put it on the wall in my sewing room!
Thanks again Liz for the wonderful gifts!!!

P.S. I photographed these items using fabric from Ikea as the background. I’m planning on making pillow covers with this for my ‘new’ bedroom. I’ll post pics when it’s done (may be awhile…we still have to plaster the room, wallpaper, paint the walls, paint the furniture and make curtains…I’m tired just thinking about it – but excited!).

Autumn Sewing Planning

You've seen my colour palette, you've seen my fabric...now let's see what I plan to make!

I'm going to start with the skirts, because I think this 'wardobe' is going to predominately revolve around them.

• First up is Burda 8155, view B, which I plan to make out of my floral linen. This is suppose to be quite an easy pattern so I hope I will be able to make this up with little hassle (ha...famous last words perhaps!). 
• Next is the infamous Jenny from BurdaStyle.com. A lot of bloggers have made this skirt and all seem to rave about it...so I think I would be crazy not to make this! I'm going to be following the wonderful Pencil Skirt Sew-along by A Fashionable Stitch (back then known as the Cupcake Goddess), and I'll definitely be adding the back vent in place of the slit.
• And finally I would like to make the gorgeous silk/wool tweed fabric I have into a skirt too. I'm a little concerned about fiddling with narrow pieces of this fabric (such as a thin waistband) due to the fray factor, so I've tried to pick a pattern which I think would work well with the tweed. At the moment I'm planning on using the Burda skirt 07/2010 107B...but we will see how the muslin works out!
• I'm also going to line all these skirts to make them suitable to wear with tights without riding up while walking!! 

Well if I'm going to make skirts...I need some tops to match too! Unfortunately this is where I am not so sure what to do. At the moment the plan is:

• Making the infamous Colette Sorbetto top (for anyone who hasn't heard of this - it's a fantastic free pattern offered by the gorgeous Sarai of Colette Patterns!!) out of the scarf fabric from Primark. The photo doesn't do the fabric colours justice, because when held up to both the pink tweed and the heavy purple cotton it actually goes really well. I mentioned in my last post that this fabric is quite sheer, so I would need to wear a vest under this I think. And I'll definitely be doing french seams or it will be another case of fray-city!
• The second pattern is Burda 02/2011 102A...but I'm not 100% sure about this choice. I have a gorgeous bright pink linen which goes fantastically with all the skirt fabrics. My ideal pattern would be a cowl top which I could tuck into the skirts...but I just can't find anything suitable, any cowl patterns seem to be for knit fabrics only (if anyone has any suggestions please do let me know!). I may try to draft a pattern based on a couple of tops I have....but for now I'm going to say that I'll make the Burda top, perhaps underlining it to give it a bit more stability (although the linen is quite heavy in it's own right).

And finally, I may make a dress too (lol, in my planning dreams I live in a different time continuum where I can go to work, spend time with my boyfriend, have a social life, play with kittens, cook, exercise AND make all of these things over a couple of months!). The plan at the moment is New Look 6557 in the lovely light-weight purple floral cotton I brought back from Thailand. The bodice will definitely be underlined and I'll probably line the skirt. The theory behind using New Look 6557 is that I used this pattern to make my blue lace dress, so it should be easy enough to make 2nd time round.

I'm taking my sewing machine in to be looked at tomorrow....so I have no idea whether they will be able to fix it there an then, or if it's a bigger job! Perhaps these sewing plans may have to wait, but I hope not! I shall just have to 'prep' in the mean time.

Project Planning - Denim Kasia Skirt

Not as organised as I'd like to be for this post! I have no image of my fabric to go with this pattern - so you'll just have to use your imagination! 

That shouldn't be too hard because the fabric is just a black denim. I've had it in my stash for awhile so I think it's about time I put it to good use. And I plan on making the Kasia skirt from Burda Style (free pattern people!!! Go and make it yourself as well!).

Here's the pattern drawing:

If my memory is correct, the front buttons open up to a zip front. At the moment I think I will make the skirt with red buttons (similar to the image below) and perhaps make the pocket inserts with red and white stripe cotton. What do you guys think?

Free pattern HERE

Cynthia Rowley pattern with Sew Magazine

I don't tend to buy sewing magazines. The only one I ever do buy is Burda Style - but it is exceptional (£5 for about 20 patterns!). The others just never seem to have anything to interest me.

However, the other week I ended up buying Sew Magazine....

But I have to admit it was mainly because this pattern came free* with it:

Flicking through the magazine (which you can't do before you buy it because it's wrapped in plastic) there really wasn't anything there that appealed to me (sorry Sew Magazine folk). Half the magazine is dedicated to the Cynthia Rowley pattern - talking you through how to use a pattern and giving you basic sewing tips. Useful if you are completely new to sewing, but I didn't learn anything from it. They do, however, sew up three different versions of the pattern, which I did like checking out. In particular I LOVE this version:

I am always a sucker for stripes, but I just love this version! I am really loving yellow at the moment too, but unfortunately it doesn't suit me. I've added this to my 'to make' list so hopefully I'll get round to actually making it (the list is loooooong!) - I need to find some nice fabric for it first.

* I use the term 'free' loosely...this magazine costs £5.99!

Summer Dress Planning

As I mentioned last week, I thought that while I'm on my holidays I would schedule a few posts to share some of my projects that are in the pipeline.

When I was buying the Ikea fabric for my Crescent skirt I also snatched up a couple of meters of this sunny yellow, orange and pink plaid cotton fabric. This is a really lightweight cotton, which I think I may have to underline, but I just loved the colours. Yellow isn't normally a colour I would go for as it just doesn't suit me, but I'm hoping the pink in this will help!

At the moment I'm planning on making this really cute tie-front dress which looks to be from the 70s. I've loved this patten since I got it in an E-Bay job-lot but haven't managed to get around to making it. I plan to make view 2, the knee-length dress, but I'm a bit concerned about what the plaid will look like with the seam running up the middle. What do you guys think? Obviously I wouldn't be able to match the plaid as it's on the bias, but do you think it would look fine anyway, or would it look a bit messy?

I think I might have to try a mock-up somehow before cutting the fabric to see if it would work with the plaid or not. This is where Flo will really help! I'll let you guys know how I get on.

Crescent Skirt Planning

While I'm off sunning myself on a beach (I hope - please let the sun be shining and not a tropical storm...ah well, at least it will still be warm!) I thought I'd schedule a few posts of some projects I have in the pipeline.

I enjoyed vicariously living through the Sewaholic Crescent skirt sew-along recently, Tasia really does go into so much detail and it was so helpful while making my Pendrell. Unfortunately it was only vicariously because I didn't really have the time but more importantly, I just didn't have the right fabric for it. However, after a trip to Ikea that has now changed. Once I set eyes on this fab pink polka dot cotton fabric I just KNEW I had to buy it to make a Crescent skirt!

I think I will make view A, which has a slightly less full skirt. I'm not sure about other details...should I try putting in red piping, or would that looks odd? Or perhaps red ribbon along the waistband seams? I think I will line it too, as it could be a fun skirt to wear in the autumn with tights...and cotton skirt without lining + tights = ride up nightmare!

Burda Style July

 Well the first glimpse of the July Burda Style magazine is up on the German website. I was really excited about June's offerings, but unfortunately not as much with July:

I actually really like this dress - but 2 things mean I will never make it: 1. it's a knit and I haven't attempted knit fabrics yet (!) and 2. the big tie detail would draw attention straight to my hips - which is my biggest part! It looks really lovely on the model though!

 I'm a sucker for anything blue at the moment, so this is probably affecting my opinion of this top - but trying to look past that, I do think this could be quite a nice work top.

 This Kimono looks nice enough, but again, I would probably never make this.

 Cute enough, and lovely on the right person - but not my style.

 These look like very nice trousers and I would be tempted to try these...

 Interesting design - but I fear I may look like I'm wearing a tent, or am pregnant, in this dress!

 There seems to be a 'black' theme in this magazine, so the next few a all black. It's hard to make out the details of this dress without the technical drawing, so I look forward to seeing that, as potentially it looks like a nice shape.

 Same for this skirt, could be one to add to be ever growing pencil skirt pattern collection!

 Nice, but a knit - so not for me (at the moment!)

 I think this could be a winner for many people - it looks like a classic shirt/t-shirt which would suit a lot of people.

This dress may be the deal maker or breaker for me - at the moment I really like it, and think it would really suit my shape - but I want to see the technical drawing.

On to a purple theme now. I think this could be quite a nice smart/casual dress that would be very comfortable to wear.

 This jacket would really suit my shape - but I'm no where near ready to tackle tailoring!

 And this is a STUNNER! BUT - it's plus size! Yeay, for the larger lady...but I'm not sure I'm skilled enough to scale it down. Perhaps I could give it a go....

 Another lovely plus size dress.

 And another.

So what does everyone think? Anything here that excites you and makes you want to get your paws on the July copy?

You can see these and more designs from July here. And you can see some model shots here.

And I shall leave you with Burda's favourite fashion item - the over sized/harem pant....Why Burda, why?