I made a dress!

I had been looking for a nice loose summer dress, with a scoop neck, small sleeves and pockets and hadn't been able to find anything I liked.  Then I looked at patterns and the StyleArc Montana dress kept cropping up.  I took the plunge and sent for it.  I had seen on the reviews that the pattern was great and beginner friendly, but the instructions definitely weren't.  While I have made a few things to wear now and am not a total beginner, I am still not that confident, but thought I could manage this.  They were right about the instructions - they are confusing!  They suggest you make a double layered bodice but I wasn't going to do that, or add facings, but I didn't want to do that either, so in the end, I just made some bias binding and put that around the neck and sleeves.  I think it works fine.  I had to look up in-seam pockets and also how to gather properly, but I found lots of help online and in some of my sewing books.  

Here it is.  I used a dark blue with white polka dots cotton and made it over a few days.  Granted, it doesn't look its best on a hanger, but Chris said it looked nice and I felt it looked OK too. I have two more lots of material (bright pink with flowers and a blue/purple batik) so shall be making two more of these.  While it may not be quite warm enough to wear them at the moment (although if I put leggings underneath or boots and added a jumper or cardigan, I probably could wear them over the next couple of weeks), they will be ready for next summer!

This and that

This post is a bit of a mix of things - hence the title.  First, I have finally bought a blue hydrangea.  It just had to be done.  The one I bought at RHS Chatsworth has turned a sort of bluey-pink, despite having hydrangea colorant applied to it.  So, I took the plunge and ordered this one - Hydrangea Macrophylla Magical Revolution Blue.  I have a pink one of these outside the front door and it has proved to be extremely hardy and reliable.  I am hoping this one will prove to be the same.

 It came from here and it was well packaged, healthy and had lots of flowers.  I wasn't expecting to receive such a lovely looking plant.  I will plant it in a pot with ericaceous compost and will give it some colorant next year.  Isn't it a beauty?  I just love that blue!

 I also bought another dwarf Ginkgo, to keep my other one company.  This one is called 'Troll'.  Again, I just had to buy it.  (It is sitting with a catmint and a fuchsia).
We did get the promised rain last weekend and it was very welcome and much needed.  However, after a nice cool start to the week, it is gradually turning hotter and is humid again. Ugh!

 I have finished my third tunic dress, this one using my own bias binding.  I need to make a denim pinafore dress and a new work bag next, I think.

Finally, Scruffy made me laugh this morning, squeezing into a box which was too small for him.  As you can see, he really was not that happy with me pointing a camera at him (but then he never is!)

Crafting and sewing

This made me laugh the other day - Chris found it on the internet. printed it out and slipped it inside yet another crafty supplies parcel which I had ordered.  Obviously it's not just me then...

In other news, I have made a second tunic dress, this time using purple chambray which was gifted to me.  I knew it would come in handy!  The floral material was just a fat quarter, but made the pockets, sleeves and tie ends, so was perfect for this.

The back looks pretty too.  I have finally got the neck right too, without having to add any darts.

I have also got round to making my own bias binding, following a tutorial which I have had for ages, which I am very pleased about.  I am making my third dress at the moment and couldn't find the right shade of bias binding.  So, I used the contrast fabric and made my own, using the nifty little red gadget in the photo above. It isn't difficult although it is a bit time consuming.  However, I am sure the end result will justify the extra time.  Having learnt how to make it, I can now use my own material all the time (unless the pattern needs metres and metres of the stuff, in which case, it is cheaper to buy it!) For the top of the pockets and the neckline for this dress, it is about a metre, so well worth it, I think.  Naturally, I will post a photo of the dress (and hand made bias binding) once it is finished.

More Sewing

I have had mixed success with the patterns above. I wrote about them here. As you may remember, I made the one on the left, which I wrote about here changing the positioning of the ties and it looked awful on, so I decided to see whether I could alter it, rather than waste the material.

 So, I altered it.

 Now it looks like this.  I'm still not sure it is a total success, but at least I will actually wear it.

 Here's the back.

Then I made the one on the right.  I had to change the rather odd (in my view) pocket detail to the patch pocket which I like and I also had to make the neckline narrower.  Even after altering the pattern, the neckline was still too wide, so I added a few darts.  (I have since altered the pattern again, so hopefully it will be right now).  I also added the contrast material onto the end of the belt tie too.

 Here it is.  It was easy to make (despite my alterations) and I am pleased to report that it looks nice on.  (Even Chris said it was OK, so that was good).

 Here's the back view.

It is a loose fit and could be worn without the belt.  I am going to make several more, using up some of my rather large material stash.  I am also going to use the cheerful bird fabric from the pink pinafore as the contrast too (just because I really like that material), but with a different main material.  There will be more photos as I progress.

Creative things...and learning important lessons

As I have amassed rather a huge papercrafting stash, including papers, stamps, dies, die cutting machines and various other tools to accompany the aforesaid things, I decided that the time had come to experiment and actually use some of the stash.  I had noted down a few ideas and so had a go in my sketchbooks.  Above are watercolour backgrounds with stamped images.  They worked pretty well, though I did need to stamp twice as the paper was textured. 

I then had a go at stamping and colouring with watercolour pencils, which was surprisingly effective and reasonably quick to do too.

 Here is my favourite stamp set from Altenew - Folksy Florals.  I like the Scandinavian retro feel to these simple flowers and enjoyed building up the colours and patterns.  I have now got the corresponding die set too so will be able to cut out the flowers and leaves accurately.  They are just so cheerful.

At the top of the page is an Altenew Stencil which gives a lovely  watercolour effect using inks.  At the bottom of the page is an embossed leaf stamp which I coloured with watercolour paints.

It was my sister's birthday, so I made her a card using hydrangea stamps and the large image in the centre is embossed and watercoloured too.  One of the great things about stamps is that you can decorate the envelope too. 

I have plans to create some cards with positive sentiments to have on my wall at work, so they will be the next project.

In other news, you may remember that I was going to make the tunic dresses featured above.  I made a toile first as I knew that the shoulders would probably need altering.  I had also read on other blogs that the pattern on the left was not designed for curvy figures and the ties were too high up and hit a fuller bust in the wrong place.  Armed with this knowledge, I brought them down to waist level.  I also thought the pockets were a bit too big, so used a pocket from another pattern.  So, I worked away, making the necessary alternations as I went and happily sewing.  Here's the finished product. 

(It does need an iron, which I really should have done before taking a photo.)

Here's the back.  So, I was very pleased with myself and tried the finished garment on.  There was just one problem...I didn't like it, not at all, not one bit.  I looked like I was wearing a sack - not flattering at all. 
So, what could I do?  Well, I could donate it, or alter it again.  I measured it against the tunic dress pattern I have made before and it would work, so I unpicked it all and have started re-making it. I will post a photo once I have finished.  So, lesson learned - some styles just don't suit me, so I should stick to the things which do.  I am going to make the other pattern up next though and I have made a toile and tried it on.  It's a simple shape with a tie belt and I think it will work nicely - let's hope it does...

Sewing Projects...and plans

Sewing has taken over a bit recently as I have lots of projects in my head. In fact, I have had to start a hobby notebook which so far has sewing project ideas, wish lists of plants and wish lists of more crafting goodies.  However, I am gradually  making progress on the sewing list front.  I have finally finished my cat cushion cover which has turned out just as I'd hoped.  The centre panel is a screen print onto calico, surrounded by a cat print material which I love as it makes me smile.

The back is a simple envelope  but shows off the fabric nicely.

This tunic dress has featured on my blog several times and I am finally happy with it and actually wearing it now.  It was too short originally and I made it with puffed sleeves which weren't very comfortable.  I changed the pattern to sleeveless and lengthened the hem, covering the seams with blue bias binding.  However, it was then too long and I didn't like the bias binding much.  As a last attempt, I took off the binding, shortened it a bit, and covered the bottom with cotton lace.  Now I am finally happy!

I have also finished my second Cleo pinafore.  I stuck to the seam allowances more this time so it is a little slimmer than the first one, but still comfortable and loose to wear.  The buttonholes went really well too - no unpicking needed this time!

 Here's the back.  I have worn it once so far.  It will be great for Autumn.

Here's the material for the next Cleo pinafore (it is a little bluer in real life) and then I would like a denim version.

 I also bought this sheep fabric to make a new bag for work, probably using denim for the bottom panels and this for the top/

How can you not love a stripy sheep?

My next projects are these.  Two (hopefully) simple summer tunic dresses.  I have had the patterns for a while but have never got around to making them.  I will make a toile version first, just to get the hang of the patterns and to adjust the fit - I have narrow shoulders so will probably need to adjust the pattern a bit. 

 Here are the fabrics for one of them - I really like the cheerful little birds and thought they would look great as a contrast hem or pockets or sleeves (or all three).

I saw this magnolia fabric and just had to buy it.  It may be the main fabric or a contrast - I haven't quite decided that yet.  So, plenty to keep me busy and I do need to get on with the summer dresses - I need them for work!

Adapting

In October 2014, I had some sewing lessons to help my confidence, and made lots of interesting things, including a tunic dress (the Kate pattern from Sew Me Something) and I used some vintage material - see the photo above.  I really liked it and made several others in different material.  While  I wore the original, somehow the others just didn't feel comfortable around the shoulders and under the sleeves, so they languished.  The pattern has to be loose as there are no fastenings, but the shoulders were a bit too wide for me.  However, I bought the Beatrice pinafore pattern and when it arrived, having had a good look at it, I realised that I could take the sleeves off the tunics (using the Beatrice pattern to help me), bind the edges and wear them as pinafores with a long sleeved t-shirt and leggings.  So that's what I did!

 I now have several pinafores ready to go - I love this flowery material as it makes me smile.

 This was a 'ditsy' floral print bought from a vintage fair.

 This one was floral baby cord and I have worn it quite a bit, including to work.

This white and grey floral will be great as I can put pretty much any coloured top under it.  I have since bought some green floral material and am going to challenge myself by creating my own bias binding.
I have more material waiting and I am thinking I may make another one...or two...

Sewing Lessons 5 and 6

I have finished my second 'Kate' dress and here it is!  My fifth sewing lesson was a bit of a "dis-arrrr-ster" as things kept going wrong, such as catching the material when I was setting in the sleeves and having to undo it several times.  Then, when I was overlocking the seams, it caught again!  I decided to move on to my A line denim skirt and got that cut out, the darts sewn in, the side seams joined and my first ever zip sewn in too.  I unpicked and re-sewed the offending wrong bits of the dress over the following week and finished it.

 Here's the back view.  I love this material as it is so happy and cheerful.  I bought it back in April and posted about it here.  I think it may be called Retro Flowers (which makes sense). I haven't worn this to work yet, but perhaps will do so this week, depending how cold it is as the material is only a cotton.  I am currently working on 'Kate' number three, using the other material bought at the vintage fair.

 Here is my finally completed A line denim skirt which I bought the material for way back in April.  However, I gave myself "until Autumn" to get it done, so I am really pleased!  It is very comfortable and having my tutor, Sue, help me through it, meant I was able to get the fit right.

 My first proper zip!

Another view of the zip.  As you can tell, I am really pleased with my improving sewing skills and my next project, apart from three or four more 'Kate' dresses(!), is to make a nice padded sewing machine cover for my machine which has only got a plastic cover at the moment and deserves something better! I shall be raiding my material stash to see what I can make use of - it'll be fun!

Sewing Lesson 4 - Tunic dress Ta Dah!

 I somehow wasn't sure I could do it, but look, I have made my first tunic dress, using the lovely Kate Pattern from Sew Me Something.  I am absolutely delighted that I have made something which I can wear!  This material was from a vintage fair and I got it at a really good price, so that is an extra bonus.

There are no fastenings with this pattern and so it is generous in size.  I could probably have gone to one size smaller on the top, as the shoulders are quite wide and my sewing teacher, Sue, told me I had narrow shoulders.  We did alter the pattern a bit as we went along.

 Here I am modelling - I don't actually like having my photo taken, hence the 'from the  shoulders down' look!

 The back (I did take it in a bit down the centre back seam).

 A side view, with my new black ankle boots (I bought them on a bit of a whim, decided I had nothing I could wear them with and couldn't find any tunic tops/dresses I liked in the shops, so the idea of making a tunic dress was born).

Demonstrating the pockets -  a pocket is always useful, I find!
Now, I have gone on and on about the dress, so will have to pluck up the courage to actually wear it to work next week.  It is very different from what I usually wear (trousers, t-shirt and cardigan) but I am going to challenge myself.  I have already started the next tunic dress and have three others to make as I have bought and washed the material already.  At my next sewing lesson, I am (at long last) going to start the A line denim skirt!