Pattern Emporium Tiered maxiskirt in Liberty

 I first encountered this skirt when I saw my friend Tessa's version.  I've never been very into skirts.  Like, I own the same few and wear them occasionally but they aren't that comfortable and rarely have pockets so why bother?  The few I have are really great and that's sort of it, right?  

Hm.  Well, I realised a big problem was that my legs rub together.  So this summer I decided to solve the problem with long leg boyshorts with lace hems, so I could wear my skirts.  (More on those later).  And it made skirts suddenly seem like a more viable option (especially if they have pockets.)  

This does not have pockets, but that is easily fixed.  And after thinking for quite awhile I decided I was ready to cut into my number 2 longest stashed fabric: a Liberty Tana Lawn in my Favourite Print Ever Made.  In order to do that I had to do a practice version, because I have never shirred and I was not sure how the shirring would go.  

Spoiler alert: the shirring went Very. Poorly.  

Sorry it was very windy when I took these photos, plus midwinter so rather cold. 

I cut a size 10 and used some very fancy Liberty silk twill that has been sitting around - this is for my friend R and I knew she would love the colours and would not care too much about the shirring.  What is discovered is that although in one spot I read to NOT pull tension when you wind the shirring elastic onto the bobbin, actually you DO need to pull a moderate amount of tension.  All the shirring does not really suck together and just looks like weird loops on the inside of the skirt.  Luckily there's a piece of elastic in the waistband as well so this first version is wearable and the silk twill is delightfully swishy.  I was on a time crunch so I forgot to take notes on things I would change the second time around...

So after waiting far too long and not remembering anything I learned from the first version, I made my Liberty Special.  I think I wanted to shorten the middle tier 1" but I didn't do that.  I did add very large pockets. 

 

I obviously practiced shirring in the meantime and got better at it.  I didn't have any issues making this skirt, it's an easy make.  I like my huge pockets and I like the way it drapes.  

 

Wide Strap Maxi Dress revisited: Peppermint x Elbe textiles

 

I made this dress in some lovely lemon fabric a few years ago and my big comment was to use a nice floaty fabric that draped well if I did it again.  That first version suffered because the elastic was too tight.  I put a lot of effort into getting the straps to sit well and the elastic just right but I overdid it and the tight elastic bothered me.  I thought ended up with the straps too short - the bust darts were a ways above my bust.  I think a looser look matches the silhouetter better - he dress rather should loosely skim rather than grabbing around the chest and then it will billow out less over the bum.

So despite my fabric thoughts, at some point I decided to make it again using a beautiful scrap of waxed cotton.  The, you know, least drapey fabric.  I was really cheated when I bought this most beautiful piece - I paid for a meter and I think it's 80 cm x 80 cm.  I needed a dress that would be a full length canvas for it.  The Tessuti Claudia dress (which I literally have printed out but have never sewn) would have been a great choice...but I have some weird aversion to making it. Every time I look at the pattern I think oooh!  I would love that!  So I am not sure why it never makes the cut. 

I needed a fabric for the back.  Some thought here, went for a dark navy linen, but something about it was not quite right - it was really quite heavy.  After awhile I went shopping again and this time got a linen/viscose, a bit lighter weight, and matching the deepest navy parts of the design.  

Sewing the dress is very fun, it's one of those patterns that come together with satisfying neat angles.  Yet again I put a lot of time into getting the elastic at the back to be just right and the straps just right.  I have very sloping shoulders which are not symmetrical, so these wide straps need to be separately angled and sewn in.  

I think the dress is so pretty and the pockets of course are amazing.  I wore it to a wine festival and got lots of compliments, but I noticed right away that the right side strap is way too loose- I haven't quite got the angle right.  This is fixable, and probably expected considering my shoulders.  It is annoying enough that I'll put the time into fixing it.  Unlike last time I think I left the entire length of the straps inside the lining so I could adjust as needed, but I also didn't need to cut much off to make them fit - suggesting they are about 2" longer this time.  

Overall a relative success (I have NOT done the fix yet) but a bit tricky to get a perfect fit as I really need the straps just right or I get very annoyed.  I'm looking at these photos and suddenly realised I should cross the straps across the back.  Not at all bra friendly but it would solve my problems! 

 

Tammy Handmade Leona dress

 This has been a vision for maybe just a year or two (new in sewing list terms...)

I bought the stretch velvet from The Fabric Box when I first thought of doing this, it's really an easy project and I expected to just make it without delay, but of course, delays happened.  

I've never used Tammy Handmade patterns before. 

Griping: the pages are not well labelled so it took visually laying everything out to get it to tetris together.  I printed the A4s. 

The pattern does not have any information for the height it's drafted for, but clearly at least 5'6" as the front pattern piece touches the floor when I hold it up. 

I went from size 8 chest to 10 at the hips, melding halfway between for the waist. 

Removed 1" above the hips, 1cm above the waist, and 1" below the hips at the version B level. I raised the side slit 1" accordingly. 

I also lengthened the facing with the plan to make a shelf bra.  What else to do with a facing on a knit dress?  On one hand I appreciated the reasoning behind the facing for a very neat, clean finish.  But I do so dislike them...  I was going to cut the back facing on the fold but realised there is a curve so I went ahead and made it per the pattern, but lengthened it about 2".  Once I did all this and tried the dress on I realised a surprising thing - the dress is so tight that the facing can't flip.  And I can wear a bra underneath it!  No benefit from trying to add shelf bra elastic.  I did decide to overlock the facing shorter again, removing about 1.5" and in retrospect wish I had not done that, as the double grippy effect was both warm and held things in place extra well.  It's still fine and a bit longer than the pattern piece, but not by much. 

 

Next set of bodycon dress dramas: I did NOT need to size up at the hips.  I had a pair of wide hips dangling away from my body, and a huge amount of fabric pooling weirdly at the centre back.  I saw the weird poof mid back when I was sewing the seam up, and wondered if it's the drafting or if my fabric shifted funny while cutting.  Anyway, all these seams are a fitter's friend!  I just pinned out the weirdness midback until I was happy and overlocked it away.  Then I went at the side hips and just shaved them flatter until they were snug.  Choosing a size 8 would probably have been fine, but this way I did get to actually choose how I shaved fabric off to fit, which might have gotten me a more precise result, who knows. 

It fits well under...some bras.  Not this one, oops.  This is a super warm and stretchy dress, it will be fantastic for events in winter but in summer I couldn't get it off fast enough, it's hot! I'm really pleased overall with my dress.  There is still a tiny irregularity at the centre back seam, but it's not bad.  It's a fun, fast sew.  I don't think I would use it for a fancy, dream fabric but for a fun easy wearing dress I am happy. 

Sew Liberated inspiration: Fancy Chanterelles in D&G

 My first pair of Chanterelle pants were a huge success.  I wore them all the time all summer.  The only tiny adjustment I thought would be good was to shorten the rise just a bit.  So when I was buying ridiculous and expensive fabric from the UK, my justification for buying some transparent Dolce & Gabbana seersucker silk was to make Chanterelle pants.  Of course it was.  And to do it quickly before I got scared of the fabric or overwhelmed by the very idea.  I used the same pattern pieces - size 6.  I also had actually made cardboard pocket things to fold over my pocket edges when I made these the first time (unusually thorough of me), so I used those.  

Transparent fabric needed some underlining.  I underlined the pants to below the level of the pockets with some soft white cotton/silk that I had lying around.  This is sewn into the pockets so it really can't flap around much.  I shortened the rise as planned by about 1 cm or maybe 1/2".  The fabric frayed quite a bit so things needed to be done quickly and efficiently without too much error.  Luckily these are very fun and a straightforward sew.  I didn't have any particular issues with construction.  The fabric was well enough behaved that other than using a lot of pattern weights I didn't do anything extra, I didn't use gelatin to firm up the silk. 

I was however worried that I might be making clown pants.  They are pretty loud.  

 

I thought they deserved a solid photoshoot and time was on my side: we ran the Hobbiton half marathon last March and I had them done before we went away for the race.  (Side note: It was one of the hardest trail races I've ever done, mostly along goat paths with very little formed trail down the side of hillsides that look bucolic only from a distance.  There was an optional swimming hole dip at km 10 and I forfeited a good race time to have a good swim instead.)

So here we are the day after the race, limping slowly through overpowering sun on a Hobbiton tour.  I'm very glad I went, ran and toured but I'm not a movie fan and so a lot of the detail was probably lost on me.  And no, we did NOT sign up for the race for next year.  My pants made me feel very sophisticated but I think I didn't really need the change in rise, it ends up pulling at my waist when I bend over.  Probably I need that rise as ease for movement, so I will stick to the original pattern in the future.  

I was considering making a cropped pair of Chanterelles.  However summer has already come...and is going...so we will see. 

scrappy Misusu Cuddle Cardigan

 Here is another project that's languished on my to do list for years too long.  I like Misusu patterns a lot and when this came out I noticed it pretty quickly.  I've wanted to do a cardigan from some sweatshirting and it seemed like a lot of things I like - some crafty colourblocking, big pockets.  

I knew I had some scraps of beautiful knits to make it out of so I had also long planned it to be scrappy.  My scrap pile is too big and that was one big pressure to get this done.  I'm at the point where my scraps don't fit in their allocated bins so I'm putting more effort into the scrappy projects.  But by the time I was making it...I was pretty bored with the idea of this cardigan.  I realised quickly that the scrappy look I was envisioning just looks silly and unsophisticated to me.

I had some confusion with the start because the piece I did in animal print is directional and it was hard to find and match the notches correctly.  Once I did this everything else was obvious.  It's quick to put together and I didn't have any other issues with the instructions.   

 

This was straightfoward to sew together.  I made size BB and I think the fit is as expected.  The cool feature of the collar bands crossing over at the back neck actually really annoys me, it creates a spot that can kind of flip over when you're putting it on.  Once I realised all this I limited myself to a single button to make it wearable and have passed it on to a friend.  Can't win them all!