Elbe Textiles Weiland tank in rainbows

 I saw this tank top on enough people to know that I wanted to make it.  The graceful low back, the V.  It's a beautiful design.  Despite that I really didn't want the process of making it.  No idea why, but this was not a project I reached for with excitement, more like dread.  I tried to spice it up by allocating a beautiful scrap of rainbow fabric, but I still didn't love the process.  I made size B - as always high bust is a useless measure for me, but my bust at 33 is accurate.  I didn't make any modifications. It's quick and easy and the gentle V neck is really lovely looking.  I didn't pay a lot of attention to the pattern instructions for finishing the sleeve holes as I am quite confident with burrito methods.  I didn't have any issues except that I put the shelf bra elastic on backwards so it shows the ugly side towards my skin.  (I am always puzzled which way is the correct way.  It does look good like this.  Maybe it's correct.)

 

 

The fit is fine, but rather snug.  I tried it on with a bra and it looks too tight.  Without a bra it is much better, and I think that's kind of the expected fit.  Nonetheless I think I need to make this from a rib fabric (or size up.)  I have lots of rib fabrics that need to get used so yet again, that should be a win, but I will have to overcome the inertia of not really being in love with the process.  This particular top is going to someone just a bit smaller than I am.  I also struggle with crop tops because I have no torso length, so they can kind of overcompress my chest and then balloon out below. 

Thus, I don't entirely know what I think of the length, but in summer some tops with this crop length are great to wear with linen pants, so it should go well enough with a number of things in my wardrobe as long as I choose the right colours and a more forgiving rib.  I'm thinking a bit more lately about sewing specifically to fit gaps in my wardrobe, and I do think a few more attempts at this would be worthwhile. 

Greenstyle tie back tank review

I had been scheming to make this top for a very long time! 

It was on my last to-do list when I moved from Queenstown, but I didn't manage in time.  I spent all the months of summer pining for it, because Auckland is a hot place and this seemed like the perfect dream of a summer top.  I decided to use this mystery knit I have stashed for a LONG time - I think it's a designer deadstock with laser holes through it.  I don't know what it is made of.  

I went with size XXS but graded to S at the hips as I didn't want this to be skin tight

I shortened it 2" through the body 

Used the low neck/racerback set of options

And went with bindings instead of bands because they seemed simplest. They were kind of a pain, and it may be that bands provide a more stable and nicer looking finish - especially in this fabric! I didn't realise how much the holes would affect the bindings, you can see through parts of them. 

My overall thoughts are that I did not like this top very much. I don't know how to knot it to be the right amount of loose and comfortable.  It does fit as expected but I'm just not enthusiastic about it.  Possibly because I made it right as summer said goodbye, so I no longer wanted tops like this.  I really do not think I'd make this pattern again in this way.  I would consider making it with a bottom band to hold the two flaps, but I am not really a fan of having a knot at my back, and the flappy back bits are ok but not something I'd rush toward.  That said, I bought a secondhand Lululemon top with similar features near the end of the summer so clearly I like the style to some degree. 

Helen's Closet Orchard dress - Free pattern review

 I've been thinking of finally making the Sadie slip dress, so naturally I resisted (I have a whole plan including double layers of silk charmeuse, will for sure involve swearing.) and started looking for other slip dress patterns. I was eyeing up the Saltwater slip, but it required actually paying money, and to a company I have really been grumpy with lately for their lackadaisical but over-advertised offerings in the form of the Ilford and Arlo.  Thus I came across this free download!  Wahoo!

The sizing chart of Helen's Closet doesn't match me perfectly. 33-26-35 is the size 4, good in the chest but a bit concerning at the hips, and I wanted to make sure there wouldn't be pooling in my back from my swayback.  I have decided in general to ignore the high bust measure, or to use the larger of the two when in doubt, since a high bust measure is useless on those with back muscles.  The waist measure is not as important, there's quite a bit of ease, but I went up to a size 6 below the waist.  I also cut the back in two pieces because I was too lazy to consider arranging my (tiny piece of) fabric with two folds.  In doing that I added 1" to the centre of the back.  There's enough bias tape extra that this didn't change how much bias tape I needed to cut.  Probably I could have done only one of these adjustments, as it has plenty of easy and is very swooshy. 

The fabric is a skimpy metre of See you at 6 viscose, nice and weighty with an interestingly kaleidoscopic fine print.  It's very opaque and the weight means it drapes perfectly for this style.  I used the shortest dress cut line and I shortened the dress at the lines by 1".    

I didn't have any problems with the bias taping, and this pattern has you put interfacing at the top of the strap bias tape, which is genius - and very good for a free pattern!  I can definitely feel the difference in how substantial the straps are.  The pattern comes with pockets too.  I stuck the straps on with pins and then put the dress on so I could adjust the straps to fit me. I recommend doing this, especially if you are like me and dress straps are always too long. 

After making it I was a bit meh, didn't look like much, to be honest. 

 

Then I got photos and I was wowed actually by how great the fit is. It's precise at the bust (that extra inch in the back was smart). The pockets are too low - maybe they weren't adjusted when I shortened the dress? Anyway they need to be higher by about 1-2".  I can still access them with straight arms.  The length is perfect.  It's very spacious, a good summer item, will see how often I turn to it.  I'd probably make a straight size 4 if I did this again rather than widening below the hips. Obvs the pockets need to come up. Otherwise I really like this shape!  Might even be fun to turn it on the bias and slim it down a bit below the bust to make a linen version. 

Peppermint mag x Elbe Textiles Bardon no. 2

 All the summer dresses were successes this year (Bardon, Summer fling, and Marcel) and I wanted to make a second version of each of them. I am, however, running out of summer too fast (it's over!)  I'm slowly relinquishing my plans to next year when I get excited about dresses again, but I managed to sneak this one in before getting distracted making sweatshirts and loungepants.  

I adore my first Bardon though it is somewhat oversized.  I was inspired to size down and make another one, seemed like nothing could go wrong.  I had made size C because of the problem of the high bust.  You're advised to use the high bust measurement instead of the bust measurement to choose your size.  Wellllll that never works for me, my high bust consists of loads of feminine muscles, so it's the same as my bust, though distributed differently.  

So this time, size B.  Same shortening: 1" off the bodice, 1" off first tier, and 2" hem.  Again I lined the bodice rather than using bias tape. The fabric is viscose and is almost certainly Dolce & Gabbana. (I bought it from an Etsy store in Ukraine, so you never know, but the quality of the print was convincing enough.)  Though in my head I often conflate viscose and rayon, the difference between my two fabrics was striking. The black rayon star print fabric is drapey and cool with a pretty tight weave, holds its shape, and has a very smooth face. This pomegranate viscose has a soft, nubbly face, a loose weave, and behaves horribly.  It was difficult to cut, and shredded fast.  As I discovered later it also stretches!

I didn't have enough to line the bodice with the same fabric, for better or worse. I used a lightweight silk cotton.  I was really happy that this adds some structure - but once the dress was done I realised how much the bodice had stretched out, as the lining was now something like 2" narrower than the dress.  I spent about a day panicking about whether I'd be able to hand sew it down.  Luckily I had been planning to do it by hand anyway, and I learnt a big lesson as I did which is that hand sewing can fix a lot.  The stitches kind of just gather the seam allowance of the bodice where I united them, meaning that there are a few more gaping spots than I would usually have, but it supports the bodice a lot and I think even with those inner gaps, it's going to be quite secure. If I'd been able to use the same fabric I would have had the trade off of less structure support, but an easier time getting the pieces to match up in that final moment. 

 

Overall the dress feels very long compared to the other one - the bodice seems long, the pockets seem low - and it may be a bit low because of the viscose stretching, but when I put them on one after the other, it is definitely smaller than my black dress.  Maybe the black one feels smaller than it is because it's oversized and hangs away from my body, whereas this one really is smaller and flows closer to me.

Though I suspected it would settle unevenly I didn't hang the dress overnight before hemming. Live on the wild side!

I'm happy about this dress...with caveats.  As an end of summer item I hope I do have chances to wear it before it's too cold.  I kind of hope it shrinks a bit in the wash but I also have the sense that it's a very fragile dress that won't last long (the black version felt like a workhorse wardrobe item, indestructible, machine washable, etc).  I was really committed to using this fabric for this dress and now I wonder what might have caused me less heartache with the fabric stretching out - I think I'll always stay stitch the bottom of my bodices from now on at least.  I can't think of anything else I would have wanted this fabric for, but it did make me think about dresses with less weight to them.  

The day I did all the hand sewing, the weather got hot and sunny and I wore it all day - I think it's also hard to love two versions of one pattern - you have to let them be different items that happen to be sort of similar - they are never exactly the same!  But I started to love this one for its own strengths and I'm really super glad I sized down - the bodice fit is really spot on.