Diary of a Chain Stitcher

I've noticed recently how much more confident I am in my sewing skills nowadays. Just little things like not needing to refer to the instructions so much and feeling like I can play around and try out some new techniques and fabrics. So I've been getting a little bit creative around here and mixing up some patterns!

I made this dress up as part of the Minerva Crafts Blogger Challenge; basically each month the lovely people at Minerva Crafts choose an item/items from their stock and ask sewing bloggers to email them with ideas of how they would like to use that item. They then pick a few of those ideas they'd like to see come to life and send those bloggers everything they need to make up their vision. This month there was a choice between three different prints on stretch cotton canvas. I chose this beautiful dappled print as it's exactly the kind of thing I gravitate to, my kind of colours a random and slightly unusual print. (Do check out Minerva Crafts if you haven't heard of them before, they have a huge selection of both fabrics and notions including some really unusual and harder to find bits and pieces. I've just come across this other polycotton canvas on their site... loving it!)

I basically jumped at the chance to write in with an idea for a make, as soon as I saw this fabrics' properties I knew what I wanted to use it for. After making up a couple of versions of both the Charlotte Skirt and Elisalex Dress from By Hand London and loving them I knew at some point I wanted to try and mix the two together, using the princess seamed bodice from the Elisalex with the fitted skirt of the Charlotte to create an Elisalotte wiggle dress (much like Rachel and Lizzy). Both of these patterns suggest a heavyweight fabric, even upholstery weight, with a bit of stretch so I had been keeping an eye out for a while for something along those lines which would give it some structure but flexibility for comfort. Then Minerva popped up with 'stretch cotton canvas' described as 'comfortable to wear and forgiving'...perfect!

I really enjoyed making this up, both patterns are challenging without being too complicated. The two patterns fit together surprisingly well, the waist size was an exact match in fact! As you can see from this picture even the skirt darts and bodice princess seams almost line up, I'm very happy with how they sit between the two darts on the skirt. I didn't focus too much on pattern placement when cutting as it is quite random but I'm pleased with how it accidentally turned out as I really like the smattering of white around the waist.

I probably didn't pick the best backdrop to photograph this print against...but good camouflage hey?!

The only changes I made to the patterns was firstly to alter the sleeves to my preferred length, the same as I did with my Circle-Skirted Elisalex. I actually had planned to do the full lengths sleeves this time and did make them up and set them in but in this print it just seemed a little bit too much. I was unsure about what length I wanted instead so cut a bit off at a time, trying out three quarter length, mid bicep, almost deciding to rip them out an go with no sleeves before finally settling on the cap shape I feel comfortable with.

I also didn't include a back vent or kick pleat in the skirt as the stretch of the fabric makes it comfortable to walk in without. I also didn't make it quite as close fitting as my first two versions, choosing not to take it in around the hips down the side seams. The body of the fabric keeps a nice shape in this area and it's still super duper comfy for a wiggle dress this way.

Inside I followed By Hand's instructions for lining the bodice and for this I used a lighter weight plain black stretch cotton for the bodice lining left over from my Lace Scout Tee, total proof that keeping your scraps is a good idea!

I finished the seam allowances beneath the lining by simply pinking them which actually worked well on both fabrics. However for the exposed seam allowances I knew I wanted to make a bit of a feature of them with a Hong Kong bound finish. The generous people at Minerva also sent me two lots of bias binding to choose from and I decided to give this new to me lycra binding a go. It's a great product and I think it would be even better used in sports or maybe even swimwear when that elasticity is really needed. Personally I'm not sure I will use it again in everyday clothing as I'm not loving the shine of the lycra; I tend to work with quite matt fabrics.

I'm so pleased with how neat it looks inside! Looking at these pictures really makes me want to make a little black Elisalotte, think that could be a wardrobe staple!

I'm really loving this dress, the combination of this skirt and bodice with this fabric has just worked out so well. Smart, flattering and comfortable...win!

A post about one of my speediest makes to date today! Well it would have been an exceptionally quick make if it hadn't been the first time I'd tried working with knits...yes I finally did it! I'd read up on quite a few tips from other bloggers (Lauren from Lladybird's post is great) so it didn't take too long to work out the slightly different handling techniques and I think it was quite a success! Plus it's a wearable everyday piece that isn't a top to pair with jeans, so it fulfils my post Me-Made-May aim of creating a more practical wardrobe!

After making my Circle-Skirted Elisalex and drafting my first circle skirt I fell in love with the style and promptly added 'make more circle skirts' to my sewing to do list. I've had this navy polka dot jersey in my stash since my very first big fabric shopping trip to Walthamstow market. I got it in Saeed's for some kind of bargain price and I'm actually really pleased with the quality. Once made up it's not sheer at all, even in bright sunshine as I wore it the other day and it bounces back into shape nicely. Being my first time sewing with a knit it did worry me how small and wrinkled up it looked it the flat before I put it on!

The pattern pieces themselves were very easy and quick to draft and cut (using a combination of Casey and By Hand London's tutorial's again). Then came the assembly. I was all prepared with a ballpoint needle and since getting hold of a copy of my machine's manual had decided to give the special 'stretch zig zag stitch a go. It worked out great! It's basically a basic zig zag so the stitching can stretch with the fabric but the machine automatically goes over each stitch a few times for strength. The different properties of such a stretchy fabric took a bit of getting used to but by the end felt natural; I used a lot of pins to keep everything in place and evenly spread and had to keep reminding myself not to pull it at all as it went through the machine, just use my hands to guide.

'Stretch Zig-Zag Stitch'

It is wonderful that you don't need to worry about finishing seam allowances with knits as they won't fray or unravel, but the perfectionist in me didn't like leaving them unfinished at all! So much so that even though I could have avoided the pretty long winded task of hemming a circle skirt I chose to hem it! I followed Jen at Grainline's tutorial of doing a rolled hem without the special foot as I'm still not much of a dab hand with the foot and I didn't know how much it would like the jersey. I loved the method of stitching around close to the hem first; it really does work to tighten up that edge and make it easier to turn that long curved edge into a slightly shorter one, plus it gives you a nice hem width guide to follow when turning! I just machine stitched it up with a straight stitch as I wasn't fussed about the stitches showing on a casual jersey skirt and it saved me a lot of hand sewing time.

Hem

I guessed a bit with the assembly of the waistband and once it was attached right sides together to the skirt by machine I simply folded it down inside and pressed, pressed the raw edge under and used a hidden herringbone stitch to hold it down. I'm not sure if this was the right thing to do as I'm concerned about the hand stitching holding up to the stretching of pulling it on and off - what would you have done in this situation?

Waistband

I did leave one seam unfinished, which was a seam I hadn't even planned on having! As the stretch of the jersey negates the need for a fastening and I could fit the full circle onto my fabric in one piece I was going to keep it as a full circle and simply attach a waistband. However, after cutting I didn't get round to sewing it up all that quickly and the circular top edge of the skirt stretched out to be much longer than the waistband I had cut for it! I therefore had to cut a segment out of the circle to reduce the size and create a centre back seam. I don't mind it but would have preferred to be able to finish the seam more neatly...looks like I'm going to be saving my pennies for an overlocker then I'll be loving the knits!

I'm definitely going to give knits a try again and try and improve my techniques, I've got a lovely grey marl jersey already cut out for the Coppelia Cardigan from Papercut Patterns!

Whoops, I disappeared again for a little while sorry! It's funny looking back through my previous posts as you can tell when I've been in tech rehearsals or a little crazy busy on a show because there's big gaps! However, press night for this one is on Wednesday and then I've got two weeks off when I'm planning to sew sew sew so you can count on seeing me a lot around these parts.

Working stupid hours (and then watching far too my West Wing in any free time!) has unfortunately put paid to pretty much any sewing time recently but before I started this job I packed in a whole load of sewing so I've got plenty of completed projects to show you which I haven't got round to blogging about yet; including THREE versions of By Hand London's Anna! Here's the first and possibly my favourite:

This was intended as a wearable muslin so I used an extremely cheap viscose print I bought a couple of months ago from a very entertaining market stall outside Rolls n' Rems in Lewisham. During cutting I realised I absolutely loved it though so did my very best to make it work out first time and I'm really really pleased with it.

I'm sure you've all seen many many versions of this pattern popping up around the internet, and I know I'm not the first blogger to have fallen in love with this pattern and made multiple versions! If you want proof of this pattern's versatility just check out Lizzy and Rosin who have made 7 between them! It's not surprising that the pattern has become such a rapid hit, it's a simple yet unique design that I can see looking great on all body types. The full panelled skirt makes it feel like you're wearing something really special but my favourite bit is for sure the little pleats under the bust which provide shape to the bodice. I love a fitted waist and this combined with the kimono sleeves is super flattering. If I still haven't sold you on it there's a sew-a-long hosted by the By Hand London girls themselves starting on Monday 16th September!

Under bust pleats in the bodice

I opted for the maxi length as I absolutely love a maxi dress in the summer and have never made one but I left out the thigh high split on this occasion as I thought I'd get more wear out of it without. I've since realised I LOVE the thigh high split on everyone else's versions but am still happy I left it out on this one as it means it's still just about practical enough for work. I've been enjoying wearing it in the surprisingly warm British summer but also think it will be great to wear in autumn with boots!

I went with the high slash neckline on this version as I love how this looks with the kimono sleeves. The neckline was the only part of the dress I had trouble with the fit of as it came up really wide and so gaped front and back; I know a few other bloggers have mentioned this too. I think I have fairly small shoulders which didn't help this situation. I'd already attached the facing, done all the clipping and under-stitching to secure this and even inserted the zip when I realised it was big here so on this version I just added in a couple of darts at the back of the neckline. I'm not completely overjoyed with the result as it doesn't line up quite right and am tempted to unpick and redo it, but fit wise it's made a huge difference.

Insides all finished with french seams

Another great thing about this pattern is how quick it is to sew up. The simplicity of it is genius. Even on the first go and using my favourite french seams throughout it only took me 3 or 4 hours. I'd really recommend using french seams to finish this dress, especially if you're including the split and using a lightweight fabric. I just pinked the centre back seam where the zip is inserted and it's holding up great so far. I bound the edge of the facing with some white shop bought bias tape I had in my stash which I love the look of but is probably slightly too stiff compared to the floaty main fabric so I'd just pink or turn and stitch the edges in future.

I'm most pleased with the hem. I went for about a hem of about an inch to give it a bit of weight at the bottom. It was a bit of a fiddle trying to get it to sit right as the skirt has such a flare but I took my time and am pretty proud of the result. Plus I've managed to get it the ideal length for me, result!

I love this combination of fabric and pattern. The drapey viscose worked out great for the skirt and has enough body to hold the structure of the bodice nicely.

I was so pleased with this dress that I ended up wearing this instead of the dress I was making specifically for my birthday drinks a couple of weeks ago. It had to be the best when I was seeing my lovely fellow Spoolettes! It got worn again to visit my family this weekend for belated birthday celebrations and I can see it being my press night outfit too...good job I made an effort with the finishings so it will hold up in the wash!

With Emmie, Nicole and Sally on my Birthday!

Speaking of my birthday I was lucky enough to receive a handful of new patterns, some money for fabric shopping, the Great British Sewing Bee book and a beautiful pair of Gingher shears! I think my nearest and dearest might have picked up on this sewing addiction of mine don't you?! Thank you all (because I know you're reading!) for the lovely thoughtful gifts, for encouraging this fascination of mine and for putting such a big smile on my face all year round!

A little while ago I was the lucky winner of a giveaway for the Wellington Pattern Pyramid hosted by Catja from Gjeometry! If you haven't heard of a 'pattern pyramid' giveaway before it is an idea dreamed up by Karen of Did You Make That. She very generously gave away quite a large number of patterns on her blog, a selection of patterns went to each winner who could then choose one of those patterns to keep and host their own giveaway for rest, adding in one from their own collection. The sewing network of Wellington, New Zealand liked the idea so much they decided to start their own when they had a number of patterns going spare after a big meet up and swap. It's a fantastic idea to save patterns going to waste. I was so excited to win, partly because I just love the idea of this bundle of patterns winging it's way around the world. I know it's been to New Zealand and Canada so far, where too next?!

As well as having the most inventive way of deciding a winner of all time, Catja sent me some lovely little gifts along with the pattern pyramid including some little labels, tape measures and mini mechanical pencils which I was far too excited about! Thank you so much Catja!

So I bet you want a closer look at those patterns hey?! There are some great patterns to choose from in this pyramid, but you will have to look past some seriously questionable cover art!

First up these two Butterick wrap skirt patterns which the lovely Catja added in herself. They are so like Tilly's Miette skirt don't you think?! If you've got your eye on these it's worth noting that the small size pattern (24-25" on the right) only has instructions in French and the medium size pattern (26.5-28" on the left) has no instructions at all. If you've got a bit of sewing experience under your belt I'm sure you could work out the construction for yourself though.

These next three patterns all have a good size range (10-18, 8-18 and 12-20) and between them provide (along with a good laugh at that 1980s delight in the middle) a whole lot of variety. Simplicity 2771 is for a knit dress with maxi, midi, tunic and neckline variations. Simplicity includes patters for a jacket, trousers, skirt, vest top and bag no less! I was seriously tempted by this one.

If you fancy doing some selfless sewing there's a Butterick pattern for some amazing 1970s men's outerwear (in a chest size 38") or if you feel like branching out into accessories there's a pattern for that too!

There are McCall's patterns for 1 hour pants (someone needs to put that claim to the test!) and for a princess seamed button up top with 7 variations! Both of these are sized 10-14.

These three provide quite a lot of options for separates, the simple shift dress included in Vogue 2659 (view B) looks particularly lovely. From left to right these patterns are sizes 14-18, 12-16 and 12-16.

Lastly there are two Vogue patterns in sizes 14-20/22. I absolutely love both of these two and was gutted that they weren't in my size. I want to see someone make that coat please!

The pattern I'm choosing to keep is the lovely Simplicity 3877 dress pattern below. I really like the look of view B (the left hand picture) quite a simple and classic dress shape but with some interesting details like the little collar which reminds me of the Colette Hawthorn.

And the pattern I'm adding in is Simplicity 2588 ins sizes 12-20. It's from the ever popular Project Runway range and includes a serious amount of options including variations on necklines sleeves and skirt shapes, you could get a whole lot of mileage out of this pattern!

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post and just for fun tell me what sewing project you're working on at the minute. The giveaway is of course open worldwide and you've got until midnight (GMT) on Saturday 14th September to enter. I'll announce the winner no later than a few days after that. Good Luck!

I was really excited about this make when I got started on it just as the weather turned lovely and hot back in July, but I'm less than enamoured with it now it's done and it hasn't had a single wear yet! I don't think this has anything to do with the pattern or the fabric, but rather the combination of pattern and fabric which is entirely my fault! I'm quite disappointed as I absolutely love this fabric and wish I had used it for a more successful project.

I got the fabric in an accidental trip to Simply Fabrics in Brixton, which can come up trumps with some bargain fabric treasures! It's a lovely, drapey viscose which feels sooo nice to wear. I love that the print looks a bit like a giant gingham. It looks very familiar to me and I'm not sure why, perhaps a little Kate Spade?

I used the Salme Patterns playsuit pattern and I love the simple, relaxed style of the design but I think, although I imagine it's meant to be worn with some ease for that slouchy look, it's come up a little large which hasn't helped my lack of excitement for the finished product. I definitely should have made a muslin (especially as both of my previous Salme Pattern makes have come up a little on the large side) but as any of you Brits will understand I was desperate to get this done as quickly as possible, once the sun is out as you never know how long the good weather is going to stick around!

The one thing I'm loving about this make (with the exception of the kimono sleeves which are becoming a bit of an obsession after the success of my Anna's) are the genius construction and finishing methods detailed in the pattern instructions. The best of these are the pockets which, with 4 pattern pieces each, seemed overly complicated and caused a helluva lot of head scratching when I first read the instructions through. But I just went with it and man did I love the look of them and feel like an accomplished seamstress when I was done. Especially as I used french seams everywhere possible!

I also love the clean finish of the neckline with a facing and and concealed press stud fastenings. I chose to finish the edge of the facing with bias binding but I had to stitch the facing down as it kept flipping out around the neckline and wouldn't lay flat despite notching and under-stitching the seam. I just decided to topstitch round the edge of it with my machine and am actually pretty chuffed with how neatly I managed to do it and the finished effect.

The only aspect of the construction I'm not delighted with is the elasticated waist which I personally don't particularly like wearing, I feel like it sucks in a not very flattering way and just feels uncomfortable.

I made more of an attempt than I ever have before with pattern matching as I thought this pattern had the potential to look atrocious if I didn't make any attempt! I by no means put huge amounts of effort into this and have since discovered Tasia's super useful tutorials on the subject which will come in handy next time, but I'm pretty pleased with the overall effect. I mainly wanted to ensure the stripes of squares lined up at obvious points and that the crotch didn't look awful and I think I managed it. Ish.

That still doesn't make up for the fact that I feel a little like a clown when I'm wearing it though. And when was loading the pics onto my computer this surprise photo gave away the photographers true feelings on the make...

Haha! To be fair looking at it from behind I feel like that too!

I'd really love some tips from you guys on how to make this more wearable. Looking at the pictures I think I should definitely shorten the shorts a fair bit to help the overall proportions of it and expanse of the print. My other half thinks I should slim the shorts down too which I think could work but is a fairly major alteration as those pockets are so beautifully complicated! Or maybe I should even cut off the shorts entirely (I'm really not sure on the look of them in this print!) and either turn it into a blouse or attempt to get some more of the same fabric and add on a skirt? I do actually have a polyester crepe version of this fabric in the black squares on cream colour way so perhaps a skirt in the alternate colour way would be nice? Or too much? There's so many options I'm weighing up, none of them which I'm 100% sure will work out! Autumn seems to have hit us over the weekend anyway so I doubt we'll be seeing any weather hot enough to be wearing this for at least 9 months!

Well I think it's about time we talked about my second By Hand London Anna Dress don't you? One day I'll catch up with all the items I've still got to blog about! These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, as you may notice rom the glorious sunshine! I was hoping for a sunny September so I could get some more wear out of this lovely fresh print but it already feels like it's been gloomy and wet for about a month so I think Autumn has well and truly arrived.

This time I made the midi length with about 6 inches removed, just taken off the hem. This is quite a lot to take off but By Hand London patterns do tend to be drafted for the taller ladies, and at 5ft 3" I'm definitely not that, so I normally take off quite a wedge. Also I personally prefer my skirts just above the knee so I took off a bit more than usual. This alteration meant I managed to squeeze this out of just 1.5m which is worth bearing in mind if you're short like me as the pattern asks for 2.6m! As much as I love the glamour of the maxi Anna I absolutely love this length as it is practical for everyday wear but the interesting construction makes you feel like you've got something a bit special on too.

The fabric is a digitally printed polyester crepe from Sew Over It in Clapham, who a lovely variety of prints in different weights. I've actually been holding onto it for a few months as I picked it up on a whim at the start of summer when I was thinking about making playsuits, it was one of those prints that instantly caught my eye and I couldn't resist! It's very lightweight and drapey but not particularly sheer, even in direct sunlight. I was really pleased to discover that even though it's polyester I stayed quite cool in it, even running around on hot days. I think the fit of the dress and those kimono sleeves help.

I did have some difficulty with the fabric shifting around while cutting, it was hard to make sure it was completely on grain even with lots of pins. I got there in the end but I think next time I'm working with a fabric this fine I'll give the 'cutting between sheets of paper/tissue paper' trick a go. I've seen it talked about quite a lot recently (Jen from Grainline wrote a good post on it) and think with a slippery silk it would be particularly useful. The fabric shifting about also caused a few problems while sewing and I ended up with a few puckered skirt seems. I redid some parts and pressed it as much as I could but there's still a couple of points that are bugging me a bit. Writing that has just reminded me that the polyester content gave me a few issues when pressing as it couldn't take anything more than the lowest heat setting (learnt that the hard way!) but it really needed a bit more to get some of the seams to lie flat.

After having some issues with the neckline gaping on my first Anna I decided to cut out some of that excess this time rather than adding in darts. I'd unfortunately already cut this version before I noticed the issue with my first so I couldn't do a proper alteration to the pattern. I'd seen a couple of other bloggers had taken some out of the centre back to reduce the neckline width so I decided I could still do this. I measured 1" in from the centre back at the neckline on each piece and drew a line down to nothing at about 5" down. It's probably not the best way to go about it as it messes with the grain along the centre back but I'm pretty happy with the result. If you want to do a proper alteration Sonja from Ginger Makes wrote a great post on how simple it is. Along with simply clipping and under-stitching the neckline this seems to have solved not only the gaping issue but the problem I had getting the slash neck to lie flat.

Neckline construction

Matching of skirt seams and bodice pleats

I'm really really pleased with seam and dart matching all over, it's much better than my first Anna. I'm also really happy with the invisible-ness of my invisible zip and I even included an enclosed hook and eye at the top of the zip using Karen from Did You Make That's tutorial. I love this technique!

Concealed hook and eye and pinked facings

On my first Anna I used bias binding to finish my facing's but felt it was a little bulky with the drape of the fabric and style of the pattern. This fabric has a similar drape but hardly frays at all so I simply pinked the edges of the facing this time, along with the centre back zip seam.

Again I used french seams throughout and I just love how neat it looks inside, plus it's nice knowing that this will hold up in the wash!

So my second Anna is probably not as much of a hit as my first but still gets a big thumbs up from me! My third version is the most glamourous of the lot but I need the rain to stop so I can get some decent pictures for you this weekend! I love how versatile this pattern is and think it can be a completely different dress when using fabrics of different weights and drapes. I've got a luscious bit of emerald green wool crepe I got at a remnant sale which I might just be able to squeeze the midi version out of for winter...

It's taken me slightly longer to post this than I had intended and I have no real excuse other than being completely absorbed in sewing my Robson Coat! But the moment has arrived and chosen by random number generator the winner is....

The Amazing Taracat!

Congratulations! I am seeing that as a reward for always making me laugh with your posts! Please shoot me a quick email with your address and I'll get the pattern pyramid in the post to you as soon as.

I've spent the last two days on the first half of a course on tutu construction at Morley College, it's amazing! I've always wanted to know how to make a tutu, plus the course description looked like it would teach me a useful thing or two to help with my everyday dressmaking. I've learnt so much already even though most of what we've done so far has been to do with pattern drafting and design.

These two weekends are all about how to construct a stretch bodice and the romantic tutu which is the longer style layered net or tulle skirt. There's other courses available in February and May next year teaching you the construction of the plate tutu and the boned bodice for dance. It's pretty likely that you'd find me there!

We've made corset blocks and stretch knicker blocks to our measurements, which are basically bodice and knicker blocks with no ease whatsoever. I love that we're using our own measurements so I've now got blocks to use for knits in future. Brigid, our amazing tutor then showed us how to remove all the darts and attach the blocks together at the waist so we've now got a leotard block!

She also showed us how to move the darts into one 'dancer's dart' which is this oddly shaped bust dart - strange huh?! Apparently it's great for giving some support and helping keep a close fitting stretch in that area for bustier ladies.

Once we had the leotard block we could add our style lines to create the look we wanted. I'm attempting to make a tutu in a similar style to these pictured below which are from the Royal Ballet's production of Swan Lake. These actually have a structured bodice but I'm just using white lycra for the main shape (with some applique detail) and then using flesh power net on the upper part of the torso to achieve the strapless look.

Brigid went through lots of pictures of tutus and unitards with us and explained how to alter the block for each. It was fantastic! I feel so much more confident about working with stretch fabrics already and I've barely touched them! Sewing wise we've so far made the 'dancer's waistband' and 'basque' which is the cotton twill piece which all the layers of net are attached to. I've just ordered my net and lycra ready for next week and I can't wait to get started.

I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite tips I've picked up so far. It's a tip to save you thread and most importantly time when sewing lots of seams one after the other. You literally sew them one after the other using a small scrap of fabric as a 'run off' piece. You sew your seam, with no back tacking, then as you get to the end feed your run off piece in under the foot after the end of your fabric. Once this is under the foot you can snip the piece you've just sewn behind the machine and proceed with the next piece, feeding it under the foot after the run off piece. Then snip off the run off piece and feed it under again when you reach the end of your second seam..and so on. I probably haven't explained that very well but here's a pic of me feeding in the elastic of the waistband behind my run off piece:

Also did you know that the word Nylon came from combining New York and London? There's a bit of trivia for you!

I promise there's some finished project posts coming soon, just waiting for it to stop being so gloomy or dark when I'm home so I can get some decent photos!

I am WAY behind with blogging my completed makes. Well not really way behind with the blogging as I have got some posts written but I have been seriously lacking the opportunity of a time when both I and my ever so professional photographer are free when it's not raining or gloomy to get photos taken. Things are stacking up. I actually made this top right at the beginning of the heatwave towards the end of July. Another reason why this top in particular has taken so long to make it onto the blog is that I've been wearing it ALL the time so it's been in the wash during most photo taking opportunities; I can't say that that's a bad thing though, it must be my most regularly worn make to date!

I'm usually the type of fabric shopper that looks for fabric for a particular pattern or project, usually with quite a good idea of what I am after. But on this occasion the fabric came first. I was browsing in Simply Fabrics in Brixton and this caught my eye, once I had a feel of it I couldn't resist buying some! It's a lovely soft cotton voile and the subtle random print is very 'me'. I can't remember how much exactly I paid for it but it wasn't a lot. On the journey home I schemed up a plan that it would be perfect for a simple top like the Grainline Studio Scout Tee which I have already made use of a few times before.

The fabric is fairly sheer, especially in direct sunlight so after my first daliance with hacking the Scout Tee pattern (giving it a dipped hem and a bit more room around the armholes) I decided to play around with the pattern again to combat the see-through problem. I'd seen Claire from Errant Pear's lovely version on Kollabora for which she added pleats across the bust. This gives the perfect extra thickness of fabric and coverage in this area to make the top wearable on it's own.

I'm always a bit wary of playing around with the paper pattern, whether it's for fitting or playing around with the design, as I haven't done a lot of this so lack confidence and as my sewing time is fairly limited anyway I'm always keep to just get on a sew something quick rather than get bogged down in complicated stuff. Altering the pattern to include these pleats was super easy though and actually really quick to do. I just drew lines across the traced pattern piece where I wanted the pleats to be and then used the 'cut and spread' method at these points. A couple of people at work have actually asked if I cut the pattern piece from a pre-pleated piece of fabric which I hadn't thought of doing, but I guess would work equally well!

The top itself literally took a couple of hours to make one evening after a couple of hours spent adapting the pattern the evening before. My boyfriend couldn't believe it, he went out for a beer, came back and I had a new top! The fabric sat around for a little while after purchase but when the heat wave hit I realised I had hardly any clothes suited to doing a lot of running around London fabric shopping for work in those kind of temperatures and decided to get sewing quick so I had the top to wear with shorts the next day! It was absolutely perfect for the 30 degree plus temperatures (which felt like 40 degree plus on the train home at the end of the day!) and it has had a lot of wear layered up with cardigans and vest tops in the more typical British weather since.

I've got plans to make many more simple tops like this with little variations like the pleats. I've just treated myself to the new Colette Zinnia skirt pattern and need some more plain but interesting tops I can wear tucked into it. I've been frantically pinning images on Pinterest of details I like on other handmade or ready to wear tops that I think I could add to or adapt the Scout Tee pattern to include. If your nervous like I am about getting creative with your paper patterns I think the Scout is a great verstaile basic to start with as there are no darts to work around and just three pattern pieces to play with. I'm planning to make another version of this so will take some pictures for a tutorial, then you've got no excuse not to give it try!

Finally I got some photos of my third version of By Hand London's Anna Dress. I originally made this dress with the idea of wearing it to my birthday drinks a couple of months ago, and although I got it finished just in time it was a little rushed and I ended up wearing my first Anna because I love it so much!

For this version I wanted to go down a different route to the other two, which were both more casual day dresses in a viscose print and polyester crepe. This time I wanted to try out one of the other fabric suggestions on the pattern and go glamorous! I suppose this could count as my first foray into evening wear, although this dress is so simple to sew up I don't feel like it can! I used a silk crepe de chine which I got for a bargain price from Fabric Land on Goldhawk Road. I was really having a hard time choosing the fabric (should I go classic black, or emerald green?) but then this beauty made my mind up for me. The colour changes slightly in different lights, from a heathery grey to a deep navy, plus it didn't have too much of a sheen which I like.

Speaking of Goldhawk Road did you all hear the awful news that the shopkeepers there have lost their petition against the demolition of the row of shops they want to knock down to 'redevelop the area'? I'm really disappointed as I don't think the council realise how much of an impact that's going to have on a wide range of people, not least the shop owners themselves. It's not like it's a derelict area, it's thriving in fact, those shops are always packed. For me personally, working in the costume industry, it's going to have a big implication on budgets as EVERYONE goes to Shepherd's Bush for affordable good quality fabrics. Apparently shop owners will be offered retail space in the new development at 'affordable' rates, but how quickly are those rates going to increase either pricing the shop keepers out of the area or forcing them to increase the price of their fabrics, which let's face is not good news for any of us! Plus where are these shops going to go in the meantime while the area is being redeveloped? All just to put a shiny new commercialised face on an area which doesn't need changing to match it to the local Westfield.

Anyway, back to the dress! Construction wise it went pretty smoothly as let's face it I've had plenty of practice with this pattern plus I chose the same slash neckline as I have with my other Anna's, I just love the style. The only thing I did differently was...

No, that's not a wind machine, just the beginnings of the storm!

Yes I went for it and included the split! When the pattern was first released I never could have imagined making myself one with the thigh high split but as usual the power of you fellow bloggers convinced me otherwise! I saw some beautiful versions with the slit which were not at all over the top or showing off too much flesh, for example Lizzie's beautiful Anna Rose and Karen's test version. After seeing these and seeing a fair bit of sunshine over July and August I was convinced that maybe I could pull it off, even with the temperamental UK weather!

The fabric pressed really nicely and was surprisingly easy to get a neat and tidy finish with despite being silk. I think crepe de chine has that little bit more texture to it which means your pieces hold together in place nicely as they go through your machine, well better than a satin would anyway! Look at those lovely bust pleats!

I french seamed all the seams with the exception of the waist, which I wanted to keep nice and flat and the centre back zip seam. Both of these I pinked, along with the edge of the facing, again to reduce bulk. The pinking actually worked really beautifully on this fabric and is holding up well.

I'm really really pleased with my invisible zip and how all the seams match up. I again used Karen's tutorial for inserting a concealed hook and eye and managed to get a nice crisp corner at the top there once I'd slip stitched down the edge of the facing.

As I was really trying to get this finished before my birthday and around a crazy week of work I think my construction was a little bit too slapdash for what this type of dress really deserves and so there's a couple of things I'm not entirely happy with. For one I simply turned and machine stitched the slit and the hem because there's so much of it! I do now wish I'd taken the time to blind stitch but I've got it nice and flat and even so I don't mind that much.

Also some of those long skirt seams are a little bit puckered which is disappointing. I wish I'd done a bit more research into how to work with silk and perhaps tried the cutting and sewing using a sandwich of tissue paper and fabric trick but lesson learnt and perhaps next time! I'm really pleased with how the bodice came out at least so I think the problem was perhaps more to do with the fact that I was getting impatient with french seaming all those long LONG seams between the many panels of the skirt. Patience next time!

Having said that when I put it on to take the photos I liked it a whole lot more than I remembered and now I can't wait to have an occasion to wear it, perhaps if the Spoolettes' Christmas Cocktails plan comes off this could be a winner?! If I lived a MUCH more glamorous life I'd love to make this same version entirely in gold sequinned fabric...though I think maybe I'd need to be Beyonce to pull that one off...

Tah Dah! I'm giving you warning this is going to be a long post with lots of photos but I'm not going to be cutting it down because I'm so SO proud of this make! It's the Sewaholic Robson Coat and definitely the best and most complicated garment I have sewn to date.

I can't believe I've actually made a coat! But first things first, a big part of this accomplishment is down to Tasia from Sewaholic's amazing drafting skills and instructions. I've always loved working with her patterns and in fact her Lonsdale Dress was the first dress I ever made so I knew if I could make any coat it was going to be this one with Tasia's guidance to hold my hand throughout. This pattern is a dream, not only do I love the design of it (including rounded collar and storm flaps), the construction process is genius and you end up with a beautifully finished coat inside and out without the need for lining. If you're tempted by the challenge of making a coat I think a lightweight style like this is a good place to start and I highly recommend this pattern in particular!

You do need a lot of supplies for making this coat so costs can add up but I still spent considerably less than I would have done buying one in the shops that will last as long as this, and even if it did add up to more it would be totally worth it! I used a rich green cotton twill from A-One fabrics on Goldhawk Road for a bargain £4.95/m. I bought 4 metres but I think if you are careful and are removing some of the length as I did you could get it out of 3.5. The fabric was an absolute dream to work with, pressed beautifully, went through the machine smoothly even at bulky points and as I've worn this every day since I finished it I can vouch for it holding up in the unpredictable UK weather.

The buttons were from the haberdashery stall at my local market and I used medium weight black iron on interfacing from Minerva Crafts. I chose to use their budget version as it was my first attempt at a coat and you need quite a lot for this. I was a bit concerned about the interfaced pieces being a bit like cardboard to begin with but once pressed and handled as the rest of the coat came together they've softened up nicely.

I was torn between cutting a size 4 or 6 (Sewaholic size) but in the end opted for a 4 as looking at the finished garment measurements they included a lot of ease, particularly around the waist where I like things to be fitted. I made the right choice as I feel like this fits comfortably and I can move easily, even with it done up over a jumper, and I don't feel like I'm being swamped by a coat which I hate. In case it's useful to know I'm 5ft 3" and I took 2.5" off the length and didn't shorten the sleeves at all. The length out of the envelope hit just below my knee which you might like but I prefer this style of coat to be shorter as I know I will wear it a lot with jeans.

The inside is all finished with bias binding. I love this element of the pattern as it's another aspect that you get to be a bit creative with. I used this polkadot cotton binding, again from Minerva Crafts. It's wider than the pattern calls for (25mm instead of 13mm) but it worked out fine and I'm pleased that it's a bit more visible than the narrow tape would have been. It was great to work with as it held a crease nicely once I'd pressed it to fold it in half. I could then sandwich the raw edge inside it and stitch it on just once rather than sew on one side, fold it over, then sew it down again. A great time saver. One thing to mention about this though is that the pattern calls for 11 metres and as a couple of other bloggers have mentioned, I used way more than that! I had to order more (which I didn't mind as it meant I ordered a tailors pressing ham as well which is a revelation!) and still didn't have quite enough so I ended up binding the arm holes in plain black binding which worked out fine.

I love the buttons inside which keep everything sitting nicely when worn

I was initially thinking about making this up in black as I thought I would get more wear out of it but I'm so pleased I went for one of my favourite colours instead as it looks great with most of my wardrobe! I've never had a coloured coat before and it makes such a difference to your mood on a cold and wet morning on a train platform full of commuters in black. The strange thing is about this fabric is that (as well as looking wrinkly when it's not!) it seems to come out a different colour in nearly every photo! It's actually a gorgeous forest green, I think this photo is the closest colour wise:

I learnt SO much making this coat. Looking back now I'm not sure why on earth I thought this project was suitable for me to try as there were so many techniques involved that I had never attempted before, I'd never even sewn a buttonhole! Ha! (F.Y.I. So much easier than I thought!) But I'm so glad I went for it because I've made something I'm really proud of and it's spurred me on to set myself some more sewing challenges. I've also crossed off quite a few techniques on my Technique Checklist which was exciting!

As I went along I was so pleased with what I had already done that I was terrified of messing up the next part and ruining all my hard work! I think the coat sat ready for belt loops and button holes for about 3 weeks, partly because I didn't have much time to sew but also because I was terrified of doing those parts! The seam ripper did come out quite a lot (particularly around the collar area) but I learnt to be patient and took time to look up techniques and reread instructions to make sure I was getting things just right.

I'm most pleased with my topstitching; is it weird that I really enjoy that part?!

I thoroughly enjoyed every single step of this make, even the cutting out! I knew it was going to take some time (there are pattern pieces!) so it was great to be able to just accept that and go nice and slowly with all these new techniques to make sure everything turned out just right. I think I can sometimes have a tendency to set myself unrealistic silly deadlines with my sewing and trying to speed through things can often result in there being a few things I'm not 100% happy with about the garment. I knew this would be a piece I could get a lot of wear out of if done right so I wanted to put the time and effort in to every element.

See what I mean about the colour looking different?!

Even though it's a huge time consuming project when I finished this one I wanted to start another! I'm holding off for the time being but you may see another appear in the Spring. Next time I'd like to try using a patterned fabric for the pocket linings and undersides of the storm flaps and now I know I love the style I'd splash out on some fancy interfacing. The only other change I would make is to shorten the coat and sleeves at the 'lengthen/shorten here' lines on the pattern rather than cutting it off the hem. I only did that this time as I couldn't decide at the cutting stage what length would look right and if I would need to shorten the sleeves at all. I'm happy with how it looks this time but the pockets are perhaps just slightly too low to be the perfect resting position for hands and the sleeves could maybe do with being just an inch shorter.

I think big projects like this which I can really sink my teeth into and which include some new techniques to challenge myself with are my favourite things to sew. Any suggestions for what I should try next?!

I'm finally catching up with blogging all the projects I finished a couple of months ago! I made this specifically to wear to a friend's wedding back at the end of September after my lovely boyfriend bought me the pattern for my birthday. We all know by now that I am a big fan of Sewaholic Patterns and I'd heard a lot of good things about the Cambie Dress so I couldn't wait to try it out!

I wasn't at all disappointed. It is again another beautifully drafted pattern by Tasia and I think the only thing I would change next time would be to shorten the sleeve pieces by inserting the gathered ends deeper into the gap between fashion fabric and lining during the final steps. It doesn't slip off the shoulders but feels a little loose at this point; I think I must just be short in the body here.

You may recognise the pattern of my fabric...it is in fact the negative print of the fabric I used for my Salme Playsuit in the summer. I LOVED the feel of the viscose I used for the playsuit so when I spotted this fabric amongst the jumble on my favourite market stall outside Rolls n' Rems in Lewisham I snapped it up! On closer inspection it was the same print but unfortunately not as silky to the touch. It's got a subtle crepe like texture and I have a feeling it's a poly blend but with it's weight and drape it worked fantastically for this dress and at about £5 for 3 metres I'm not going to complain! The lining is exactly the same fabric, bought from the same stall, just in a plain cream.

I've only fully lined one other dress (my Circle-Skirted Elisalex dress) which I attached to the bodice of the dress following the By Hand London instructions for lining the bodice. I was really pleased with how this turned out at the time but now I've tried the Cambie way I think I'll be doing it on everything! In fact I've seen quite a few other bloggers talk about using 'the Cambie lining technique' in a lot of their makes. Tasia's method involves attaching the lining after the invisible zip has been inserted into the main fabric and includes securing the lining to your zip using your regular machine foot rather than hand stitching afterwards. This way you get a lovely crisp, clean finish at the corners where your zip meets the neckline. I love it!

The lovely clean finish along the zip makes me so happy!

If you follow the instructions the entire finish of your dress will end up clean and crisp. I pinked all my seams for longevity but there would be no need to otherwise as all seams end up concealed. I also love the feature of using the fashion fabric as both sides of the waistband. Don't you think just that little hint of the outside inside livens up the lining beautifully?! I know no one will ever see it but I know it's there!

I chose to make view B of the pattern with the full skirt. I imagine view A is perfect for everyday wear but I wanted something a little bit special for the wedding which I could have some fun dancing in. Plus who doesn't enjoy the 1950's feel of a full skirt?! This skirt, fully lined and in this fabric is dreamily swishy and rustles nicely when I walk which makes it feel special.

I was concerned about the amount of gathering around the waist. I'd never made a skirt like this and can't remember having any similar in my wardrobe so was wary about adding bulk in this area. In a thicker fabric it might be a problem but I think the fact that there is a waistband of a good width around the narrowest part of your waist means you don't loose definition here, like you might if the gathered skirt was attached directly to the bodice.

I used some black satin bias binding as piping along either side of the waistband to highlight that feature in amongst the print. I was going to add this along the top of the neckline and to edge the sleeves in the style of Winnie from Scruffy Badger Time's beautiful polka dot version. However, I was worried about achieving a smooth even finish around the sweetheart shape of the neckline and to be honest was running out of time to finish the dress so left it off. I'm pleased I did as I don't think in this dress it needs it. I might add piping here on a future version if I try out Tasia's tutorial for making the neckline straight.

I made an attempt at pattern matching (seeing as the shape of the skirt is so simple) and am generally pretty pleased with how it turned out and how the squares are laid out on the bodice. Just check out the pattern matching down the right hand side seam!

The left hand side seam is not quite so good however...

You can't see it very well in that picture but down this side seam the tiles ALMOST match but their almost matching somehow seems to make it more obvious that they don't! It's all because I thought as the fabric was a little sheer and I could see the black squares through I could get away with cutting a double layer like usual instead of each pattern piece twice on a single layer as Lladybird recommends in her pattern matching tutorials. I thought if I made an effort to get the squares of both layers exactly matching as I looked through the fabric then both pieces would come out exactly the same but obviously things shift ever so slightly when cutting this way making the pattern matching ever so slightly off when sewn up.

I'm really pleased with the finished product and found it really satisfying to sew. Tasia I feel like you've improved my sewing skills yet again! Plus, in the style of Taracat...it's the perfect dress for dancing!

So my latest sewing challenge was to make a bowling shirt for a night of bowling, milkshakes, burgers and karaoke with the Spoolettes! (If you don't know about the Spoolettes then head over to Sew Dixie Lou right now and get involved!) The girls had all excelled themselves with their bowling shirts and embroidery skills so hopefully you'll start seeing quite a few of them popping up in your feeds. An amazing time was had by all and the lovely Alison from Another Little Crafty Creation made us all these amazing little badges! Thanks so much Alison.

I decided to go down a fairly simple and feminine route with mine, concentrating on the 1950's/60's look. It turned out as more of a 'bowling blouse' and I look like I belong in a diner but I love it and think I could even get some everyday wear out of it too!

I used vintage Vogue pattern 9318 which I was lucky enough to pick up in the swap at Rachel from House of Pinheiro's epic meet up at the V&A/Goldhawk Road in April. I'm not sure who donated it to the pile but whoever it was thank you very much, it's a great pattern and I had a lot of fun sewing it up. Once I had an idea of how I wanted it to look so I had a rummage through my stash for some appropriate fabric and came across this lovely soft cotton gingham which I also by pure coincidence picked up at the same swap! Thank you very much also to this kind donator. Although the pattern envelope is a little torn all the pattern pieces were present and fully intact so I set to cutting out all the pieces.

With this done and all the appropriate pattern pieces interfaced (I used the lightweight budget interfacing from Minerva Crafts, which I think is pretty brilliant) I was ready to sew. At which point i realised the construction instructions for this pattern either never existed or were missing! It was the first time I'd worked with a vintage pattern, I'm usually spoiled by the fantastic instructions that come with patterns from indie designers plus I've only ever made one other blouse before (my La Sylphide for the Mad Men Challenge) which didn't even have a collar so this little realisation stopped me in my tracks!

The cut out pattern pieces sat around for a few days before I decided that I really needed to get on with a bowling shirt or I was going to have nothing to wear. So I just went for it minus instructions and it turned out pretty well! I've actually proved to myself that I know more about construction than I think I do. How to put all these pieces together came sort of instinctively, there were a few aspects I puzzled over like it was a jigsaw but I didn't stand there clueless staring at the pattern pieces like I probably would have done a year ago.

The blouse is fully faced (along the centre front, hem and neckline) with quite wide facing which is a technique I have not tried before but really like. I decided the easiest way to construct this was to join all the facing pieces first and then attach them to the main fabric as one piece, like you might do with a lining. This worked out great, one continuous line of stitching at attach all pieces, pink and clip the seam allowances, turn right side out and press. I pinked all my seams for speed as I figured I wouldn't be wearing and washing this all that much.

The collar was really straightforward to sew up and attach. I'm glad the pattern didn't have a more complex collar with a stand or anything as I don't think I would have managed that without instructions! I was most pleased with how easily the sleeves were set in, I sewed in some gathering stitches in preparation but they hardly needed any ease at all and fit smoothly and neatly. The cuffs were also straightforward, before sewing up the sleeve seam I folded the interfaced band in half, stitched it to the right side of the sleeve, turned in, pressed and topstitched to highlight this detail.

I love the design features of this pattern; the rounded collar, shoulder darts and the nipped in waist. My favourite part is definitely the shaping at the hem.

As for the embroidery I chain stitched a small 'Fiona' on the chest. I love how this turned out! I did really want to do a big 'Spoolettes' motif across the back but didn't have time. Embroidery on that scale would be very time consuming and I didn't want to ruin the whole top by just scrawling across the back in a fabric pen, as tempted as I was. I'm hoping we can repeat this bowling meet up so I can add that to my shirt!

I'm also very pleased to say that this little sewing adventure, minus pattern instructions, marks the completion of my 2013 Sewlution! I signed up to Karen's sewing resolutions challenge last December and my pledge was as follows:

Well I think it's time to admit that my addiction to sewing has truly taken hold this year and to date I've completed 20 garments, smashing my target of 12 and there's still a month to go! This bowling shirt also completes the second part of my resolution being made from a vintage pattern. I've got to say I really enjoyed working with this pattern, I love the little vintage details, so hopefully next year I'll be able to make use of my collection of patterns from the 1950s and 1960s which my wonderful Nan gave me when I first started sewing.

I think all that can finish this post off now is a few pictures of the Spoolettes enjoying themselves on Saturday!

This is the third time I've made up Grainline's Scout Tee pattern and I can see many more in the future! It's a great basic pattern which looks lovely made up as is (as I did for my first version in some lovely Liberty Tana Lawn) but also provides a great base for getting a little bit creative and adding your own twist (as I did for my second silk version, adding a dip hem detail). This time I decided to try out a style which I've been looking for in the shops for ages but couldn't find anything quite right; a slightly 60's style lace top with an underlined bodice and sheer three quarter length sleeves.

Before I get into the details let me just apologise for the sparse amount of modelled photos, and the bad quality of the one's you do see; man, black is hard to photograph!

As tempting as it is to buy amazing looking fabric to make up pretty dresses I'm really trying at the minute to make things I can actually wear a lot and am therefore taking a look in my wardrobe at what actually gets worn a lot. I do try and get colour into my outfits but often end up falling back on a black t-shirt and jeans so decided to go with black on this occasion rather than a colour which may not appeal to me so much when trying to put together an outfit on a miserable grey English summer morning. I had the ides for this top rattling around way back in January and managed to pick up this lovely stretch lace in the John Lewis sale for a bargain price which escapes me now. I also picked up the black cotton poplin underlining there. Having now completed the top I wish I'd gone for a more delicate lining, maybe a cotton lawn with a bit more drape as the poplin is a bit stiff for the shape of this top which has no darts. From the side in the top photo I look a little like I could be pregnant!!

I've never made anything with lace before or underlined anything so it took a bit of figuring out but I think it worked out pretty well in the end. I kind of made it up as I went along so I doubt it's the proper or recommended way to do it but I'm happy! I really wanted to incorporate a shaped edge to the lace along the hem and on the cuffs, so although I was underlining I wanted the hem of the cotton poplin to finish higher than the hem of the lace and to hang separately from it. Rather than begin by basting my front and back lace pieces to their respective poplin pieces I hemmed the poplin to start. I then basted the pieces together around all the other edges so I could continue assembly treating the layers as one, having already created the tiered hemline.

I thought the two fabrics together would be a bit thick to cope with my favourite french seams so opted to bind the edges using a bought black bias tape. This worked in my favour when it came to tidying up the ends of the seams at the hem. I was worried about ending up with a messy bit each side where the poplin had been hemmed nicely and the seam allowance of the lace continued from inside it. With the binding I could bind lace and poplin together, continuing over the join and just fold the ends of the bias tape in on itself to create a clean finish at the hem. I'm not sure that makes any sense written down...however it looks nice inside with the lace visible in the seam allowances between the binding but I couldn't get a decent picture with it all being so black!

I cut out the slightly scalloped hem and cuffs using the pattern of the lace as a guide. I love this detail and it was what first drew me to tops of this style, I love fitted little lace dresses with scalloped hems too. I was a little worried about how the raw edge would hold up but it's doing fine so far! I particularly like it as a feature on the three quarter length sleeves. The pattern comes with pieces for little cap sleeves so I did a little bit of the most basic pattern drafting you can do and traced off these pieces and extended them, narrowing towards the cuffs ever so slightly to achieve a nice slim fit.

One of the things I love most about this pattern is the neckline; on every one I've made so far it's sat really nice, flat and even. Jen has you use bias strips cut from your fabric as a facing. On this I used the same bought black bias tape as on the seam finishing and machine stitched it down so a row of topstitching is visible on the outside. I could have catch stitched it down and kept it invisible but the topstitching really helps hold the lace down flat against the underlining.

All in all, not my favourite thing I've ever made but I have actually had quite a bit of wear out of it so far. anything I dislike about it is entirely to do with my choices rather than the pattern though. I really recommend giving Grainline Studio Patterns a go if you haven't already, Jen's drafting is just great. I love all her patterns for their simple design perfect for making up some more practical garments which I can actually get some wear out of day to day. As discovered through Me-Made-May my dip hemmed Scout Tee must be my most worn item I've made. I've got the Tiny Pocket Tank cut out and ready to make up and the Moss Mini Skirt paper pattern is assembled and ready to go to!

I've had my eye on the Tania Culottes pattern from Megan Nielson basically since it's release. I've always loved this style of skirt but never got on with it very well due to the potential for knicker flashing with the combination of length and flippy fullness, especially considering the amount of trekking around London in all weathers and lifting around costumes I do. Luckily for me Megan has managed to draft a beautiful culottes pattern which looks exactly like a skirt when worn and my lovely boyfriend treated me to the pattern for my birthday!

Considering my birthday is at the very end of August when we in the UK are just about clinging on to the end of any summer weather we are lucky enough to get, I thought making these up immediately in a lovely voile (which was the vision I'd had in my head) might end up being a bit of a waste. I didn't want to have to wait 9 months to wear my finished garment! However, I couldn't bear to wait 9 months to make them either. I started thinking about more practical autumn/winter weight fabrics with a drape to suit the circle skirt design and settled on some wool crepe. I wanted my culottes to be wearable with a lot of my wardrobe so opted for black. I got 1.5m (which is just about enough for the longest length FYI) from my fave A-One Fabrics on Goldhawk Road. It was a bit of a treat at £18/m but it's the cheapest I've found this quality of wool for and I was using some birthday money!

As I wanted to wear these with tights I decided a lining was in order and used a drapey black poly from my stash which I think I picked up in Walthamstow a while back. At one point during the making of these I was worried that the wool crepe plus a lining would be too thick for this style as most other versions I've seen have been cotton or viscose but I'm so pleased with the fullness and drape of the finished garment. The wool crepe has a lovely body to it which gives the skirt bounce. These are going to see a lot of wear over the next few months but I can't wait for the better weather to come around again now so I can make a lovely lightweight pair in a beautiful print!

I've been itching to work with wool crepe after reading so many rave reviews about it from other bloggers like Lauren and I was not disappointed. This stuff is so dreamy to work with, it feels so soft, cutting it with my lovely Ginghers was a delight and the stitches just sink into the fabric almost invisibly meaning a machined hem doesn't look awful (and trust me, you'll want to machine it, there's a whole lot of curved hem involved). However, the rumours are true, as lovely as this is to sew with it is a NIGHTMARE to unpick stitches from! Especially if it's black. Don't even ask me how I know.

As many other sewing bloggers have pointed out it is a very short skirt made up as is. I'm only 5ft 3" and although I cut a size S I cut the length of the largest size after reading that that was what a few other ladies had done. I was worried that maybe I should have gone even further and adjusted them to an even longer length as the potential for revealing one's bum when bending over at work is high for me, but I'm really happy with the resulting length. There is still some potential for some bum flashing in high winds as obviously the skirt is circular but it's impossible to fully expose your knickers so I'm happy! I'm pretty pleased with the fit around the waist, I could perhaps get away with a smidgen smaller and snugger but they're comfy as they are.

Obligatory silly 'You can't see my knickers!' Tania Culottes shot

It was my first time sewing with a Megan Nielson pattern and I've got to say the drafting and instructions are impressive. The pattern is also printed on nice sturdy paper rather than tissue which I really like as I think I'll be making these again and again. The waistband was constructed in a different way to what I've done before and gives a really nice clean finish especially around the zip. The lining and skirt ware sandwiched between inner and outer waistband and slipstitched closed inside as usual. I found putting the invisible zip into the wool crepe very straight forward and all the seams matched up first time. I used french seams to finish the side seam without the zip and around the zip I bound the edges of the wool crepe and simply pinked the lining.

I was dreading the hemming. That hem is LONG. It's basically a circle skirt plus extra on the between the legs pieces, plus I had double that to do because of the lining. I'd also read on other blogs that the hem ends up all kinds of uneven when left to hang overnight, so I was feeling pretty nervous about levelling that off to start with. My culottes ended up being left to hang for about 3 days rather than the required 24 hours while I procrastinated but I finally got on with it as I realised my desire to wear them outweighed how I felt about the hemming.

It ended up actually being pretty enjoyable. My hem was uneven but not majorly and it was easily rectified by a process of comparing front and back and pinning, trying on and repeating. I used my rolled hem foot on the lining which is always a bit hit a miss but I'm definitely getting better! The wool crepe was too thick for this treatment so I followed the method in the pattern instructions and I'm definitely going to use this method for curved hems from now on! The circular style of these means the circumference at the very edge of the hem is slightly larger than the area you are trying to turn it up into so it won't sit flat naturally. Following Megan's tips of sewing a line of stitching to follow as you press I've ended up with a fairly narrow beautiful hem which I had no trouble easing in at all.

A big thumbs up to the Tania Culottes! I think they might even end up being worn on Christmas Day!

Just a quick post today to share a bit of exciting sewing news with you! Me and my third Anna Dress are in the January edition of the UK Sew Magazine!

Apparently I've won a little sewing related prize so I can't wait for that to arrive!

I'm glad to have an excuse to treat myself to Sew this month as there's a great pattern free with it this month...I'm thinking the blazer might be a great make to go with some handmade dresses I've got planned to wear to the many weddings I've got to go to next year!

There has been a sewing frenzy going on around here for the last few weeks but I haven't been able to show you a lot of it. Expect a post early in 2014 full of the crafty gifts I've been working on this Christmas! I was itching to get back to sewing some clothes for myself but running out of hours before heading home for Christmas. I cut out a Papercut Patterns La Sylphide dress which has been in the works for ages, determined to make it up in time for the end of the sew along but was forced to admit to myself that it just wasn't going to happen before Christmas. I'm using a rather special piece of fabric too so decided rushing it would be a big mistake. I was desperate to finish one last project before the end of the year though so rescued this blouse which had actually been discarded in a corner as a sewing disaster.

It's a Sewaholic Pendrell made using some polyester crepe I got in UK Textiles on Goldhawk Road a while back. It was pretty pricey for a poly at around £10/m (I can't remember exactly!) but it was just too beautiful to resist. It's gorgeously soft to touch and has a lovely drape, it actually feels very similar to a wool crepe. Plus the print is perfect, simple enough to make up lots of different outfits but still interesting. I attempted to haggle but the shopkeeper was having none of it, telling me it was a Japanese crepe and that's why it was so expensive. If this story is true I may have to look further into these Japanese fabrics, I seem to remember hearing some very good reports about double gauze from somewhere!

Anyway, my disaster had nothing to do with the pattern or the fabric but rather my decision to combine the two and use view A of the pattern with the tulip style draped sleeves. The line drawing of this design grabbed my attention as soon as I received the pattern (it was a gift from my Mum which she picked up in Pins and Needles NYC during a trip she took to the Big Apple in the summer, wasn't it a great choice?! Thank you Mum!). I was delighted with the top all through making and it looked drop dead gorgeous on the hanger as you can see in this pic which you might have spotted if you follow me on Instagram.

However on me it was a totally different matter. In a fabric with this much body those lovely sleeves had far too much volume and stuck out around my shoulders in a style slightly reminiscent of an American Football player. Plus Sewaholic patterns are drafted for pear shaped ladies so the intention of these sleeves is to balance the width of the hips. It's a genius idea but I'm only slightly pear shaped and have a bit of a chest so those voluminous sleeves combined with my proportions were just all wrong. I think there's a chance the style might work with sleeves in a much lighter weight, perhaps in a chiffon matching the main fabric, and I kind of love that idea!

I actually completed this (with sleeves) back in September but it hung around waiting for it's problems to be rectified for so long purely because I couldn't bear to unpick my hard work! It was fairly obvious to me that the blouse would be beautiful without the sleeves, it's such a flattering pattern with those princess style seam lines over the bust and skims the body ever so comfortably. So all I needed to do was unpick the seams where the sleeves were attached and stitch them back up. However those sleeves with the many many pleats had taken SOME time, probably about half of the time it took to make up the entire blouse in fact!

Pleating the Sleeves

As I normally do with any kind of darts or pleats I used tailors tacks to mark the tips, snipped a notch at the ends and then drew on the fold lines with tailors chalk. quite the lengthy process when there's 16 of these lines on each sleeve piece. I then took a considerable time pleating these together and making sure the spacing looked even. Don't get me wrong it's totally worth the effort because the finished effect of the draped sleeve is gorgeous, but the thought of unpicking all that was too much to bear!

When the memory of it's making was a distant enough thought and I summoned up the courage to unpick those sleeves it was actually quite a straight forward alteration to make. I had of course made it more difficult for myself by using french seams throughout initially. Although I love the clean finish of the french seams I think if I made this pattern again I'd try another method as because those central seams run directly over the bust any extra thickness in the seam allowance is a bit noticeable, particularly in this fabric which has some body. I think I might also go down a size if making again. I chose to cut a 6 (Sewaholic size) as I came up between sizes and was nervous about getting the top on and off with it's lack of fastenings if it did end up a little snug. I can pull this on and off with ease and think I could probably benefit from it being slightly more figure skimming so will try the 4 next time.

Yet again this is another pretty much perfect pattern from Tasia. The more Sewaholic patterns I use the more I realise at how good she is at understanding and designing for women's bodies and curves. As well as the style lines of the seams I love the extra long body length of this design, great for wearing with low waisted trousers or securely tucking in. The instructions were simple and thorough as usual and I love how the binding of the armholes and neck turned out.

Armhole Binding

I'll definitely be making this pattern up again, maybe even as a base to try out my own ideas. It's such a classic and flattering cut, I think I need many more simple wearable items like this in my hand made wardrobe!

This year I'm joining in with Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow's 'Top 5' series. I loved having a good nose at everyone else's posts last year and I thought it would be a great way to reflect on my sewing over the last year. In case you haven't come across this yet Gillian is inviting bloggers to list their 'Top 5's' from the last year in a number of categories. The official breakdown is Top 5 Hits, Misses, Reflections, Inspirations and Goals and I'm starting by looking back at my Hits and Misses of 2013. In case you fancy joining in too check out Gillian's blog post here.

I'm incredibly pleased with my sewing productivity and progress this year. I feel like I've mastered some new techniques and pushed myself to try new and more challenging products and fabrics. I just wish I had more free time so I could sew more! It's been pretty hard to make my choices but first up we have:

Top 5 Hits: Favourite Creations, most worn or most loved

1. Of course my first hit pick has to be my Robson Coat. Definitely my most challenging make to date, I learnt so much and also really tried to take my time and get everything just right. This in itself was a challenge for me as I can be a bit of a rusher! It's been worn and worn til I couldn't face the cold without being wrapped in wool anymore.

2. Next I'm going to pick my first version of the Anna Dress. This was a happy accident as I picked up the fabric super cheap to make a muslin and ended up falling completely in love with the end result! It's seen a lot of wear through all seasons and occasions despite being a maxi and I feel really great in it.

3. Of course I had to pick my most glamorous creation of 2013, my circle skirted Elisalex which I wore to my boyfriend's brother's wedding. It has only been worn that once as it's such a special dress but I loved wearing it and making it. Plus I drafted my own circle skirt, used horsehair braid in the hem and fully lined a dress for the first time.

4. My most worn make of the year is probably my hammered silk Scout Tee which I adapted to have a dipped hem. This may have been one of my most simple and boring makes of the year but I need to make more like this as it suits my style so well and can be dressed up or down and worn with just about anything!

5. My final choice has proved a bit of a challenge, it was a toss up between my silk Anna Dress or my pleated Scout Tee but in the end one of my most recent makes, the Tania Culottes won out. I've got a new fabric crush on wool crepe because of these and already know from experience that they are amazing to wear!

Top 5 Misses: Sewing Fails, UFOs, worn once or complete disasters

1. I'm going to start with a UFO (unfinished object) which I actually do still have every intention of finishing. It's the Salme Patterns Silvia Sundress which is only unfinished because I ran out of time before the sunny weather left us for the year! I decided there was no point spending time finishing that when I could be working on a winter wardrobe to wear right away. It's all cut out from some bargain Christian Dior silk blend I scored in New York and I'm going to get started on it again much earlier next year!

2. Next up is another summer Salme make, my viscose playsuit. This was in my eyes a complete disaster because it's super unflattering and I feel a bit ridiculous in it. You guys have given me some brilliant ideas for ways to alter it and make it more wearable but again I'm going to wait until summer sewing time to crack on with it.

3. I've never been very happy with my first Elisalex dress which I made up as a wearable muslin. I don't like how the fabric feels to wear and I'm still unsure on the tulip shape of the skirt so this unfortunately falls into the 'never worn' category. I love this skirt on loads of other people though so am tempted to try in another fabric in the new year.

4. Penultimately is another UFO which is actually only at the final stages of a wearable muslin make. It's the By Hand London Georgia Dress and I'm not sure if the fabric I chose it just too thick and heavy or what but I can't get the fit across the bust right. It is a tricky one as it's so close fitting but I'm waiting with baited breath for the sewalong to solve my woes - I'm thinking maybe a size smaller and an FBA?

5. The final choice was going to be my Sewaholic Pendrell but as you may have seen in my recent post I managed to turn that around and make it a very wearable hit! Instead of this I'm going to pick the final UFO I have stashed away; the Papercut Coppelia Cardi which I have cut out in a lovely grey marl jersey. I'm really excited about making this as I love the look of the pattern but I still don't have much confidence sewing knits on my machine and haven't been able to bear the thought of messing this up or doing a poor job...

I'll be back soon to start looking forward with my inspirations and goals for 2014!

Following on from looking back over my Hits and Misses of 2013 as part of Gillian from Crafting a Rainbow's 'Top 5' series today I'm going to look forward to next year by listing my top 5 inspirations and goals for 2014.

Top 5 Inspirations: What books, people, blogs, trends e.t.c motivated you this year?

I've found this one really hard to pick as I see so many things every day to inspire me but have tried to narrow it down to the things that have spurred me on to improve my sewing skills.

1. After so many of my makes this year made use of their patterns I've got to pick the girls from By Hand London. The contemporary and sophisticated designs of their patterns as well as their own style inspires my sewing in all kinds of ways! So many pictures of ready to wear dresses I see I think 'O maybe I could use the Anna bodice for that?' or 'Ooo that looks just like the Elisalex bodice and Charlotte skirt combined!' I can't wait to see what these girls have got up their sleeves for next year.

2. There's one other independent pattern company that is going to have to find a place in the list and that Sewaholic. If you read my blog regularly you may have noticed that I'm seriously in love with these patterns. Tasia's amazing drafting skills and instructions have helped me achieve sewing feats I never thought I could. My first ever dress was made with her careful guidance!

3. I've got to count living and working in London as a fairly major inspiration. Whether it be what the lady sitting opposite me is wearing on the tube or the hidden away haberdashery full of beautiful trims I happen to pass, this city is a daily and constant source of inspiration for my sewing. It's almost too much sometimes; my machine and I just can't keep up!

Follow Fiona Parker's board Sewing Ideas on Pinterest.

4. If I was to recommend one place to all of you to gather a bit of inspiration and motivation for that matter when you've got a bit of sewing block I'd have to say Pinterest. 10 minutes browsing that site and you'll be itching to get on your machine I guarantee. Plus this year it has proved so useful to me as a way to collect my inspirations and remind myself of what I had planned next.

5. My final inspiration is simple. Every single blogger in the whole entire world. The whole lot of you. I've lost count of the amount of times my jaw has dropped at your skills, imagination and creation, as well as the amount of times I've thought 'I must pin that later!' when reading posts on my phone. From every single blog comment to every meet up with the Spoolettes, being part of this sewing community and having the support and encouragement of you all is so fantastic!

Top 5 Goals for the New Year

1. This first one is pretty specific and is something I have been procrastinating over for quite some time now - making trousers! I did treat myself to the Sewaholic Thurlow pattern a while back, after hearing rave reviews about it, but as yet it is unopened! I've heard so many nightmare stories about fitting trousers in general, and fitting is something I don't have much experience of so try to avoid at the best of times anyway. Now I've made my Robson Coat I feel I need another big challenge so making a perfectly fitting pair of trousers it is!

2. Following on from this I'd really like to focus on getting the fit of each and every item I make just right. I'm a bit of a naughty girl when it comes to making muslins or even tracing my patterns, I tend to wing it and try to get away with as few alterations as possible...purely because I'm a bit nervous of doing them as I don't know a lot! First up I'd like to try out Sunni from a Fashionable Stitch's tip for using your high bust measurement to select the size you cut and then doing an FBA. I'm definitely going to try this out on the Georgia Dress which I've been having some problems with.

3. This is a big one and another goal I've set myself in an attempt to broaden my sewing skills and make me a more accomplished all round seamstress - sewing with knits. I've done a tiny bit of this with my polka dot circle skirt and as you will know from my last Top 5 post I've had the Papercut Coppelia Cardi cut out for a good 6 months now! However, I still feel like a duck out of water with any kind of knit and would like to feel confident with them by the end of next year. Lucky for me, I must have been very good this year as Santa was lovely enough to grant my wish for an overlocker/serger...I have a feeling playing around on this will give me the kick up the bum I need!

4. My fourth goal follows on from one of my inspirations - I'd like next year to try and recreate some of my favourite looks that I've pinned to my 'Sewing Ideas' board on Pinterest. This year I've played around with patterns a few of times, hacking the Grainline Scout Tee, combining patterns in my Elisalotte and drafting my own circle skirt for a pattern's bodice. I've surprised myself with my ability to adapt patterns to achieve the look I want and part of this has stemmed from trying to recreate my favourite ready to wear looks or garments created by other bloggers.

5. My final goal is more general - just to keep learning more sewing skills! I'm really pleased with my sewing progress this year and now feel confident sitting at my machine, but the projects I find most satisfying are the most challenging, when I really push myself to try something new. I've ticked off quite a number of items on my 'Technique Checklist' this year and I'd like to cross off a lot more in 2014. I'm endeavouring to pick patterns next year which involve new to me techniques and make use of the tutorials I've been pinning on my 'Sewing Tips' Pinterest board.

Follow Fiona Parker's board Sewing Tips on Pinterest.

Well that's it for this year girls and guys! I'm off to set up my serger and get cracking on some of those goals. Wishing you all a wonderful 2014!

Secret Garden Elisalotte

Polkadot Jersey Circle Skirt

Anna Dress (Version 1!)

Wellington Pattern Pyramid Giveaway!

A not-so-successful Salme Playsuit

Anna Dress (Version 2!)

Wellington Pattern Pyramid Winner!

Tutu Making and a Little Tip!

Pleated Voile Scout Tee

A Slinky Silk Anna Dress

My Completed Robson Coat!

Geometric Cambie Dress

A Spoolette Bowling Shirt (And a completed Sewlution!)

Black Lace Scout Tee

Winter Tania Culottes

I'm in Sew Magazine!

Merry Christmas!

Rescued Japanese Crepe Pendrell Blouse

Top 5 of 2013 - Hits and Misses

Top 5 of 2013 - Inspirations and Goals