Polka Dot Emery Dress

I can't believe it has taken me so long to sew the classic Christine Haynes Emery Dress.

I used two metres of a cheap £2 p/m polka dot viscose that I bought from the Man Outside Iceland at Chapel Street market in Islington. I saw this as a wearable toile if things went well and if it was a disaster it was only £4 and a date with a seam-ripper. 

On a side note I am joining Jo at Stuff Jo Has Made blog who is encouraging us all to Sew Your Stash September! More details here. The three things I have made in September have all been from my stash and I have a pile of garments cut out from stash fabric ready to get sewn up when I get the chance. SYSS is going well so far.

I pretty much followed the instructions to the letter, the only changes I made were how I attached the lining. I used a method I learnt at Sew Over It from the lovely teacher Julie Johnston about hand-stitching the bodice lining to the arm hole for a neater finish. 

Self lined bodice hand-stitched at the armhole and waistline

I had to add a centre seam in the bodice lining due to shortage of fabric

The insides all look nice and neat here

Skirt seams were zig-zagged I haven't worked out how to do French Seams on skirts with internal side-seam pockets yet

Overall I am pretty happy with the dress. The skirt section is a great length for me, but I suspect the bodice is possibly a little big. It is quite loose at the waist. On a positive note it is very comfortable which is important feature if I wear it to work (secondary school art and technology teacher). I may look into slightly adjusting the bodice for version two.

Marilla's Top + Top Shop Top

Two new tops. Both from re-fashioned fabric.

First up is a relaxed V neck top by Marilla Walker. It is view D from the Robert's Collection and I have been meaning to make this for a while now. I wanted to use a fabric with a nice drape, cue this M&S wrap skirt that I bought from Traid in Camden a few months ago. I bought it for the black geometric viscose which seemed ripe for a re-fashion.

After unpicking the waist-band and removing eight darts I was very lucky to squeeze this top out of the remaining fabric. I cut the V detailing at the back on the cross-grain to take advantage of the interesting silhouette.

I used French Seams throughout and sewed them down for a faux felled seam - I actually really liked the effect of this technique more on the inside than the 'right way'. Maybe next time I will use this technique on the outside as a feature?

Cool V detail at the back!

I used a black cotton to face the neckline which has given it a nice bit of stability.

There is nothing nicer than a well-behaved facing

Marilla's instructions are great and her construction methods direct you to make a beautifully made garment. Lovely on the inside too (just like Marilla).
When I finished this top I realised my friend Charlotte would love it and so this will be gifted to her tomorrow - I hope she likes it!

Next, a quick and easy re-fashion on a Top Shop dress that I bought in a second hand shop purely because it was 100% silk and it was a bargain at £6.00. It was however one size too small for me. Never fear, I knew I could chop it up into a top as the dress wouldn't fit over my hips. A simple rolled hem later and voila, a new silk top!

Done. Two Autumnal-looking tops ready for the next season.

Red Bonnell Dress

In May 2015 I pattern tested the Dixie DIY Bonnell Dress. It is a lovely dress pattern with cheeky cut-away sections in the bodice.

Dixie DIY Bonnell Dress

The first version I made the dress exactly as-per the instructions and enjoyed the process of making it but when it came to wearing it, I just didn't! The fabric I used was a cotton sateen which had a little bit of stretch, subsequently the waistband stretched and didn't look right because it drooped where the cut-away sections were. Long story short I gave that first version to the charity shop.

Onto version two. I bought two metres of cheap and cheerful red floral viscose from a stall on Chapel Street market in Islington last summer (£2 per metre) with the intention of making a Bonnell Dress v2. This time I omitted the cut-away sections and slightly lengthened the skirt section.

The construction was good and with a self-lined bodice it looks very pretty on the inside too. The fit is great but (why is there often a but?), the back bodice must have stretched out during construction as the back section which should lie in a beautiful V for the centre-back zip is all floppy and stretched. I should have sewn or ironed on some stay-tape to stablise it. Better luck on version 3!

You can see the slight rippling of the bodice either side above the zip - eek!

Overall it is a lovely light summer dress and as I can't see the back of the dress myself I am not that concerned about a little wobbly bodice edge.

Pattern: Dixie DIY Bonnell Dress = Free for pattern testing in 2015

Fabric: 2 metres of viscose from Chapel Street market, Islington = £4.00

Gutterman Thread: Red from stash = free

Invisible Zip: Red = £1.00

Bias Binding: Red bias binding around zip from stash = free

Total: £5.00

Check out lots of other cool crafty blogs at #handmademonday organised by Julia of Sum of their Stories.

Merchant & Mills Camber Set Spotty Dress

After making two successful Merchant and Mills Camber Set tops (here and here) I decided to try out the dress version. I knew the dress would need a decent drape so I dug out this lovely pink and dark brown / black spotty viscose that has been lurking in my stash since I bought it at Guthrie and Ghani in 2015. I had two metres which was plenty big enough for the dress and leaves me enough for a little top.

Despite having made two previous versions of the top I still had to double check the construction details for the back yoke. I haven't quite got it right as every version has come out slightly different. I also added pockets which is a must with a simple shift dress like this. I love pockets!

Everything was going well until I sewed the final sleeve into place. I must have caught a pin with the sewing machine needle because the fabric started to pucker and rip as you can see in the photos below!

Oh dear. It looks like a mess but its not too noticeable from a distance. I immediately replaced the needle and finished the final seam under a little black cloud of disappointment. Luckily, I am not too precious about things to let it bother me too much as the dress is for work and I routinely get covered in paint / glue / spray / ink as an art and technology teacher anyway!

I lengthened the dress by about 6cm so it sits just below the knee. I wore it today with a belt and I think it looked OK. What do you think?

 

Pattern: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Pattern = Original price £13 but as it is 2nd make = £7

Fabric: 1.5 metres of viscose from Guthrie and Ghani = £15

Gutterman Thread: Black from stash

Total: £22

Merchant & Mills Camber Set Top #2

I completed my second M&M Camber Set using the overlocker at work (I work in a school with quite a well-resourced textile department). Having said that after working there for three years I only recently discovered the overlocker at the back of a store cupboard under a whole bunch of stuff. I read the manual and set about the onus task of threading it up! Lots of swear words later I got it running smoothly!

I messed up the first self-bias-bound neckline so much I had to cut it off, redraft a new section of bias and re-do. Luckily it worked on the second attempt after lots of ironing, pinning and basting.
I also had to cut the front as two sections as I didn't have quite enough fabric. I top-stitched the seam to make it a feature. This fabric is the last of my John Lewis Splodge viscose that I have made a Liesl & Co Everyday Skirt with.

The Camber Set is a well drafted pattern and I cut the same size as my previous version, but a combination of a different fabric and sewing some sections on the over-locker has resulted in a much more generous fit. Maybe I don't really need to grade from 8 to 10 at the bust to hip which I do on other patterns because the overall fit is quite roomy. I am not going to change anything yet as the drape of the viscose means it hangs nicely.

Here is the finished Merchant & Mills Camber Set top.

It looks very wonky but its just how it is hanging!

It works nicely tucked into trousers or skirts. Left loose I suspect it is a little too long and wide but I am going to wear it as is for now and make my decision after a few wears. A nice little wardrobe basic. UPDATE: Since washing a few times it has shrunk to a perfect fit. The joy of viscose!

This post is linked to Linda's Stash Busting Party at her Crafty Corner blog.

Pattern: Merchant and Mills Camber Set Pattern = Original price £13 but as it is 3rd make = £4

Fabric: 1 metre of viscose John  Lewis sale = £6

Gutterman Thread: Black

Total: £10

Black & White BHL Flora Dress

I started the By Hand London Flora dress in April and have worked on it a few hours at a time finally finishing it yesterday. It is not a quick make. With this sort of dress you want to take your time and take care with it.

I have had the pattern in my stash for quite some time. The fabric has also been in my possession since a trip to Birmingham in 2014 to see my friend Hayley who happens to live in Moseley the home of the lovely haberdashery that is Guthrie and Ghani. I bought two metres of this beautiful viscose fabric for about £8 per metre.

The Flora pattern calls for over two metres of fabric so this is where the fun began. I had to put a centre front seam in the front of bodice version one because I couldn't fit it onto the fold. I also had to use the selvedge for the skirt centre back seam.

The fun of paper pattern tetris! 

I hadn't intended to make the dropped hem version of the dress and as you can also see I had to fold the pattern back to the next size down on the skirt length as I just didn't quite have enough fabric.

The instructions were very clear throughout but due to a few silly mistakes I had to unpick the bodice a few times. You sew. You unpick. You learn.

The centre front seam is barely noticeable due to the busy print

I didn't have a concealed zip in the stash so used this 14" black zip

The overall fit of the Flora dress is OK, the skirt is beautifully swingy but the bodice needs a little more taking out of the side seams and also at the back where I inserted the zip.

The bodice is fully lined with some white organic Bamboo from 'le stash' that I bought from MacCulloch and Wallis last summer. I cut out the lining for both the bodice and skirt but decided just to line the bodice as the Bamboo affected the drape of the viscose skirt.

The lined bodice with satin bias-binding on the waistband to stabilise and neaten the edge

What hand-stitching?

The lining is hand stitched at the waist and zip. I decided to use some black satin bias binding to finish the hem of the skirt and luckily had enough left to use around the waist of the bodice lining. This addition seemed to stabilise the lining fabric and also gave me a definite edge to sew with as the slippery bamboo was prone to fraying.

The faux flat-felled seams of sorts with the satin bias-bound hem

As I had decided to forgo the lined skirt I realised I needed to tidy up the seams on the inside of the skirt so created a faux flat-felled of sorts. I ironed the seam allowances open then tuned each side under and sewed them both down parallel to the central seam. It hard to explain but you will probably get the gist when you see the photos.

Overall I am pretty happy with this dress. The fabric makes a huge difference to the feel of the garment as it has a lovely weight, handle and drape. I am looking forward to wearing it somewhere nice as I realise this is the first 'party dress' I have sewn!

Enjoying the sunshine in Regent's Park

Luckily all the components of this dress were from my stash rather than purchased specifically for this project. Costings are as follows:

Pattern: By Hand London Flora = £9.00

Shell Fabric: Two metres of Guthrie and Ghani Black and White patterned Viscose = £16.00

Lining Fabric: One metre of MacCulloch and Wallis Bamboo lining = £6.00

Satin Bias Binding: Three metres from stash

Zip: 14" black from stash

Gutterman Thread: Black and white from stash

Total: £31.00