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Sunday 21 August 2016

A test run of the Marianne Dress

I have had this pattern in my stash for AGES...bought when Christine Haynes was having a sale. I snapped it up and it sat unused for about a year. I guess I was having my love affair with the Gaby Dress (sewn in a knit) so this got pushed to the back.


Initially I was going to sew the Maria Denmark Kimono Tee as a dress, but them remembered this pattern is similar in shape, just slightly more flared, and with a sleeve option. The fabric is a thin ponti-like fabric, bought for $7/m from a store in Cabramatta. I decided to add the sleeves this time around, even though for summer it'll be sans sleeves.



Overall this dress is not bad although it is going to get cut up and made into a Mabel Skirt.

The dress fits which is always my number 1 criteria for success. I did find the sleeve piece required a little bit of stretching to attach to the cap sleeve which I think has created some pulling/stretching on the sleeve piece making it not very comfortable. Next time I would add a bit to the sleeve piece so I don't have to stretch it to make it fit. I might also add 1" to the length...cover those knees up. The neckline is WAY to high for my liking and have already made an alteration to the pattern piece to drop it down I bit. I actually added 2" to the neckband and if I hadn't the neck would've been even smaller *chokes*.



I'm sure this dress looks OK in the photos (minus my standard fabirc-pooling-above-the-butt-thing) but in real life the colouring of the fabric does not suit me at all....I think it's all that beige up near my face. It will make a nice skirt though worn with a grey marle tee for summer.


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Pattern: Marianne Dress by Christine Haynes
Size: 18
Modifications: added 2" to the neckband
Fabric: thin ponti-like fabric from Cabramatta
Changes for next time: add 1" to the hem line; add about 1cm to the sleeve piece (at the highest point); lower neckline, add at least 2" to the neckband.

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Two more Mandy Boat Tees

I had a VERY productive sewing weekend, turning out two (very wearable) Mandy Boat Tees. The fabric for both was initially bought to experiment with lengthening the Maria Denmark Kimono Tee into a dress - but then I got lazy and thought I'd go with the Christine Haynes Marianne Dress (which is A-line) and thus I didn't have enough fabric from my change of plans.


Sadly, after I washed this fabric I found that it had a hole right in the middle of it. Could be the fault of the manufacturer (or someone else along the way) or perhaps my washing machine got hungry? Either way this fabric is LOVELY and I stitched up the hole and it's now tucked away in the hem...like it doesn't exist. The hem and sleeve hems are quite wide (2" and 1" respectively) which I really like so I copied that across to my second weekend make. Like always, the pattern has been lengthened (by 9cm) and the arm hole lowered and about 1cm added to each side of the sleeve piece. The pattern is one size fits all - but if you have bigger upper arms you might need to adjust to accommodate.


Also, please let's take a moment to admire my AWESOME stripe matching. It's fiddly trying to lay out the fabric so that the stripes are cut properly and then to match them when pinning. I had to do a bit of lopping bits off the end of the front piece to get things lined up...but whatever, it looks good. Now.


...and, Mandy Boat Tee #2. The print on this fabric is really colourful though it's not quite as sturdy as the stripes (I've hung it up for a few days on a wooden hanger and think the neck has stretched out a bit...oops). I think it'll be a good piece as the weather warms up now that the end of winter is here.


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Pattern: Mandy Boat Tee by Tessuti
Size: One size fits...most
Modifications: lengthened by 9cm (I think it's a bit long), the sleeves/arms made bigger for me a sewing class I did at Tessuti.
Fabric: Viscose knit from Tessuti (here and here)
Changes for next time: might lop off a few cms at the hem

Monday 15 August 2016

Wintry Mable Skirt

When I bought the fabric for my second Linden Sweaterdress I received a bit of extra fabric for free *happy dance* as it was the end of the roll. There was *just* enough for a Mabel Skirt so that's what I made.


Not much to report on this as I've made so many (though I made the waist elastic too big TWICE so unpicking that was fun...not...and to be honest the third attempt is still not snug enough). Again I cannot be bothered to get all dressed up for blog photos so here it is...on the floor. I've not worn this skirt yet, but it might get a whirl when it's bare legs weather. I actually don't love it for some reason...



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Pattern: "Mabel Skirt" by Colette Patterns
Size: XL, sewn with 3/8" seam allowance
Modifications: 5cm elastic waistband (added 10cm to the pattern to accommodate for this), 16.5cm added to length, pegged in the bottom by 0.5cm at each seam (so 2cm in total).
Fabric:  Diamonds On Navy from Tessuti - a Grey/Black Italian Stretch Embossed Jacquard Knit Poly/Wool/Elastane
Changes for next time: note to self: 37 1/2" inch of the soft elastic, hem edges on overlocker using the white marker and then 1" overlap.

Thursday 11 August 2016

Another Maria Denmark Kimono Tee

I really love the print on this fabric that I first saw at Fabric Muse a few months ago. After weeks of fabric stalking I finally purchased 90cms of it  and decided to make myself another Maria Denmark Kimono Tee. The fabric is $35/pm so it was hard to justify buying anything more than this...sadly!


I'm getting a bit tired of getting properly dressed for blog photos, so here are two photos of the new top...what you're not seeing are my PJ bottoms and ugg boots!

Since my first kimono tees I've put on a bit of weight (insulation for winter) so this doesn't fit as well as my others did when I made them. I also think I've cut the fabric off grain as it not sitting as nicely as it should. Moving forward I'm going to stop being lazy and actually make a neckband for my kimono tees...my method of turning the neck under and stitching before joining the shoulders works OK but doesn't look very good.



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Pattern: "Kristen Kimono Tee" by Maria Denmark
Size: size 3XL (no seam allowance added); with size 4XL at the shoulders
Modifications: none, other than not using a neckband
FabricBotanical Digital Print Jersey from Fabric Muse (97% Viscose + 3% Elastaine). 
Changes for next time: maybe I'll forgo the use of Wondertape; and maybe try sewing it with a neckband. I might go up a size also.

Oslo Cardigan #2

I made this cardigan about a month or so ago but haven't written about it as I don't like it (it's already been donated to charity)...so much meh!


I think the problem is down to bad fabric choice and making a size too big (again). The fabric is a Viscose/Poly/Spandex from Tessuti that I had originally bought for a toile of my Linden Sweaterdress. I decided it wasn't quite right for the dress but would be great for a cardigan. I was wrong.

The fabric is very thick...almost spongy...so the cardigan has no drape. In hindsight this would've been better for a pencil skirt...or a sheath dress (if I wore that sort of thing and/or had a workable pattern for it).


I also really feel that this pattern NEEDS pockets...I wish that Collette had included them with the pattern.

I'm not sure if I'll make this cardigan again. I mean it FITS which is always good; so perhaps I will size down and use a drapier fabric for it if I do decide to go there again.
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Pattern: Oslo Cardigan by Seamwork Magazine
Size: XL with the length left at size 3XL
Modifications: reduced the length of the cuff by half
Fabric: Viscose/Poly/Spandex from Tessuti
Changes for next time: add in some pockets and try it in a more "jumper-like" material. Go down a size