Not a home-made dress

It was my son's seventh birthday today, and after a sunny birthday party in the park we headed off to our favourite curry house, Akbar's, for a celebratory dinner.

I decided to wear this dress, which I picked up a while ago in a Next sale for 25 quid.

Pockets!

I wasn't too sure about it to start with because it was quite tight around the hips and the pattern is a bit "Sofa". I have to do a kind of Victorian lady demure curtsey when I bend down but it doesn't seem quite as tight as it was at first. Maybe my jogs around the park are paying off.

This dress has Princess seams in the bodice which give it a really nice shape. The skirt has 2 darts on either side but they aren't pointed darts, they kind of turn into a pleat. This gives a little bit of a tulip shape but not very exaggerated. And it's got pockets! I have teamed it with Kate Middleton tribute nude wedges from Matalan. I think they were a tenner. I'm so high maintenance!

The curry was awesome but we left to an Indian monsoon-style downpour and everyone got drenched in the 10 feet from the curry house to the car. Wish I'd worn wellies instead of wedges!

So, although this dress is a little snug, I really like the shape and I think I may try to make something similar when I break my sewing machine ban (19th August is my essay deadline, I think, and then I am going to SEW SEW SEW). I think I've got a Burda magazine pattern or two with Princess seams. I shall have to have a rummage and maybe attempt another Frankenpattern.

Here's one I made earlier... Amy Butler Yoga Bag

As I have sworn off the sewing machine until I've finished my assignment (sigh), here's one I made earlier. This is an Amy Butler "Nigella" yoga bag, which is a free download.

Sorry about the photo quality, both my helper monkeys have gone to bed early. I'll try and add a better quality pic soon.

Sadly I couldn't stretch the finances to Amy Butler fabric, so this is Ikea fabric from the Bargain Bin - £3 for a couple of metres. I've lined it with some striped pink and cream fabric that has been in my stash for about 15 years. That was another bargain purchase from C&H Fabrics in Brighton. Goodness knows what I thought I was going to do with it at the time, but it just goes to show that hoarding pays off!

So this bag gets weekly use at my Pilates class. It was pretty easy to make too, although I was a bit scared about the circle at the base.That went on really easily though and this was one of the first things I made with the Phantom Foot Pedal. There's a pocket at the bottom for stuffing car keys in. I'm tempted to make a matching water bottle carrier, but I haven't got round to it yet.

I like the really wide strap, which is super comfy to carry. I think the yoga mat poking out is a deliberate part of the design, but if you were OCD you could make the bag a bit longer and insert a drawstring.

Grown-up helper monkey has taken this picture. He seemed more interested in photographing my bum than the bag.

So, I recommend the pattern. I'm also very tempted by the Amy Butler Weekender Bag pattern, which isn't free, but looks like a really useful bag. And of course, lovely in her fabric.

I'm back!

Well what a smashing holiday, down in Croyde Bay. I'd like to say I have come back all relaxed but I am in a state of sheer terror about how behind I am on my Masters homework. Hmm, that sounds like I am some sort of weird homework servant. I'm studying for an MSc by distance learning, which means snatching time on the computer of an evening once the Boy is in bed and the sandwiches are made for tomorrow's packed lunch. At the moment I feel at the end of my tether with it, but I'm hoping to get my mojo back as this is my last module before the (whisper it) dissertation. 

Anyhoodle, back to the hols. I did pack my broderie anglais dress, maxi skirt and hummingbird top as planned. I wore the dress quite a few times down to t'pub and it's become a summer wardrobe staple and something that I don't feel looks too homemade. I didn't wear the maxi skirt because I lived in shorts for the week. I love how holidays make you do stuff you wouldn't normally dream of! I NEVER wear shorts due to legs that are almost permanently blue and decorated with car accident scars. But, you know I'm 40 in a couple of months and I just don't care any more. Might as well get the legs out until the varicose veins kick in.

The hummingbird top is being relegated to the seam-ripping pile because the straps are crap. I wish I had just made a normal vest top rather than one with separate strap inserts. Still, I've got plenty of material left so I may just fashion something else out of it.

The other big winner of the holiday wardrobe was a cheap stripey vesty dress from H&M. A real chuck-it-on over a swimsuit number, but it was really useful. I wasn't at all sure about the elasticated waist at first, but it was okay.  I may have a go at something similar using some of the left over blue jersey from the maxi skirt, but I might do it like a long vest with a tie belt. Or something. 

Anyway, I need to unplug the sewing needles for a week or two while I knuckle down to the homework. Still, I have a few "here's one I made earlier" projects to feature, so I will try to post those while the sewing machine is idle. There are some corkers. In fact, after being sent upstairs to get dressed this morning, the Boy appeared wearing something I made for him a few months ago. 25 degrees out there and he chooses a leopardskin fake fur jacket!

Holidays!

Right, I'm off on my hols for a week and I am proud to be taking 3 handmade items with me: the broderie anglais dress, the Burda vest top and the maxi skirt (although the waistband on this gets a bit baggy after I've been wearing it for a few hours so I might have to add some elastic).
I'm really looking forward to wearing stuff that I've made myself and I'm going to have a think about what items I will need for my holiday wardrobe next year.
In fact, my plan is to have a major wardrobe clear-out in the next couple of months. Like every other woman in the country I wear 10% of my wardrobe 90% of the time. Unlike most other women, I have a disturbing collection of stripy socks that are unbecoming of a 39.75 year old. I've got some really nice stuff that I never wear because my wardrobe is crammed full of crap.
But that will have to wait for another day because right now I need to fake tan my blue legs so I don't startle the locals.
Bon vacances!

A little adjustment.

I wore my red broderie anglais dress out on Saturday night to the awesome Fat Pug in Leamington (great pizza and crayfish popcorn) and then The Kenilworth - probably the best cocktail bar in the country.

Anyway, the pouchy bit at the front of my dress was annoying me so I decided to bite the bullet and make some changes. I had hoped that I had enough fabric to re-draft the whole skirt or at least the front, but I only had scraps left. So, I unpicked the waistband and the pleats and the front and re-did them as darts. I just eyeballed this bit and the first attempt was still rather pouchy so I extended the darts further.
And the end result is a big improvement. I also took the opportunity to neaten up the hem by folding it over. My first attempt had started to fray, but then I do find hemming dull.

 
The reason for the night out was that my son was at Beaver Camp. He has done me the honour of being the official photographer again today, so forgive the low camera angle and blurry shots!












The other project of the weekend has been my Burda vest top, which I would say is finished but I think I am going to be tinkering with this too. I made the straps out of doubled-up bias binding but I didn't make them long enough and now I haven't got enough left to re-do them. Doh!

So, as you can see the result is a rather demure vest top (apart from when I lean forward). It's ever so comfy though, really nice to have a slouchy vest top rather than a clingy one.

I also managed to snaffle up a copy of The Great British Sewing Bee at my local library. My husband suggested that was purely so that I could ogle the delicious Patrick. As if! No, I shall be paying close attention to hemming techniques and bias binding... (sigh)





Actually, the other half seems to have caught the sewing bug too. He's been sewing badges on our son's camp blanket. I may be from Brighton, but it's not that sort of camp - it's the blanket Scouts take with them to camp. The tradition is to cover it with badges that you've collected or swapped. It belonged to my husband when he was younger, so there are some great badges from all over the world. He says that sewing the badges on reminds him of when his mum used to sew his badges on. I think that's one of the lovely things about sewing: it connects you with the past. Mind you, my mum hated sewing and used to glue my Brownie badges on until Brown Owl told her off!

Stash plans... I'm almost ready to commit

So, I've been thinking more about the Hummingbird jersey fabric I bought in Fabricland. I've decided that if I make it into a dress it will definitely look like a nightie. I have almost decided to make a vest top - this Burda pattern with a gathered neckline:

And then make either some pyjama trousers or pyjama shorts from what's left. I have traced my pattern pieces, but I'm going to miss out the slash in the front. It looks a bit meh in the photo, but I'm hoping that's just because of the rather dull fabric and the weird combination with the skirt.



This is the red fabric I'm planning to make a shift dress out of:

I think this was from Minerva Crafts. It's silky viscose stuff and I can't decide whether it's okay or really horrible. I'm also worried that darts and seams are going to play havoc with pattern matching. But the fabric cost peanuts so I guess it's not a big problem if it's a disaster.

This is the New Look 6123 pattern I'm thinking of turning it into (free with Sew magazine). But maybe the waist seam is going to make it too complicated with the fabric.

So, maybe a Mccalls 2401 might be a better bet. I've made 3 of these before: 1 wearable muslin in a very dull greyish fabric and 2 in Ponte fabric (red and navy). It's quite an easy to put together pattern, in fact it was the first thing I sewed, inspired by blogs by Tilly and the Buttons and Stitch and Witter - check out their cute versions.

So the materials have been washed and are waiting to dry. I think I'll aim for the vest stop first so I can wear it on holiday in a couple of weeks. I'll be taking my broderie anglais dress too (but I'm still wishing I'd done darts instead of pleats in the skirt...)

Serendipity... a Simplicity 2444... and I've got nothing to wear!

So this week I discovered a wardrobe gap. I had a job interview and had night before panic when I went through my wardrobe and couldn't find anything I wanted to wear. My go-to dress from H&M doesn't fit anymore, my wide-legged trouser suit suddenly seemed terribly old-fashioned and I couldn't find a shirt that went with trousers. In the end I plumped for some smart trousers with a plain white t and a grey cardy. It looked better than it sounds, honest!
It was a really hot day and what I was really yearning for was a simple shift dress with short sleeves. But my handmade dresses are either too wintry or too informal.
So, to add to my sewing list is a smart-ish dress that looks good for an interview but won't look out of place in the park.
I'm thinking along the lines of the pattern I got free with Sew magazine this month - New Look K6123.

I'm not one for the flouncy frou-frous but I think the simple faux-wrap dress in view A or view C with view D's sleeves would fit the bill. I've got some patterned red and cream fabric in the stash that I'm thinking of, but I'm not too sure about pattern matching - it could come out a right mess!

Anyway, I got the job so hopefully I won't be needing an interview dress for a while.

Tonight to celebrate we went out to our favourite curry house, Akbar's. My dad was up from Brighton for the weekend and it's his favourite restaurant in the world. I wore my Simplicity 2444 dress, made out of fabric purchased on our anniversary trip to Paris earlier in the year. 

It was from one of the coupon shops and I think it was 10 euros for 2 metres. I think I made the skirt a bit too short and I felt a bit dorky wearing it to start with. I found that wearing it with leggings and a cardy makes it feel a bit less Laura Ashley from the 80s. It's really comfy to wear and the pockets are great. Next time though I would be tempted to do a straight skirt. I'm not sure the full skirt style is quite me.

Walking back from the restaurant took us past The Weaver's House, a restored medieval house. I could see people knitting and they spotted me peering in and beckoned me in. Turned out it was a Friday night stitching club. It's run by a lovely lady who has just opened Coventry Craft Studio next door on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. There are other regular events, including Make Do and Mend Mondays and a Stitch and Bitch group of parents of children with Autism. Awesome stuff, and all on my doorstep! 

When I first moved to Coventry 10 years ago I hated it, but now I am finding more and more pockets of inspiration, creativity and generosity of spirit. Maybe it's not so bad after all!