Dresses

Carline chambray Elisalex

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Have you ever owned a fabric you’ve been too terrified to cut into? I think a lot of us have been there. It can be because it’s so beautiful or so rare or it cost you so much or it represents something much bigger about your sewing status.

I put fabrics up on a pedestal all the time, it can be a £40 silk or a £2 polyester. Its a real problem!

For me this Liberty print ticked so many of those fear boxes; it’s rare because I’ve never found Liberty chambray anywhere other than one Japanese etsy seller. It cost me a bit to buy it and ship it over as you might imagine. And it’s utterly beautiful so I wanted it in my Carline dress family.

Almond rock liberty carline elisalex by hand london

I decided a safe bet would be to sew a pattern I’d made before but with a few tweaks. I’d loved making the Elisalex because of the great fitting princess seams and wanted to try adding sleeves to make the dress more versatile. I skipped the instructions for the sleeve insertion and used the clean insertion method which I’ve used a few times – video close up here. I really should post my own version of this tutorial as I think the original post photos are a little hard to see.

With this technique the sleeve is fully enclosed in the bodice lining for a very professional finish. The draft of the sleeves is excellent by the way!

I also swapped out the skirt pleats for gathers as I think the pleats fell a little funny on my lower half.

Almond rock liberty carline elisalex by hand london

Seeing photos of the back still makes me smile with it’s gorgeous swooped neckline… makes me sad I can’t see my back when I wear it! Thought I’d need some kind of flamingo or giraffe neck for that to be possible. For the zipper I’m not over the moon with my invisible zipper. Even after installing what feels like a thousand, there are just some that don’t want to stay hidden at the intersections of the seams, even when everything has been graded and stitched properly. This is why my heart belongs to lapped zippers. I might unpick and redo.

Almond rock liberty carline elisalex by hand london

As you saw at the start I thought I’d copy Gertie and make a sailor inspired number but changed my mind as I lay the binding on. Maybe it’s plain but I love it. And if down the line I want to fancy it up I can hand-stitch trim on top!

What do think? Add some trim or leave it plain?

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Dresses

Hot lips Annabelle dress

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Do you have days when life is so ridiculous you just have to laugh? On mornings when we have photoshoots for Love Sewing I’m responsible for getting all the outfits ready, steaming them, checking for loose threads, prepping all the shoes and jewellery and so on. It’s pretty manic and Renata likes to tease me by capturing shots like this from last month.

In the afternoons we have the favourite part of my job, the reader photoshoots where I basically get to hang out with a fellow seamstress as they get pampered and help them have some fun in front of the camera. Every woman who has taken part in our shoots has left me feeling wowed by their talent, warmed by their big hearts and re-energized by their enjoyment of the day. Often there’s a small window to take pics of my makes before home time and this Thursday I took photos of this dress.

Almond rock simple sew annabelle dress fabworks

It’s the Annabelle dress from Simple Sew patterns, a beautiful take on the tea dress that I have made once before here if you want to see my size choices and adjustments. For me it’s the perfect throw on dress when you want to look smart and comfy. This version perfectly works with red or blue accessories and can be dressed up or down depending on the day.

Almond rock simple sew annabelle dress fabworks

I love this dress because of its easy fit, with flattering under bust gathers and swaying silhouette. Crepe de chine always feels very slimming and luxurious. What I didn’t expect was for someone to ask me when I was due while wearing it that very morning! “This is my pot belly lady… not a baby.”

Almond rock simple sew annabelle dress fabworks

This is especially comical to me as I’ve recently lost 1.5 stone in weight. I’m not saying it’s such a noticeable amount that everyone on the street should be high-fiving me over, but I feel pretty darn slender at the moment. Clearly I need to work on my posture if I’m sticking my tummy out that much hahah.

Almond rock simple sew annabelle dress fabworks

This dress makes me so happy because of those kissy lips! I picked up a 1.5m remnant of the kissy crepe de chine at Fabworks mill shop. I’ve also seen some in Holm Sewn’s online shop but there isn’t much left so hurry! I used a navy invisible zip at the side seam and navy thread rather than red.

Almond rock simple sew annabelle dress fabworks

The dress requires a bit of stitching in the ditch around the facings and waist which I always mess up a little. I never write down the perfect setting for my needle position. It’s pretty invisible this time so I don’t sweat it. I’m really happy with the weight of interfacing I chose though. Not going too heavy on lightweight fabrics is quite tricky when you have limited options but well worth finding something lightweight but stable.

Almond rock simple sew annabelle dress fabworks

You might also remember this fabric from Rachel Pinheiro’s epic Holly jumpsuit. And I love this version of Annabelle on the 64 Dresses blog. If you’ve been put off trying a Simple Sew pattern in the past this is one I would heartily recommend. Now I’m off to play in my sewing room today. Have a lovely weekend!!

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Dresses

Scuba dooba doo Lena M6886 hack

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Hi Everyone!
Hope you’re having a great week. Lots of happy vibes over in my sewing room at the moment as I’m making progress with my bridesmaid dresses, I finished my bicycle embroidery and also a lovely reader of the blog sent me some beautiful vintage sewing patterns.

Turns out she wasn’t going to use them so I’m happy to give them a loving home. I’m not sure when I’ll ever make the slippers but I honestly love all the instructions and illustrations in each pattern. It’s so irresistible to see how things were done in the past

Almond rock vintage sewing patterns

As you might know I’m woefully behind on photographing makes and have around 35 to share on the blog that haven’t been shot yet. I’m happy to report that I snuck into the studio last week and managed to take some pictures.

Almond rock mccalls 6886 lena simple sew scuba

When I saw THIS SCUBA on the Minerva Crafts website I audibly gasped. I am of course addicted to florals but the colours in this print had been smitten. Although I don’t currently participate in the Minerva Blogger Network, Vicki was kind enough to still send me some of the fabric to make a skater dress.

Almond rock mccalls 6886 lena simple sew scuba

I used my new favourite tshirt pattern M6886 which I stole from issue 44 of Love Sewing and added a waist seam. The neckline is the perfect amount of scoop without being too revealing I then added the skirt from the Simple Sew Lena Wrap dress. I love the flare on the skirt and decided to keep the hem band even though it’s not as obvious in this fabric. But as you can see I left off the waistband.

I actually constructed this entirely on my overlocker (the old one not the new one) which meant it was finished in around an hour. The only machine work was the hems which I overlocked, turned under and topstitched, including the neckline.

Almond rock mccalls 6886 lena simple sew scuba

With the base fabric being white and the print being a little sparse it is a little see through in places if you’re wearing white lingerie, so I either wear nude or a slip to add opacity.

I’m so excited to pull this dress out of my wardrobe to wear with my chartreuse cardigan and red shoes. And you can’t beat the effect you can achieve when you make a full skirt out of scuba, it has a lovely sway when you walk. I end up swishing up and down the street

Almond rock mccalls 6886 lena simple sew scuba

If you’re scared of trying scuba here are some tips. It cuts easily but if you don’t fancy the hand workout with your scissors, try a smaller rotary cutter for any intricate cutting sections.

Remember to prewash scuba as you should with any other fabric and wash it like normal but avoid hot heats and overwashing as you’ll get a bobbly garment and damage the stretch content.

With that in mind be sure to iron scuba on a low setting, this fabric will mark or even melt if iron too hot.

Last but not least use a stretch or ballpoint needle to prevent snagging and slipping.

Almond rock mccalls 6886 lena simple sew scuba

It’s painfully obvious that my blog productivity and especially my time to read blogs has taken a nose dive but I’m pleased I’m clinging on and still posting. I imagine you’re all struggling too and I’m really grateful if you’ve clicked through and kept reading this long! So high fives all round?

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Dresses

Dainty floral Mayberry Dress

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Well folks, it’s the end of 2017! And I’m sure like me you had some sewing successes and failures, learnt a few new tricks and made some friends along the way.

I managed to drag myself out of my sick bed and used the age old lie that if you dress yourself up a bit you’ll start feel better to get a few photos of my recent make.

I know these pictures aren’t as nice as my studio shots, so the details aren’t as crisp and I definitely don’t have the energy to Photoshop my germy face but hopefully they show how much I like my Mayberry Dress.

This is the second Jennifer Lauren Handmade pattern I’ve tried but the first on the blog. I love a multi cup size pattern and sewed up the A cup in a straight size 12. As you can see I omitted the button front which meant cutting the left bodice and facing on the fold of my fabric. It still fits over my head easily and I really like the finished result.

My fabric is a mostly opaque cheap polyester from Barry’s in Birmingham. It’s a gorgeous floral design and the pops of mustard and fuchsia convinced me to get it. But there are a few flaws in the print I couldn’t work around; tiny white marks that look like tippex but thankfully blur into the florals.

My waist tie is actually a shoelace from a giant bundle I was given years ago with the ends shortened and knotted. I used eyelets also from my stash in a soft taupe colour.

The dress goes together really easily, has a relaxed fit and POCKETS! But you’ll want go practice setting your eyelets a few times on excess bits of fabric. It can go horribly wrong if you don’t apply pressure properly. I found it helpful to mark the channel stitching line and use an invisible zipper foot to move past the eyelets easily as I sewed. The instructions are a breeze to follow otherwise.

I have the Laneway dress in my stash to make which I won a few months ago and have my version of Felicity to share in the new year! Have you had your eyes on any of the JLH patterns? I really like that none of the patterns feel like copies of other companies and they mix vintage touches with modern style.

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Dresses

Upcycled winter floral Sewaholic Cambie

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I hate winter. I know it’s a magical time of year but I hate being cold, and needing sensible shoes, and getting dressed in the dark. I spend my mornings fumbling in my wardrobe, putting my make up on in low light and regularly throwing my hair up in a bun.

almond rock vintage cambie sewaholic

So winter florals are giving me life at the minute. Such pretty blooms on dark bases are again cropping up in the shops, magazines and fabric stores. They’re lovely to wear too.

almond rock vintage cambie sewaholic

During the summer I picked up this oversized 1960s cotton house dress. Looking at the internal finish there’s a good chance it was handmade. It was a throw over your head, size 16 shapeless tent with simple facings. I couldn’t resist the vivid coloured flowers and bought it without a clear refashioning plan.

almond rock vintage cambie sewaholic

I worked out I could squeeze a Sewaholic Cambie view B from the dress if I used the sleeve lining piece instead of the gathered sleeve. I added a green invisible zip and lined the bodice in some leftover anti static polyester from the stash.

almond rock vintage cambie sewaholic

I get so so so many comments about this fabric when I wear the dress. I think it’s the combination of orange and violet. If refashioning is this fun I’ll definitely do it again.

almond rock vintage cambie sewaholic

 

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