summer fashion – Dresses & Me

Ginger Lovin’

Woop I made the Colette Ginger skirt. I can’t remember who’s I saw first but I love both Lladybird and Stitch n Bitch’s versions of the Ginger. I think this pattern is made for denim. I made my version out of a really stiff denim that it holds the shape in a very assertive A-Line. I prewashed this fabric twice and it still looks like this. I’m not complaining. It’s awesome.

This skirt was ridiculously quick and easy to put together. Because the denim was so stiff it was super easy to cut out and sew together and required minimal pinning. There was no slip-age or fussing around with this fabric!

Oddly, or perhaps not, the skirt only flares outwards, not forward and back so it is still flattering despite the exaggerated shape.

I made this skirt in a straight six which to me sounds WAY too small to be a grown up size. I haven’t worn a six in years but I’m all for the affirmation of wearing a smaller size. The only changes I made to the pattern were minimal – I took 6cm off the bottom, decided against interfacing the waistband and inserted a normal metal zipper. I figured the heavier material would need a stronger zip.

I also decided to make the waistband facing in this cute polka dot. I LOVE this pattern. It’s great for the long humid summer were having here.

Have you made the Ginger before? Did you love it?

Party Peplum Top

Yay I’ve finished the first of my recent batch of patterns – vogue 8815

I made it out of white silk with a tiny touch of cream and lined the bodice with generic lining fabric.

I was reading Green Apples yesterday and found that she has just finished this top too! I found myself agreeing with a lot of the points she made about the pattern. I, too, think the shoulders sit quite wide on me and the neckline is quite high. On top of this I have a bit of an aversion to bias binding. So, like her, I made several alterations to the pattern. Namely, that I added 1.5cms to the edges of the neckline and armholes for seam allowance to get me out of my bias bind.

My laisse-faire sewing technique, exhibit a.

Fully lining the bodice meant that I had to pretty much change the entire construction of the top. I used this technique.

I also, decided to use Karen’s technique of making a pleat instead of a dart in the lining at the shoulder and back of the bodice. I found this worked well for my sewing style/ level of concentration – try as I might I find it is a rare occasion that I manage to line up the darts on the lining and the fashion fabric! This was a good compromise for me!

And now I’m on to the next adventure – Woop!

Vintage-y Goody Gumdrops Dress

So I finally made this dress that I blogged about earlier in the year as a part of Vintage Pattern on Sunday. It’s a 1950s -ish looking dress with a fitted bodice with a gathered waistline.

This dress was somewhat of an experiment. There have been a lot of bloggers posting about dresses with gathered waistlines like Colette’s Hazel and Sewaholic’s Cambie. I liked the look but wasn’t sure if it was me, if ya know what I mean… So I thought I’d try with a pattern I already owned and some cheap material (cotton lycra blend, $6 per metre)

So here it is:

Side shot is not super flattering – but necessary to make my point – gathered waistlines are not mega flattering on my body shape. I think this style of dress is suited to tall, slender types. A club to which I am not a member (sadly). However, I still do quite like this dress. It’s fun and happy and I can imagine myself wearing it to the beach in the summer.

On a side note, I secretly really enjoyed hand stitching the lining in:

That’s my I’m not entirely convinced it’s my look face

So that was my experiment for the week. Have you tried something new recently?

Small Pattern Companies

Recently I’ve been thinking more about the sewing patterns I use. I’m increasingly finding that The Big Four have been somewhat limiting and even a bit naff. This probably sounds a bit harsh. I mean, the Big Four have served me well thus far – in fact all the patterns I’ve used have been McCalls, Vogue, Butterick and Simplicity. But recently I’ve been doing some exploring on the interweb and found two smaller pattern companies who I really like.

The first is Victory Patterns. They are pretty, feminine and summery. I particularly like these patterns:

Simone

Chloe

Satsuki

The other pattern company I was super excited to discover was Salme Sewing Patterns. I really like their patterns because they look feminine without relying on nostalgic devices like full skirts which makes them really wearable. These are the ones I like.
Peplum Top

T-shirt with Pleats

I was also attracted to these Rompers

I’d love to hear of any pattern companies you’ve discovered!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Coming up this month is Dresses and Me’s six-month-aversary. To celebrate this momentous occasion I thought I’d pick the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the things I’ve made so far this year. Without further ado…

The Good

My Bow Dress, My Sister’s Vintage Pattern Dress and my Mad Men Skirt are my favourites so far because they went together easily, I’ve gotten heaps of wear out of them and I (or in the case of my sister’s dress) she actually likes it!

The Bad

My cape is here because I thought, for a long time, that I had bitten off more than I could chew. It is getting there, but I was not counting on felted wool being as hard to manage as this is! Seriously – rangling it is a real endurance test!

The only reason my orange singlet isn’t in the catagory below is that I love the silk I made it out of. However, this top ended up the Bad because of my experience with the bias seam binding – disappointing.

The Ugly

I don’t even know where to begin with this dresss. Click the link to read all about the failblog that this was. And in case you were wondering – yes, it is still unfinished.

I feel a bit mean for putting this dress in the Ugly category. I was so proud when I finished it because it was the first dress I had made since I took up sewing again and the first dress I had made in about 6 years and I made it in about 10 days flat (record!). However, when I look at it with my six-months-more-learned eyes I wish I finished the seams in some way and that I had lined it. It’s ugly on the inside.

So that’s my last six months. I’ve made a lot of other things too and learnt
so much in the process. Thanks for reading this blog and all your words of support!

What have been your favourite items you’ve sewn this year?

Inspiration: White Sequins

I confess I’m quite a magpie. I adore sequins. If it were socially acceptable I would wear sequins to work as well as out at night. In order to bridge the gap between party-wear and are work-appropriate I found some nice understated, yet bespangled tops. Enjoy.