A Christmas dress for F

Leave a comment December 2, 2018 apinchofsewing

December is here and it won’t be long until Christmas! We still don’t have plans for this holiday but we are looking forward to spending quality time together.

The fact that we don’t have plans doesn’t mean that we can’t have lovely dresses to wear, right? Even if we stay home, I always like to dress something smart for Christmas day and this year is no exception. As part of my latest Sew Crafty Design Team I made F a lovely Christmas dress, using a super soft double gauze.

The fabric is 100% cotton and is so soft! F will be well dress but still very comfortable. Perfect! The colour is Eucalyptus and works wonderfully for this season but still works great to wear any other time.

The pattern I used is the Louise by Ikatee in size 9. I made the dress option with shoulder and collar ruffle but omitted the ruffle on the back.

F adores wearing ruffles (the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…) and asked for a little sleeve ruffle and that was the only change I made to the pattern.

The closure is at the back with buttons and I took the opportunity to use the mother of pearl buttons that Sew Crafty now has available. Don’t know about you, but these are my favourite buttons for dresses and blouses and lately I can’t get them easily so I was really pleased to see they now have them available.

I have to be honest and say that because the fabric is so soft, I should have been more careful for this pattern. For example, I should have stay stitched the neckline to prevent stretching but still, we are both very happy with this dress and I’m ordering some more fabric to make something for M as well.

Although I took the photos outside, with natural light, the colour didn’t come true, so I took some inside photos and was able to get a better match.

Hope you’re having a god time getting ready for Christmas. Enjoy the season 😊

A Summer outfit for F

Leave a comment May 24, 2018 apinchofsewing

F is in need of some Summer clothes as most of hers from last year don’t fit anymore and therefor, will be used by M. On the other hand, I know that if I have coordinated outfits for the girls, those will get more wear. So, for this Sew Crafty Design Team Project, I used some fabrics that I love and know it will easily coordinate with M’s outfits.

I’ve been wanting to make the Laurel Blouse by Jilly Atlanta for some time now and Sew Crafty has this gorgeous dobby cotton lawn and, as you most likely already know, it’s one of my favourite fabrics.

According to F’s chest measurements, I made a size 6 but added some length as her height fits in a size 7 and the fit is just right.

The fabric is not as light as some dobby cotton I’ve worked with, but still lightweight and nice to work with.

The pattern has the option for lined yoke or finishing with bias and I opted for a lined yoke as I prefer the way it looks. Just realised, looking at the photos, that I need to redo the front yoke lining. It is not laying right and it is bothering me… my fault!

To complete the outfit, I made the Graphite Shorts by Made by Toya using Essex Linen from Robert Kaufman and I do wish I had a pair of shorts like this for myself!

Like the previous ones I’ve made her, these ones are a size 7 without alterations. She really loves these shorts and asked me to make some more. She definitely feels very comfortable wearing them. Can’t blame her!

The fabric is a mixture of linen and cotton, was very good to work with and we’re both very pleased with how it turned out. I honestly find it perfect for summer projects.

I’m sure she will want to wear this outfit a lot! She already asked if she can take it to school in the next non-uniform day. 😊

I’ve got a new dress!

3 Comments February 26, 2018 apinchofsewing

When I was starting to believe that things were getting better and Spring was just around the corner, this is only when we face the coldest week in the last years! Really? I could hear the birds sing and the daffodils were starting to bloom… but then again, something else was planned. Oh well, that gives me a great excuse to sew a few more Spring/Summer clothes, don’t you agree?

This time I made a dress for myself, as part of my project as Sew Crafty Design Team member. I was a bit undecided about the fabric for this project, as Sew Crafty is growing their dressmaking fabrics selection and I had a few options I would like to try, but in the end, I went for a Sevenberry Yarn Dyed Cotton fabric in colour Mid Denim.

I’m glad I chose this fabric, as it turned just as I’d pictured it. 😊 After all, you can’t go wrong with a blue shirt dress, right?

I do like shirt dresses and bought a few patterns that I want to try. One of them is the one I’m sharing today, the Cami Dress by Pauline Alice.

The pattern offers two options, one with short sleeves and one with ¾ sleeves with cuff. I know not everyone likes ¾ sleeves, but I like how it looks and doesn’t bother me, at all, when dressed with a cardigan, so I went with that option and the cuff adds a nice detail.

The bodice is fitted, with front and back waist darts. To make the dress/undress easier there is a side zip, that can be regular or invisible and I opted for an invisible one. I used one a bit longer than recommended but it worked well.

According to my measurements, I made a size 34 for bust, between size 34 and 36 for waist and although I am a straight size 36 at the hips, I went with size 34 since it is a gathered skirt. I’m happy with how it looks and how it fits.

The only thing I didn’t do as per the instructions, was interfacing both collar pieces, collar stand and cuff pieces. I only interfaced one piece, as I usually do, and for this fabric it was enough. I believe that interfacing both pieces would have caused too much bulkiness.