Assembly Line Apron Dress

I loved the aesthetic of the Assembly Line Apron Dress when it was first released, but it is rather an expensive pattern, and shipping costs would have made it more so.  Now that I live in a city and am not necessarily limited to online and holiday shopping, a whole new lot of resources have opened up to me.  I was delighted when I found this pattern stocked at Calico and Ivy.

I had this fabric in stash, patiently waiting for some version of a pinafore.  I purchased it a while back from Miss Matatabi.  The large white squares printed on the fabric are not printed evenly across the width of the fabric.  It is a large scale print, and I couldn't visualise how it was going to look made up.  I could have spent days overthinking, but life is short, so I just took to it with the scissors and cut the front with the print symmetrical and the back with the print not symmetrical (thinking symmetry at the back might have the opposite of a slimming effect).  Due to the width of the fabric, I had to cut the dress out on the cross grain, but I don't think that this is a problem.

I cut a straight size M, with my only fitting changes being the length of the straps and the placement of the buttons.  The straps are only basted in place because it always takes me a while to be happy with the length. I have changed them once already.  In keeping with the work wear aesthetic of the design, I used spare buttons from some King Gee uniforms.  I like these buttons because you thread a piece of ribbon through the button and sew the ribbon to the clothing, rather than hand stitch the button in place.  The pockets are positioned on the garment so that they are not quite flat, which allows room for the hand to slip into the pocket.  If I make this again, I might exaggerate that a bit more, as I still find it a bit hard to put my hands in the pockets.  

My family is a bit nonplussed by this garment.  They are not sure why I would want to wear an apron out of the house.  

Stylearc Teddy Top

Pattern: Stylearc Teddy Designer Top
Fabric: Nani Iron Beau Yin Yang Kokka linen with dot from Miss Matatabi

Comments:  This pattern comes in two lengths.  My top is actually between the two lengths.

La Mia Boutique shorts

This is the first pattern I have ever made up from La Mia Boutique.  It is from Anno XXXII - N. 7 Luglio 2017 - model 2.

I have a RTW pair of shorts that have ripped on the pocket and lost the elasticity in the waistband, and I thought that this shorts pattern would be a good base to copy them.  Here is a picture of the RTW inspiration pair.

I copied the front patch pocket detail, which is an unusual shape, from the RTW pair.

The back pockets are as per the pattern, only without the top-stitching.

The fabric is a Nani Iro cotton sateen, with a lovely sheen and a painted on dot.  I got mine from Miss Matatabi.  The fabric is a lighter weight and more sheer than I woulds normally use for shorts, but it is very similar in weight to the RTW pair, which I wore a lot.

I will change out the drawsrting for a closer colour match next time I get to a fabric store.

These shorts will most likely be part of my wardrobe entry at PR.  Here they are being worn with two of the other wardrobe pieces (which I have yet to blog).

Vogue 8994 in double gauze

In a recent pattern sale, I trawled through the pattern books and left the store with armfuls of Vogue patterns.  This is most unlike me.  I am not a spontaneous shopper, and usually research patterns obsessively before committing to purchase.  At these prices though, I thought it didn't matter if I got a few duds, and for a couple of patterns, I even bought them in two size ranges (bloody pear shape).  

When I got home and did a little internet research into Vogue 8994, I was surprised at how few reviews there were.  The reviews were consistent though; each of the reviewers had trouble with the fit, which is a shame for such a simple style.  Mostly there were issues with the low armholes and neck.  

I got out my sloper and made some length changes in the upper bodice.  I can't remember the details, but I know I took a fair whack out, maybe even as much as 10 cm.  Possibly more than I needed to, but I don't like necklines high up on the back of my neck

The fabric is a double gauze.  Double gauze is a pretty new fabric for me, so I am still experimenting, but I'd have to say that it is a dud choice for dresses, even summer beachy ones.  The fabric is very clingy, so even if it is not sheer, it shows up every body curve.  It wrapped itself around my tummy and thighs and I was hard put to find a photo I could use.  So many photos had the dress wedged up in my bum crack that I don't think I can actually wear this dress in public.

Which is a shame, because it took a concentrated effort to get all those stripes to match.  The fabric had a diagonal stripe.  I should have planned it more.  Next time I will draw up lined paper and sketch the pattern pieces in place, because I had fully cut one front and one back before I realised that I would have to cut the other front and back on the cross grain to get the diagonals to work.  Only, not even at a 90° angle to the first pieces, because I don't think the diagonals were 45°.  So one set of pieces are lengthwise and the other set are skewed at about 15° to the cross grain.  It is a wonder I was able to cut the pieces out of my 2 m of fabric.  I have chevrons at the front and back, but I had no hope of matching the side seams, because the angle of the stripes changes quite dramatically down the side length, which you can see if you look carefully at the photo below.  This different grains do give the dress a lovely swingy drape.

I cut the length at the indications for lining length.  I didn't use a lining, instead finishing the edges with self made bias.

I think that the pattern has potential, and I would like to make it up in another fabric.  I have a black rayon twill that I bought to make a jumpsuit, but really, I am not a jumpsuit sort of person, so I am wondering if I should use the twill for another version of this dress.  I don't much wear plain black though.  Maybe I should just sit on it until the right fabric comes along.

Vogue 1507 for me

I made my own version of V1507 this week.  It was fun to make, but I don't think that it is something I will wear much.  There is too much of it, and it is too frou-frou for me, with the layers, and the floral and the gingham.  The fabrics are from Miss Matatabi, with the main being a rayon challis and the contrast and gingham seersucker.  Maybe I should have stuck to a plain fabric.

I used a trim on the sides of the front panel, because I though breaking up the print on its own would look a bit funny.

The slits in the sleeve mean that the sleeves are very comfortable to wear.  No restrictions at all.

I faced the back ties with the gingham, both for a burst of colour and for a more structured tie.

One little extra thing I added was some stays to the shoulder, to tuck under my bra straps.  I'm never coordinated enough to do up those little ribbons and studs that you wrap around your bra strap.  Instead, I covered a short piece of boning in fabric and stitched it to the edge of the neckline.  I just tuck the boning under my bra straps to keep the blouse a little more secure on my shoulders.

Vogue 1507 (Rachel Comey)

When Vogue 1507 was first released, I thought it looked kind of ugly.  Spotlight had a great sale on Vogue patterns recently, and I really took my time going through the pattern books, buying up any patterns I thought I might use (I think they worked out at $6 a pattern, which is really cheap for here.  Sadly, not all the designs I picked out were in store.)  I sometimes buy the designer patterns to read, even if I don't think I will make them, because often they have interesting construction or design details.  Vogue 1507 has a lot of great details and beautiful construction techniques, and I decided to give it a whirl.

I chose a cotton + steel rayon challis, which has a much softer drape than the fabric used for the pattern envelope, so the resulting garment has quite a different look.

My daughter has grown so much this year, that she has gone from being way too tiny for adult patterns to a size 8 in just a few months.  I cut the size 8.  I basted the under layer and back sections together and did a quick fitting.  I took up the shoulders to about the size 4 line, so I used the size 4 sleeves (I think that the back yoke pattern piece has the wrong sizes printed on it.  The main pattern pieces are sized 4 - 12, and the yoke 6 - 14).  The grading on this pattern looked a little odd, in that the front neckline width hardly changed from size 4 to size 12.  It gaped on her, so I took in the under-layer at the CF and the over-layer on the seams for the centre front panel.

I put a few stitches in the CB, so she can just pull the top on without having to tie the back knot.  The back knot is not sitting at its most prettiest in this photo.  

Here you can see the split sleeve.  I only had enough fabric for one layer in the sleeves.  Also, I shortened the sleeves by about 10 cm, so that they would not overwhelm her.

I used a contrast fabric for the front panel.  It took a lot of auditioning of scraps from my remnant pile to find something that worked here.  In the end, I have layered a cotton voile over the top of a peach rayon.

The pattern instructions give beautiful finishing techniques, but I did not use them because, well, sewing for teenagers.  The over-locker really sped things up, and I used a rolled hem instead of narrow hemming the edges.  I did not have the right colour thread for the rolled hems and used a pale blue for the upper looper, a pink for the lower looper and which for the needle thread, and it looks okay.

Now I am wondering if I should make a yellow floral version for myself, before I put the pattern away?

Vogue 9258 loose tank top, twice

It is so long since I made up a Vogue pattern, but Vogue was my original pattern crush, and even holding the paper packet in my hands sparks a glimmer of excitement to this day.  I still buy the designer Vogue patterns, but I rarely make them up because I don't really have a designer Vogue lifestyle.  Very Easy Vogue is more where I am at.

Vogue 9258 is a simple tank top, but the diagonal seam lines, front and back, and flared design really appealed to me.

My first version was made from two white remnants, both from Tessuti.  Well, one was a remnant when I bought it, but the other was leftover from a top my daughter sewed herself in the holidays.

I thought those seam lines were just screaming out for some entre-deux.  I used the selvedge of one of the fabrics to hem the top. 

The fabric used for the side panels was a cotton voile, with a textured dot.  It seemed a bit lightweight for the other fabric.  I looked through some other white fabrics, but I liked the texture of the dots.  One of my other fabrics was a double gauze, which gave me the idea to quilt the Swiss dot voile to a piece of linen.  It doesn't really show up in the photos, but I quilted the two fabrics together in vertical rows at about 5 cm intervals.  

You can see the dart in the front panel.

I made a few fitting changes when I traced off the pattern.  As I traced the pattern, I reduced the seam allowance for the binding down from 15 mm to 6 mm.  I didn't take any of the seam allowance off below the underarm, which effectively raised the underarm by about 1 cm.  The underarm is still on the low side.  I squared the shoulder seam a little.  I made a narrow chest adjustment.  I added to the width of the back by sewing the seam of the diagonal back seams at 6 mm instead of 15 mm.  It seemed easier to sew a Size 12 with a broad back adjustment than a Sz 14 with a small bust adjustment.

This was a really enjoyable sew for me.  I had spent the previous fortnight sewing swimwear, so it was lovely to switch back to well behaved cottons and take time with the details (the quilting, the entre-deux and top-stitched seams, the hem, the binding).

My second version was made with double gauze, from Miss Matatabi.  This was my first time sewing with double gauze.  Clearly, it wrinkles!!  This top was ironed before I put it on for the day.  The fabric has a cute, wavy stripe running through it.  I thought about stripe matching my side seams, but then opted to go conservative with pattern layout, so that another garment could be sewn from my fabric.

I cut the main panels and side panels on different grains.  The fabric must have a looser weave in one direction than the other, because none of my seam lengths matched when I sent to sew them.  Also, my armholes ended up lower on this top than the first version, which is okay for a casual summer top, but I wouldn't want them this low normally.

I love the sorbet colours of the print, but in hindsight, the fabric designer probably intended for this fabric to me made into baby wraps.  

I haven't put the pattern pieces away, so there might be a third version yet!  It is a great summer basic.

Named Inari Tee

I bought this fabric the moment I saw it, because I thought it would pair so nicely with my peach jeans.  Which it does, but it was warm the day I sewed this up and I was wearing these shorts.  The fabric is from Miss Matatabi, and is a rayon, cotton, wool blend..

The pattern is the Inari Tee, lengthened by 15 cm.  I had read quite a few comments about the restrictiveness of the sleeves, but I decided that this first time, I would make the pattern up as-is. I go through phases of making muslins, but at the moment, I am in a not-making-muslin phase.  I did make a forward shoulder adjustment, as you might be able to see as the pink penciled line in the photo below, which worked out quite well. I took some off the back of the sleeve and added some to the front.  The sleeves are restrictive, as you can see by the wrinkles in them, but this fabric has a bit of give, so it works out okay.  I will change them for next time.

My daughter used the scraps to sew up Jalie 3352 - a dolman sleeved top.  Actually, she finished hers before I finished mine, because I had to stop and cook dinner.  This is her third Jalie 3352 top, so I should do a post on those soon.

Stylearc Elani Tunic

This garment is a real departure in style for me.  We only have cool weather for a few weeks of the year, and every year my wardrobe comes up short.  I thought it should make some tops with sleeves.  Not that this really has sleeves.  This is the Elani Tunic from Stylearc.

When I discovered Miss Matatabi last year, I ordered some Kokka 3 min. corduroy (you can see my corduroy dress here). They had a picture of the blue colourway made up into an oversized top which quite took my fancy.  I didn't buy the pattern at the time, but kept thinking about it, until I decided that the Stylearc Elani would give me the same sort of effect.

 

After reading Meg's review of the Elani Tunic, I left off the pockets.  My cuffs don't fold back.  This wasn't intentional.  I block fused some rayon to use for the neck, hem and sleeve facings, thinking that they would sit better in a lighter fabric than the corduroy.  I did remember about the cuffs before I sewed the sleeve facings on, but by then I had made facings in the rayon and couldn't be bothered making another set.  Not a big deal, I know, but sometimes you need to get finished and get on with other stuff. 

I don't think my tunic looks as good as either Meg's or the Stylearc model.  Not sure if it is just fabric choice, or body type or if I should have sized down.  Anyway, hubby liked it and was surprised I changed out of it to go out to dinner.

Stylearc Angela Blouse

Confession Time...do you have any sewn garments that are still UFOs just for the sake of a little hand-stitching?  I made this shirt back in January, and it has taken me until now to sew the buttons on.  It's not that I hate hand sewing.  I use to carry it around with me to do whilst I was stuck waiting for someone.  Now my kids are older, I am doing a whole lot of dropping off and picking up, and not so much waiting anymore.  It took a gymnastics competition and a dance recital for me to get these buttons sewn on.

I have never been great at shirt-making, so I followed along the Craftsy course "Sew Better, Sew Faster: Shirtmaking with Janet Pray".  I think that worked, because this is the nicest shirt I have sewn. I meant to sew several more shirts straight afterwards, to cement the techniques learnt in my brain, but was distracted by other sewing whims.  Guess I'll have to watch the course again.  I do like Janet's courses, but find I have to watch them at 1.5 pace, because of my impatience.

The pattern is the Angela Blouse by Stylearc.  I chose my size based on shoulder measurement, rather than bust measurement, and am really happy with the fit (I would be at least a size smaller based on bust measurement).  I made no fitting changes to the pattern, because I was concentrating on construction technique, rather than fitting (can't do too much at once!).  I did change the cuff to a regular width, instead of the wide cuff that comes with the pattern.   I meant to lengthen the sleeve to accommodate this change but forgot.  Happily, the sleeves are not too short and mostly I will wear them rolled up anyhow.

The fabric is from Miss Matatabi.  It is sublime.  Even nicer than Liberty.  I didn't pre-wash the fabric, as I thought cutting it un-washed would improve my chances of stripe-matching.

Speaking of which...there is a whole lotta stripe-matching awesomeness going on.  Both horizontal and vertical.  At the front....

At the sides...

Even on the cuff placket, which makes it almost invisible.

So glad I got the buttons sewn on and can finally wear this.