Tag: dresses

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Sewing Adventures – Outback Wife barkcloth dress

I had seen the Outback Wife barkcloth fabric on Instagram and it was so beautiful but the original price was a little out of my budget so I kind of forgot about it and moved on to other projects. When a Melbourne store was advertising they had the whole collection for $9 a metre my recollection came hurtling back and I was on the phone the first thing next morning.

There had been a merino wool version that I was really wanting but it had already sold out. In the end I said the wonderful sales girl over the phone give me 2 metres of whatever you have left in pinks or purples. She asked if I wanted photos and I said no let’s just go for it.
When my parcel arrived I got this white with big pink flowers and a lovely lilac based floral too. They were perfect. Now I just had to figure out the perfect dress.
I knew I didn’t want to do gathers as the fabric is too stiff but big pleats were definitely a contender. After much deliberation I did something I tell people not to do. I pinned the Deer and Doe Myosotis pattern to my own bodice block pattern, then placed that on to the fabric. Using parts from one pattern and parts from the other I ended up with a round neck bodice with short sleeves.
For the skirt I wanted maximum amount of useage so I cut the length I wear across the width of the fabric twice. Then pleated them up to fit the bodice. I didn’t really even measure them just went in by eye and adjust as needed. The centre front is an inverted box pleat and then all the other pleats are just knife pleats. This allows for good amount of swish while still sitting relatively flat around the waist. With a fabric this stiff you were always going to get some bulk. Plus the skirt has pockets!
The bodice has underbust and side bust darts but no back darts (I find for myself I don’t need them enough to be bothered about them).
Despite my rather haphazard approach to the pattern it does work. The bodice fits with being too tight, there is room in the waist seam for it to move freely without pulling, the pleats mostly disguise my lopsided torso (the weight of the fabric helps with this too) and the little sleeves are cute.
Now for the parts that don’t work as well. The neckline is a fraction too wide and I do have to be careful about what bra I wear or you can see the straps. Ideally I’d like to block it in by about 1 to 1.5cm at the shoulder seam then sort out the neckline shape a little more.
The neckline ripples above the bust when I move about. Yes a certain amount of rippling occurs in order to be able to you know breathe and move but this is just a little over that. A small pinch dart on either side of the neckline would ensure it would sit that little bit flatter. Similarly with the back neck I could take a small amount out of the centre back where the invisible zip is.
They aren’t big changes but sometimes it irks me that I know exactly what needs to be done in order to get a really good fit. The other side to that is the whole thing took me about 2 hours to make and I’ve had a tonne of wear out of it. It hangs nicely and looks good so it is my go to dress for teaching in as I just don’t have to worry about it. I just get dressed and go. It’s comfortable as long as I remember not to wear it on really really hot days when I feel the heaviness of the fabric a bit. Plus I get a tonne of compliments while wearing it, which honestly it never gets old hearing someone say lovely things about a dress you’ve made.
The good outweighs the bad and I would always rather have something finished than a UFO that never got around to be finished for fear of it not being perfect.
Also it should be said that laying one pattern on top of another and borrowing from both is NOT an ideal way to do things, so if you are going to follow my lead expect there to be some issues and maybe try it on a fabric that isn’t precious first?
Pattern: blend of my bodice with Deer and Doe Myosotis with full width pleated for skirt
Fabric: Outback Wife barkcloth from a Melbourne store originally with a short stay in the stash
Alterations: sort out neckline/shoulder area to cover bra and not have neckline gale so much while moving
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Sewing Adventures – African Wax Print and Simplicity 8048

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African wax print is not a common sight in Australia. Occasionally you may see someone wearing it but I’d never seen it for sale anywhere. That is until I missed the train at Cabramatta and had 15 minutes to use up before the next train. Rather than wait in the rain, I dashed up the street to the closest fabric stores for a quick look.

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They had some nice pieces but this one caught my eye. I asked the price and was sure she said $14, I was about to say no when I asked again and she said $4. 2.5m later I was running back to the train.
It’s a lightweight cotton lawn so a dense weave but very light. So I don’t think it’s real wax print as my impression is that is a much denser slightly heavier fabric?

The print repeat is huge so I wanted a style that didn’t cut into it too much. Simplicity 8048 was a contender as I really liked the dipped angle of the front skirt.

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The angle is a separate piece that is inserted into a circle skirt. Pinning the panel straight onto the skirt pattern I eliminated the seams and made it one continuous pattern piece across the front.

Once again I used my own bodice block. I raised the neckline slightly to help balance out the oversize print but made no other alterations to the basic bodice. It’s not fitting perfect right now but I think a bit of winter pudginess has crept on and I’m hoping once that drops the fit will be ideal again.

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Once the pattern matching was done (seriously that was the hardest part of the entire make). It went together in no time. Neck and armholes are finished with bias binding.

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Because I cut the front skirt as one panel the side seam had some crazy grain line action happening. To help compensate for this I let it drop for a few days before hemming. It didn’t move at all which was very encouraging. I had planned to shorted the entire skirt length after letting it drop but I ended up liking the longer length so I kept it. The invisible zip went in with ease once gain.

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I love this dress, the longer length feels swishy and the big bold print is so striking and fun.

Fabric: cotton lawn from Cabramatta. It comes in a cream/blue and khaki/pink combination also in case anyone else likes the print.

Dress Pattern: My own bodice block and skirt from Simplicity 8048

Alterations for next time: look at increasing the sway back adjustment on the block, and take 1cm wedge out of each side of CB neckline where zip is inserted.

Special thanks to my fellow Sydney Spoolettes for helping with the photos. We met up in Hyde Park and helped each other take blog photos.

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Sewing Adventures – Simplicity 1652 and 1873 mashup

I fell in love with the texture and heft of this fabric from Pitt Trading.

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It’s wonderfully thick and strong, verging on canvas like. However I was completely perplexed as to what to make from it? I knew I wanted a dress but the fabric isn’t flowing or likely to gather well?

After some time, I decided to use the bodice from Simplicity 1652

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mixed with skirt from Simplicity 1873.

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Construction wise it was really straight forward. I didn’t use any lining as it would make the dress too hot.  Here it is at work in the Pitt Trading store.

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The internal neckline and back cut out are all finished with bias binding. I didn’t have enough of the one colour so it’s a bit of a mish mash of patterns which I really like!

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The invisible zip went in like a dream. Am so glad I have my technique figured out for those now it makes everything easier when it comes to finishing up a dress.

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I was hoping to get a back shot of the dress today but it is all grey and rainy. So I popped it on my mannequin so you could see the back cut out. I’m bigger than my mannequin so the dress doesn’t fit her but I suspect that  gape at the zip occurs on me too and that’s one of the sections I’d pinch out next time I make this one.

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Fabric: pink and black cotton from Pitt Trading

Dress Pattern: Simplicity Amazing Fit 1652 and Cynthia Rowley by Simplicity 1873

Alterations:  mixed the 2 patterns together. Next time reduce the back width at the top of the zip by 1cm total and the top of the cut outs by 2cm total.

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Sewing Adventures – Simplicity 1873 insertion trim edition

Sydney has been hot, like hot hot and it’s unrelenting so even overnight it doesn’t cool down very much so it’s been an endless amount of feeling too warm. Which is kind of nice because yay summer and also kind of over it, would like to not constantly feel hot and sticky.

It was on one of these hot days that I was working at Pitt Trading and by the end of the day I declared it was far too hot to be wearing a skirt and a top. I purchased one of my favourite new fabrics that has only just arrived instore along with some insertion trim with the plan of making a dress. If you want the same fabric you can get it here or come instore.

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Pressed for time and wanting a sure fire sewing win I went with Simplicity 1873 which I have made before with much success. Construction wise it was very much like what I’ve done before. Slight sway back adjustment, invisible zip at centre back, no linings or facings I’ve just used bias binding around the neck and armholes. I was pretty happy with my invisible zip.

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The only big departure from previous editions was the addition of the insertion trim. I cut the skirt panels 5cm longer than I normally do, constructed the entire dress and then proceeded to measure 10cm up from the raw edge of the skirt. I cut along this line and overlocked the new hem of the skirt.

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To place the insertion trim in, I stitched the edge of the trim just above the finished line of overlocking, turned it under and topstitched it down. Then taking the 10 cm circle I cut off, pressed it half with the iron reducing the height to 5cm, overlocked the top edge and pinned it to the lower edge of the trim.

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Some slight fiddling with the seams helped it line up correctly as it was slightly larger in circumference than the insertion trim due to the nature of the flared panels of the skirt. Repeated the stitching, then topstitching and hey presto insertion trim and pretty hem.

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I’m so happy with it as the insertion trim really lifts it out of the homemade arena and into a more fashion item. It’s certainly the type of garment that I’m aiming towards with my makes this year, more fashion less plain sewing.

Fabric: Polished cotton from Pitt Trading, insertion trim also from Pitt Trading who have one if not the biggest number of trims instore anywhere in Australia.

Dress Pattern: Cynthia Rowley by Simplicity 1873

Alterations:  Added the insertion trim as explained, other alterations as per previous editions of this pattern, I cut the skirt width as per the pattern this time and didn’t add extra volume.

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Summer dresses

Today is going to be a scorching 39 degrees Celsius here in Sydney.

So naturally I’ve been up early, put up heavy sunblock curtains on the windows that face the sun and had all the blinds pulled down low since the sun came up.

With a day packed filled with meetings I did my weights session early, got the washing out on the line and selected a cool cotton dress to wear.

Walking into the city I saw so many women dressed in the most simple and stunning dresses. A red patterned strapless maxi dress was paired with a cleverly tied lightweight cotton scarf to create the illusion of straps and offer some sun protection.

A mustard multi layer voile dress had a fitted bodice and a tightly gathered skirt and looked the picture of summer ease, as it was atop a mint green step through bicycle with a wicker basket on the front.

Even now on the train I can see a zip front navy sweetheart neckline dress with teeny tiny yellow flowers scattered across it, a simple shift in a Liberty style floral and I’m wearing my pink Cynthia Rowley.

Thank goodness for the ease and style of a nice dress, it really makes the heat easier to cope with.

Stay cool today and try and avoid the heat!

(Update: what I had thought was a simple shift in a Liberty style floral, actually had a front filled with inserted lace details. Pretty!).

Here are some fantastic summer dresses, photos by The Sartorialist

summer dress