Favourite make

Finally my favourite make of 2016 made it to the blog! I have been meaning to write about this dress for a while but life got in the way, as it does from time to time.  It's one of those dresses that makes me feel sexy and good about myself the moment I put it on. I think everyone needs at least one piece of clothing like that!

The pattern is from Burda 10/2012 #118. I made it few times before (here and here) and I love them all. As usual I skipped the darts in the back in favour of more waist shaping and extended the facing by 5 cm to make it sit below the bust not across it. I played with the length of the sleeves but kept the original hem length. Because I'm quite short the dress is knee length but it grows to midi-length due to my fabric choice.

The fabric is the softest rayon knit ever with nice amount of stretch to it. And it came from the fabric sale so the total cost of my dress is about $7! The only problem was that my sewing machine hated it with a passion. It was made mostly on overlocker but the hems had to be sewn by my machine. The easiest way would be to use twin needle but the walking feet doesn't play nicely with them. So I went for triple zigzag stitch and it's kind of ok. No one really pays attention to hems anyway, right?

I made this dress back in August and it was worn to my firm's 120th anniversary. I apologize for the photo overload but in was one of the rare cases when all the photos turn out great so I'm having trouble to choose only a handful - not a bad problem to have!

Have you met Sophie?

Would you like to see my latest project? Here is it:

Sophie cardigan is the newest family member of Muse Patterns. It has raglan sleeves and it comes with several options - three necklines, two types of pockets and two different closures to choose from. It means you can make this cardi gazillion* times and nobody will know you used same pattern ;)

*I might have exaggerated  a bit here

Sophie was an easy make. Instructions are detailed and they include drawings. I chose V-neck zip up version with patch pockets. The pattern is designed for those lucky tall ladies and I am only 160 cm so I had to take some length off. I took 5 cm intentionally and then another few accidentally ;) I shortened sleeves by 7 cm which means they are now too short - when will I learn to measure twice and cut once???

According to my measurements I should have made size 42 but my high-bust measurement suggested going down two sizes.
I made size 38 with 5 cm partial FBA with no added length...
That created a dart...
That dart took some length off the side seam...

Can you see where I am going with it?  I completely forgot that it will make the side shorter therefore I should have added that length or adjust the back piece. I ended up with a cardi that is shorter than intended. There is an old saying in Polish that covers it perfectly - 'A Pole is wise after the event!'

I used some mysterious but very very pretty fabric I got during The Fabric Warehouse sale last year. It is textures and a bit stretchy but quite stable. That watercolour floral print is absolutely amazing and I regret not buying more. The only reason it's been sitting in  my stash for almost a year is that I couldn't decide what to make with it! I wanted a dress, then a jacket, skirt and trousers ;)

This is not the last Sophie you will see here. It is such a versatile pattern. I especially love Jenna's version. Isn't it gorgeous? I might have to go fabric shopping - Sophie would look awesome in royal blue merino, right?

Sorry for stupid face but I realized I didn't take a photo wearing this cardi open ;)

Flower-power

Guess what? I made another Granville! This time using beautiful navy poly-cotton covered in flowers and birds. The fabric was just too pretty to leave behind :)

Sorry for a bad photo!

Despite its beauty it was really annoying to cut pattern pieces. The pattern on the fabric appeared symmetric but it wasn't! My main goal here was to have the pattern balanced and I also wanted to avoid unfortunate flower placement. I think this was achieved.

I had some fitting issues twice before when I made that pattern. I assumed it would all be fixed with proper full bust adjustment. I was in fact so sure that I didn't even consider other options. Turns out I was wrong. 6 cm FBA fixed the gaping and I'm really happy about it. I also shaved about 1 cm on the back panels but there is still some bagging that bothers me. I should probably go back to size 12 as 14 feels a bit too loose.
The problem is that my arm movement is restricted. I think there is not enough ease in the sleeve head. Unfortunately I cut the fabric for two more shirts before I got to this conclusion...

Anyway, I like wearing this shirt. Sewing didn't cause any problems, the fabric pressed nicely and was easy to deal with. All the seams inside are flat-felled so the shirt looks nice inside too. Initially I wanted navy or transparent buttons but while going through my button stash I found some green ones. They matched so I went with them. I think they look great :)  As I mentioned before there will be two more Granvilles and after that I think I'll look for another pattern. My obsession with shirts is definitely not going away ;)

0 Degrees Challenge

Welcome to the WSBN most exciting challenge yet! You can read all about it on Leimomi's blog. The idea itself is quite simple - we are based in Wellington, we shop in the same local fabric shops and we often have same patterns. So we wondered if we can create links between the members of our group. Spoiler alert - it worked!

I am the second one in our chain! The whole think started with Sophie's Granville shirt sewn with pretty floral cotton voile bought in the Fabric Store. I had bought the same fabric with the same pattern in mind so we have a copy cat link ;)

Having made Granville shirt before I decided to make some changes:

• I cut size 14 with 5 cm FBA
• kept size's 12 shoulder seam length
• reduced the curve on the bottom of the shirt as it was sticking out funny
• moved the waist 2,5 cm up
• shortened the sleeves but they are still too long (my punishment for not taking notes on changes made on my first Granville)

I think the fit is much nicer now but I still have some slight gaping issues (photo below). I also think that my shirt is a bit too roomy around waist so I might go back to size 12 there when sewing my next one.

Sewing this shirt included some sewing drama. When I got to the sleeves and was just about to set them in I noticed a rip in the fabric!!! I was being careful with it so I have no idea where it came from. I was about to cry as I thought it was ruined. Luckily the group helped me find some good ideas how to deal with it including adding a lace appliqué, lace ribbon or a strip of contrasting fabric. I chose adding a strip of the same fabric that really blended in thanks to a busy pattern. So let's call it a design feature ;) There is another one of those. I'm not even sure why I am telling you all of that - no one would notice it in real life! So the second design feature is the buttons and buttonholes on the cuffs. Can you believe I double checked if I got the right side to put the buttonholes and still I sewn them on the wrong side? Yeah, I'm that kind of a person! 

Can you see the fix?

Design feature number 2 ;)

Hop over to Sandra to see how she is linked to me and keep an eye out for updates on Leimomi's blog :)