Thursday, February 25, 2016

Sending out an SOS

Hello! On this sad (for us), good (for Bruce) day when tickets for The Boss's Wembley show sold out before we could get any, here is a cheeeery jumpsuit! 

I was a bit under the weather on Monday, which gave me a chance to realise MY VISION. Which was of this super alphabet fabric from new-to-me shop Fabworks, combined with the Sallie/Hudson jumpsuit. MY VISION turned out to need testing and new glasses... 


Oh woe. Definitely more Alpha-Barney than Alpha-Betty.

More of a chumpsuit than a jumpsuit ho HO! I didn't make much change to the pattern after my last version of this, apart from to extend the trouser rise by 1" to circumvent the wedgie problem I had with the last one. And it STILL wasn't enough. I guess I have a relatively long torso - like a chimp. This is a better fit, but for the next version (I fancy one in something from Fabworks's animal print selection!) I'll raise it a bit more.

Let's see a fabric close-up - the fabric is really nice!


Can you read the top row please? Oh my poor "i"s...

I tried to get a photo of my bum in this jumpsuit which didn't make it look like a distended sack of scrabble tiles, but, like getting a Bruce at Wembley ticket without first getting it on with a roadie,

let's

NOT

ASK 

THE 

IMPOSSIBLE


I'll take a P please.

Anyway, although this may not be the world's most successful garment (unflattering, a bit see-through, just generally a bit weird), it sure is Born for Fun, Dancing in the Park, and Glory Days! So wrap your legs round these velvet rims, and strap your hands 'cross my engines! 

Saturday, February 6, 2016

Gingham and dungs

Hello fellow sewers! 


I'm here to show a second dress made from the same pattern as the last one. The top is a hack of the Anna bodice, with a gathered rectangle skirt again, this time in nice gingham from The Cloth House


I didn't really make much in the way of changes after the last version, bar taking a 1/2 cm wedge from the shoulder seams on both front and back bodice. Also I remembered to stay stitch the neckline this time - I think the combination of these two moves eliminated the small bit of neckline bagging that the last dress suffers from.


I also added a long tie made with the remnants from 1.5m of fabric - wrapped twice round I think it adds a nice touch. I tried out buttons but they didn't seem to work for this dress, so the tie was a way to add some interest. 


Next up are these dungarees from the excellent Marilla Walker's Roberts Collection. I cut a size 3 on the top tapering to a 4 for the bottom half. I think this was an error, and next time (I'd like to make the jumpsuit for summer) I will cut a 3 throughout.


I used a nice medium weight cotton from Goldhawk Road, and these chaps are very comfortable, though they are also a little big. But I think they'll come into their own in summer, and I was excited about my first go using snaps - a pleasure to get hammering with those. 


The thin straps and high back are a particular feature of this pattern that I love!

I finally took the plunge and ordered some fabric from Miss Matatabi, so I'm looking forward to making something with it - there are some weddings coming up and I'd really like to sew some special things for them... the top dress pattern was made with that in mind, but I'm not sure it's dressy enough for a wedding... plans plans plans!