I love this dress, and not just because I get to spin around whilst wearing it…
I initially bought this fabric about a year ago to make a Lilou dress, but it ended up sitting in my stash box, unused and a bit unloved. Then I wanted to make a wearable toile and it seemed a good fabric fit; I wasn’t wrong!
What is it?
A sleeveless shift dress with a pleated skirt
Is it blue?
No
What’s the fabric and where is it from?
A floral midweight cotton. I think I got it in the Fancy Silk Store, but I’ve seen it in a couple of places and multiple colourways.
I couldn’t get over how quickly this came together, nor how neatly the seams all looked. Not having to make a lining for a dress was a bit of a revelation!
What was bad about making this?
I misjudged the ease so had to lose two inches off the bodice once I’d made it (i.e. drop it a dress size with some seam pinching). Although, from another angle, that just means there’s two inches less of me than I thought!
One of the sewing resolutions that I set myself for this year was to try and build some more me-made plain coloured staples into my wardrobe as a balance for the super fun but not always practical patterned dresses I love. This was one such adventure, into the land of practical workwear (pictured above with my Mimi blouse hack)
What is it?
A just-below-knee-length flared skirt
Is it blue?
Yup!
What’s the fabric and where is it from?
A navy blue crepe bought from a stall in Leicester market – I think run by someone called Stuart?
The pockets were a new skill for me, and really straightforward once I got my head around the instructions.
What was bad about making this?
I didn’t really like it once it was finished; there’s just something about the way the fabric joins in almost – but not quite – a reverse pleat in the centre that I cant get on board with. I’ve warmed to it a bit in the two months in between, but it definitely doesn’t get worn as much as some of the other skirts I’ve made (although whether that’s true after Me Made May remains to be seen!)
Would you make it again?
I’m not sure. I might make one of the shorter versions, but I think I probably prefer a gathered skirt to this one.
I love gingham. It’s amazing and summery and makes me feel like holidays are just around the corner (almost certainly due to gingham dresses being summer uniform at school). Coupled with the sweetheart neckline loveliness of the Cambie dress pattern, it was a match made in heaven, and to be honest, the main surprise is that it took me so long to make it!
What is it?
A dress with a sweetheart neckline and a gathered skirt
Is it blue?
Nope
What’s the fabric and where is it from?
The fabric is a cotton gingham that I got as part of the stash swap at Sew Brum
What’s the pattern?
The Cambie dress by Sewaholic Patterns in variation B
What was good about making this?
I really enjoyed the simple way that this pattern came together, and had a surprisingly good time trying to pattern match the gingham up. I didn’t have any faith in the description of the way that the skirt would gather up, but actually it was lovely and the pockets are a delight (seriously, who doesn’t love a dress with pockets?
What was bad about making this?
I had a nightmare getting the lining to attach to the bodice at the waist, and in the end I made the decision to leave it unattached except for a small section in the centre. It worked well and is definitely how I’d do this if I made another cambie without a skirt lining.
Would you make it again?
Yes as this was a wearable toile for the unicorn dress….
I have a search. A search for the perfect shirt dress. As an item of clothing I blooming love them but as a thing to make I’d felt pretty daunted by it as a possibility.
I’m going to say right now that this dress is not the perfect shirt dress. In fact, this dress very nearly got consigned to the WIP pile for all eternity and even once complete it very nearly caused a meltdown and immediate binning.
But more of that when we get there, for now….
What is it?
A black floral shirt dress with V-shape neckline and full length sleeves
Is it blue?
No (note to self: this is becoming a bit of a trend at the moment. Must buy more blue fabric)
What’s the fabric?
A super soft cotton (polyester? rayon? I have no idea) that’s black with white and red flowers (best description I can think of for them)
I got it at the Birmingham Rag Market during SewBrum for the princely price of £1 per metre!
What was good about making this?
I got to try out a new skill with this dress; making sleeve plackets! I realised I hadn’t quite read the instructions correctly about half way through, but I was pretty please when I did it, as evidenced by my immediate wearing of said sleeve…
What was bad about making this?
Where to start? With the collar piece that I cut to the wrong size because the schematic diagram for the layout wasn’t particularly clear? The confusion around finishing the facing? It doesn’t help that I got so far with making it and then ran out of time before Christmas, so left it unhemmed and unbuttonholed (?) for about a month. By which time I was fed up of it and bored, a feeling repeated when I hand sewed on the buttons (whodathunk a shirt dress would have lots of buttons….).
The absolute moment of (near) tears though was when, having finished it, I tried it on with the belt that comes with the dress. It looked hideous. A moment of learning the hard way that I do not suit a loose bodice or fussy waistlines with extra fabric. I looked – and felt – like a giant sack of potatoes.
BUT ALL IS NOT LOST.
For then I remembered my old friend the cinch belt and lo, with a bit of a nip in and reallocation of fabric folds, the dress was completely redeemed. And now I love it. So much so that I’ve worn it a couple of times already in the fortnight since making.
Would you make it again?
Nope. This dress is not the dream shirt dress that I was hoping for and, whilst I’m pleased with the finished product, I think that I wouldn’t make it again. I have however found out about the fabled McCalls 6696 shirt dress that seems to be getting a lot of positive press in the blogsphere, so have bought a copy and plan on making that after my current (nearly finished) project.
It’s taken a while. but finally, with this post, I’m up to date on my pre-Christmas sewing, and it will come as no surprise that when I decided I wanted to sew a dress for New Year’s Eve I decided to combine two of my favourite things; shiny things and swooshy dresses!
What is it?
A Moneta jersey dress with three quarter sleeves and the peter pan collar hack
Is it blue?
No
What’s the pattern? Moneta by Colette (definitely becoming a favourite, especially now I’ve got a peter pan hack!)
Where’s the fabric from?
One of the shops in Walthamstow. The man who sold it to me was a fabulous geezer and as I said in the Astoria post, everything in there was £5 a metre or less!
What was good about making this?
As ever with Moneta, it came together quickly and easily, and it was good to try out a collar hack. I was still pleased with the gold topstitching I trialled on the Astoria, but, most importantly I got to use my overlocker!
What was bad about making this?
Having to wait so long to use the overlocker. Seriously, it arrived here mid December, but due to Christmas rules, I wasn’t allowed to get it out of the box until I came back from my parents’ house. Pretty testing times. I mean, look how excited I was when it arrived:
Would you make it again?
I have a feeling that yes, this won’t be the last time a Moneta appears on this blog!
One final photo for you all; I got the boy to take a couple to try and get the dress in its best light, but my absolute favourite photo (bar the one of the two of us being silly) was the out take!
I’ll be upfront. I’m not about to hand over a box of Milk Tray to every reader. However, don’t you agree that my new dress is very Cadbury purple? Particularly as, for reasons beyond my ken, the camera appears to have over exposed in the background.
I digress…
What is it?
A lovely swingy swooshy jersey dress
Is it blue?
No, Cadbury purple (which I guess could be argued at blue if you get that far round the spectrum?)
How quickly it came together! I sat down at 3pm on Saturday and by 5:30pm I had a dress that was ready to wear out to dinner with friends (if we ignore the fact that I was lazy and didn’t hem the skirt until the Sunday….).
What was bad about making this?
Although I’ve made the Moneta before, this is the first time I’ve done it on my own machine and also the first time I’ve sewn jersey on my machine. It was fine for the most, but there were a couple of ‘oh yes, that’s how you do it’ with the shirred waistband as well as a ‘why won’t you work?!’ when using the twin needles on the hem (along with a note to self to read the instruction manual before doing twin needle sewing again….)
Would you make it again?
Yup, I’ve already got the fabric to make it up for my dress for New Year’s Eve. I think that next time I’ll add the collar back in as I’ve realised I really like the collar, although I might use one of the add-on hacks you get when buying the pattern (let’s not kid ourselves, it’s going to be the Peter Pan collar because I’m a sucker for a PPC).
So yes, all in all a delightful quick project, which was especially welcome as it feels like a long time since I’ve actually made anything! Now I just need to tackle a slightly longer-than-I-have-time-for list of things to complete before Christmas…. Wish me luck!
Ok, so I’ll be honest, I don’t really know what counts as spooky sewing, however this definitely counts as speedy sewing; in under three hours this morning/afternoon I managed to sew up a whole dress!
What is it?
A green shift dress that forms the basis for my Halloween costume next week; I’m going to go as Poison Ivy although I’m going for more of a 50s theme Ivy and a bit less flesh-revealing than the traditional comic book character…. I’ll be cutting a load of ivy down from out garden to wrap around myself and into my hair and making my eyes all green and sparkly to complete the look.
Is it blue?
Nope, green. How many ivy plants have you seen that are blue?
What’s the fabric?
Really nasty cheap polycotton that I bought for a previous costume
What’s the pattern?
The pattern is one I drafted myself in a copy-your-clothes class. The original dress is one of my favourite ever RTW items. What you can’t see in this photo (not least because I haven’t sewn them on yet…) is that there’s a false opening on the back held together by buttons. The only difference I made was to the skirt which is a bit tighter than the original, not least due to the limited amount of fabric I had!
Where’s the fabric from?
I think it was from Fancy Silk?
What was good about making this?
I was really pleased with a couple of things with this. The first was how quickly it came together. I didn’t have any bias binding but managed to figure out a bodge for hemming the neckline which I was chuffed with.
Basically, I sewed baste stitches at the 5/8 seam, then used these to help me turn the hem, cutting notches as necessary on any curved lines. I then pressed it all and resewed at 3/8. I was also pleased with the gathers connecting the skirt to the bodice, especially as the back pieces don’t connect so I had to make sure they lined up as neatly as possible without actually joining them (that doesn’t make sense but would if you saw the back)
What was bad about making this?
Despite being a copy of a dress I already have, I don’t like the way the armholes sit when the dress is on, nor do I like where the bust darts are. It also seems tighter than expected, which is a bit of a worry.
Ultimately, although it’s a bit rough around the edges, I’m pleased with the speed that this came together. Besides which, once I’ve dressed it up with ivy and the like (and I’ll share pictures next week after the party) all the bodges and rough bits will be hidden and no-one will know!
How about you? Are you making a costume for the spookiest night of the year (possibly)?
I made this dress as part of a class at Guthrie & Ghani that focused on learning to use an overlocker. I decided to go on it as 1) I’d never really understood what an overlocker was useful for and 2) I’d never sewn with jersey before and figured this would give me some hints. The dress came together really quickly, the instructions were lovely and clear and the dress fits fantastically. It also helped having a wonderful tutor who’s approach was much more relaxed than I’ve been in the past and made me realise that you can bodge more than you’d think when you’re sewing.
What was bad about making this?
It made me want to buy an overlocker!
Would you make it again?
Absolutely, although I might begrude having to do it on my sewing machine with a jersey needle rather than a whizzy overlocker (can you tell I was sold on the benefits of them?!)
The dress came together surprisingly quickly, which I think was because unlike the sweetie and elephant dresses it was only lined on the bodice, not the skirt too. I also felt pretty impressed that I managed to make pleats and fit an invisible zip.
What was bad about making this?
I didn’t make a toile (again….) and found that the bodice needed quite a bit of adjustment once it was on. I promise that I’ve now learnt my lesson
Would you make it again?
I wear it all the time, so definitely yes, but I’ll make the aforementioned toile first!
It came together pretty quickly, I was impressed with how clear the Colette instructions were, I liked the boat neckline
What was bad about making this?
I’ve since learnt that Colette model their bodice on a c-cup. I am not a c-cup. This explains why I had the usual issue of the dress being way too big on the bust, even though I graded this pattern before starting. However, as I wore it with a belt, this hid quite a lot of sins! Also, setting sleeves was quite a big learning curve!
Would you make it again?
Yes, but I’d use a fabric with more drape and I’d also learn how to do a SBA
