An absolute bore to sew and something I will avoid again if I can a.k.a curtains for our bedroom
Is it blue?
Yes
What’s the fabric?
Upholstery fabric
What’s the pattern?
I just sort of made one up. Basically, rectangles, hemmed and then gathered at the top.
Where’s the fabric from?
The Fancy Silk Store, Birmingham
What was good about making this?
Finally getting some curtains in our bedroom; for the last year we’ve just had some nasty white Venetian blinds that were both ugly and ineffective.
What was bad about making this?
The sheer boredom of pinning seams and sewing them when everything is 2m long and straight lines. I also didn’t like the fact that because I had blackout lining, all the hems rolled as I sewed them due to the number of layers of fabric
Would you make it again?
Not if I can help it, but I have a feeling that I’ll need to when we decorate the dining room…..
It gave me a chance to have another go at a lot of skills
What was bad about making this?
The pleats took a couple of attempts to get right and when the blouse was finished, due to the weight of the fabric it didn’t seem to sit very well (although it is better tucked into skirts).
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!
I discovered I can be pretty resourceful if I need to; at the time I bought it, they didn’t think they’d get the denim back in stock so I had slightly less than I needed for the skirt. I altered the pattern to make it shorter (but not mini skirt length) and used different fabric for the facing. I liked how quickly it came together
What was bad about making this?
The top buttonhole. I’d not done buttonholes before and it took about six attempts to get the top one to work as there more than anywhere else the amount of fabric the buttonholer had to deal with meant it got pretty thick. I very nearly gave up completely. Also, the spots were white when I bought the fabric but went blue when I prewashed… And haven’t gone back yet….
Would you make it again?
Yes, not least because it’s a fantastic skirt for cycling in. I quiet like the idea of making one in red. I think I’ll make it full length this time (i.e. buy enough fabric!) and also tackle lining it.
Not sure. It was a gift from the boy in 2013 to get me sewing. The fact it took until 2014 to cut it and 2015 to finish it is beside the point!
What’s the pattern?
Very Easy Vogue V8723. This time I reduced the gathers in the skirt and graded at the bust.
Where’s the fabric from?
See above!
What was good about making this?
Finally getting to use the elephant fabric. It also has pockets (as does the sweetie dress) and everyone loves pockets
What was bad about making this?
Despite changing the bust size I still had to remove a LOT of fabric before putting the zip in. Also, the fact that we moved house in the middle of sewing didn’t help as it meant it sat unfinished for about six months….
Would you make it again?
Probably not. Whilst I do like the style, I’ve since found better patterns that produce a very similar dress in a much clearer, better fitting way.
Actually making a dress. This was the first thing I felt brave enough to tackle and the feeling of success once I’d finally done it was amazing. The fact that on the first day I wore it out someone asked where it was from and then offered to pay me to make them one (I politely declined!) only increased the feeling and made me want to sew even more.
What was bad about making this?
I didn’t make a toile (and still haven’t despite making a second version….) so had to make quite a lot of adjustments to it once it was made up. I also found the instructions pretty confusing as a first timer
