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Is a shirred dress pattern worth your money? A review of The Victory Patterns Sofia
Shirred dresses have been very popular in the last couple of years and I’m sure you have seen many tutorials on how to do one without a pattern just by cutting rectangles of fabric and sewing them together. It took me a while to give shirring a go myself as I wasn’t sure I liked the look of it that much. But then I discovered the Victory Patterns Sofia dress. While I think the free tutorials are a wonderful way to go if you don’t want to spend money on a pattern, a professional pattern definitely offers many advantages. What I like the most about the Sofia is that the…
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Back wrap dress tied with a bow: A Sew Over It Molly top hack
I love following a pattern, but sometimes, when an idea strikes you and you see an image of a garment right in front of your eyes, but can’t think of a pattern to use, it presents a great opportunity to get creative with what you have. This was the case when I saw this Art Gallery fruity jersey in the fabric shop. I knew I wanted a dress that would wrap over at the back and have a tie at the top for good measure, because we all know how much I love me a bow (and it’s also functional, preventing the dress from potentially slipping down the shoulders). I…
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The Joys of Slow Sewing and Pattern Adjustments: McCall’s M7974 Dress
The lovely Sally of @modistasewing organised a challenge in April which encouraged sewists to share pattern adjustments they make to achieve a better fit. The #memademodista challenge inspired me to sink my teeth into the M7974 by McCall’s that I’ve been lusting over since it came out. Now that their patterns come digitally, it was easy to get during one of their 4.99 $ sales. The bodice comes with a plunging v-neck, gathers at the bust and shoulder to add shaping, a back yoke, and a midriff panel. I knew I would have to toile this and adjust the bust to make it sit in the right place, and this…
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ME-MADE MAY 2021: Rediscovering your me-made wardrobe
There are so many challenges going on in the sewing world, but one that stands out and that nearly everyone knows is Me-Made May set up by Zoe of SoZoeWhatDoYouKnow in 2010. Since then May has become a month of discovering new sewing accounts on Instagram, getting inspired by fabulous makes of the whole community. While it may seem that sharing your outfits for the duration of the month is the main idea, it’s not the case though – the goal is for you to set your own challenge (make a pledge) that will help you get to know your handmade wardrobe, discover what you wear the most, which items…
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An exercise in tracing and cutting flimsy fabric: Burdastyle asymetric trench coat
If you saw my Make Nine on Instagram, you know one of the items on the list was a drapey trench coat. I didn’t have a specific pattern in mind, but put an image of a Burdastyle 02/2018 pattern in dusky pink drapey fabric there as a possible contender. I was also considering the Victory patterns Ulysses. But then I saw a gorgeous trench coat made by Vesna of @kelerabeus on Instagram and was instantly drawn to the asymetric hem, the soft lapels, and the back pleat. She used another Burdastyle pattern, this time from the 04/2018 issue. I own this one and have considered the pattern before, but until…
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Comfortable and cosy: Lockdown fashion with my favourite jersey patterns and patternhacks
Like so many of us, I have been spending more time at home than I would like these past few months. This has had a profound effect on my wardrobe. Usually I am a very dressy kind of girl, no matter the occasion. Pretty dresses or blouses and skirts were always my go to. However, these are not the most practical to wear at home, or rather I do not feel like wearing them, saving them for something more special. Like… I don’t know… actually going to the office sometime this year? Anyway, back to my working-from-home wardrobe, which now consists mainly of leggings and jersey tops. I’ve made a…
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Of koalas and honeycombs: Andrea Mowry’s Wool & Honey sweater
As you could have read in one of my previous posts, at the start of this whole Covid-19 business, I got into knitting. After the success of my ginormous Find Your Fade shawl I decided it was time to try my first sweater. Well, I say first… I knit a couple in my teens, however, always under my grandma’s supervision and with lots of help. This time, it was all up to me, as grandma was 150 kms away. While it tends to be a newbie knitter’s first choice, I decided a plain sweater from chunky wool wouldn’t really be my thing. For ages I’ve been drooling over Andrea Mowry‘s…
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Tie the ties: Liesl + Co. Belgravia dress in festive red
With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I’d share this festive little number made from wine-red ponte roma fabric from Dům látek. I bought it in the autumn with some fabric money I received from my colleagues at work and I knew I wanted to turn it into a comfortable, but classy dress. As soon as I came across the Belgravia dress by Liesl + Co., I knew it would be that one! I love waist ties, but this dress takes it to the next level. The waist ties are integrated into the front bodice pieces which have enough excess volume to substitute for bust darts. When tied, this…
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Ravello + Elodie = Ravlodie? The best of two wrap dresses
You know how it is. You spot a new pattern, instantly fall in love with it, impulse buy it, then you sew it up, put it on, and the thing that all sewists dread comes to pass – the fruit of your hours-worth of labour is just a bit, well, underwhelming. Or just not quite right for you. When the Sew Over It Summer Dreaming E-book came out, I was really drawn to it. All the pretty colours and the Indian backdrop made me snap it up immediately after release. I particularly loved the Ravello dress, especially the short version Lisa wears made from the mustard Atelier Brunette double gauze.…
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Stripes and pintucks: a Burdastyle shirtdress love affair
Shirtdresses are one of my favourite things to wear. They can look really smart, buttoned up to the top, or more casual when left more open, with the sleeves rolled up. This Burdastyle pattern from the 01/2010 issue is a particular favourite. It features beautiful pintucks along the button band and a lovely pleated skirt, a mandarin collar , and narrow cuffs with a bias-bound placket. When I saw this shirting from a top Czech manufacturer in Textile Mountain, which sell deadstock fabric in Prague, I knew it was destined for this pattern, with a few modifications. For this version, I drafted a rounded collar and used the mandarin collar…
