Oki dress - Moon Goddess

I made this pattern previously for the The Monthly Stitch Indie Pattern Month 2018 but in stretch black canvas. I prefer the first version because until I made this dress I had no idea the grainlines on the pattern are wrong.


Its too late now because I have made this and I do still like it but its not right at all so I am pretty P**sed Off if I am honest because this is special fabric bought from Ikea as a limited edition a couple of years ago and I cannot get any more. 

 I did my first ever proper exposed zip on the back of this dress too. I am reasonably pleased with that although its defo not perfect but you have to begin somewhere and it does work so thats OK>

 

I never had enought to pattern match which is also a problem but the fact the grainlines are out - see the sleeves! is terrible and very disapointing and I spent a lot of time lining everything up to make it work out as best I could because I knew I would have some mismatches pattern-wise anyway but never realised when I made the black dress that the grain arrows on the sleeves are completely wrong. 

The sleeves are weird obviously because thats the whole point of the pattern so I never realised till I sewed it all up.

Its still wearable and I still like it but yes this is disappointing. Its what you expect from a Big Four pattern rather than an indie designer. Tho why I think like that I have no idea. But anyway if I want to make this pattern again I will only use plain fabrics as of now because I do not think my brain can cope with sorting this out with the weird pattern pieces.

So yes I do like this dress but its far from being a big hit with me. Its just too imperfect and the strange part of this imperfection is I expected to have it imperfect but that was down to me not being an expert with exposed zips and knowing it would not be pattern matched with this print would show( it does!) but its the best I can manage but to have the grain lines out thats just crappy! And not my fault.

Will I make another? Yes probably in a sweatshirt type fabric in a plain colour because I think it would work. Never again in a  print tho!

Thanks for visiting and I hope this post helps someone else with the Oki Lola pattern!

Bracken

Lindy petal in faux leather and satin backed crepe

Today I decided to have another crack at making the Lindy Petal skirt so here it is in red faux leather and black satin - its really a satin backed stretch crepe but this time I have used the satin side of the fabric.

I have previously made this in lace which worked really well and I love and also in a naff polyester crepe.

I had not then worked out that its nicer when that crepe stretch polyerster fabric is reversed as is used in most of my recent posts so that particular skirt was worn once, hated and sent to the charity shop.

The Lindy Petal skirt pattern comes free from On the Cutting Floor.
http://www.onthecuttingfloor.com/roundup-15-easy-free-skirt-patterns/

Both of these skirts sew up very fast so its a satisfying make.


This pattern has been around for ages and nearly every sewist seems to have made it at some point. As Indie patterns go I think its lovely.  And still being free is of course fantastic.

 Because the pattern is actually meant for stretch knits unless you have a seriously stretchy woven its best to stick with knits. As you can see its worked ok though with both of these fabrics!


Both of these fabrics are actually woven and this pattern is for stretch knits only.

The red faux leather is a stretch woven but this is very stretchy.  I then decided to use up some woven satin backed crepe which I used to make my fishtail skirt and that has also worked out well and will make an excellent work skirt to compliment my Winter capsule wardrobe collection. Mind you it has to now be said that my Winter Capsule Wardrobe is no longer a capsule having grown somewhat over the last few months. Its more just a new winter work wardrobe now. The red skirt is not really work worthy.

I had to add a centre back seam to the red version due to making this from the offcuts from other projects since I did not have enough to cut the back as just one piece as the pattern tells you.  ( the CB seam is meant to go on a fold so I cut onto two peices of fabric as mirror images and adding seam allowance then sewedtogether and continued as pattern directions). For both versions I omitted the waistband. Infcat so far none of my Lindy Petals have an actual waistband.


I added a a lace edge to the red skirt since I could not get the hem to lie smoothly. I had this problem with similar faux leather previously as well when I made the lace and leather T shirt  which is shown below with my black Lindy skirt. Lace does give a nice edge and works well for the waistband on this version as well. Mind you it does crease! Probably it is best not to wear with my faux leather and lace top on blog posts because I do not think the creases show so bad in daylight as they do in the photos. Or at least they annoy me less. As you can see even when just stored in the wardrobe it is always creased. I love this top but dare not iron properly hence the creases which never quite drop out. I shall dry on a hanger next wash and see if they helps at all. I am hoping the red faux leather will be less creasy but time will tell.

 

This version of the skirt is slightly shorter because I decided the pattern is a bit too long for me. I do not want a micro mini but I do want a definite mini if you know what I mean.
I think the satin version is so far my best Lindy and I suspect this will be very well work for both work and play because its really very "me". Though looking at the photos I now also love the red skirt!

Thanks for visiting

Bracken

Dog tooth check dress pattern hack

I bought this fabric which is actually another rubbish stretch crepe and probably polyester, last spring and had no idea what to do with it.

There was only 1.2m of this so its a tight squeeze getting a dress out of it and it is not at all pattern matched. I never even tried to match it. There was just not way to do that. I had to slightly cut off grain one sleeve as well but I think it works OK and you cannot tell.

This is the version D of Butterick B5562 top without the neck addition so it makes a simple boat neck and extended into a dress by adding the bottom of McCalls M6612 onto it. Then I flared the sleeve as much as possible. Sleeves are 3/4 because they are made from the oddments left over after cutting out the body and that is all there was left.

 

Its totally overlocked except for the hem which is twin needle stitched and I added black non-stretch lace to the edge of the sleeves to give it a bit of extra something. I am hoping since the sleeves have a bit of flare that the fact the lace is not stretch when the dress is will not matter.

Anyway this is a nice little dress and for once I am also on trend. How about that for a random bit of fabric I bought with no idea what to do with it and virtually no pattern that would fit on it. Kind of proves if you do see a random fabric and its cheap maybe you should add that one to your stash!

 I reckon its worked out rather good considering everything and works well as a work dress too which is a big bonus.

Thanks for visiting my blog

Bracken

High low circle skirts

These are 4 skirts called by the blogger I got the pattern off "fishtail skirts" which really I do not think they are. Fishtail to me means more mermaid shaped but who cares about the name. They are nice were quite quick to make.

They are also a great stash buster and since I am seriously needing to reduce my fabric stash these are perfect for my needs.


Each skirt is a circle based on a self drafted pattern found here:
http://www.deliacreates.com/easy-diy-fishtail-circle-skirt-tutorial/


I already made one version of this pattern a while back and I like it very much so when I came accross more mesh fabrics a very cheap prices I bought them knowing I wanted to do something similar. It took me quite a while to actually get round to the making part but the dream part has been in my head for a while now. I am sure many crafters will know what I mean here!

I made a version of this pattern before here: https://brackencrafts.blogspot.com/2017/10/fish-tail-skirt-or-high-high-low-skirt.html

My original skirt

These ones are exactly the same ( except it would appear my waist is quite a bit smaller which I am very happy about!!!)

This is the check skirt with a new wider lack mesh skirt under it. This black mesh unlike the original which was power mesh is more like sports shirts material. I am thinking that I will be able to wear this with my old powermesh version as well tho the waist size could mean for a few alterations to make that work which is unexpected.

Anyway here are the pictures:

Then this is just the single mesh layer:

Then the green paisly over blue mesh ( 2 layers of blue mesh)

And just the blue:

I really need some modelling lessons!

The pale blue skirt is doubled - so has two layers because its a lighter weight powermesh type of fabric and just looked a bit nothingey to me so I made double but really doesn't have to be doubled. If you wanted a ballet type of floaty skirt you would be able to just use one layer. Or maybe make two with two elastic waistbands rather than double them up on one waistband.


Anyway all of these skirts can be worn either as mesh on its own over leggings or on a beach or they can be layered in various combinations.

I made two different lengths due to the widths of the fabric I was using but to make a narrow width longer all that would be needed would be side seams and then otherwise just cut eactly the same. So you would need to make a circle before cutting the hole for the waist after you line up the side seams etc.


Since I cut two different lengths I have photos of the longer skirts together and shorter skirts together but you could really have shorter under or over a longer one.


I suspect these will more than likely not be worn till next spring when the weather warms up with the exception of the longer checked skirt which I am wearing at the moment with the black mesh under it and thick tights.

Oh and in case you wanted to know I also made the double layer white top 

Thanks for visiting,

Bracken

Winter Capsule Wardrobe - Black top with lace front

The original Winter capsule wardrobe items are all finished but I just could not resist adding a top. It works better than my previous bright red top and this one is more like the original. I used the rest of my ebay black stretch lace for this top. It has a white front covered in the lace with black back and sleeves and again I used the reverese of the cheapo polyester crepe I have so much of making it look more like RTW bodycon clothing. I did not like my white back and sleeves on my original top because it was just not "me" so this time I have black instead. I loved the first top so hopefully this will be just as well worn. Its made using the same basic dress pattern - McCalls M6612 as the first top because the previous copy - my bright red top is just not as good.

Again this is made from strips of lace bought for 99p a yard each from ebay. The lace takes ages to arrive coming all the way from China so you need to remember when its due to check you actually received it. Nine times out of ten I do but occassionally it does not turn up.

I like this so much I intend to make yet another version but I need to buy some more lace first and turning the crepe fabric over has turned out to be a serious success. It makes very cheap polyester into a wearable fabric rather than old lady looking stuff which I realy do not feel happy wearing. I will probably not buy any more of it anyway but at least I will use up the large amounts I seem to have won of this stuff. I also seriously love this top so expect to wear it loads. Even my partner said "thats a nice top". Quite a compliment indeed because generally he does not say much unless he tells me what is not good.

Thanks for popping by

Bracken

Velvet PJ or loungewear pants

 I loved those early 2000s velour/velvet tracksuits. I know its all old hat now but I still loved them. I live in a pretty cold house when its winter because we rely on oil and logs for heating and both are expensive and unlike electric and gas you have to pay out before use and we have no option for a payment plan as such. Anyway what this means is I need warm lounge wear/ Pjs.

I used the rest ( near enough) of my velvet/velour leopardskin for the first pair. Its the same fabric as this top so will work together quite well saving me from making a top to go wth the leopard pair.

I am intending to make a traditional zip front hoody jacket in the black velvet. I bought this black velvet fabric recently and have about 8m of it left so plenty to play with assuming I cock-up the frst hoody since I have not yet made one of these so anything could go wrong. I will show you that top once its made. The black though is a very wearable fabric so Iam pretty happy to have come accross that at a good price and am not unhappy to keep some in the stash forlater projects.

I bought 6m of the green velour a while back in the summer when it was really not the weather so as usual it expanded my stash and in this case rather a lot because it is very bulky fabric so I am hoping to use it all up asap to make space.

I absolutly cannot handle the green version at all. I think all 3 versions show I need to do some exercise 😀 which is not good but I will sort that one. My rear is growing!

My original yoga pants

The pattern is a freebie from Naptime creations and I already made a version here for yoga. This time I missed off the yoga waist band and added elastic which makes for a low waist - 90s style - but I am a fan of this and hate high waists so thats not a problem. You can get the pattern from this link:
https://ifonlytheywouldnap.net/2015/03/06/free-yoga-pants-pattern/

I must have cut slightly off grain tho on the green pants cos one side seam seems to migrate around my leg when wearing but for Pjs, which will probably go out of shape anyway, thats not the end of the world. I was toying with the idea of making a second pair to perfect this but really do I want that many pairs of green velvet lounge pants?

I may yet make a green top but one thing I already discovered about these 3 pairs of pants. I love the black and the leopard print and both work to pop out on a Sunday morning to the local shop but the green is a NOT an out of the house pair. I wore them to Aldi and felt very conspicuous so never again!

As you can see though the leopard print work with my biker jacket:

So a bit of a mixed bag here. Two pairs out of 3 is not so bad but what the hell am I going to do now with the rest of that emerald green velour cos I do not think I am keen on wearing it. I need to decide because it takes up far too much space in my stash and I was doing quite well reducing my fabric stash right down till I pulled that bit of fabric out.

I might manage a Tshirt because that could work with a plain black skirt and jacket but most of 6m remains. Maybe a costume? 

Any ideas?

Bracken