Sunday 31 October 2021

Velvet hoody dress - RTW inspired

 
I had an email from a high street company with this dress and I just thought how lovely this is so decided to attempt to copy it.


To be honest I am not really happy with my attempt to copy the original dress, though I am happy with my final dress. 

The reasons? Well the hood is too small for the same look. I did not particularly want the ribbon lacing down the hood like the RTW copy but I would have preferred it went round the neck to meet in the CF which it does not because stupidly I used the hood from Simplicity 1251 which is a pixie dress pattern and I have made it several times before as both dress and top. This is a tighter more fitted dress than those ones.

The main dress was a freebie that landed in my inbox about the same time as the RTW dress. 

 

It was only free for a limited period and only in dutch or german but I realised it would be perfect to make the hoody dress. I opted for the german copy but probably if you have ever made a T shirt and a basic dress you could make with no translating because I never ended up bothering to translate this. Its the first My Image pattern I have used and I have to say everything lined up brilliantly.

I replaced the neck band with the hood and added CF seam allowance to allow for the zip. I used non stretch iron on interfacing to stabilize the zip edge and stop it going wavy. This did work despite I just pinned the overlocked without cuttig anything off just to hold it in place, and never I ironed in case I melted my fabric. 

But this dress was sheer hell to sew up!







It slipped all over the place. The zip has puckers in the velvet on one side and I decided rather than reck the dress trying to unpick it I will live with it.  

I nearly recked the cuffs trying to overlock them on to the sleeve edges and missing bits all the way round as the layers kept slipping apart. In the end carefully cut them off and sewed using a twin needle - not for any particular reason other than it had thread already in it - so used it to baste the cuffs on. I then overlocked it afterwards. 

The result is far from perfect cuffs but at least they are on and don't look too bad. I will know how to do this if I do make a second version of this dress with a bigger hood which I think I probably will once I find some more lycra velvet of the right kind of colour. This was from Ebay and the colour is called aubergine. I looked for red like the RTW verson but the red was £5.99 and the aubergine was £4.19 so I went with that. The seller has since increased it to £5.99 as well so I wonder if I got an unexpected bargain and they had listed it wrong? I bought 3m of this and have enough to also make some flares which I will show you once they are sewn up!

 

I just hemmed the front neck of this as you can see to finish it off where I never had a big enough hood. Its not the end of the world but does prove rather a lack of proper planing when I cut this out!


The zip looks off centre in the photo above. It isn't. I got that bit right. 

These are not the best photos. I had to get them taken in between torrential rain and you can see the problem from this photo which got taken as we ran for cover

So these are all I have for now. 

My idea was to get some photos with my leggings which I think I will wear a lot with this cardigan dress because thats what this is really and also some with tights. That shows the likely versatility of this dress. Due to the rain - I got soaked in seconds - I have yet to take the photos with tights to show this as its really meant to be worn - as a going out dress.

Ah well I am posting now anyway just to show you wat I was up to this weekend. Happy Halloween

Bracken

2-Tone Hoody Dress

 

I had the fabric about a year, maybe 2 years. I only bought a metre of each colour and thats the problem because there really was not enough of either colour to make anything from it. Or at least not until I got inspired recently.

Both of the fabrics are stretch lycra velvet - sold for dancewear so very nice and stretchy good quality fabric and its a real shame not to use it.


Anyway I was using the Simplicity 1251 pattern for another dress I wanted to make and it came to me this would work in it. Simplicity 1251 is a costume pattern I think but I have successfully made a lot of tops and dresses including for work from it and its a very nice pattern.

I even managed to line up the pattern on the sides on this one which has pleased me greatly!

I actually forgot that its the front piece that wraps round so I envisaged it having like a princess effect front when its really the back ends up with the princess look but I realised my mistake when I was putting the pattern pieces onto the fabric and I decided to go ahead and cut it anyway and it really does not matter because I am very pleased with how this has turned out. I also  raised the neckline slightly because I wanted a higher neck but otherwise this is the unchanged pattern. 

 

Though now I see the photos better  I am wondering should I do a FBA on this pattern and if yes that will probably be quite difficult due to the side seam having moved from the usual position. I am considering how already. Ah what it is to become more "experienced" at your sewing so you end up picking fault with every item you make and finding how to make it better next time.

I am going to the theatre at Christmas so I will be wearing this for my outing. Probably with a nice pair of boots or shoes and tights rather than leggings😁

Have a lovely week

Bracken

Saturday 30 October 2021

Floral skull trousers with side splits - Jamesia


I thought with it nearly being Halloween I should show you these floral skeleton trousers. I actually made them in September - hence the photos which were taken on holiday in Cornwall.
I realised after these pictures that perhaps I have a sway back. I need to go back and check out some older photos and see if this is a common issue or if this is a one off with these trousers. Its not something I have noticed before but I am very aware that I am more and more critical of my own sewing.
I did really enjoy wearing these on holiday and it was not so hot in September that you were often wanting to wear shorts any more, like in the summer, so they worked really well.
This is the Free Mood Sewciety Jamesia pattern - made just as they direct but I left the sides open for side splits and hemmed round the splits. They were really nice for the end of summer and I might just wear these for Halloween as well - if its not too cold by then that is.

This is my floral skeleton fabric which is 100% cotton and cost me £6.99 per half metre so expensive:

Kind of a pretty print for Halloween but its also easy to wear for every day life - in summer that is.

I made the halter neck top back in the summer.

Happy Halloween

Bracken


Friday 22 October 2021

In Negative: Two pairs of Tiger stripe cycling shorts

 


I have made two pairs of these velvet cycling shorts and have worn one pair all day. They are warm enough for autumn and so comfortable. 

The black on the inside pair are slightly longer. This is delibereate because I like the idea of two different lengths.

These are also a real bonus make!

I say bonus make because  when I nearly destroyed my Tiger stripe Lekala pants I was trying to cut them into leggings. It did not work and I ended up with horrible twisted off grain legs.

The pair with orange on the inside were so bad I just hacked them into shorts in desperation and never took a photo. The legs twisted right round at the bottom of the leg. The second pair shown above were better and were wearable but just not enough at a standard I now expect from myself. I tried to resew to stop the twisting and just ended up with serious wrinkling. 

I think had I made them 5 years ago I may well have stuck with them and actually worn them and been happy to just have made them, but I have come to expect myself to make things that can vie with RTW clothing. These were just second rate and looked home made and also very badly made.

 

I think the wrinkling is partly its down to using the heavy mesh for the waist yoke. As in they just fall down. I also thik I maybe did not sew in the full seam allowance meaning they ended up slightly bigger than they should be. When cycling this seems to matter less and the cycling shirts do not fall down wheras theleggings fell down all day to the extent I ended up changing half way through the day. - How good to be able to work from home! I would nver wear these to the office but I might have worn something that was uncomfortable and with working from home I can just change them for something else when they irritate me.

I saw something like this mesh waist yoke on a RTW pair of sports leggings and liked it so copied it. 

Well on this occasion my experiment failed!

I love the idea of velvet sportswear but I really do not know if its the mix of the two different velvet lycra fabrics which I cut opposite directions so the black has nap one way and the orange the other ( makes the orange darker and the black more shiny) or if I just did not line up the grain properly. I did use a ruler but the fact the next top which I am making from the same fabric seems to be fine ( I have yet to quite finish the hems and pull cords but more later ) suggests its something I have done and not the fabric's fault. Both fabrics are from Minerva. The pattern is McCalls 7446. 

I have used velvet for leggings before made with this pattern but I used scuba on the sides. I have worn those leggings so much they are now old and pilly so maybe I should just do the same again and use scuba panels for these and try again?

Anyway here are my cycling shorts

 Oh the summer top is Rebecca Page's basic cami pattern. I made it a while ago and its a really nice pattern.
The black top is made from scuba and is new. I just made it a couple of weeks ago.


Well they are still abit wrinkly on the arse but I think better to wear tham than chuck them. Its been a learnig curve so to say though still not exactly sure what I have learned but that these did not work. Or not very well.
My experiments with stretch lycra velvet will be continuing because I bought loads of different colours of it in the summer online sales so we will see if its just this pattern is suspect or is it just me?
Have a great weekend and see you next week

 Bracken