23rd May, #MMM22 - Raggy dress

Its a bit colder today and damp. This is my goth raggy dress which to be honest I have not worn much at all. Last Halloween (which it would have been perfect for!) it was lost somewhere in my wardrobe and now its summer I have found it at last while looking for something different, so decided it is really time I wore this. I think I only wore this once before so its a classic item for the #MMM22 challenge - ie; to wear what you actually make rather than just make and store it all.

Underneath - because the double layer raggy fabric is see through - is my original mesh high low skirt. I never made this for a petticoat but to be honest its really perfect for this dress. I have worn the mesh skirt a few times in layers because I have lots of these. I went crazy about them a few years ago and have at least 5 of these in different light weight fabrics. Though not all have the rolled edge finish. I think I may add that to the rest of them now though because I like this one the best. So thats a task for the next few months

First I need the new overlocker cutters because right now mine is totally blunted. I originally blamed my black cardi coat but since realised maybe its also because I used to sew maybe 4 items a month whereas now its a bit like a factory. I cut loads out then sew sew sew. So I now sew up maybe 4 or 6 items at once by doing all the shoulders, all the side seams then have a half made pile and then do all the hems and finishing. It means more clothing made but also far faster. So I suppose besides the fact the cardi coat did make the overlocker work very hard but I also since then made about 10 further items in a matter of a couple of weeks. 

Also I make my own fruit cover bags for individual fruit bushes. Just from cheap mesh. But I must have made 30 of them so far this year. I should get some photos. My allotment is very smart right nowcovered in those bags. It works too because I had a few last year and we get much more frits from the bushes with bags on them. I even covered a youg cherry tree this week. Not sure yet if that will work though. Anyway all this sewing is possibly why my blades are blunt again. I have ordered new ones but I have to wait now which means I am sticking together downloaded patterns and cutting out again. I already have alarge box of things need sewing up and still cutting out and no blades as yet. 

Having said that though I am kind of addicted to stretch fabrics and have a collection ( a large stash!) of wovens so I am also cutting out some wovens right now which there is actually no excuse for me to not get sewing. Besides I have paid out money for them they will be really good for summer so I have the free ( from Minerva Fabrics) McCalls 7969 dress cut out as well as the free Mood Sewciety Nettle dress.  I put both patterns together this weekend. 

So hopefully in the next week I will have something new to show you as well. Thanks for visiting my blog,

Bracken

Fish tail skirt or high low skirt - Stash Smashing

I found this blog post a while ago now:
http://www.deliacreates.com/easy-diy-fishtail-circle-skirt-tutorial/

Its an adult version of skirts from other blogs. Well it is not really something I would normally wear but I have the fabric and why not. I will wear it if I own it because that's life but as with the multi-media T shirts

I would not shell out hard earned cash to buy one.

But as I am realising more and more when you make your own clothing YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL!

Yay!

So following the directions from Delia Creates I made this skirt using black powermesh. I originally followed the exact pattern but in the end I decided to chop a further 7 inches or about 18cm off the length because once made it was trailing on the floor. When I went back to the original blogpost yes it is there as well so it is not just me being too short.

Much as I like a skirt with a train it does not fit into my world. I already have two makes with trains here:
http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/95-and-96-skirt-and-top-for-tms-bright.html

and here: http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/85-simplicity-1772-dress.html

and I do not wear either of them often because of this.

Delia lives somewhere summery and hot and gets to take photos on the beach with her feet bare on the sand. I live in the UK where it is usually damp and often downright pouring with rain. Also you think its a nice day when you get dressed at 06:00 but by the time you get to work by 08:30 it can be the most horrible weather imaginable so no, skirts with trains do not work well in my world!

 

I am still undecided whether to do a rolled edge with the overlocker around the hem of this, but so far have resisted because actually I quite like the raw edge and it looks fine and very dancerish.

So for this as directed I used 2m of fabric. Mine was wider than Delia Creates used so there was more wasteage but I really could not make it any longer than the original and in the end as already explained I chopped the edge off after finishing. By the way best to do this before you make it really because the elastic gathers it in a bit and means you have to be extra careful if you do it at the end as I did.

The only difficult bit with this skirt is keeping the slippy fabric from moving when you are measuring for the waist and the skirt edge and of course you then must fold it to make it high-low but its still a very easy skirt pattern and I would say well worth making.

This skirt will also look good with the two tops made using this powermesh which you can see here:
http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/74-quick-party-top.html

and here:

http://brackencrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/95-and-96-skirt-and-top-for-tms-bright.html

Thanks for reading and if this is your kind of skirt I would encourage you to make one. I am very impressed!

Bracken