The Sally Dress

It has been a bit since I last blogged - I've been feeling like rubbish and so sewing has taken a back step unfortunately, while I nap on the sofa while zbl has her daytime sleep.  We've also had some unseasonably hot weather recently which has meant the sewing and computer area are like a sauna - not the place to be when you're feeling below par!

Anywho, enough blathering on about that, I'll be fine soon enough and Christmas is coming so my list of sewing has increased and I'd better get on to it!

In the mean time, here is the lovely dress I made to go with the fabulous Anna Cape by Big Little.

This is the Sally Dress. (Please excuse the individual pictures, our computer crashed recently (all my bookmarks - gone!) and all the software hasn't yet been installed by the fixer guy - ie tl) On another note - I took these pics a while back, and I swear she's grown another 2 or 3 cm since then!

Sew details:
Pattern: The Sally Dress by Very Shannon - I got this pattern as part of my Sewing Rabbit Pattern Membership - I made up a size 3T without sleeves.
Fabric: A lovely strawberry printed cotton from (surprise, surprise) Spotlight.
Other stuff: This is a lovely pattern to make up. You make up the bodice completely and there is a bit of that fabric origami required to get the shoulder seams to sit nicely, but the instructions are very clear on how to do this.  I think the pattern calls for 1.5m of fabric, and I had 1m, so I had to do a little bit of pattern laying origami myself and also reduce some of the bulk out of the skirt, but overall I think it looks lovely and nice and twirly - when zbl works that one out!
Because the bodice is fully lined there are no scratchy bits, which is important and the dress was really very popular and I was allowed to take pictures without having to show them all to the model for approval!!
I am hoping by having made a size 3, we might be able to wear this one for a couple of years, or at least a couple of seasons with layers.
I really enjoyed sewing this up, and have since made another one for a little friend who turned 2 - who also approves!

In other sewing activities - I made up one of these for my Mum, she loves it, altho it is huge (it is a OSFA) but she thinks it is super comfy so doesn't care :-)

So next thing on the list is a pair of hudson pants for myself, that I got through the most recent Pattern Parcel (worth signing up for their emails, as they do have some really good bunches of patterns) and a Christmas dress for zbl using this fabric - yes, amazingly I bought some fabric from somewhere other than Spotlight!

UPDATED next things - I'm participating in Ros's Sweet Pouch Swap - Christmas Edition which is very exciting, and also very nerve wracking - I have so many ideas for what I would like to do, but can I get them done in time, and will my swappie like them - only time will tell!

The (not quite) Reversible Zippy Hoodie

Oh my goodness it is cold today - after being 33°C on Sunday it is 14°C here today - but that is spring for you!

Speaking of brrrr, a while back I made my girl a hooded sweatshirt/jacket to get her through winter (and this spring!) and hopefully some of next winter, altho she is growing like a weed, so I might have been being hopeful.

Sew details:

Pattern: Reversible Zippy Hoodie that I think I got as part of a pattern bundle a million years ago (or probably last year)
Fabric: The outer fabric says its a Platinum Fleece (what I would call sweat shirting) that I got at trusty Spotlight becos I knew that zbl would love the foxes on it. The lining was an old Mr Vintage t-shirt that I got for tl, that he never wore, so it was in perfect condition, and the orange went with the outside nicely.
Other Stuff: This is a very clever pattern, you basically make up the outer and the inner hoodies and then sew them together with the cuffs and zip and turn them out through a wee hole in the side seam of your inner hoodie.  There is a little bit of sewing origami (a saying I've pinched from someone but I can't remember who!) but it makes for a very neat sew up.  The only thing I did differently - and this was largely becos I thought I knew what I was doing so didn't consult the instructions - was to attach the hood to the outer and inner pieces before joining it together, whereas the patter calls for the hood pieces to be joined together and then sewn to the rest of the body (if that makes sense).  I think this is so that the body pieces are not completely separate aside from the joins at the cuffs and zip.  I fixed this by topstitching around the neckline at the end when I topstitched along the zip, over the hood and along the other zip side.  I also didn't put pockets in it becos I am lazy, but I really must do this more becos she does love them.  Additionally this isn't reversible becos the zip is not reversible, but honestly a white outer on a 2 and a bit year old would be a nightmare for my washing lady (yes that's me), so not a big deal!
I made a 3T, so to hopefully last longer than 5 minutes (as mentioned above), but with a 2T arm as she seems to have her fathers dinosaur arms rather than my Mr Tickle ones.

I think I'll use this pattern again to make her a sleeveless version for this lovely inclement weather we're having, but maybe with a collar rather than a hood, I'd better get on to it before summer hits (which could be this weekend based on the weather forecast!)

Oh yes, and here is the model in her favourite jacket, on the train with tl to Mexfest at Fed Square.

Going back further in time

So, I've just consulted my trusty phone pics to see what else I've made "recently" (meaning in 2014!) and found the next thing on the list is the Mara Blouse.

The weather is still getting warmer here, so zbl hasn't worn this yet, so just on the hanger photos:

Sew details:
Pattern: The Mara Blouse
Fabric: I upcycled two of tl's old business shirts to make this wee blouse.  The cutting out was great, the sewing up not so much, which I was quite surprised about.  The plain coloured fabric particularly made me think my sewing machine needed a service, which it probably does, but the next thing I sewed definitely did not create such clanking and stitch missing as this one did!
Other Stuff: I love Marte's patterns (I've made one before), they are always so beautifully put together, and packed with great instructions. They also allow for so much personalisation, be it colour, adding piping or bling, or changing things to suit your style.  For this one I used some store bought bias binding to make a faux piping around the yoke, to match the buttons which I think really makes it pop.  I used the side sections of the shirts for the front and back sections to have a seam up the middle, and this cool panel called a hem gusset (please excuse the fuzzy picture).

Because the front seams were french seams, I thought I should carry on the trend and french the side and arm seams too, and then top stitch them down to keep them flat.

For the arms I used the end of the arms of the shirt so they open with a placket.  I made some bias using the plain blue shirt and elasticated the binding slightly to gather it on cuff, and finished it with a button and loop, like on the front - I need to take a picture of this to show you.

All in all a very fulfilling sew up.  Hopefully zbl likes it!

BTW - Marte has just released a new pattern - the Charles Pants - which I am totally going to buy once I have completed a few more projects.