Stripey Lady Skater & scrappy Flashback tees

This is the first Lady Skater I made.  I got the fabric from The Remnant Warehouse during a 25% off sale.  Its mid weight and stable, perfect for this dress.  I purchased this as I was after something stripey to recreate an inspiration dress originally posted by Portia (being new to blogging, I must say it is quite weird creating this personal link to someone I don't know).

I can't quite remember how much fabric I purchased - I think maybe 2.5m which was enough to cut the skirt on the bias with a centre front and centre back seam.  I cut a size 4 which is pretty much consistent with my measurements.  I followed the instructions of basting the side seams once I had the bodice together to test sizing as I didn't make a muslin.  I then went ahead and sewed the straight size 4.

I am new to sewing knits, but this went together easily.  Most of the care was given to stripe matching which worked out quite well in the end.

Stripe matching at front centre seam + water stain I somehow managed to get from the plants just before this pic was taken

The stripe matching didn't start so well for the sleeves.  Not having sewn stripes much before I originally cut the sleeves matching the stripes at the shoulder seam.  When I started pinning I realised this was a problem and luckily had enough fabric to cut some new sleeves.  This time I chose a stripe to match at the upper bust area and it all worked out OK from there.

Sleeve stripe matching

I used my coverstich machine for the neck, sleeves and hem.  I have never used an overlocker so it is a bit of learning curve with the differential.  Here's another stripe matching pic, just cause.

As I was pretty happy how this turned out I went and cut 2 more, but with short sleeves.  I didn't consider it at the time, but the fabric for the new dresses was lighter weight and not as stable.  I should have shortened the bodice a bit due to the pull of the fabric, but in the end I just gave the dresses bigger waist seams.  I still wear the other 2, but do think that I should unpick the seams and elastic and shorten the bodice marginally.  The only problem is I have way too many things on my to sew list so I doubt this will happen.

I also had some small scraps left over, perfect for some little tees for bub presents.  This is the flashback skinny tee pattern, which is a great pattern that goes together easily.

The second tee is made from a few tees I got for myself on sale, but when I got them home I realised I was tempted by the sale and they were just a bit tight...