darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - autumn 16 the submarine dress

its dcf challenge time and its another late season post.  its been unseasonably warm, actually awesomely lovely in sydney lately and i have found it hard to think about sewing for cooler weather, hence the delay with making up my challenge.

lara and i choose the fabric quite a while ago now.  i checked out the darn cheap fabrics website and selected a few fabrics in autumnal colours and sent them to lara. she chose a light weight poly (kind of crepe like) in a geometric print as her favourite, it was my favourite too so we were set for the autumn 16 challenge.

i was going to make the style arc olivia dress, but i got lazy and changed to the burda submarine dress 07/2015 #115, a pattern that i had previously printed out the pdf and taped together, but not made.

 

as kristy from lower your presser foot mentions in her review of this dress - its a pretty simple make.  essentially its a rectangle skirt that is gathered and attached to a loose fitting bodice, with an elastic waist and a wide neckline so there is no need for any closures.

i made a size 38 which most closely matched my bust measurement.  my waist and hip measurements are in excess of the size 38 but given the dress has an elastic waist and gathered skirt this is not a problem. i cut out the cap sleeves but i decided not to attach them in the end as i want to wear a skivvy under the dress and i decided i liked the sleeveless look when trying on the half finished dress. i also cut the back bodice on the fold instead of it having a back seam and stitched down the neck facing around an inch or so from the neck edge.

 

as finished, the dress is still quite blousey in the bodice at the waist (even though essentially i sized down at the waist) and very gathered in the skirt.  if i was to make this again i wouldn't make the skirt rectangle as wide as the instructions require.  

 

i, like kristy mentions in her review didn't care for the way the instructions direct you to attach the elastic to the waist seam.  instead i made the seam allowance wider and made a casing to insert the elastic through. i made a 1 and a 1/4 seam allowance but given the amount of gathering this creates quite a bit of bulk which you can see below.  a wide belt covers any bulk but to me wearing it it feels a bit bulky.  i didn't trim the bodice seam allowance when making the casing, i would do this if i made the dress again to assist with reducing the bulk, in combination with reducing the width of the skirt.

 

one thing i am a bit bummed about is the fabric had quite a few faults that i did not notice until cutting the last piece - one of the skirt rectangles.  i managed to cut the rectangle with just one of the faults included as i didn't have enough fabric left to cut a fault free rectangle.  you can see the fault in the photo below, it looks worse in real life, so i made it the back skirt piece so at least i don't need to look at at.  i suppose its a good lesson about checking over your fabric if you buy it on line.

overall i am pretty happy with this make, i think it will get lots of wear to work over winter paired with a skivvy and a jacket.  however i think its unlikely i will make another.  i think i would just prefer to make a few more darts in the bodice and go for a proper fit and flair dress as this one was little fiddly with the elastic waist and i prefer the more fitted bodice look.  i might be swayed though as i wore the dress to work today and i received some lovely comments about it.

as always i am really looking forward to seeing what lara has made - i have no idea or any clues as to what it is this time.

finally, does anyone have any idea as to why burda would call this submarine dress?? let me know in the comments section!

til next time,
emma

darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - summer 15/16 the leap year edition

welcome to the dcf seasonal challenge - summer 15/16 edition. both lara and i were a bit tied up with lots of fun festivities over the summer months, so we are just getting in our posts on the last day of summer which this year is the leap year day!

lara and i bought the challenge fabric together in late january.  we were both very tempted by some beautiful bright coloured silks, but decided against buying them in the end as we both needed a bit of meterage for what we wanted to make and the cost was starting to add up.  instead we chose a beautiful quality viscose with lovely drape.

i originally thought i would make the style arc olivia dress as i bought the pattern in a recent sale. Though the day after we bought the fabric i met up with crafty jane who generously loaned me the japanese pattern book 'clean and natural' and i really wanted to try out a pattern from the book.

i considered the peplum top on the front cover but in the end i decided to make 'G' the key neck pullover.

i have only used a japanese pattern book once before, when i recently made school shorts for my son.  That book had english instructions, while 'clean and natural' is all japanese - a first for me!  when i pulled out the pattern sheet to trace i was a little bit daunted, but once i located all the pattern pieces i was feeling pretty good!
 

when i found the general where abouts of each piece i put my tracing paper down and weights in the 'corners' of the pieces to help keep me on track with the tracing.  in the end the tracing was quite easy.  in terms of sizing i had decided to make size LL based on my measurements, but after tracing about 3 pattern pieces i noticed that it seemed to be one size 'fits all'.  had i been able to read the instructions i may have worked this out before i started tracing! anyway i decided to push on as LL is the largest size so i figured the top would hopefully not end up too big.

i loved the challenge of looking at the pictures in the instructions and working it out.  the construction was pretty straightforward and the pieces all went together perfectly, so it was a really good introduction for me to japanese ladies patterns.

i do feel a bit like i am wearing a tent, but the fabric drapes beautifully and its a nice breezy top to wear.

to take the photo below (well most of the photos really!) i had to carefully hold the key opening in place. i used a light weight interfacing to match the weight of the fabric, but the end result is quite floppy.  if you are planning on making this top i would recommend giving a bit of consideration to the type of interfacing you use for the key hole facings.

 

one of the main disappointments for me with this pattern is the sleeve cuffs, mine do not look like the ones in the pattern photograph.  mine sit on an angle and are not horizontal like the ones in the photo below.

i could fix the sleeves, but really i'm happy to move onto the next project.  it may be something to bear in mind though if you want to make this pattern up. overall this will be a nice easy top to wear with shorts or jeans, so a great trans seasonal piece now autumn is just a few hours away!

 

 

now i'm very keen to check out lara's make.  til next time,

emma

darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - spring 2015

welcome to darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - spring 2015.  this season lara chose the fabric.  she posted a pic of a number of fabrics she bought at darn cheap fabrics on instagram early in spring and i was immediately drawn to this printed viscose, so we agreed to use it for our spring 2015 challenge. its no longer available online, but lara said it was still available recently at the heidelberg store.

originally i thought i would make another pair of named alexandria peg leg trousers but when i got the fabric in the mail i thought it would be better made up as a dress.  

i decided on the april rhodes staple dress which had been in my pattern stash for some time. after a bit of review searching on the interwebs i decided on cutting a size small as that was the size that best correlated with my bust measurements - something the instructions suggest you do.

in hindsight i really should have checked the finished measurements as the 3" ease was a bit much for me so i ended up taking the dress in to what effectively is the extra small size.  its a tiny bit comfy around my hips, but not too tight and overall is a very comfortable dress to wear.

i do find that the neckline pulls up, as shown in the picture below.  many of the google images i looked at before starting do not have this problem.  i'm not sure whether this is because of the size i ended up making (a size small taken in to an extra small along side seams only) or the drapey nature of the fabric or that my waist shirring is not in the right place. regardless i don't really mind, i just pull it down every now and then when i am wearing it.  next time i will pay a bit more attention to where i put the shirring though.

i originally cut out and sewed the inseam pockets, but in the end removed them as i was worried they stuck out a bit through the fabric at hip level - which is an area i would prefer not to draw attention to. without the pockets this is a pretty straightforward make with no closures.

i used some left over brown voile to make the required bias bindings.  by constructing the dress with no pockets and using left over fabric for the bindings i was able to get this dress out of 1.2/1.3m of 55" fabric which is a lot less than 2 and a half yards suggested on the pattern for the full dress, pockets and bindings. 

i had never shirred before and originally i made an internal casing for the waist and threaded 2 thin pieces of elastic to bring the waist in.  this took a lot of time and in the end didn't look very good. so i purchased some shirring elastic and gave it a shot and was quite surprised how easy it was.  i did two rows of shirring as i think the print of this dress looks better with a thin belt.  i was quite enjoying the shirring though so could have happily done many, many more rows.

i am 167cm tall and i did a minimal 1/4" hem to keep the length just above knee level.  next time i will add a small amount to the length to allow for a bigger hem.

i really love this dress, it is perfect for summer work wear and i am definitely keen to make another. now to pop over to lara's blog and see her make as i know she was making a dress too.

emma

darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - winter 2015

it's darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge time again.  lara went shopping for the fabric solo and the first  photo she messaged me was a scuba fabric with bright colours 'splashed' on a black background.  i messaged back saying that i loved it - so much so that i already had bought some after seeing it on chooktopia's instagram feed! i am constantly amazed at how many of the same fabrics lara and i are drawn too and why this challenge is so fun.

i had recently seen nikki's itch to stitch lindy petal skirt and was very keen to give it a go. i was drawn to the overlapping curved front panels as a point of difference from other knit skirts.  i messaged lara and said that i was going to make a 'new to me' skirt and also a top from another DCF fabric i had in my stash that i purchased on a previous shopping trip with her.  she messaged back saying she was going to make a skirt too and wondered if it was the same one?  i wrote back saying mine was a free indie pattern and she wrote back saying hers too! snap!

so here's my version of the lindy petal skirt.

using lara's advice that the sizing was true (she finished her skirt first), i made a straight small as the measurements matched mine perfectly and i am very happy with the fit.

lara also mentioned that the waistband application was not what she expected.  i checked the instructions and decided to do my waistband differently.  firstly i made mine 3/4"wider so that i could use 1 1/2" wide elastic, a width i like for knit skirts.  secondly i attached the waistband to the skirt, making a traditional casing to insert my elastic through rather than stitching my elastic to the waistband fabric as the instructions suggest.  i always get nervous that it will go wrong stitching elastic directly onto the waistband fabric and prefer to do a simple casing instead - it worked out fine.  i stitched the casing seam allowance down to the skirt body using zig zag stitch which you can just make out in the photo below.

lastly, i finished the hem using my twin needle.  this is such a quick, fun make - the pattern went together beautifully and the fabric was a dream to sew, it reminds me a lot of the fabric i used to make my recent simplicity 2054 dress. i will definitely make this pattern again, most probably in navy or black ponte first.  

nikki mentions in her blog post that she would be happy to pay for this pattern and i totally agree - it's such a great pattern and itch to stitch have gone to a lot of effort providing detailed instructions.  i would highly recommend the pattern.

i also made another grainline linden to go with the skirt, my first linden is here.  this time i made view b which has a cropped hemline and short sleeves.  i added cuffs to my sleeves and hemline after seeing cutcutsew's great versions.  i also made a size 6 this time and am happier with the fit, with the exception of the sleeves which sit a bit twisted.  they seem to be cut on grain so i'm not sure what happened, nonetheless the twisting won't stop me wearing the top!

another very successful DCF seasonal challenge, thanks lara - i am so keen to pop over to your blog to see your version of the lindy!

the GIVEAWAY winner from my last post is deadlycraft - congratulations! please message me at elhitchens(at)hotmail(dot)com and i will send your fabric to you.

emma

darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - autumn 2015

woot woot it's a blog post, it's been a while and i am very happy to be back posting.

firstly, i should note that my blog graphics have been vastly improved by the very talented alex from when all you need is...  she has done an AMAZING job for me and am really happy that my graphics now reflect a bit of the real ernest flagg.

back to the challenge - a seasonal challenge where lara and i use the same fabric from darn cheap fabrics and make up whatever takes our fancy.  i had some surgery on my leg and haven't been able to travel to melbourne for a while so lara did the choosing this time.  when she messaged me a pic of the fabric i loved it immediately, if i had been at dcf with her it is definitely a fabric i would have been drawn to straight away. lara's message said it was a poly knit, almost like a fine gauge jumper knit. its a lovely fabric and very stable to sew.

my make is a moneta / lady skater mash up and i am thrilled with how it worked out.  i have never hacked patterns together before but figured a knit would be very forgiving so went for it without a stunt run.

i have made the lady skater previously, a great pattern but the main problem for me, as rachel points out is also an issue for her with the dixie diy ballet dress is that it hugs the tummy a bit too much for me.  hence i thought the moneta would be a good option as it has a gathered skirt.

i bought the colette moneta pattern before googling for reviews.  once it was in my inbox i started to look for some reviews and rachel's was one of the first that came up.  she points out that she got excess fabric in the upper bust area.  when i stuck the pdf together it struck me that the bodice looked like a weird shape at the side seams so i decided to do a mash up with the kitschychoo lady skater.

i did the following simple mash up:

• used the lady skater bodice, straightened off the bottom and added the moneta neckline
• used the moneta skirt

i used 3/8" seam allowance throughout, except for joining the bodice to the skirt where i used 1/2" to give me a smidgen more allowance to help get some nice gathers. when joining the bodice to the skirt i started the gathers in ernest from about 1 and 3/4"from the side seams so that i don't get extra bulk near my hips.

i constructed the entire dress on my overlocker (a first for me) and used a twin needle on my sewing machine for the neckline and hems.  about a minute after sewing the shoulders and sleeves on it occurred to me that i really should have lined the bodice but at this stage i couldn't be bothered unpicking the sleeves. its ok, but i might look into getting a slip to wear underneath it for a bit of extra warmth in winter.

this will be a great dress for work and works well with a black jacket.  it is a perfect addition to my 'no iron' work wardrobe. win!

doing all of the construction on my overlocker made this an incredibly quick make and i will be on the look out for another suitable fabric to make this dress again to add to my no iron work wardrobe. i am quite new to turning under necklines and sewing them down with a twin needle.  does anyone have any tips on how to approach the shoulder seams? my machine struggles getting over the seam bulk.  having said that i really should just start using my cover stitch machine now i seem to have conquered my fears with overlockers… 

even though its been a while since posts i have been doing a lot of sewing so if i can get some photos taken i have lots more to show you in future posts.

now i'm excited to go and check out lara's make.

emma

darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - summer 2014/15

welcome to instalment no.2 of the darn cheap fabrics seasonal challenge - summer 2014/15.  for background info on the concept see my post on the first challenge.

my family had christmas in melbourne which gave me a chance to visit dcf with lara (and a bunch of other great melbourne bloggers) to choose our challenge fabric. it was really fun shopping trip!  lara and i settled on a summery linen printed with pineapples, toucans and zebras.  we could have actually settled on a few fabrics as we purchased 3 of the same fabrics and a fourth that we both bought in a different colour.

i went for another megan nielsen kelly skirt lengthened to be a midi.  i made one in pineapple linen from darn cheap fabrics recently and really like it so i decided to make another - actually it's my third as i have made another from the african wax print i bought in johanesberg shown at the bottom of this post, yet to be blogged.

there is not much to say about the construction of this skirt that i haven't said in previous kelly posts.  i am just really rapt with how it looks.  one thing i didn't mention in my pineapple kelly post is that the black tee is a maria denmark kirsten kimono tee (a free pattern!) that i made to wear with the pineapple skirt.  the fabric is a soft dkny jersey from the fabric store.

as with my other kellys i bound the pocket seam, in purple bias this time and did french side seams. 

this is my second last kelly midi for the moment. i've got another in black that i am nearly finished, i just need to sew the buttons on.  but my midi love affair is not ending as i am eyeing off the sewaholic crescent skirt which i want to lengthen to midi.  i also want to start making a few shorter a-line skirts for winter too. skirts skirts skirts!

i saw a sneak peak of lara's make on IG but am very keen to see the full dress and make up the pattern myself!

i'm already looking forward to the next challenge - autumn 2015.

emma

simplicity 1366 - cheap whales

happy new year - it's another simplicity 1366! my others are here, here and here. i really like the style of this pattern and how easily it comes together.

i got this whale fabric at darn cheap fabrics at a blogger meet up in melbourne just before christmas. i had seen the white colour way in the dcf online shop previously and although i kind of liked it i couldn't imagine what i would make with it.

at the dcf store they had the mint green colour way with a photograph of a designer whale tee - i really should have paid more attention though as i can't remember who the designer was.  i figured i should be able to get a short sleeved tee out of 80cm, so for the sake of $13 i should give it a go.

i'm really happy with how it turned out, but realise that whales won't be everyones cup of tea!

the dcf website says that the white colour way is a knit fabric with stretch. however the mint green colour way that i purchased has no stretch.  to accommodate this and ensure that the back sat nicely i made a high low hem line (future ernest notes: add 2 1/4" to back and 1.5" to front to make high low hem line).

i originally planned to add binding to the neckline and sleeve hems using some left over royal blue ponte, like the inspiration photo in the dcf store.  when cutting though i forgot i was going to change the neckline from boat to something more circular so i could use binding. in the end i just left it plain and used the blue ponte to bind the neckline instead.

for the neckline binding i use a single strip of ponte (rather than doubled as per the instructions) to save on bulk.  i cut the strip using a rotary cutter so the finish is pretty good even though it has an exposed raw edge visible in the above and below photos.

yes there are still more 1366ers coming!


emma