all the casual ladies (the casual lady dress by go to patterns)

i made quite a few of the casual lady dress by go to patterns last summer (i think maybe 6…) and i have just made a new one this summer.  the pattern description is:

"The perfect comfortable, easy wear, top or dress sewing pattern. With simple construction methods you’ll be making these quickly to fill up your closet. Choose your favorite knit fabric and get started today!"

knit dress and fill your closet - perfect!

this first one below is made from a soft ponte from girl charlee. the second one (my recent make) is a navy + white stripe knit from joys fabric warehouse (woo hoo they now have an online shop). the third one is a black and white spot from the fabric store and lastly a white + navy stripe ponte from spotlight.

i used medium size for all of the dresses as it is the size that correlates with my measurements and it is a good fit for me. depending on the type of fabric though i have also taken in some of the dresses along the hip line to better match my body shape. i used my sewing machine for all construction.

the pattern provides for a fully faced neckline, but i haven't done this for any of my versions.  i just removed 1/4" off the neckline and cap sleeves, turned them under and stitched them down with my twin needle - this makes for an incredibly quick make.  although for the white + navy ponte version i did use a contrast navy binding for the neckline and sleeves.

i added 2 darts at the back of all of my dresses to pull them in and give a bit more shape - you can just make out the darts in the photo above.

i've also changed the hemline around for a bit of variety, including different high-low finishes.

this is such a simple dress to make, its easy to wear and is another win for secret pyjamas - am sure there will be yet more versions to come.


emma

named patterns alexandria peg legs - two ways (+ giveaway winner call out)

when named patterns released their ticket collection for SS15 i was drawn to most of the patterns, but particularly the alexandria peg leg trousers and the inari tee dress.  i've made two inari tee dresses and both have been duds, but i'm determined to try and make it work.  luckily the peg leg trousers were a winner pretty much straight up.

for my first pair i made a size 40 which is the size that most closely matches my measurements.  the result was more lounge pants than peg leg.  so for this version made from a cotton from the fabric store i sized down to size 38.  i made no alterations other than to increase the width of the waist band to accommodate 3cm wide elastic instead of the 2.5cm that the pattern calls for as my local fabric store only had 3cm wide elastic. i also omitted the drawstring.

the pattern instructions are easy to follow and the pants came together easily.  here's a close up of the fabric as it is hard to photograph from a distance.

i made another simplicity 1366 to wear with the pants.  i have been wanting a black one for ages and made this up in a bargain ponte from fabric.com that actually has a sparkly silver leopard print on the right side, which is on the inside of this top.

   

these pants are so comfy (more work gear that are really secret pjs - side cheers) i decided i needed multiple pairs so i also made them up in a light weight dark chambray from joys fabric warehouse in geelong. these ones are really comfy and perfect for casual or more dressy wear.

i also got two set on this pair and made a maria denmark kimono tee from a spotlight knit, my previous kimono tees can be seen here.  simplicity 1366 and the kimono tee are definitely my go to summer tops. they make up very quickly and i like the lines of both designs.

i've been making shorts lately - hopefully i will blog them soon, but really do want to get back onto that inari...

finally, a shout out to deadlycraft who won my giveaway - apologies i should have included 'giveaway winner in my last post title.  i've been keeping an eye on my junk mail but haven't seen a message from you.  please resend or email me and let me know in the comments so i know to check my junk mail.


emma

spring time in sydney - simplicity 4047

can i say first up that i love the design of the fabric i used for this skirt, but it was a shocker to sew.  as soon as i finished my last simplicity 4047 i wanted to start one in this fabric, a recent the fabric store purchase.  i imagined such a great looking skirt but unfortunately the whole process was a bit blah.

yes i'm standing on a sloping driveway in these pics which is why everything looks a bit lopsided.

being polyester and really stable i thought it would be a quick easy sew - mistake 1.  i went with the same size as my previous S4047 and things started ok with the 4 waist darts going in fine.

i then i went to overlock the back centre seam ready for the zip and my overlocker didn't like the fabric one bit.  i spent a good few hours playing with the tension and thinking my new second hand overlocker was a dud.  i turned to IG for help and thankfully leith, lara and susan came to the rescue and i pushed ahead and then went back to the sewing machine to do the zip and side seams.  my machine didn't like the fabric one bit either, it laboured, making irregular stitches and sounds that are more likely heard at a zoo.

i got the invisible zip in and side seams sewn and tried the skirt on - though unfortunately i couldn't get it on, even though i cut the exact same size as my previous wool version. i took the invisible zip out, replaced it with a longer lap zip and took out the side seams until i was able to get the skirt on and sit down.

i originally planned to line the skirt, but as it had taken up so much of my time i decided to go with a bias binding waist band.  the fabric is slippery enough that i think it should be OK.

you can see in the pic below how little my sewing machine liked sewing this fabric - i sewed the waist 3 times.  each time it started out ok, but by about 3/4 the way round sewing machine said no.   after 3 go's i decided to leave it how it is as it looks ok from the front.

now that a bit of time has passed i am not so angry about this skirt and i am happy how it looks with my  simplicity 1366 in chocolate brown ponti.  i love this new to me pattern - this top took around 2 hours to make.

the amazingly talented and fun leith of sew brunswick recently nominated me for the blog hop going round the www, i'll be back soon to answer the questions and also have a give away to celebrate 100 followers on blog login'!

emma

Spots on Simplicity 2444 & a spot of fabric shopping

I didn't get a chance to do any sewing this weekend as I went to Melbourne to catch up with an old friend and then on to Geelong for a double family celebration.  I did take the opportunity to visit 2 fabric shops though - more on that at the bottom of this post.

This dress is Simplicity 2444, I wore it to work today.  There are loads and loads and loads of them on sewing blogs.  I made this version just over a year ago when I got back into sewing after a long break.  This pattern is one of the first patterns I stumbled across on the internet one day and got me back into sewing.

More specifically, it was this amazing version by Dapper Duds.  Fantastic fabric, a great fit and exceptional finishing on the inside - perfect!  Mine is not so perfect, but I happily wear it anyway.

The fabric is from The Fabric Store.  I bought it because I liked it, but it was actually on sale (tick) as the fabric had some flaws which I was able to cut around.  On the subject of cutting I had a lot of luck with this dress.  As it was one of the first I made in a long time I totally forgot that I might need to match the circles and did not give this any thought when cutting the fabric.

The circles must be printed pretty much on grain though as I was fortunate that they matched pretty well in the key places - the back zip area and front skirt seam phew. 

I put in an invisible zip - my first zip in several years and I was pretty relieved at how it went in. 

Here's a closer pic of the bottom of the zip and into the skirt back with some not so great circle matching, but its the back skirt and I don't see it so I don't care.

These photos were taken at the end of the day and I didn't iron the dress before I took them.  You can see some wrinkles in the above pic, but in general the fabric gets through the day without much crinkling.  If I hang the dress carefully after washing I can get way without ironing it - depending on how lazy I feel...

My fit is OK, there is extra fabric at the neckline that could have been removed, but again as it was early days in my return to sewing I didn't give this any thought. 

Despite my measurements more closely matching a 12 for the top and a 16 for the waist and hips I cut a 10 for the top and graded to a 12 at the waist.  I did this firstly because in my naive return to sewing state I thought how dare this pattern think I am 3 sizes above my RTW size and secondly because the pattern only went up to size 12!  In the end the only place I made any fit adjustments was the side seams where I reduced the seam allowance at the waist seam - there were a few moments when I thought the seam allowance would not have enough fabric to create a seam that fitted at the waist, but I just scrapped through - phew again.

The inside of my dress is not too bad for the facings, but in general no where near as fabulous as Dapper Duds - with its french and bias bound seams and facings. Now I am back into the swing of sewing again I am keen to work more on this aspect in future dress makes.

PART B: As is usual these days on trips I grabbed the opportunity on the weekend to visit some fabric shops.

First up was Darn Cheap Fabrics in Heidelberg.  Handily, I get to drive right past this shop when travelling to my parents from the airport.  I got the 2 bottom fabrics here.

The fabric on the left is a sateen and the smaller yellow diamonds are a neon yellow colour.  This is going to be a sleeveless shift dress.  The orange spotted fabric on the right is a silk, the spots are a very bright neon orange (memo to me: learn to use camera better).  This fabric is going to be some kind of top.

Lastly the top fabric is from the Dr Seuss range for some more pj bottoms for the kids.  I got this fabric from Joys Fabric Warehouse in Geelong, which by another handy turn of fate is just over a block from my sister's house in Geelong.  I was recently introduced to this shop by Blogless Anna and Boo Dogg and Me.  My life was made for fabric shopping!

emma