Abakhans July project of the month winner!

Hi guys, 

Just a quick post to say I am blown a away to have been chosen by Abakhan to be one of their July Project of the month winners!

My entry to the competition was my International Anna Party dress! you can read more about that here.

I love shopping at Abakhan because they have such an unusual selection of fabrics. I have been gifted a voucher to spend online or in store, it's all very exciting!!

If you would like to read more about it, see the other two fabulous winners or just check out the details so you can enter next month follow this link and have a little read!

Well I think that's all the excitement over for now!

Speak soon :)

~HJF~

Boat neck swishy holiday dress

Hello....

Yes, that is what I am naming this post, because well, today I am writing to tell you about just that,  the boat neck swishy dress I made for my recent holiday to Wales.

I have been in a bit of a wardrobe awkward phase at the moment, largely in part to changes in figure, and half of my clothes being in storage. I felt that summer has just passed me by and I have just kept on wearing my winter clothes. This just would not do, you see the thing was, we were going on holiday... to Wales, probably one of my favourite places to holiday in. I couldn't go away without a new summer frock, the situation needed to be rectified. 

So, in usual Hannah style, the day before we go on holiday, I decide to open the fabric stash cupboard doors, find a suitable candidate and locate my favourite easy to sew pattern.

I had recently bought a large piece of Viscose/Rayon from Abakhan fabrics in Bolton and decided that this would be the perfect choice for my summer dress. It is a lovely black and cream wobbly striped print that I hoped could be dressy or casual.

Next was my pattern of choice, this is a self drafted pattern. It has transformed and morphed over the years. It started life as a princess seamed sundress and gradually morphed into several different patterns, one being a boat neck bodice. The thing about this bodice is that it only has one bust dart, which is really unusual for me, I usually need more than one bust dart to achieve the shaping I need. I think the key to its success is that the darts are shaped, the dart legs are not straight lines, helping give the extra shaping needed.

The skirt for this pattern varies, I have several ranging from full circle to gathered circle and quarter circle, but in this case I was rushed on time, couldn't locate my gathered skirt pattern pieces and just gathered two rectangles and hoped for the best..... bad sewing... I know! I was rushing!!!

So here it is, my Boat neck swishy holiday dress.... 

I always use bias binding as a facing to finish the neck and armholes on these self drafted dresses. This Viscose/Rayon was so soft the only thing I had in my stash that was a good match for the softness of the fabric was a hot pink, so there is a nice surprise flash of colour on the inside of this dress! 

The Viscose/Rayon worked perfectly for this dress and I was so happy with the amount of drape that it had in the skirt, and it also gave nice soft lines to the bodice. I got a large piece from Abakhan and still have enough left to make something else.

I have made so made versions of this dress now, but I still keep coming back to it, I think that it has become so invaluable to have a self drafted pattern that can be adapted easily, but that also sews up quickly. I also find with this pattern that it is very versatile, I have made several casual versions, but  I also made a version last year to get legally married in, but that's a whole other story. :)

Also, here is a nice extra photo......It got really windy when I was taking the photographs, and so the trees were hitting me in the face.... as you can see from the picture below it doesn't make for a good photo shoot!....ha!!

Thanks for stopping by today guys, it has been a bit of a sewing whirlwind since the International Anna Party, and I still feel so much excitement over that! I haven't had much time to sew, but I am slowly sneaking moments here and there when I can. I was lucky enough to be gifted some wonderful patterns from By Hand London through the International Anna Party, so I am really looking forward to sewing those!!

Do you have a sewing pattern that is your all time favourite?

Is drafting patterns something you do or are commercial patterns your favourite?

I would love to know, drop me a message in the comments below!

~HJF~

The International Anna Party... A round up with some excitement!!!!

Hi guys,

I am back today after what seems like forever. I have been rather swamped lately with small sewing commissions, stitching gifts for people, and have been snowed under with a rather large project that I can't cant share with you lovely folks yet. But all in all I haven't had much time to sew for myself, let alone blog about it, I am not complaining, I like to be busy....

But when I saw that the ever lovely and oh so talented @lauralovespugs  (or Elle) was hosting a virtual birthday party for herself  over on Instagram with her two wonderfully talented friends @Ute_ig and @magdalenesmuse I decided I needed to make time to be a part of this!!

Now, the theme for the party was an International Anna Party. Anna being the Anna dress pattern by the By Hand London team.

If you haven't heard about this party over on instagram over the last week.... where have you been?? ha ha!! No, OK well here is the link to the lauralovespugs blog, where she tells you all about why the party came about, and all the updates on the happenings throughout the party process. I urge you to go and have a read, I really do, it is a lovely story of friendship and sewing and.... well just go read and see for yourself what this whole party was all about!!

So for the party the challenge was to make an Anna dress for yourself and post a photograph of yourself wearing your Anna party frock over the weekend of the 17th-18th July under the  #internationalannaparty .

I however have never made an Anna dress before, I bought the pattern at Christmas maybe? but I have just never quite gotten round to making it up. So with two weeks to go I decided, lets do this and make me an Anna.

I toiled myself a straight up size knowing that I would have to do some alterations, but was pleasantly surprised by how little I actually had to do.

The skirt was perfect straight out of the packet....hmm incredible?
With the bodice I decided to lower the bust pleats and grade from a larger size on the lower half to a smaller size on the top half.
Oh  actually I had take about 35cm off the skirt length, because... I'm not a giant?!

I should mention at this point it is now Wednesday before Anna party. (if you read my blog regularly you may be detecting a theme... the last minute sewing theme) So Wednesday I set to cutting out my Anna dress, I realise I have no zip, ha ha. So I quickly change my pattern pieces around to lay my CB bodice on the fold of the fabric, sorted. I find a short regular zip that I will insert under the arm, in a lapped style so it wont be visible. I get most of the sewing done Wednesday just zip, facings and hems to do on Thursday.

I decided I wanted to take my photo on Thursday Evening in the hay field outside the back of my house, just before the sun set. So I raced against time and got it finished just in time!! yay!!

Just my luck the weather was hilariously windy as you will see in the photographs....

So.... I should probably mention that I was incredibly lucky to be selected from lots of amazing ladies that had made Anna dresses over on Instagram to be in the Semi Final of  the competition....and it was this photograph that was my entry...

The nine fabulous semi finalists were then sent to the team at By Hand London who then picked three finalists, I am happy to say I was one of those too!! There is a little link to the By Hand London mini round up here.

The three finalists then went into a public vote over on @lauralovespugs Instagram account, where people got to choose which Anna dress was their favourite!!

I am so overwhelmed to say that I won!! A huge thank you to everyone who voted for me, I was completely blown away, it was really unexpected, so thank you!!

So here I am wandering about in the field, I think our neighbours probably wondered what the heck I was doing...as I was alone in the field with just my camera and my remote clicker!

I had such fun with this dress, I loved wearing it and I can't wait to take it on holiday with me. As I earlier mentioned it was rather windy when I was taking these photographs, so you can't really see, but the dress is floor length with two double knee high splits....

I tried for a picture with my hair down, but that didn't end well....ha ha

I have to say I love this dress, I can see myself making lots more versions of this too! It is so simple and quick to make. I made this version in a lightweight cotton making it an everyday dress but made in a silk or something heavier and it could be something really special!!

So here we have it my lightweight Ikat cotton maxi Anna dress.

Finally I just want to say a HUGE thank you to @lauralovespugs , @Ute_ig and @magdalenesmuse for throwing such an awesome party for all of us sewing folks!! There was a huge amount of hard work that went into planning the party!! I had such a great time, and seeing all the different Anna dresses was such a treat!! It was such a great way to meet new Instagram friends too, that's what I like about these events! Growing the sewing community.

 I would also like to thank By Hand London who put me through to the final and who are very generously giving us finalists a PDF pattern of our choice!! Which pattern to choose, too many good ones!!

There were soooo many Anna amazing variations at the party, if you are ever thinking of making the Anna dress, be sure to check out the #internationalannaparty for a wealth of inspiration!! 

Well that's all for now, my next sewing adventures are some holiday basics, due for next week!! nothing like a bit more last minute sewing.

Did you take part in the International Anna Party?

Have you made the Anna dress yet?

Has the International Anna Party inspired you to make the Anna dress?

Would love to hear your thoughts??

~HJF~

Vintage Blue Ikat Ultimate Shift Dress

Hi Guys,

Today I am back with a little bit of me sewing, a simple Sew Over It London, Ultimate Shift Dress. I have been sewing a lot for others over the last few months, and not really had a lot of time to sew anything for myself. The last last dress I made, the Liberty Alpine dress, I made to go to a Craft Party in and I made to a deadline, so ultimately I was rushing up until the last moment to finish it in time. Cue hand sewing til midnight... totally worth it though :)

And the same goes for this dress really, just finished in time for a deadline.  Last week I was sewing some gifts up and it got to Thursday and I checked the weather report for my trip out on Saturday.

Now, if you haven't already realized I live in England...  and as most will well know, it is pretty much essential to check the weather report if you want to go anywhere. I was travelling to another part of the UK and I was informed we would have sunshine!  oh hello!Well, I was not prepared for that!

 So after checking my wardrobe and finding that I didn't have a single thing suitable I decided I would have to whip something up. Truth is I have just not had time to update my summer wardrobe, I have been so busy with other projects and because summer just doesn't seemed to have arrived here yet, there hasn't exactly been a rush on the sleeveless vests and sundresses! The summer wardrobe is now edging closer to the top of my list.

On a side note, I really need to stop this last minute sewing, I don't enjoy it very much, and I don't want to start putting pressure onto a skill that I really love... sewing. I need to plan more, and put time aside to sew the things I really need to fill those gaps in my wardrobe, not just last minute sew things when I have been too busy to plan ahead... not good.

Anyway... Me, a trip out, sunshine, nothing to wear. I decided I didn't have time to go too fancy, and if I wanted to make something I had just Friday to do it. So, I opted for the lovely Sew Over It London Ultimate Shift Dress pattern. I guess you could say this has become a bit of a well loved pattern for me. I think I have made four altogether and I find it a really quick garment to put together with really pleasing results.

Next up was choosing the fabric, I had a quick look in my fabric stash and pulled out some rather lovely Vintage Ikat blue cotton. This fabric was a rather lucky find from a local Vintage Fair. They don't usually do textiles there but there was a lady selling home furnishing fabrics and she had two pieces of this wonderful stuff! I think in total it cost me £6 for the lot, and I only used one of the pieces, so I am now wondering what to make with the second piece?! Suggestions would be very welcome!!

So am I going to stop chatting about the weather like a typical Brit and show you the dress...

The print had a bit of a crazy pattern to it and if  wanted to follow grain and keep those diamonds running parallel down my body it meant that the diamonds seemed to go on a bit of a wander across by body. I think that is just the pattern though and it was the best possible placement without loosing those strain grain parallel diamonds. Hey, I am happy and sometimes with vintage fabrics you just have to go with it, I have had countless pieces that the prints are all kinds of crazy off grain, but I think I just about get away with this one... 

I was a little worried about this colour on me. I loved the colour, but I was worried it would make me look larger, but I think keeping the silhouette clean with a simple shift dress has help to minimize that.

This is the first Ultimate Shift Dress i have made with short sleeves and I really love them! I was a little skeptical at first as I usually go for a three quarter length as I find that a flattering for me, but this could be my new summer sleeve length!!!

And if any of you are wondering if  got my dose of sunshine.... I totally did not...it rained and poured all day, so much so I put on my tights and brogues instead of my sandals. You win some you lose some.

 Here I am on my way down to see my friend, we were stuck in traffic, in the rain, but I was just too excited to be seeing my friend and wearing my new dress. (I wasn't the driver by the way) ;)

That's all for now, I am back to sewing for others for the moment, and I am eagerly awaiting the next gap so I can get sewing my summer wardrobe!!

Do you have any favourite patterns that you return to when you are in need of a quick make?

I am always interested to hear!

I am also open to suggestion to what I can use my left over Ikat fabric for? I have just over a meter left and feel a bit clueless about what to use it for. If you have any suggestions please drop me a message in the comments below. :)

Thanks for stopping by...

~HJF~

Alpine Liberty Emery Dress

Hello guys,

Today I am back with another Emery Dress. I am rather a fan of the Emery Dress by Christine Haynes, and although this is only my third, I can see many more of these in my future. 

I made my first ever Emery during Selfish sewing week, it was made from some lovely vintage Peter Pan cotton that was donated to me by my Aunty and you can take a peek at it here. 

This is my third Emery and I have made some quite significant changes to the pattern to get the fit right for me. I would like to say I did an FBA straight away, like I should have, but I didn't, and in the end I have made multiple changes to the bodice pieces and I think I am now finally quite happy with the fit I have. 

This has been one seriously popular pattern, I mean googling it brings up a whole host of AMAZING variations of this dress. The thing I really like about this pattern is that is seems to be flattering for a lot of different body shapes, which is not something you can often say about a pattern. Yes, I had to make a lot of adjustments to get the fit right, but I do with most commercial patterns. 

For me this pattern is such a great staple, I feel I can make a really simple version like this one, to be worn casually, or choose a really special fabric and make it for a special occasion. 

For this version I decided to cut into my stash of Liberty Fabrics....

During the half-term holidays Mr.F decided he wanted to take me to Standfast and Barracks factory shop in Lancaster. This is the home of Liberty printing, where they print not just their cloth, but John Lewis', Christian Lacroix, Sanderson etc. There they sell misprints of these designer fabrics, some of it may be that there was just a flaw at the beginning or the end of the roll so they couldn't sell the whole roll, some there may be a slight shift in the print or a flaw that runs the entire length of the fabric. However the times I have been I have been very lucky in that most of the flaws are unnoticeable or are easy to work around in the cutting out stages. 

Now, I love Liberty fabric, in a sense that the quality of the fabric and the prints is incredible. I am not however super keen on florals. I like the odd floral piece here and there, but I tend to go for the more abstract ones. I do love the Liberty Art prints through and have had my eye on a few of the geometric designs for some time, I have some of the Queue for the Zoo in my stash which is also a particular favourite. So when we went to the factory shop I had a few prints in mind I was hoping they might have. I was a little disappointed in that most were florals that day but it is completely hit and miss depending on the printing process. 

I did however find a print that I have been eyeing up for some time....I believe it is called Jonathan B and I first saw it a year ago. I loved it because it reminds me of pencil shavings, which believe it or not used to be part of my job, sharpening pencils. Ha ha. I also love it because it reminds me of the alps, with mountains and fir trees. I was lucky enough to grab this for £3 a metre and it doesn't have a single flaw on it, lucky me. 

There was just two metres left which was enough for me to squeeze a long sleeved Emery out of it, with a few bits left over (maybe for a bow tie, who knows). 

And here we have it, I should probably mention at this point that I made this dress for kind of a special occasion. I was attending an Etsy Craft Party run by the store Berylune in Leamington Spa. I was also meeting up with an all round awesome gal and fellow sewer for the first time too, so you see, I needed me a new party frock! 

Here you have the extra secret Liberty pockets.....

You may notice in the photographs that I have my sleeves rolled up, well this was a style choice, initially I wanted to make the sleeves three quarter, but I am still having issues with my sleeve fit, they are too baggy, so I decided to make them a little longer and roll them up to give the dress a more casual look. 

I love this dress and I felt very comfortable in it all night. The bodice is fully lined and I decided to hand stitch down not only the lining waist but the lining armholes too, I am not a fan of having the overlocking on the shoulder seams visible on the inside, so I hide them all in the lining, nice!  This means that the only visible overlocking is on the skirt side seams and the sleeve side seams.

I can see lots of versions of this dress in my future wardrobe planning, I have a few I would like to make for our up and coming summer holiday. I am hoping to redraft the bodice to accommodate some shaping to the armholes to make a sleeveless version, wish me luck. 

Are there any other Liberty Fabric fans out there?

Do you have a favourite Liberty Fabric you are waiting to buy?

 I would love to hear what your favourite prints are!

Did anyone else attend an Etsy Craft Party? 

Thanks for stopping by guys!

~HJF~

Linden Sweatshirt Dress - Paisley Vintage Jersey

Hi all,

It feels like an age since I have written a blog post! I have been so busy with birthdays and the like that posting has been put on the back burner. Well I am back today with a super quick sewing fix!

I have been doing a lot of sewing recently some of which I hope to be sharing with you guys in the coming weeks, but I kind of overloaded my self and needed a bit of a break. So I have had a week without sewing pretty much, which for me felt kind of crazy! But this week I gave in and decided I needed a quick simple project to get me back at the sewing table. 

Firstly let me explain, I have a 'to sew' list which changes on occasion but mostly I work my way through it and am pretty happy, but the weather has kind of made that a challenge recently. I had planned my next batch of sewing to be vests, summer tops, dresses, things for my holiday. In fact I had a whole post based around it ( but lets not talk about that shall we) but when the weather decided to stay wet, grey windy and well, very cold I decided, all this summer sewing just won't do! 

I got out my Linden Sweatshirt pattern from the ever faithful Grainline Studio and decided, I NEED more sweatshirts. So that was that, I cut out a lovely grey knit sweatshirt from my newly modded pattern and thought this will be my sewing fix. For some reason I wasn't quite content with that, so I went back to the fabric cupboard and sought out my Vintage paisley cotton jersey. 

I feel I must explain, this is stuff of legends, it is 100% cotton and so thick it could keep you warm in winter like a blanket, it is wonderfully stable, sews like a dream and.....is over two meters wide!

Where did I find such a magnificent piece of cloth, well like most of my snazzy prints it was handed down to me from my Aunty. Back in the day when there were multiple fabric shops on the high street, my Aunty would go and buy amazing fabric so cheaply it now makes me feel a little queezy just thinking about it. She would not only buy for herself but for me when I was a kid, so she has amassed a rather large stash of pretty rad 70's, 80's and 90's prints that she very generously donates to me when I am looking to make something super snazzy.  

Okay, sorry, getting back to the point, I got a little off track there with the whole 80's fabric shopping nostalgia. I  have saved this particular piece of fabric for about eight years, yes, that's right, eight years, I love it that much. I decided it was time to cut that 80's fabric up and have myself a new dress by the end of the day. I wanted a dress that would see me through the pretty poor weather we have been having, something I could wear with tights and a shirt underneath, but equally just on its own in the summer. I wanted to make myself a t-shirt smock dress and decided that the Linden Sweatshirt pattern was the perfect place to start.

I wanted a smock t-shirt style dress, so I set to shortening the the Linden bodice, adding some shaping and then cutting two rectangles to give the gathered skirt I wanted.

Here we have it, I think it fits the purpose I made it for, it is perfect for layering, but also great for when the weather gets a little warmer. I purposely made it just long enough so I could go bare legs if it ever gets warm enough here and the wind drops.... this is not a dress for a windy day...

I have to say I finally had some success with the neckband on this Linden, I feel super happy with the finish on it. ( I was getting a little jealous over here of everyone's wonderful Linden necklines)  I have had a little trouble with this in the past and thought it was perhaps just me being a sloppy sewer.... but as it turns out it was my fabric. My previous two Lindens were out of crazy unstable knitted fabrics that laddered when stretched so adding the neckline had been a challenge. I feel it looks neater this time around, yay for stable jersey!

Here I am laying up my dress because as predicted by the time I had finished my dress it was still mighty cold and I needed my shirt and tights to keep me warm. 

And here is how I hope to wear it if the weather gets a little warmer, however by that point I hope that my legs won't quite blend in to the magnolia colour on the walls quite like they do now.... lets just say I need some sunshine......

I am pretty happy with my quick sewing project, I think I will be making a few more, possibly in a woven next time just to make things a bit cooler for the summer.

I would love to know if you have tried any hacks out with the Linden Sweatshirt pattern. If so please let me know in the comments below!

~HJF~

Ahoy there, it's another dungaree dress!

Hi guys,

I am back this week with another dungaree dress, first I feel there is a little bit of back story needed so let me tell you...

When I was younger, say in my mid/late teens I loved anything nautical, for example I loved anchors, anything with anchors on it I had to have it. I also loved anything with sailboats, stripes and the colour scheme navy, red and white. I thought I would grow out of all things nautical, but I guess, I didn't. 

Ok, ok, so now I don't have a need to be covered in anchors but I still love me some nautical pieces in my wardrobe. 

Onto my latest make, which I am hoping will be a well worn addition to my wardrobe. 

A navy twill dungaree dress with burgundy accent stitching and an embroidered anchor. 

(Ok, so maybe I just had to sneak a little anchor in there!)

I originally planned to just use a navy cotton for the stitching but my mum suggested some burgundy to liven things up and I am so glad she did.

I used some snazzy bronze buttons for this which I just love with the burgundy, I had bought some traditional style jean buttons but somehow they just didn't seam right for this, too heavy. What do you think?

This fabric was also a bit of a stash buster, it has been in my cupboards for a while and I am so happy I made use of it with this dungaree dress. 

This fabric is a cotton and acrylic twill mix in a traditional navy. I love it, but it does seem to however attract fluff at every move, I am hoping that with washing that will disappear. 

I used a pattern I made from a favourite RTW dungaree dress a couple of weeks ago. You can read more about it here. I love this version so much, It is so much more wearable than the floral version I made a couple of weeks ago and I can see myself making this a few more times over in more lightweight fabrics for the summer. I already have a chambray in my sights.

Do you have a favourite pattern that you make over and over? 

If so I would love to hear about it...

~HJF~ 

Selfish sewing week round up

So selfish sewing week is over...:(

I have so enjoyed spending a whole week sewing up new patterns and old ones alike. I have taken on three new patterns this week and feel I have learnt a whole lot. So incase any of you guys missed it, here is a quick round up of my makes in what was a really fun #selfishsewingweek!

I managed to complete;

One tank top for my mum, not particularly selfish, but I gave it to her on Mother's Day and she was over the moon with it!! It was kind of selfish because it was a wonderful excuse to use some of my all time favourite Cotton and Steel fabric by Sarah Watts.  You can see more details about that here. 

My first ever Emery dress also got completed, and I have to say, I now know what all the hype is about!! I love this pattern, so beautifully drafted, and I have high hopes of making a few more of these for the summer. See more pictures here, and if you like silly gifs of people twirling in skirts hop over to my instagram here!

Garment number three is the chiffon blouse that is from a self drafted pattern. To hear about my lucky fabric find and my attempt at testing out a new bit of kit take a look at this post. 

Number three is my mustard Tilly and the Buttons Francoise dress, I chat about fit, fabric choices and my indicision over colour, take a peek here. 

And last and least impressive is my self drafted polka dot vest top. To read a little more about my FBA process and salvaging projects click here. 

Thanks for stopping by over the last week, I have had a lot of new visitors thanks to Selfish Sewing week, I hope you will all visit again.

That's all for now, up next on the sewing table is a new navy dungaree dress, don't go too far. 

~HJF~ 

Mr. Mustard Tilly and the Buttons Francoise!

Garment number four in selfish sewing week is my Tilly and the Buttons Francoise dress.

I recently went on a little trip to wales to the huge fabric shop Abakhan. We have a smaller branch here in Bolton, but NOTHING on the the scale of the Mostyn shop. It has everything!!

So I had a good rummage in the printed viscose section and found this lovely vintage style mustard rose print. Now, I must explain, I am not very adventurous with colours, I like black, navy, grey and in the summer if you are lucky I will thow in the occasional colourful print. I just don't do colour, it doesn't suit me, so I stick to the darker tones. 

So in a vow to add a little more colour to my summer wardrobe I chose this mustard print.... Man how it doesn't suit me!! I am altogether way too pale to pull this number off. 

Anyway, getting back to the point. I made this dress up straight from the packet, and I am pretty happy with the fit, although the neckline/shoulders are too wide on me, but this is something I hope the rectify next time around. 

Pleas excuse the slightly dodgy photograph, it was blowing a gale outside and so I had problems with my dress blowing away... See below! 

I really like this dress pattern and the fit around my bust and hips is pretty flattering, all things considered. As I mentioned before the neckline is too large for me and needs some work, but hopefully nothing I can't rectify. 

As I said this colour really isn't working for me, and I am kind of gutted about that because this fabric is soo lovely and would be wonderful in the summer. Who knows maybe with a tan it won't look as bad?!

I will definitely be making this again, with alterations. I really like how different it looks to the sample image on the packet. I have used a completely different fabric to the ones recommended and it gives a totally different shape to the 60's versions Tilly has made. 

That's all from me for tonight, more selfish sewing week updates to come!! 

~HJF~ 

Emery Dress - #selfishsewingweek

This is rather unlike me to post each day, but seeing as I have committed myself to the rather overambitious task of sewing every day this week I thought I might as well keep you informed of what has been flying off my sewing machine!

First up.......

My very first Emery Dress by Christine Haynes. 

I loved this pattern and as soon as I saw it, I added it to my Christmas list. The shape is very me, fitted bodice and a full skirt. In truth it is not too dissimilar to the dress patterns I had drafted for myself in the past, but this has sleeves... So it was the sleeves that swayed me, there you have it! 

As part of Selfish Sewing Week I decided to give this pattern a go. When I started to stitch up this dress I went from, oh no, this is going to be way too small, to ooh this looks like it will be a good fit to finally.... It's huge on me. So I set to altering the bodice in hope of a better fit and I think I am almost there! In the bodice pattern my measurements ranged from a 14 - 18! Crazy. In truth I should have known better and just done an FBA but sometimes I like to just test the pattern out and see how it fits straight out of the packet. 

So here is my Emery in a lovely vintage Peter Pan print fabric donated to me by my Aunty. 

I had a lot of crazy fit issues on this bodice and have ended up adding a couple of neck darts just to salvage the dress. I had worked too hard and loved the fabric, so I wanted to make it a wearable toile. 

The bodice fit perfectly across the bust but was huge at the waist, so I increased the dart size there. The neck was huge, like 4cm worth of gape down the front, so in this version I added a couple of neck darts there, but on the pattern I have taken the excess out so, hopefully that will be much better next time round. 

The skirt was a dream so twirly!! And I now want to add pockets into every dress I make, the are just so perfect. I also chopped the bodice down by 2cm as I prefer things to land a little higher than my waist. 

I didn't have a long enough zip to make this dress... Why didn't I check that first?! 

So I improvised a little and did a zip with three ruloux loops and buttons at the top to finish it off. 

This dress calls for a lining, but as this was just intended as my toile, I just drafted a facing and went with that for this version, but next time round I will have the right length zip, and not be lazy and do the proper lining!

I love this dress pattern though, and hopefully with all the alterations now traced onto my pattern pieces, next time around shouldn't be as difficult. 

Thanks for stopping by again, I hope you are enjoying #selfishsewingweek as much as I am!!

~HJF~ 

90's Floral Dungaree Dress

Hi all,

It's been a while!! I have been out with a virus and tonsillitis, but I am back (almost) ha ha. 

I have a favourite denim dungaree dress, it was a super bargain from a high street store last year and ever since we have been inseparable!! 

It is a dream to pair with thick tights and long sleeve stripey sailor tops and brogues, my favourite. 

My RTW version is a very soft drapey denim, which falls beautifully. I have had so much wear out of it over the winter season, I decided it was time to crack out the pattern paper and get drafting a pattern for it.

I have issues with doing this, tracing a pattern from a RTW garment, it doesn't feel right, as I normally draft my own from scratch, but I NEEDED this to be the same as my Denim Dungaree dress I love so much, ha ha. 

I decided to use a stretch floral twill for my toile, in hindsight the stetch element turned out not to be in my favour so much. All in all it became a wearable garment and I learnt a few tips for the next one!!! 

I bought this fabric to make myself a pair of floral trousers from, I was happy to have found a floral print I liked with some stretch in it, perfect. I did however think this fabric was black, (naughty shop lighting!) and only realised when I got home it was a very dark brown (although my family have done their best to convince me it is black....) 

One thing I love about this dress is the button fastenings on the straps, so fun! 

This toile also gave me the oppertunity to practice my top stitching, I have a twin needle ( I am just too lazy to get it out, there I said it!) I think it went ok, aside a few wobbles due to my machine not liking the thickness of the fabric and it stretching slightly, I think it isn't too bad. 

The dress has three buttons down the side, intended to be there to help you get it on and off, but the dress just pulls over my head so I could eliminate them if I felt I wanted to.  On the original they are lovely denim metal buttons, but I opted for yellow this time round. 

And finally here we have it, me with my awkward posing again, this time on the stairs, in the hope those lovely stairs will distract you slightly.......

I am happy with the overall fit, I did have some problems with the fabric stretching around the armholes and neckline due to the stretch in the fabric plus the cross grain, but the future versions will not be in stretch fabric and I am hopeful a quick stay stitch will rectify that. 

I am not sure this was the wisest choice of fabric for a larger lady like myself, but I will go with it for now.... Plus I have a lovely navy twill version ready and awaiting to be sewn up, so hopefully that will be a winner!

P.s. I was once told I looked like a childrens T.V. Presenter in an brightly coloured outfit I had on, and I once again feel like I am channelling that vibe...... (All those bright colours just are not me...where is the grey!!!!!! ) Haha 

Thanks for stopping by,

I would love to hear any comments you have, or if you know of any awesome denim suppliers you would like to share, don't hesitate to get in touch! 

~HJF~