Unicorn dress!

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A photo posted by Rhiannon D (@rhiannonbrum) on


Sometimes you find a fabric that you fall in love with, but you don’t know whether or not you’ll use it (and it’s pricey…) so you leave it.

And go back and look again.

And leave it.

And so on, until eventually, one day, you buckle and buy it, just in case.

And then it sits in your stash a while longer, and then you find out that the delightful Gabby is getting married and there is really no better fabric to make a dress to wear to her wedding with than that rather special fabric.

What is it?

A DRESS WITH UNICORNS ON IT!

Is it blue?

Yes

What’s the fabric and where is it from?

The fabric is Riley Blake Unicorn fabric that I bought in Guthrie and Ghani. The lining material is a blue chiffon that I got from Sayeeds (?) in Walthamstow.

What’s the pattern?

The Sewaholic Cambie dress with the gathered skirt option

What was good about making this?

Uh, the fact it is unicorn fabric?! That aside, I really like this pattern, it fits me well and the sweetheart neckline is lovely. Having made it once before it came together really swiftly. I also got to discover the rolled hem setting on my overlocker when it came to sorting out the chiffon dropped hem.

What was bad about making this?

Chiffon is awful to cut out. So slippery and teeth gnashingly annoying. I’ve since heard a couple of hints that will make it a bit less painful should I go down that route again.

Would you make it again?

I think so. Like this it’s a great dress-up dress, whilst with a slightly tamer pattern it’s brilliant for work. And I haven’t even considered the fitted skirt variation yet….

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Unselfish sewing OR a dress for Jenny

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So back in December, my friend Jenny asked me if I’d be able to help her out with something rather exciting. She makes music under the name Rooks (and go check it out, because it’s amazing) and wanted to do something a bit different for her album launch in March. Namely, lights. So of course I agreed, because, frankly, when offered the opportunity to make a dress with lights in it, who’d say no?

What is it?

A sleeveless shift dress. With lights. You heard me. Lights.

Is it blue?

No

What’s the fabric and where is it from?

Black crepe from the indoor market at the Bullring. The bodice was lined with a black and white bird print cotton bought in Walthamstow.

What’s the pattern?

An altered version of the Lilou dress from Love at First Stitch.

What was good about making this?

Figuring out how to sew lights into a dress, and then threading them all the way through was a challenge but a fun one. It also meant that the dress had an incredible structure to the skirt due to all the wire snaking around inside. However, the absolute best thing, sappy as it is, is that I got to see one of my best friends wearing a dress that not only looked great, but that gave her a lot of joy, as evidenced by her switching it on and off after the gig to show people how it lit up. That was pretty magical

What was bad about making this?

I learnt that black fabric is not particularly interesting to sew with. I also found it really stressful to make something for someone else; as much as I worry about the fit when I make things for myself, I know that ultimately I can bodge it around myself. Not the case here by a long shot!

Would you make it again?

It depends if I’m asked!

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Me Made May 2016 – the round up

~ Rhiannon ~ 1 Comment

memademay2016I did it! 31 days of me made items!

I’m really pleased I stuck with it all the way through, as I had a real sense of achievement in doing it. There were a couple of points where I very nearly couldn’t be bothered, but it was definitely worth it.

I also learnt a couple of things from doing this. Starting with the moans (to get them out of the way…)

  1. Repeating outfits isn’t a problem, but it feels a bit like a problem when you’re presenting your outfit every day. I felt like there was a pressure to wear something different, even though I know I was the only one putting that pressure on me. Which leads rather neatly on to…
  2. God it’s boring to take your own photo every day. Because it isn’t just taking one photo, it’s taking lots. For most of the poses I used a timer setting, which takes a burst of ten photos. So you have to pick the best of those. However there might be as many as 10 timer shots taken to try and get the “best”pose. So that’s over a hundred photos to choose from. Every day. Boring.

That said…

  1. My sewing skills have really come on in the last year; I had seven new items during the course of the month, which is a rate of knots I couldn’t have dreamed of previously
  2. Turns out I really like green and blue items of clothing. Whodathunk?
  3. I’ve got a couple of key patterns that are proving great wardrobe builders; the Colette Moneta (days 8, 11, 12, 17, 25 and 30), the Gather Patterns Mortmain (days 2, 5, 22 and 27) and a basic gathered skirt pattern which, as well as being used for my green and polar bear skirts, is also the bottom of my strawberry dress.
  4. I’ve also got a couple of things that are lacking and that I really need to add in to the mix, especially trousers and casual tops. That said, I discovered the Colette Sorbetto top is a fab stash buster (days 14 and 21) so will be making a couple more and have patterns for both the Closet Case Ginger jeans and Sew Over It Ultimate trousers waiting for me to make.
  5. In spite of potentially needing to make more sensible decisions in my sewing, I blooming love making dresses and will still make them more than anything else, because they’re just more fun, and that, for me, is what sewing is all about!

So how about you? Did you take part in Me Made May and how did you find it? I’d love to know 🙂

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Me Made May 2016 – week 4 roundup

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We’re nearly there! 28 days of May are finished with only three to go.  There’ve been quite a few repeats this week but due to some particularly speedy sewing I also got to wear two new things which was excellent fun

I’ll be doing a final roundup along with my favourites and what I’ve learnt on Wednesday, but until then we have the following outfits this week:

Day 22 – green skirt (and the reveal of my tripod!)

Day 23 – strawberry print By Hand London Charlie dress

Day 24 – Aztec print Moneta with my Astoria jumper

Day 25 – highly inaccurate tube map By Hand London Kim dress

Day 26 – floral Mortmain and that Astoria again

Day 27 – floral Anna dress

Day 28 – gardening ready with my Sorbetto top

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Green floral dress

~ Rhiannon ~ 1 Comment

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I love this dress, and not just because I get to spin around whilst wearing it…

I initially bought this fabric about a year ago to make a Lilou dress, but it ended up sitting in my stash box, unused and a bit unloved. Then I wanted to make a wearable toile and it seemed a good fabric fit; I wasn’t wrong!

What is it?

A sleeveless shift dress with a pleated skirt

Is it blue?

No

What’s the fabric and where is it from?

A floral midweight cotton. I think I got it in the Fancy Silk Store, but I’ve seen it in a couple of places and multiple colourways.

What’s the pattern?

The Mortmain dress by Gather patterns in the sleeveless variation.

What was good about making this?

I couldn’t get over how quickly this came together, nor how neatly the seams all looked. Not having to make a lining for a dress was a bit of a revelation!

What was bad about making this?

I misjudged the ease so had to lose two inches off the bodice once I’d made it (i.e. drop it a dress size with some seam pinching). Although, from another angle, that just means there’s two inches less of me than I thought!

Would you make it again?

Yes I would, and indeed I have.

Me Made May – week 3 roundup

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Three weeks down! When I set out on Me Made May, I wondered how long I could go without repeats (and I don’t just mean my expression…). Turns out the answer was 20 days (if we ignore the repeated skirt on day 19!) and even then on Saturday I pulled out my sparkly Astoria and had another different item to add to the mix.

This week has also tested my thinking about what I wear. For me, Me Made May was about wearing something handmade every day, but wasn’t necessarily about wearing something different every day for a month. Whilst I’ve still got a couple of items that I’ve not yet worn as part of Me Made May, if I’m honest, I don’t think I will. Some of them is due to their status as “dressing up” items (looking at you unicorn dress and leopard print cape) whilst for others, as I made them when I first started sewing, I’m aware of the fit (or lack thereof!) compared to what I now make and wear regularly.

What this also means is that for the last week (and a bit) of May I’ll be repeating (with the exception of a sneaky new make or two….) but seeing if I can style my outfits differently, rather than continuing to wear “new” items each day.

Here’s hoping I make it to the end!

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Navy mid length skirt

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One of the sewing resolutions that I set myself for this year was to try and build some more me-made plain coloured staples into my wardrobe as a balance for the super fun but not always practical patterned dresses I love. This was one such adventure, into the land of practical workwear (pictured above with my Mimi blouse hack)

What is it?

A just-below-knee-length flared skirt

Is it blue?

Yup!

What’s the fabric and where is it from?

A navy blue crepe bought from a stall in Leicester market – I think run by someone called Stuart?

What’s the pattern?

The Sewaholic Hollyburn skirt in variation A

What was good about making this?

The pockets were a new skill for me, and really straightforward once I got my head around the instructions.

What was bad about making this?

I didn’t really like it once it was finished; there’s just something about the way the fabric joins in almost – but not quite – a reverse pleat in the centre that I cant get on board with. I’ve warmed to it a bit in the two months in between, but it definitely doesn’t get worn as much as some of the other skirts I’ve made (although whether that’s true after Me Made May remains to be seen!)

Would you make it again?

I’m not sure. I might make one of the shorter versions, but I think I probably prefer a gathered skirt to this one.

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Me Made May 2016 – week 2 roundup

~ Rhiannon ~ 2 Comments

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So another week of May has gone by, and with it another seven days of me made clothes.  What’s been interesting this week is that I’ve started to get towards the end of my handmade wardrobe. This has got me feeling slightly panicky; should I make more things to keep on having something new to show everyday? Should I wear some of the things I have that I don’t really want to wear but would mean I could avoid repetition that bit longer? Is repetition even a bad thing? Normally I wear an item two or three times over the course of a fortnight and no one cares, but then, normally I’m. not sharing the outfit I wear every day..

I’m not really looking for answers, but it has been thought provoking. It’s also made me realise I spend a lot of time wearing dresses usually, so my fondness for making them is actually a good thing rather than a total vanity project.

At any rate, this continues to be a fun way to explore my wardrobe, and I’m intrigued to see what weeks three and four will throw up (not least because I may have gone fabric shopping yesterday….).

This week’s me mades are:

Sunday – Aztec print Colette moneta

Monday – contracts bias By Hand London Anna dress

Tuesday – Floral Sewaholic Nicola shirt dress

Wednesady – purple moneta

Thursday – turquoise moneta (I really like that pattern…)

Friday – tiny foxes tshirt (Grainline scout tee)

Saturday – tiny elephants top (modified sorbetto by Colette)

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Gingham Cambie dress

~ Rhiannon ~ 2 Comments

IMG_6152I love gingham. It’s amazing and summery and makes me feel like holidays are just around the corner (almost certainly due to gingham dresses being summer uniform at school). Coupled with the sweetheart neckline loveliness of the Cambie dress pattern, it was a match made in heaven, and to be honest, the main surprise is that it took me so long to make it!

What is it?

A dress with a sweetheart neckline and a gathered skirt

Is it blue?

Nope

What’s the fabric and where is it from?

The fabric is a cotton gingham that I got as part of the stash swap at Sew Brum

What’s the pattern?

The Cambie dress by Sewaholic Patterns in variation B

What was good about making this?

I really enjoyed the simple way that this pattern came together, and had a surprisingly good time trying to pattern match the gingham up. I didn’t have any faith in the description of the way that the skirt would gather up, but actually it was lovely and the pockets are a delight (seriously, who doesn’t love a dress with pockets?

What was bad about making this?

I had a nightmare getting the lining to attach to the bodice at the waist, and in the end I made the decision to leave it unattached except for a small section in the centre. It worked well and is definitely how I’d do this if I made another cambie without a skirt lining.

Would you make it again?

Yes as this was a wearable toile for the unicorn dress….

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Me Made May 2016 – week one roundup

~ Rhiannon ~ 1 Comment
L-R, day 7, top row days 1, 3, 2, bottom row days 5, 4, 6
L-R, day 7, top row days 1, 3, 2, bottom row days 5, 4, 6

This year, for the first time, I’m taking part in Me Made May, an annual challenge organised by Zoe of So Zo. My pledge is to try and wear at least one item of handmade clothing each day during May.

We’re one week in, so I thought I’d share my outfits so far, not least because it’s the first time I’ve shared them on the blog (although posts about all of these will be coming up over the next few weeks). So, in chronological order we have:

Day 1 – Chambray shirt dress with an ace RTW tiger jumper

Day 2 – Heart print Mortmain dress, with a comfy cardi that might not actually be mine…

Day 3 – Bright green skirt with RTW stripey top

Day 4 – Gingham Cambie dress

Day 5 – Floral Mortmain dress

Day 6 – Floral Lilou dress

Day 7 – A freaking space dress made using the By Hand London Anna pattern

I’ve really enjoyed Me Made May so far, and am looking forward to the rest of the month, not least because it’s a great excuse to get on some of my favourite clothes and prompt conversations about dressmaking with people who might not otherwise have thought about it. Whether I actually manage it is an entirely different matter, but here’s hoping I’ll be doing a final round up in 23 days!

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